Wonderlust (Steel Roses #1) (9 page)

“You’ve been giving me mixed signals since the moment you arrived. Your mind might be telling you to stay clear of me, but your body has other ideas.”

“Oh, please. Do you really think I haven’t heard that line before?” He shook his head, downing his whiskey. “I know exactly what my body and mind want, and it’s
not
you.”

“Are you willing to prove that?”

“Yes!” Shit. I was so angry, I answered without thinking. What had I just gotten myself into?

Placing his whiskey glass down on the floor, he stood up. “Lay back.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re proving your point.” I didn’t trust his smirk. “I’m going to hover over you. I won’t touch you, I promise, but if you’re not affected by my closeness after three minutes, you win. Your point is proven.”

Crap! “Three minutes seems like a long time.” How did I get out of this? I couldn’t be that close to him; I’d crumble gazing into his pure blue eyes and I knew it.

“Backing down already?” Huffing, I lay back against the lounge chair. Taking deep breaths, I tried to contain myself. Alex moved, placing his legs either side of me. He leaned down so our lips were inches apart. “Are you going to count or should I?”

I closed my eyes for a brief second, basking in the warmth of his body over mine. His breath didn’t stink of alcohol either like I had hoped it would. “You count.” I needed to focus on controlling my breathing.

“Nervous?”

“No.” I glared back at his obnoxiousness. Remembering that he was an asshole might help me get through this.

“You’re shaking, or is that the adrenaline?” He was so close, too close. My body was beginning to tingle from his proximity. Why did he have to be my childhood crush? It complicated everything.

“You’re meant to be counting!” I yelled. He was infuriating!

“Easy, Straight Lace. We’re not even at one minute yet.” Opening my eyes, I gazed into his cool blue orbs. They looked so alive, almost as if there was a storm brewing in them. “Are you having any urges yet?”

“Other than wanting to knee you in the balls for making me do this…no.” I smiled sweetly up at him.

“You always bring conversations back to my balls.” He moved closer, his lips almost brushing my chin.

“I do not!” I protested, becoming immobile as he ran his hand down the side of my face. “You said you wouldn’t touch me.”

“What does it matter? You’re not interested in me anyway. A minute and a half left.” This was the longest three minutes of my life! “We could have such a good time together, you know. All you have to do is loosen up.”

“You don’t know me at all. I don’t do
loose
!”

“I didn’t mean it in that way. You should learn to live a little. Let your hair down once in a while.”

“I like my hair up, thank you very much.”

“Yeah…I’ve noticed,” he chuckled, taking a stray strand of my hair in between his fingers. “You’re too beautiful to hide the way you do. Live dangerously for a while.” Hide? I wasn’t hiding from anything or anyone. “I could open your eyes to the world, Baby. All you have to do is let me in.” My breathing was becoming embarrassingly loud. I wasn’t sure how much restraint I had left. I wanted his lips on mine and to feel his breath consume me. “Let me in, Nat. We could be so good together. I’ll have you screaming my name within minutes.” Images of him with all his previous bimbos flashed through my mind, giving me the escape I needed to break the hold he had over me.

“Just like all the women that have visited your sex pit? What number would I be, Alex?”

“That’s history. I didn’t bring anyone home tonight, did I? Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“I heard you talking to Diego the first night I arrived.”

“What?” That made him move away so he could look at me.

“You’re going to break my heart, are you?” I snorted. “You really think you’re God’s gift.”

“That was the first night, Nat. I didn’t know you then. These last few weeks…I’ve loved spending time with you, even when we’re arguing.” He laughed in disbelief at his words.

“This is all a game to you, isn’t it?”

“You don’t believe me?” He pulled away, finally moving off me. “The three minutes are up. You win.” Before I could respond, he stormed off. Alex could be such a child at times. I just lay there, gazing up at the night sky. Watching the stars had always relaxed me since I was a child.

The more time I spent with Alex, the more complicated things seemed to get. We needed to talk about this at some point. He couldn’t keep walking away.

“Two more coffees please, Natasha.” Alex didn’t even look at me while I collected the empty mugs. I was covering for Mary because she was still having issues with her daughter, but she was due back next week.

“Coming right up.” Diego was in the kitchen in hot pants and a skimpy top, dancing to an old eighties track. I held in a giggle as he spun around and noticed me watching him. “You’ve got some moves. You sure know how to work that booty of yours.”

“You’ve got to shake what God gave you, girl.” Taking the mugs from me and placing them on the counter, he took my hand and began to spin me around. “Shake it, girl!”

“I have to make coffee,” I protested, but he still didn’t stop spinning me around, grinding his hips against mine. “It’s a good job you’re gay,” I teased, finally giving in to the music.

