ROCK F*CK CLUB (Girls Ranking the Rock Stars Book 6)

by Michelle Mankin

  Again and again, he hammered into me, each thrust sharpening my need. I took what he gave me. Took and took. Straining, until it broke free.

  My climax swept through me as he stiffened and roared my name. Free from the bonds of this world, we entered one that was all ours together.

  Josephine

  EARBUDS IN, I WAS staring at my phone and listening to the playback of the edited copy of my interview with Sasha. When the mattress beside me suddenly dipped, I looked up.

  Done with his shower, Gale slid into bed, his hair damp and his sculpted body gloriously on display. He wore nothing but a navy pair of boxers and his affection for me. That miracle blazed like a warm hearth inside his crystal-clear eyes.

  Spellbound, I stared. The interview continued to play on my phone, but my attention had a new focus. A better one. My heart raced as he scooted closer.

  “How come you always smell so good?” I blurted out the question as he firmly pulled me into his side. His lips curled into an amused grin that made my stomach flutter.

  Shaking his head, he reached for one of the cords stringing from my ears and tugged, popping it out. “So you can hear me.” His voice went from inside my ear on the recorded interview to being live and so very intimate.

  “Sorry.” I laid my cheek against his hard chest and tilted my head to peer up at him.

  “It’s beard balm. I forget the fragrance, but it’s a Fanny Bay product. To make my beard and mustache soft.”

  “It smells yummy.”

  “Glad you think so.” His eyes twinkled. “How did the interview turn out?”

  “Good, actually.”

  “You sound surprised.” His brow creased.

  “I guess I am. I was so nervous during it that I didn’t really process. Just responded to her questions.”

  “Can I listen with you?” he asked.

  “Of course you can. I was on your part anyway.”

  I gave him the bud he had popped out. He put it in his ear and scooted higher in the bed, reaching for me to pull me higher with him. The analogy wasn’t lost on me. I’d been stuck emotionally in a dark, hopeless pit until he came along and pulled me out of it.

  Grateful, I turned my head and pressed my lips to his skin. My mouth curved with satisfaction as the tan coin of his nipple pebbled. His hand on my lower back slid lower to the swell of my ass. My body reacted, not as obviously as his had to me, but my skin tingled with awareness, and the pussy that he’d recently given a workout heated. As in eager for another round.

  Restless, I shifted my legs, but remembered he was waiting. Somehow shaking off the Gale effect, I tapped the screen on my phone with my thumb, and his decadent voice glided into my ear through the bud. Warmth flowed through me, my response similar to when he talked to me over the headset, but this was so much better. Being held by him in a bed with very few clothes on and the potential for him to do more than just hold me.

  “Diana’s gone,” Gale said on the recorded interview in response to Sasha’s question about me. As his videoed gaze turned unfocused, the camera swung to include a wide view of Hopi Point.

  My focus shifted too. Majorly. His words were as impactful on replay as they had been listening to him live.

  “For months after I lost her and Devon,” he said in the interview, “I wanted to die. I would have welcomed relief from the pain. Their losses carved away a part of me, leaving me feeling like a raw open wound. I sold the house, got on my bike, and rode. But I couldn’t outrun the pain. Eventually, I had to stop and face it. Living without them. Living with a new version of myself. It was a slow process, allowing myself to even breathe without feeling guilty.”

  Gale looked away from Sasha for a moment and took a breath. “It started with simple acknowledgments like that. I remember stopping my bike to enjoy the beauty of a sunrise, and the first time I was able to taste food again. After eighteen months of being alone, I came back and rejoined my band. Arthur and Noah were waiting for me. They’re my family, and I neglected them. We signed up for the end of the Gods of Rock tour. Along the way, I scheduled engagements at AA meetings.”

  Glancing at me, he squeezed my hand. “At one of those meetings, I met a beautiful woman. As soon as I saw her, I realized that I wasn’t really living. I was only going through the motions. Wearing my grief like a mantle separated me from everyone else and kept me from being hurt again, but it also kept most of me dormant. Until her.”

