ROCK F*CK CLUB (Girls Ranking the Rock Stars Book 5)

by Michelle Mankin

  I imagined his body over mine, and him lowering the weight of his chiseled perfection onto my soft and oh-so-compliant curves. How good would it be, feeling his warm breath and that delicious lead singer’s croon streaming decadence into my ear while he drove his hotter-than-hot cock inside me?

  Caught up in my fantasy, I pulled in a breath as my tits swelled and my pussy ached. I suddenly noted every thread of mesh in my top, as well as the shorts’ rough seam between my legs.

  “Speechless, huh?” His lip curl deepened.

  “Go away,” I said testily. The sooner he left, the sooner I could draw the curtain and alleviate the ache he’d caused. Alone.

  “Not going anywhere. You made a deal with me.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you backing out?”

  I shook my head. I’d underestimated Gale once before. Now I was trapped in a web he’d woven around me. “Give me some space so I can get dressed.”

  “I don’t think I will. Maybe I’ll just stand right here and watch you,” he said in a low voice, and instant heat licked my skin. “You might like that.”

  His gray eyes darkened with interest. He seemed attuned to my unspoken desire.

  “I know you certainly would.” My retort was noticeably breathy.

  “We’re not talking about my preferences right now.” He pinned me with his teasing and analytical gaze, but he didn’t touch me.

  He didn’t have to. I could feel him. His palpable presence. His undeniable heat. His seductive scent. Every inch between us seemed to be a conduit.

  “Might as well get started.” I unwound my crossed arms. Lifting a challenging brow, I hooked my thumb under the bralette strap on my right shoulder, noting the flare of interest in his eyes as I drew it slowly down my arm.

  “Stop,” he said, his voice husky. “Not here.”

  His tongue darted out to moisten his bottom lip. I imagined tasting his tongue and feeling the wetness of it in other places.

  “Get the clothes you need. Warm ones. It’s not as hot here as it was in Dallas.”

  I doubted that. It felt pretty fucking hot right now.

  “Wear layers. No shorts. Might want to get something to tie your hair back too,” he said, barking out rapid-fire orders that popped the fizzle on my fantasy. “And take what you need with you to the bathroom to get dressed.” He inclined his head.

  “I know where the bathroom is on my own bus,” I grumbled as I slid out of my bunk. “Why the laundry list of items?”

  “We’re going to be on the bike for a while. It’s best to be prepared.” He raised a dark brow when I lowered myself to the floor and gave him an imperious glare over my shoulder. “Get a move on. You’re wasting riding time. You have ten seconds.”

  “Impossible.” I frowned. “I can’t get ready in ten seconds.”

  “Ten. Nine. Eight . . .”

  As he started the countdown, I dropped to my knees to open the drawer beneath my bunk where my clothes were stashed.

  Gale hissed under his breath. “Tell me you don’t walk around like that with your ass hanging out where everyone can see it.”

  “Okay. I won’t tell you.”

  “Holy hell,” he muttered.

  I felt the heat of his gaze on me as I gathered my things. Standing with them in my arms a moment later, I took an unnecessary step toward him, just so I could facilitate the pretense that I needed to slide close to get by him.

  He groaned as I passed.

  It was a test of wills, a game between us that sliced need both ways. Flexing the cheeks that my lace shorts let hang out, I gave him a saucy smile, knowing he watched me as I walked toward the only bathroom on the bus.

  Inside, I drew off the bralette and shimmied out of the shorts as he continued counting just outside the door. Pulling my cropped top over my head, I banged my elbow on the wall.

  “Ow,” I cried out as red-hot pain zinged down to my wrist.

  “You okay?”

  “Yes, but stop rushing me.”

  “Need some help?”

  “No.”

  I hopped into my jeans, buttoned them, and drew up the zipper before I popped open the door, carrying my boots.