“Alex and Mr. Producer can wait five minutes for their coffee. Damn, you’ve got rhythm!”

“Yeah, right.”

“You’ve got some serious sexy pelvic motion going on. If I wasn’t gay, I’d be dry humping you right now.” Both laughing, we carried on dancing until the song finished.

I was still giggling about Diego’s comment while I took the coffees in for Alex and his producer. They’d been in his studio all morning.

“Something funny?” Alex quirked an eyebrow at me as I placed the mugs down.

“Just Diego. I’ll leave you to it.” I was about to walk out when he called me.

“Nat, can you pencil in a trip to New York next month please? Jazz and I will be finishing the new track there.“ New track? I didn’t realize he was working on a new song.

“Sure,” I mumbled, frowning at him. He gave me a sexy, lazy smirk before looking away.

“Did you know Alex was working on new material?” I asked Diego when I walked back into the kitchen.

“I know he’s written a few lyrics down. He hasn’t quite got a song yet, but what I’ve seen so far is pretty good.”

“How long has it been since he’s written anything?”

“Years, Nat. It’s been
years
.” He had a goofy grin on his face, watching me intently.

“Oh, okay.” I tried not to blush, knowing what Diego was getting at. This wasn’t because of me. I
did not
hold some power over
Alex Harbour
. That was insane!

“Right, I’ve got to head out for my pedicure. I’ll see you later, Baby Cakes.” What was it with him and Alex and bloody nicknames? Though, I preferred Straight Lace to Baby Cakes. What did that even mean? Babies couldn’t eat cakes. Not young babies, anyway.

“Have fun!” I shouted after him as he grabbed his bag and started to walk out.

“You should come with me next time. You deserve to be pampered.”

“Maybe.” I liked the sound of that. Since I’d arrived in LA, all I’d done was work. An afternoon of relaxation would do me some good.

“I can tell you’ve got something on your mind. Spill.” Alex seemed to be able to read me pretty well lately. Was that a good thing?

“How long have you been writing new material?” We sat at the breakfast bar, eating the chicken and pesto salad I’d made for dinner.

“About a month. Why do you ask?”

“I didn’t realize you were…”

“I’m a rock star. It’s kind of my job,” he chuckled. “Although, I haven’t written my own songs from scratch for years.”

“Since Steel Roses,” I mused, almost in a daydream.

“Yes.” His eyes widened. Shit! Why did I say that? “Were you a Roses fan?”

“I liked some of your songs,” I lied, looking down at my plate. Really, I had been a hardcore groupie with posters all over my room.

“Wow! You were a rock chick. I never would have guessed. I had you down as a boy band kind of girl.” Not him, too? He and Diego had me all wrong.

“Technically, you
were
a boy band.” I couldn’t help but tease him.

“Like fuck we were. We were a
rock band
. I wasn’t some pretty boy whose balls hadn’t dropped. I was pure, dirty, hard, rock and roll.” Holding my legs together, I steadied my breathing. He had been pure sex in Steel Roses. Remembering the first time I’d seen them live, I smiled. He’d radiated sexual desire the whole time. I’d never felt a connection from one man on a single stage before. That night, the entire arena surrendered to him the moment he sang the first line to
Caged
. It had been an incredible evening.

“I don’t remember it that well. Like I said, I only knew a few of your songs. Besides, I was only a teenager when Steel Roses was together.”

“Teenagers were our main fan base. Are you sure there isn’t something you want to tell me?”

“No. Like what?”

“That you’re a secret Steel Roses fan and have been in love with me since you were a teenager.”

“Ha! You wish.” I may have overdone the fit of the giggles as I tried to mask the truth. “My best friend back in London is a huge fan of yours, though.”

“Is that so? Maybe you should invite her over. I’d love to meet her.”

“You really think I’d let you near my best friend?” I snorted.

“It’s your duty as her best friend to make her dream come true. Honestly, what kind of friend are you?” He nudged me playfully.

“I’m a damn good friend by keeping her away from you.”

“Ouch. Why don’t you say it like it is?”

“You know I always do,” I grinned, taking my last bite of food.

“It’s definitely a change. I didn’t think I’d enjoy having a woman challenge me as much as you do.” He seemed to shake the idea off.

“I didn’t think I’d make friends with a rock star, either.”

“Is that what we are now?” He was trying to hide his smirk.

“Well, we’re not enemies anymore.” Getting up, I began to clear the breakfast table while he finished his food. He hadn’t mentioned our conversation from last night and it didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up. He was in a good mood for once.

