Unplugged: A Bad Boy Rockstar Romance (16 page)
Read Unplugged: A Bad Boy Rockstar Romance Online
Authors: Sienna Valentine
“You proved you cared for me. You sacrificed to
protect me, Laurel. I can count on one hand the number of people that have ever
done that for me before.”
“And I can count the same number of times I’ve
sacrificed,” she said. “I don’t know why you think I’m incredible, Noah. I’ve
never sacrificed for anyone before. I’ve always been focused on my own career,
my own plans… and I’ve never felt guilty for any of it. But with you, I
couldn’t. After I got the video, all I could think about was… asshole tourists
overwhelming the Graveyard Club and driving Kevin insane or turning his baby
into something horrible… you, having to move out of your hometown or duck
around getting harassed all the time, having no peace to find your new path… I
saw everything I was about to destroy, even though I thought I was doing something
good. And I couldn’t do it to you, Noah. You deserve nothing but peace in this
world. You’ve sacrificed for everyone and asked for nothing.”
Every word she spoke felt like it was shattering the
cold, dark walls I had built around my heart for so many lonely years. I
enfolded Laurel in my arms and drew her softly into my chest. She threw her
arms around me and dug her face into my shoulder, crying.
“Noah, I love you,” she said against my neck. “I love
you.”
I closed my eyes, overwhelmed. My muscles shook inside
me at the sound of her words, and I grasped her close to me. “I love you too, Laurel.
I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
“Can you ever really forgive me?” she sobbed. “I want
you to believe me.”
“I do. I believe you,” I said and dropped a kiss on
her lips. She returned it hungrily, pulling my face down to meet hers.
After a few minutes of tender kissing, Laurel realized
her phone was still recording, dangling in her left hand behind my neck, and she
laughed and brought it forward. “I should probably not include the making out
in the write-up.”
“I don’t know, it might be just what
Slipstream
is lacking,” I said with a wink. “Sex sells, right?”
She turned the recording off and looked up at me. “I’m
going to have to go back to New York, at least for a bit, and finish this up.”
“And then what?”
Laurel smiled shyly. “And then… then I’m coming right
back here. For a long while.”
“I think I might know someone who can show you
around,” I said.
She kissed me again and didn’t stop until her phone
was chiming, the call of an incoming message. Laurel pulled away from my mouth
and looked at her phone with an annoyed grunt.
“Just one sec, it’s my partner from the magazine.” A
few finger swipes later, she pulled up his message and let out a laugh with a
shake of her head.
She held up the phone to me, and displayed a photo of
a fit dude with short-cropped hair sitting in a cozy dark blue first class
airline seat. In each hand, he held a full mimosa, and grinned at the camera
behind sunglasses like he had won the lottery.
“I guess I missed my flight,” she said, stuffing the
phone in her pocket. She looked up at me with lustful, curious eyes.
As I ran my hands up her thighs, I said, “Well, what’s
to be done about that?”
Laurel
THREE MONTHS LATER
“Seriously,
man, it’s still not centered!” I laughed, waving my hands from side to side.
The workers on the scaffolding above the doorway to the Graveyard Club followed
my directions with only a little frustration, until I hollered and put up the
okay sign with both hands. “Perfect, there! Perfect. I’ll have beers waiting
for you boys when you’re done.”
The workers made their notes about the location, and
then carefully lowered the brand-new, but old school-looking, neon sign for the
club that had just been delivered. I wiggled around the scaffolding with care
and went back inside.
Things had moved fast after the story hit the presses.
It became the best-selling issue of
Slipstream
in the past fifteen
years, and generated a ton of new revenue for the magazine. Noah’s reputation
had recovered—and then some. Shows and reporters had lined up the first few
weeks, trying to get some face time with him, but he turned them all down. He
had said everything he wanted to say in my story, and he only wanted to focus
on the future.
Domino was upset, but she understood when I stepped
down from the magazine. She called it going out on a high note, but the truth
was just that I didn’t want to sneak around my scene anymore, trying to uncover
its dirt—I wanted to get back to helping it thrive, supporting the local acts,
and writing culture pieces. Deathshead, one of Seattle’s oldest underground
magazines, was all too happy to hire me, and I intended to take over as editor
one day.