  Gale was standing right outside. His arm above his head, he leaned into the doorway. I froze, then thawed quickly as his warm gaze glided over me, down to my bare feet and then slowly back up again.

  “Aren’t you going to wear a bra?” His right brow inched up with disapproval.

  “I don’t own one.”

  “Fuck me.” He made a choking sound. “Sure you do.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I don’t.”

  “What the hell do you call that lace thing you had on just a couple seconds ago?”

  “A pajama top.”

  “Right. Of course. Whatever. Put that back on.”

  “No.” Indignation bolted through my spine.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?” I gave him a puzzled look.

  “Put your hands on your hips. Arch your spine.” His gaze narrowed. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”

  “What exactly would that be?” I liked the banter with him and didn’t want it to end.

  “Being a provocation, showing off those sexy tits of yours.”

  My lips rounded.

  “Don’t act surprised. You know how you look, what a tease your cropped top is. Did you think I wasn’t going to notice?” He raked a hand through his thick hair. “I’m a guy, flesh and bone, just like any other.”

  I wasn’t so sure about the just-like-any-other part. But he was right about me knowing what I was doing. I flaunted what I had. Used it if necessary. It probably wasn’t wise, but I wanted Gale to notice me. I was just surprised that he liked my tits. They weren’t a part of me I considered to be an attribute.

  “You’re tempting as hell with that barely there stuff you had on, and what you’re wearing now isn’t much better.”

  “If you don’t want to see, don’t look.”

  “You’re not the type of woman a guy can ignore.”

  This was interesting. Tilting my head, I asked, “What type of woman am I?”

  “The type of woman who draws your attention across a crowded auditorium. The type who makes you feel things you wondered if you would ever be able to feel again. The one with mysteries that you want to unravel.”

  Gale reached for and smoothed a long lock of my hair behind my ear.

  “The woman I will unravel. Carefully and certainly, one satisfying layer at a time.”

  “IT’S STILL DARK OUTSIDE,” I said, unsteady as I stepped off the bus onto the concrete. More than just my equilibrium was off from getting woken up so early.

  Gale exited the bus behind me. “The sun will be up soon.”

  “The world turns,” I whispered. “Light chases away the dark. The pattern repeats and repeats, absent hope, absent meaning.”

  “Who said that?” he asked, placing his hands on my shoulders as if he sensed how the darkness unnerved me.

  “Who said what?” I wasn’t following him.

  “Who did you just quote from?” His fingers flexed deeper into my shoulders, his thumbs sweeping against the flesh my top’s wide neckline bared.

  “No one. Just me.” Tendrils of heat licked my skin where he stroked it.

  “Profound words,” he whispered.

  “They’re just words. Words don’t change anything.”

  Although I dismissed his words, I still registered pleasure from his praise and the imprint of his compelling grip. But I couldn’t allow myself anything more. Over six feet tall, all of him sexy from his wide shoulders to his narrow hips and long legs, Gale was the temptation, not me.

  “Not just words,” he said softly. “Not when they’re expressive ones that connect to your feelings. Feelings I understand. Feelings I’ve shared.”

  He squeezed my shoulders once and then released me. I widened my stance, trying not to sway as the ground seemed to tilt beneath me.

  “My bike’s over
there. C’mon.” Surprising me, he reached for and grabbed my hand.

  Caught off guard by him in more ways than one, I went along, my hand remaining in his as we crossed the parking lot. The streetlights provided a muted orange glow, the breeze carrying the smell of manure that Dolly had mentioned the night before.

  We walked between buses from the tour, all dark, the shades drawn on the windows. The drivers were likely inside the hotel getting much-needed rest. Most didn’t typically have bunks on board.

  “Um . . .” I flailed internally for something to say while trying to subtly disengage my hand from Gale’s. “Did you drive all the way here from Dallas?”

  “No. I slept in my berth on Anthem’s bus.” The long fingers engulfing mine tightened. Apparently, he didn’t tolerate my subtlety. “I’m well rested. I just pulled the motorcycle out of the trailer this morning and did an inspection. You’ll be safe with me.”