  The camera refocused on his handsome face, his eyes a stormy gray and swimming with emotion.

  “Josephine woke me up. One glance into her amazing eyes, and I knew.”

  “Knew what?” Sasha asked, leaning forward.

  I leaned forward too. The camera swiveled, capturing me in the shot. My eyes were glistening like Gale’s. But my gaze wasn’t unfocused. It was on him. He was more compelling to me than any view, even one as grand as the canyon.

  “Knew I wanted to know everything about her. Knew I wanted her. Knew I had to make a choice.”

  “What choice?” Sasha asked.

  “To truly live again.”

  “And you did.”

  “We both did. I think we woke up at the same time.”

  The mic picked up on the thickness of his voice, and the camera close-up captured a single tear that glistened as it slipped from my eye and slid down my cheek.

  “It doesn’t make sense that Joey, Diana, and Devon are gone, and that we remain. We both struggled with moving on, but it feels like moving on together is meant to be. That we had to go through pain to recognize the beauty in each other.”

  Adding to the conversation from my interview chair next to Gale, I said, “We’ve found understanding, love, and hope in each other. Some people might not understand that, and that’s okay. Life hurts a lot of the time, and it doesn’t always make sense. But for us, there’s love. For us, love makes us better.”

  Gale popped out his earbud and reached for me, pulling me on top of him. I tugged out my bud and tossed it aside.

  Smoothing my hands over the sculpted surface of Gale’s chest, I stacked one over the other, feeling his heart thump steadily under my palm. “Perfectly said.”

  “By you too. You’re perfect.” He reached up and framed half of my face in one of his large hands. “This heart of yours is perfect.”

  “I’m not so certain of that. But what we have together is.” I swept my thumb over his chest. “Do you know what I think is perfect about you for me?”

  He shook his head.

  “You’re sexy. Obviously.” I wet my dry lips. His body was so hard underneath mine. His gaze dipped to my mouth, and when he lifted his eyes to refocus on mine, his were darker. “You’re confident, generous with your affection, trustworthy, brilliantly smart, and awesomely talented.”

  “Thank you, Jo. I’m humbled by your praise, and glad that you think me being a nice guy is exciting. You know what I love about you?”

  I shook my head, noticing his eyes flare as my hair brushed his bare chest. “Everything. I especially love when you look at me like you are right now.”

  “How’s that?” I whispered, tilting my head and noticing his cock lengthening.

  “Like I changed everything.” He slid his hand into my hair and applied pressure at my nape to bring my face toward his.

  “You did, but aren’t you going to read to me about James Holden changing the universe tonight?”

  “No sci-fi imagined worlds tonight. I’m going to make love to you in this real one.”

  My lips curved, and he brought my mouth to his. My skin shimmered with warmth, and inside me, I felt a shift as seismic as the one that had created the canyon.

  Our love wasn’t an impossible dream. It was our perfect reality.

  • • •

  Hours later, I was on my side, Gale’s arm slung over my waist, when my cell flashed on the nightstand. Careful not to wake him, I reached for it.

  Dolly: Are you awake?

  Jo: Yeah.

  Dolly: Can you tal
k?

  Jo: Yes. Give me a few.

  I slipped out of bed and slid my pillow under Gale’s arm, hoping that would keep him from waking. Tiptoeing across the dark room, I snagged the keycard from the dresser, unlatched the privacy chain, and stepped out into the hall. At three a.m., it was as quiet on the outside of our room as it had been inside it.

  I dropped to the floor of the hallway, leaned against the wall, and dialed Dolly’s number. After being on the Rock Fuck Club, I wasn’t shy. I didn’t really care if someone at the hotel woke up and saw me at the end of the hall in my underwear. Besides, in my estimation, I’d exposed a much more vulnerable part of me in the interview, and that would be mass distributed to all the major networks and other interested parties by morning.

  “Hey, Jo,” Dolly said, sounding as wide awake as I was.