I found a house in Thornwood only a short drive from
Noah’s, which I only bought after I insisted it was the right thing to do for a
lifelong commitment-phobe. He understood my need for freedom; it wasn’t like we
were apart for long periods, anyway. Noah was spending his time on low-key
things after the stress of the festival, and most of his days, he was working
the Graveyard Club with Kevin, slowly edging him into the present one upgrade
at a time.
Behind the bar, Kevin was drying glasses. “Get it all
okay?”
“Yeah, it’s going to look fucking amazing,” I told
him. “They should have it finished in an hour or so.”
“Don’t forget to ask them to hang up some of the bug
zappers we got, too. That neon light is gonna pull all the skeeters to the
smokers at night,” he said, gesturing to the lamps gathered under one of the
tables.
“Will do,” I promised and took a drink of water from
the glass on the bar.
“Babe,” came Noah’s muffled voice from the stage. “Are
you busy? Can you help me out here?”
I hurried over to find him trying to hold up one of
the overhead PA speakers while he simultaneously tried to maneuver a dolly that
had tipped onto its side.
“Geez, tough guy, what gives!” I teased, picking up
the dolly and rolling it right underneath him. Noah lowered the speaker
carefully onto the platform and stood up with an exhale. He straightened his
shirt and pulled me close for a kiss.
“Thanks for helping out today,” he said. “Are you sure
the mag didn’t mind?”
“Nah,” I said. “This new place is way more low-key
than
Slipstream
. Besides, that was the point, remember? That I
don’t
work my ass off all the time anymore?”
“So what do you call helping fix up the Graveyard
Club—a vacation?” he laughed, slapping my ass playfully.
“Ooh,” I said. “We should probably take a real one of
those soon. I’m getting a little travel thirsty.”
Noah’s eyes lit up. “You too, huh? I bitched about every
tour, but man… it always gave me something to look forward to.”
“Well… maybe we should plan one,” I said.
“Maybe we should!” he said, hands on his hips.
“Why are you saying that all defiantly? I’m agreeing
with you,” I laughed, poking him in the ribs.
“I don’t know. You get my blood all boiled up.” He
pulled me close by the waist and kissed me deeply until Kevin began cat-calling
us from behind the bar.
“Back to work, you fuckin’ horn dogs!” Kevin laughed.
“If I don’t get any, neither do you!”
Noah and I laughed as we parted, and I hopped off the
stage to go check on the sign workers. They were still on track, and the sign
already improved the curb appeal of the club. I gave them a thumbs up and
returned inside, but the room was empty.
“Hey, Noah, I had this idea,” I said as I came around
the corner to the back room.
I found Noah and Kevin huddled up near the sink,
looking down at something Noah was holding in his hand. Something small, and
something glittery. It was only a split second before they realized I was in
the room, and Noah scrambled to shove his hands in his pockets while Kevin made
a surprised noise and waved his towel around.
They stared at me like deer caught in headlights, not
even bothering to try and explain their strange behavior. I looked to one, and
then the other, my smile growing as I waited and waited for one of them to try
and cover.
“You guys are…
really
bad at this,” I laughed.
Noah’s face twisted in a playful glare. Kevin started
huffing and walked past me, slapping me a few times with the towel. “Hey, why
don’t you mind your own business?”
Noah followed him, walking up close to me. He leaned
down and in heated whisper said, “Yeah, why don’t you mind your own business,
babe?”
“Why don’t you make me?”
Noah smiled and gave an evil little laugh before he
dropped a kiss on my forehead and moved past me into the bar.
As I watched him go with a smile, I wondered if he
realized it didn’t take an investigative journalist to figure out what a ring
box in the pocket of a pair of jeans looks like.
Bestselling author Sienna Valentine
grew up in Canada and still lives there, spending her time reading and
writing. Steamy romance has always been her favorite genre, and now finds that
the only thing more satisfying than dreaming up her fantasies in the first
place, is writing them down and being able to share them with others.