  I wasn’t so sure, but I stopped when he did.

  “I appreciate your attention to detail.” Giving him a firm nod, I extracted my hand. I couldn’t let him run all over me and do whatever he wanted. I needed to take control, to shake off the effect he had on me. “When the sun comes up, we can go for the ride I owe you.”

  “We’ll go now.” His muscles flexed with his insistence. The black cotton T-shirt, its front emblazoned with a nerdy pun about matter and energy, stretched to contain his sculpted form.

  “No, we won’t. I’m not getting on the back of that thing with you in the dark.” I shook my head, adamant in my refusal.

  “Okay.” He studied me closely. “But we won’t have any time to spend together in Santa Fe before the buses arrive if we don’t go now.”

  “Santa Fe!” I gaped at him, seizing on the most upsetting detail of his plan, one that sounded an awful lot like a date. “That’s a long way from here.”

  “Four hours.” He shrugged, and I almost lost my train of thought again. “Give or take, since we’ll probably want to make a few stops along the route for things that interest us.”

  “Nice that you said we and us. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re making a whole lot of assumptions about what I would be willing to do, and not considering one bit how your plans might affect me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I don’t like to do night driving if I can help it.”

  “I didn’t know.” His gaze narrowed, and I wondered how much I was giving away every time I opened my mouth.

  “If you’d called and maybe asked me to go for a ride with you this morning instead of barging onto the bus, I would have told you. And while we’re on that subject, did you even pause to think about all the flack I’m going to get from the other techs and the tour manager because of what you did?”

  Gale’s lips flattened. “No, I didn’t.”

  I didn’t like that I’d made him mad, but I kept going. This was important. “You didn’t even try to pass it off as something work related.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have called and been more considerate. Do you accept my apology?”

  Taken aback, I mumbled, “Yes, of course.”

  I wasn’t accustomed to someone being so quick to say they were wrong. That wasn’t how the other guys I knew operated. Not how anyone I knew operated.

  “The sun’s about to come up,” he said, his words clipped as he scanned the horizon. “It’s not so dark. We can’t see the stars anymore. I was hoping to see them with you.”

  He’d apologized and I’d accepted, but his jaw remained tight, and now his eyes were wary like mine usually were, except for the amnesia I experienced too often around him.

  “I haven’t looked at the stars in years,” I said to his back, watching him dig through one of his luggage cases.

  “That’s sad.” He turned back around with two black helmets, one in each hand. “You should stop and get out of the bus outside the city’s light pollution. Have a look at them.”

  “I’m just a roadie, Gale. I don’t get those kind of headliner-of-the-tour options like you.” The truth was, I hadn’t had any options for so long, I wouldn’t really know what to do if anyone gave them to me.

  “Surely you can ask.”

  “Maybe. But I wouldn’t.” I had my goal, and I did what I was told, working hard and earning my pay, minus the anomaly of being late leaving Dallas. I didn’t want to owe anyone any favors.

  “I’ll put my helmet on after yours.” He bent and placed one of the helmets on the pavement, then straightened to offer me the other.

  I glanced at it, then back up at him like I had the day before.

  “You need help putting it on?” he asked.

  “No.” I shook my head. “But are you bringing me back here before the buses leave if I put it on and go for a short ride with you?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’m not going.” I backed away, registering the déjà vu of refusing him again, along with the flash of anger in his eyes.

  “You’re going.” He gave me a determined look. “I can’t turn back the clock and undo the shit about pulling you off the bus. But we’ll catch up with the others in Santa Fe. I’ll figure out how to fix my mistake then.”

  He reached out with his free hand and snagged my arm.

  “Don’t.”

  My vision tunneled as his grip firmed. I knew where I was and who I was with. I didn’t believe Gale would hurt me, but I remembered others who had.