“That’s a good thing. We have a busy few months ahead of us.”

He wasn’t kidding. We’d hardly be at his hilltop mansion over the next few months. In fact, we’d be flying all over the world to promote the new aftershave brand, Latitude, he was representing. Plus, he was scheduled to shoot the campaign footage for it in London. It would be nice to go home for a few days.

He had various media events that coincided with the country he was in, from talk shows to radio interviews, as well as the private show for his billionaire friend in Macon. It was going to be an exhausting few months. That was for sure.

I pushed through into the hotel entrance with two freshly brewed coffees in my hands.
Bloody fan girls were everywhere.
The thought had me laughing to myself. Ten years ago that would have been me. Although, I’d never been lucky enough back in those days to find out the hotel Alex had been staying at.

We were currently in Paris. Alex had been stuck in interviews for almost three hours now. His European publicist, Dustin Fairbanks, was perhaps the best-dressed man in Europe. He had taken over my duties, so all I could do was keep Alex fueled with coffee and Maltesers. Dustin was prim and proper: a true English gentleman with dark, slicked black hair, brooding brown eyes, and an immaculate sense of dress.

We’d been away for almost three weeks now, with London as our next stop. I’d never seen a commercial filmed before, and was excited to watch it take place. It also meant I’d get to see Liv, though I hadn’t told her yet. A surprise visit was probably a better idea once she knew I was here with Alex.

“Is my break coming up soon?” Alex sighed once I’d made my way over to him. Shane was chatting with hotel security in the far corner of the room.

“I counted another five interviews on the schedule before we wrap. Our flight to London leaves at six. After that, you’ll finally be able to rest until tomorrow morning.” He nodded solemnly, taking a cup of coffee from me.

“Thanks, I needed this.”

“If you’re good, I’ll let you have a packet of Maltesers with your next coffee.”

“I’ll be good, then,” he winked, getting up to take his seat for the next string of interviews.

Alex was in full rock star mode today, complete with his legendary ego. His tight leather trousers and V-neck shirt clung to him in all the right places. Sitting and watching him being interviewed was quite amusing, too.

“Are you trying to get rid of your bad boy image by promoting Latitudes latest aftershave?” the reporter from Rock News asked, flicking her red hair behind her shoulder while giving him her best come to bed eyes. “You have to admit, Alex, no one would have put you and this brand together.”

“I have a bad boy image?” Alex frowned in confusion. “Where on earth did you get that idea from?” The reporter looked stunned and began going through her notes, embarrassed. I almost felt sorry for the woman, but I was laughing too much. “I’m just kidding. I wanted to go outside the box. People think they know me from my past, but I’m not
that
man anymore.”

“Are you saying you’re reformed?”

“Not quite yet, but I’m working on it.” His eyes found mine as he spoke, and the intensity of his gaze made me look away. Why did he keep doing that?

“You seem to be taking style more seriously these days, and now you’ve signed a contract to promote an aftershave. Is this your way of telling us that you’re leaving music behind?”

“Not at all. Music will always be my first love. It made me who I am today. I’ve turned down a lot of contracts over the years with different sponsors. Latitude just came at the right time. The aftershave it quite relatable to me.”

”You are certainly giving the brand more of an edge.” The redhead began to suck on her pen while giving him lustful gazes. Could she be more of a whore?

“How’s he doing?” Dustin muttered from behind me, touching my shoulder.

“He’s getting tired, I think.”

“Diego was right about you.” Turning to look at Dustin, I frowned. “Alex has never had someone so concerned for his welfare before. It’s been good. I’ve noticed the change in him. He’s a lot calmer. Usually, he would have flipped out by now and refused to do anymore interviews.”

“There’s still time,” I teased, looking down at my phone as it began to ring. “Excuse me for a moment.” Frowning, I looked down at the withheld number. Maybe my parents were trying to get hold of me on a different phone. They’d done that a few times while away. “Hello.” I answered the call once I was in the corridor.

“Have you been deliberately ignoring my calls?” I froze, stunned. What was David doing calling me? “Nat, answer me. Why haven’t you called me back?”

“David, I don’t work for you anymore. What could we possibly have to say to each other?” I didn’t remember receiving that many calls from him. I may have ignored a few, but that was because I’d taken this job to get some distance from him.

“Plenty. I want you to come back to Flavour Records. Whatever Rock Records is paying you, I’ll match it.”

“What?” Gasping, I noticed Diego was making his way down the corridor toward me. I didn’t want him to hear this conversation. “That’s not going to happen, David. I’m happy working for Alex.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

“That is
none
of your business?” I hissed as quietly as I could into the phone, turning my back to Diego.