  Gale’s lovemaking had been thorough and deliciously exhausting. But I was missing my friends and eager to meet up with them.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

  “Us two, apparently.”

  “Yeah.” I smiled. “I miss you.”

  “Miss you too,” she said, but she didn’t sound like she was smiling. “How’d the interview go?”

  “The twins tell you about that?”

  “Yeah. They seem to have taken it well, you coming clean with them.”

  “I don’t know about coming clean, but I told them the truth. They were cool about it. Better than cool. Supportive.”

  “You are loved.”

  “Yes.”

  “No argument? No I’m not worthy bullshit?”

  My brows rose. “Man, you’re in a mood.”

  I didn’t think it would be wise to acknowledge the change inside me, or that it was Gale who had changed everything.

  Dolly loved me. There wasn’t a switch to turn those feelings off. It would take time, and out of love for her and respect for her feelings, I planned to tread carefully where Gale and I were concerned. Long-term integration of all our lives was my goal.

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s tense here. I’m sure the twins told you.”

  “Yeah. I’m worried about you.”

  “Jag. Lin. Lark. The Enthusiasts. Why single me out?” she asked.

  “Not discounting any of those and the magnitude of what they’re all going through. But I love you the most. You know I do. And the last time we talked, Ty was drinking too much, and Lark said—”

  “She needs to stay out of it,” Dolly snapped.

  “Is he mistreating you?” I went instantly alert. I would kick his ass.

  “No, Jo. But I don’t want to talk about Ty. Not with you.”

  “Why not?” My stomach cinched as if it were crunched in a vice.

  “We argued about you, and Lark overheard. It’s not a big deal.” She exhaled. “Back to the interview, you didn’t answer my question.”

  “It went well. Sasha, the talk show host, was cool. She emailed me a copy of the interview after it was edited.”

  “Can you send it to me too?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  “So, things are going well with Gale now?”

  “Yes. You were right about him. He’s not letting me go. I’m not letting go of him either.”

  “I’m glad. And I’m pleased about the interview. Beth Tate set that up for you, right?”

  “Yes, how did you know?” A lot had happened in the last day or so, and I didn’t remember telling Dolly about the marketing VP calling me.

  “I met her. She’s here. So is Mary Timmons, and Charles Morris from Zenith Productions. Lots of media reps. Bands too. Anthem. Tempest. Way too many single recording artists to mention.”

  “Nicholas impacted a lot of lives with his music.” I nodded, though there was no one to see me.

  “He did. Plus, Ivan and the band have been around a while. Everyone’s rallying behind them.”

  “A silver lining.”

  “Definitely. So, since you’re coming back into the fold soon, I thought I might need to mention something.” Her voice rose. She sounded nervous.

  “Which is?” Now I was nervous too.

  “Well, I’ve kind of taken over social media for the band.”

  “Yeah, I know that, doll. Like with the finances. You’re good at it.”

  “Thanks. I hope you don’t get mad. But since you’re lead singer, I changed things a bit, and I opened an Instagram page for you. I’ve been managing it for you. You actually have more followers than our band page.”

  “You did what?” I shrieked.

  “I know you don’t like all that stuff, but someone has to do it. It goes along with being a public figure. And you’re not just the lead singer of our band, you’re an RFC girl. Raven has Barbara doing all her PR. Marsha mostly does her own, and she’s really good at it. She links a lot of stuff to her YouTube channel.”

  “You want to put the interview up on my page?” I asked, guessing where this was leading.

  “Yes. Marsha’s channel too, probably. You do know Gale isn’t keeping quiet about you two. He has a really cool picture of you with him at the Hoover Dam.”

  “No, I didn’t know.” I glanced back over my shoulder as the door behind me creaked open. A very sleepy-looking lead singer shook his head at me.

  “Jo, what the hell?” Gale grumbled.

  “I’m talking to Dolly,” I said. “Didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Well, you did. Get in here. You’re practically naked.”

  “All right.” I stood, and he slapped my butt cheek as I slid past him to get inside the room.