You can find Sienna on facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSiennaValentine
Don’t forget, if you want to be the
first to know about her upcoming projects or join her ARC team, be sure to sign
up on her mailing list right here:
http://hyperurl.co/iuvfcv
I would to thank all of my wonderful
readers who have given me a chance to live my dream of writing for a living. I
hope that each book I write is better than the last so that I never disappoint
you.
I would also like to thank my ARC and
Beta readers that were very helpful in pointing out issues that my own eyes
passed over after multiple edits. It’s so helpful having a group of wonderful
women that are eager to read my sometimes unfinished and unpolished work and
give me constructive feedback. You are all very patient and I appreciate every
one of you!
Finally, I want to give a shout out
to my newly created Street Team –
Sienna’s Sexy
Valentines
. I’m so blessed to have
fans dedicated to helping me get the word out about my books. You ladies ROCK!
Kellan: A Bad Boy Military MMA
Romance
Sanctum
(Black Dogs MC Book 1)
–
Included Below as a special Bonus!
Retribution
(Black Dogs MC Book 2)
Black
Dogs MC Book 3 – Coming Soon
With Aubrey St. Clair
Silver
and Chrome (coming in Christmas 201
5
)
And now, as a bonus gift
for buying
Unplugged
, here is the complete copy of
Sanctum
!
SANCTUM
~ PROLOGUE ~
Maggie moaned and giggled in the dark
as she felt Jase
’
s tongue sliding between her legs. She
leaned her head back and closed her eyes, fingers tangling in his hair, feeling
the motion of his head moving around her center. The coolness of the sheets and
the low summer breeze from the open win
dow countered
the heat of his body against hers. She could only stand a few minutes of his
sweet torture before she grasped at his shoulders, trying to pull him on top of
her.
Jase moaned a few times as he lingered,
his tongue flicking over her clit one l
ast time
before he obliged her silent orders. He traced a trail with his mouth up over
her stomach and breasts. When she kissed him, she felt her own wetness on the 5
o
’clock scruff on his chin. Jase slid his
hips between her legs, his aching hardness pres
sing
onto her sensitive lips. She gasped in his mouth and he laughed a low, sexy
laugh that made her stomach shiver.
Jase seemed to tease her a few more
moments, sliding his cock against her without entering, until she whimpered and
squirmed beneath him.
He dropped a hard, passionate
kiss on her lips when he finally relented and pushed inside of her. She inhaled
the moan he let out when he felt her warmth around his cock. He began to
thrust into her desperately, pulling her body for leverage to get as dee
ply inside of her as he could. Maggie grasped at him,
digging nails into his back with every powerful meeting of his hips on hers.
It was only a few minutes before they
were both crying out in sweet release. Maggie bit into Jase
’
s shoulder, holding him cl
ose as she came. She felt him shudder against her, and deep
inside her.
Maggie collapsed against the sheets, and
Jase, on top of her. The sounds of their heavy breathing filled the bedroom.
Jase lifted his head up to look at her
and planted a kiss on her
lips.
“
That
’
s five—
record broken.
”
“
Record broken
hard
,”
said Maggie with a chuckle.
“
Good show, Campbell.
”
“
And to you, ma
’
am,”
said Jase. He playfully bit around her stomach where he
knew she was ticklish, and Maggie collapsed into giggles until she
finally got him to stop.
Rolling off to lie next to her on the
bed, Jase played with her curly hair as she lay on the pillow.
“
I feel like it
’
s been too long since we got to do this
- at least this many times in a row.
”
“
Yeah, well, who
’
s to blame for tha
t, mister?
”
said Maggie with a quirk of her eyebrow.
“
I know, I know,
”
said Jase.
“
Things have been busy with the club, I
know. Henry
’
s finally giving me better jobs than
just bartending.
”
“Ugh,”
said Maggie immediately. She twisted
around dramatically.
“D
on’t
even want to hear his name.
”
Jase laughed and tweaked her nose.