  My voice shrill, I said loudly, “Let go of me. Let go of me now.”

  “What’s going on?” He released me immediately, his brows pulled together. “Josephine, what the hell is happening?”

  I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself.

  “Talk to me, babe.”

  His voice was low and soft. I focused on it and him, suddenly feeling foolish.

  “Jo, not babe,” I said stubbornly, correcting him automatically.

  “All right. Jo.” His lips curved, and his eyes warmed. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t understand you,” I said, shaking my head as the admission tumbled from my lips.

  “Yeah?” Raising his eyebrows, he blew out a breath. “Join the club, because that makes two of us.”

  I tried not to smile, but Gale was so cute looking clueless that I forgot my fear. “I don’t like being grabbed.”

  “Noticed that.”

  “Or forced to do things I don’t want to do.”

  “No one’s forcing you to do anything.”

  It was my turn to give him an incredulous look. “You’re blackmailing me.”

  “We have an agreement.” He shook his head, denying my more appropriate definition. “One that I believe could eventually be mutually beneficial.”

  “Use whatever words you want, but I don’t share your belief.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’d like to take you for a ride because I think we might have fun together. But I don’t want to force you to go.”

  “You’re not giving me a choice.”

  “If I give you one, would you still go?”

  I stared at him. Gale had dumbfounded me again, this time by making himself vulnerable.

  He’d caught me in a similar state outside the therapist’s office, and I knew he had every intention of continuing to chip away at me to get at my most vulnerable parts. But I couldn’t allow that.

  I knew what I had to say, but even knowing, it took me a moment to force out the words. They weren’t the complete truth. But I’d learned that the truth in all its horrible glory wasn’t always the best thing to say.

  “No, Gale. Given a choice, I wouldn’t go with you.”

  “IT HURTS THAT YOU feel that way,” Gale said, moving toward me.

  I held my ground as he stopped in front of me. He reached for me, and I just stared, my mouth slightly agape as I followed the motion of his hand. A shiver rolled through me as he brushed my hair over my shoulder on my right side and then the left.

  “But we’re still going for a ride,” I
said, framing it as a statement as I stared at him.

  “Oh yeah,” he whispered, his gaze dipping to my mouth. “Sucks, but I have to insist. If I don’t, we both could potentially miss out on a very good thing.”

  “What thing?”

  My heart raced. Honestly, it had begun racing from the moment he’d stopped in front of me. It could run as fast as it wanted, but it wasn’t going to get anywhere, except apparently where he directed it—me—to go.

  At least, not until the debt I owed was paid.

  “It’s time, Jo.”

  “Time for what?” I was more than a little breathless with him standing so close and staring down at me so expectantly.

  “Safety time.” He lifted his gaze.

  “Oh.” I licked my dry lips, disappointed. I’d thought . . . I’d hoped . . . well, I’d entertained the idea that maybe he’d been about to kiss me. But that was fanciful thinking by an innocent girl from another place and time.

  “Popping this on now.” He lifted the helmet above my head. “I’ll help you latch it, and then I’ll show you how the headset works after I get mine on. Sound okay?”

  “Yes.” I got what he was doing. Moving slow. Being gentle. Telling me what he planned to do before he did it. “I’m not afraid of you.” I lifted my chin.

  “Good. Glad to hear that.” His lips slowly curved on one side. “Afraid is definitely not the emotion I want you to have when I’m standing this close to you.”

  “What is?”

  “I think you know.” His gaze glittered like a polished gem. Diamonds refracted light less brilliantly than the silver surface of his eyes.

  “I think you like to keep me guessing.”

  “I like a lot of things when it comes to you,” he said, soft and low.

  “Like what?”

  “So curious.” He tapped my nose. “I already told you a few things.”

  “You want to figure me out.” I remembered his unraveling declaration when we’d been on the bus.

  “You’re impatient. You want the answers before the questions are posed.”

  I nodded. “Yes. Life’s uncertain.”