  “You still there?” Dolly asked.

  “Yeah. Betrayed by both of you,” I muttered.

  “Not betrayed. Looking out for you. Both of us. Take a look at your page, and when you get a chance, his too. I’ll take anything down on yours that you don’t like. But I think you’ll like it. Mostly, it’s band stuff. His is riding, and music, of course, and you. That guy is seriously into you. It’s all good, Jo. Good for you, and good for the band.”

  Josephine

  “JO.” GALE CALLED MY name from behind me.

  “Yeah.” I stopped in front of the door to the convenience store and glanced back at him. “Do you want me to grab you something?”

  “No. Just don’t buy out the whole place. We only have a few more hours of driving to go.” His hand on the gas pump, he smiled at me.

  He was a couple of yards away, but I felt his smile in the center of my chest as if he’d cracked it open and poured liquid sunshine into it.

  Smiling now too, I turned back around, waved my arm over my head, and put my hand up in the air, extending my middle finger. I heard his laugh before I went inside. It made my footsteps light and kept my trepidation lower than it otherwise would be, knowing all the stuff we would be dealing with once we reached Dallas.

  Heading straight to the restroom, I took care of business first.

  My first extended road trip with the sexiest front man in the business was amazing. Something I would never forget. However, that sexy front man wasn’t a big fan of stopping unnecessarily. I’d mentioned an hour ago needing to stretch my legs, a.k.a. go to the bathroom. In the wide-open plains of Texas, there had been no gas stations until now, and that minor need was now an emergency.

  After washing and then drying my hands, I used my paper towel as a germ barrier on the handle, then threw it away once I had the door propped open with my boot.

  “Thanks,” a lady said, slipping through the gap. “I do that trick with the paper towel too, so I don’t have to wash my hands again before eating a snack.”

  “I know, right?” I nodded and went to step around her when she whipped around and came right back, stopping in front of me.

  “Holy shit!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. “You’re her. The one on TV.”

  I grimaced, wondering if she was talking about the RFC—they’d released promo teasers for my season—or if she meant my interview that had aired this morning.

  “I’m
a huge Peter Belle fan.” She grabbed me by the upper arms and jostled me as she jumped up and down. “He is Reverb, after all. And to know he has a long-lost daughter with such a tragic past.”

  “Long lost?” My astonished expression mirrored hers.

  I wasn’t lost. My father knew where I was. He just chose to pretend I didn’t exist.

  “I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I extracted myself from her grip, making it out of the bathroom, but she followed me.

  “You’re Josephine Belle.” She bobbed her head as if to prompt me to agree.

  “Yes, but I don’t go by that name.”

  “Poet is your stage name. Your band is Joey’s Band on account of your brother. You’re dating . . . holy shit! Holy shit!”

  She wagged her finger, and I turned my head to see Gale moving toward us.

  “Gale Lafleur from Anthem!” She slid a cell out of her front pocket. “Could you take a picture of us?” She handed me her phone and threw her arm around Gale.

  “Everything okay, Jo?” He raised his brows as I just stood there.

  “Yeah, sure.” I held up her phone and snapped a few pictures.

  “Now you.” The Holy-Shit Lady grabbed her phone, passed it to Gale, and threw her arm around me, smiling big.

  I probably looked completely flabbergasted in the shot.

  “Thanks so much. Good luck meeting your dad.” Holy-Shit Lady took and shook my hand, then Gale’s.

  We both stared after her as she walked off.

  “What just happened?” Gale asked, recovering first.

  “I have no idea, except I think my mother isn’t the only one talking to the media about me.”

  • • •

  “Dolly!” I exclaimed, seeing her as I took my helmet off. Handing it to Gale, I ran to her.

  In white shorts and high-heeled espadrille wedges, she gracefully ran to me, her blond hair streaming loose, and Lark and Lin following her. We met in the center of Ivan and Ty’s front yard that had huge oak trees and thick grass that was long overdue for a cut.