“
Maggie, we
’
re fucking in the man
’
s house.
”
“
Yeah, well, not for long,
”
she said.
“Oh?”
said Jase. He laid his head down on the
pillow next to her and gave her a hopeful grin.
“
Finally g
oing
to move in with me?
”
Maggie grinned back at him and scooted a
little closer. She had practiced broaching this conversation for hours in the
mirror before her father had finally left the house, allowing Jase time to come
over.
“Maybe… “
“
Seriously?
”
said Jase. He perched on his elbow and
looked at her.
“
When you put a goddamn ring on it,
”
she said with a laugh. Jase mussed up
her hair. It was the response she always gave him when he asked about moving
in. She waited just a beat before she tacked on th
e
new part.
“
And if we
’
re moving into some place that
’
s not in LeBeau.
”
When he didn’t answer right away, she
looked up at his eyes. Some part of her knew he might be resistant, but truth
be told, the bigger part of her heart which held his love had no fe
ar until she saw that worried sternness in his jade-colored
eyes.
Jase took a deep breath.
“You
’
re still on about this?
”
“
About moving away? Yeah, I
’
m still
‘
on about it
’
,”
said Maggie.
“
Did you think I wasn’t serious when I brought it up before?
”
Jase sighed and rolled over onto his
back. Maggie felt her heart start to ache when he threw his legs off the side
of the bed and checked his phone.
“
Jase, don’t
ignore me,
”
she said.
Jase turned half around.
“I
’
m sorry. I
’
m not trying to ignore you.
I’ve
just heard this before. Every time you and Henry have a fight, you talk about
getting out of here.
”
His words stung. He made her sound so
reactionary and emotional.
“
That
’
s not what this is.
”
“
Then what is it? Why do you want to get
away from here so
bad, Maggie? I don’t get it.
”
“Yes you do, you just don’t agree with
it.”
“You
’
re right, I don’t. Henry has only ever
made my life better, and you
’
re asking me to feel exactly the opposite about him
—
and break my commitment to the club by
leaving,
”
said Jas
e. He
stood up and put on his boxers.
Maggie sat up.
“I
’
m not asking you to feel differently
about Henry. How could I? I just
… don’t
you get it, Jase, that the Henry you know and the Henry I
know are not the same man? He gives you the world, and every oppo
rtunity, but he can’t push me away from all of it fast
enough. He acts like I didn’t grow up in that fucking clubhouse right alongside
you.
”
“You
’
re his daughter, of course he
’
s going to treat you differently from
some stray kid he picked up.
”
Maggie coul
d hear the tone in his
voice had gone to a bitter place.
“
But he
’
s never let you want for anything. Hell, he
’
d probably let you live here until you
’
re a senior citizen.
”
“
That
’
s not the same thing as love,
”
said Maggie, shifting up onto her knees.
“
Giving
me an
easy place to live only makes sure I owe him obedience to his rules. He doesn’t
care what I want
—
only what he wants. And he wants me to
be with some normal person with an office job, a boring husband, and a weekend
hobby.
”
Jase stood at the end of th
e bed, clearly frustrated, but unable to find the words for
it. He put his hands on his thin waist and shook his head. Maggie crawled up to
him and leaned against his chest. He put one arm around her back with a light
touch.
“He
’
s not going to let this kee
p on, Jase,
”
she said in a quiet voice.
“You
’
re becoming his golden boy at the MC,
but he wants me as far away from it as he
can get
me
. You can’t
honestly tell me you haven’t noticed what
’
s been going on since we got together
…”
“We’ve
been together a long
time,
”
said Jase. He wouldn’t look at her.
“
As friends, yes. And he was fine with
that. But the second we crossed that line
…”
Jase shook his head but said nothing.
“He
’
s kept you as busy as possible with club
stuff. He
’
s kept me here as much as he can, a
nd when you
’
re not here, he makes very clear that he
isn’t happy about us. Haven’t you noticed that every time you stop by when he
’
s here, he finds some way to get you out
of the house quickly? I mean, why are you even here right now, Jase? You have
work i
n less than six hours.
”
