Luke: Hey, they usually keep the AC on pretty high in the studio, if you want to, you can grab a hoodie out of my drawer.
I don’t know how long it will take me to get to the studio and how bad traffic might be so I decide to get dressed and head over now. When I pull up to the studio parking lot it’s a little before 11. I’m just about to get out of the truck when my phone dings.
Luke: Hey babe, my meeting is running long. I may be a little late.
Me: Okay I’ll see you when you get here.
Now what am I going to do? I might as well call to check in with Jen while Luke isn’t around and can’t hear her screaming. I’m just about to call her when someone knocks on the window. It scares me so much that I let out a yelp and jump, almost hitting my head on the roof.
When I look out the window, I see Jackson standing there with a smirk on his face. Great, I just made myself look like a complete idiot. I roll the window down, the whole time wondering what the heck he might want.
“Hey, I was just grabbing a coffee on my break when I saw you sitting out here. You need help getting into the building?”
“No, I’m meeting Luke here but he’s running a little late.”
He smiles again and I’m not sure whether it’s a good smile or if he’s up to something. “Do you want to come in? There’s no reason to sit out here and bake in this hot car.”
Is going in there with him a good idea? I remember the last time Luke saw me talking to Jackson he got all macho alpha man. What will he do if I’m hanging out with him? On the other hand, it is really hot out here, and I’m an adult who can handle myself. “Okay, sure.”
I follow Jackson into the building, dodging him when he tries to reach for my hand. We take the elevator to the fourth floor and walk into the recording studio. It’s so surreal being in one of these; I’ve only ever seen them in magazines and on TV. He holds out a pen to me. “I just need you to sign this. It’s just an agreement saying you won’t go to the press about the new music or anything else that goes on with the acts. I heard you were coming on tour, so you will have to sign it for Lucas, anyway. Since you’re gonna be in here while I’m recording, though, I have to give it to you.”
I take the pen and sign my name. “When is your album coming out?”
“We’re shooting for Christmas.” I’m pretty sure that’s when Luke said they want to release his album as well. I start to wonder if he was right about Jackson trying to sabotage him. “Hey Joe, I’m back. Where do you want to pick up?”
I turn around to see a middle-aged guy sitting at the soundboard. I hadn’t noticed him there before. “Well, we were supposed to be working on the new song ‘Just Another Heartbreak’, but the new girl they were sending never showed up.”
Jackson looks pissed. “That’s such bullshit; this is why I didn’t want to work with a no name. I need to get at least my part down before we leave tomorrow.”
“Sorry Kid.”
Just then he turns to me and smiles. This is going to be bad. “Becca, is there any way that you can stand in for the other girl I’m supposed to sing with? I heard you singing at the concert, so I know you have a great voice. We won’t actually use your voice, but I need to be able to have someone to sing with because it’s a duet.”
“Jackson, I don’t…”
“Please? If I don’t get it done today it could push back my release by almost a month.”
What the hell am I supposed to say? I feel horrible that he’s in this position, but Luke will be so pissed if he walks in and see us even hanging out together, much less me singing with him. I don’t see what the big deal is, though; he needs to be able to trust me. If they aren’t really going to use my voice then it shouldn’t be an issue. “Okay, but just this once.”
Jackson gives me a hug. “Thank you so much!” I slowly unwrap myself from him. “I won’t even mention that you did this for me to Luke; I know that he can get jealous.” That doesn’t sound good; I don’t want to keep anything from him.
Jackson grabs my hand and leads me into the booth. I put my set of headphones on and sit down at one of the stools in front of a microphone. As I’m reading the lyrics, I see that the song is about a couple who’s been hurt so many times that they look at every relationship as just another heartbreak; until they find each other.
We go back and forth and must have sung the whole song at least ten times. I keep looking at the clock, hoping we’ll be done before Luke gets here. Joe’s voice soon filters through the booth letting us know he has what he needs.
Jackson walks over to me and wraps his arms around me. “Thanks so much.”
I quickly push him off of me. “Jackson, I don’t mind helping you out, but you need to start keeping your hands to yourself and start respecting my boundaries. Luke and I are together, and whether you two get along or not, you need to respect that.” I get up off the stool, grab my bag and walk out of the studio.
I’m just about to take the elevator back down to wait in the lobby when the doors open and Luke is standing right in front of me. He looks so pissed off that I almost want to go hide behind something. “Hey, are you ok?”
“Yeah, I just need to let off some steam.”
He walks past me and down the hall without another word. I stand there wondering if I should follow him or just go back to the house. Can he really be that pissed off that I helped Jackson out?
When Luke reaches one of the doors and opens it, he looks behind him as if he expects me to be there. He looks down toward me seemingly confused. “You coming, Becca?” I want to tell him no because he’s acting like an ass. “Please?”
I guess I can at least go talk to him and see what the hell he’s so upset about. I walk toward him, feeling his eyes on me the entire time; he’s making me really nervous. When I reach him he grabs my hand and pulls me into the studio. Before the door can even close all the way he’s on me. He pushes me back against the wall, his hands immediately finding my hips, which seem to be his favorite spot.
His mouth crushes mine, almost feeling like he’s going to devour me whole. His kiss has an urgency and need in it that sets my veins on fire. We had passion before when we kissed, but it was nothing like this. This was animalistic, unapologetic and completely overwhelming. I run my hands up his chest, gripping his t-shirt because I need something to hold onto. My knees start to buckle and I feel like I’ll melt into him at any moment. I move my hands around his neck and lace them through his hair, giving him a little tug as I do it.
Luke lets out a throaty moan that in the heat of the moment sounds like a growl. He lifts me off the ground by my hips and I automatically wrap my legs around his waist. I can feel how much he wants me and I know that if he initiates it now, public place or not, it’s gonna happen. Is this what I really want, though? Do I want my first time to be in a recording studio while I’m braced up against a wall? The part of my mind that Jen told me I didn’t listen to enough is screaming ‘YES!’ Then there is the other part of me that knows I’ll regret it, and possibly even resent him for it.
I don’t know how, but I think Luke senses that things are going too far. He pulls his mouth back a little so that we’re no longer connected, and rests his forehead against mine. “Fuck Becca, you’re so amazing.” He leans in and presses another quick kiss to my lips. “I’m sorry if I took it too far. I needed that, though.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Lucas
I know that the way I just acted with Becca was completely against everything I had decided to do. I want her to come to me, and I definitely don’t want to have her for the first time as a quickie after I’m pissed off from a shitty meeting. I can tell that she senses something is up with me, but I really don’t want to tell her what it is.
My entire meeting involved listening to everyone and their mother tell me that I’m being impulsive and careless bringing her here and on tour with me. Then, to make it even better, Samantha showed up and they kept trying to convince me to do mor
e duets and shit with her. Not to mention, as soon as she slinked away, everyone started throwing out endless suggestions about how she would be great, not only for me, but for my career. Nothing was accomplished and I was almost two hours late to meet Becca. When I got here I was so pissed off from everything, that when I saw her, I just wanted her to ease all of the emotions waiting to burst out.
The door handle jiggles and I’m thankful that I remembered to lock the door. I ease Becca back down and give her a minute to straighten out her clothes and hair. When I open the door Jackson is standing in front of me. This day just keeps getting better. He’s standing in the doorway holding my sweatshirt.
“Hey Becca, you left your jacket in the studio.” The way he smiles at her makes me want to kill him. What the hell had she been doing in the studio with him?
I snatch it from him. “Thanks, it’s actually mine.” I let go of the door and watch it shut right in his cocky face. I turn around to face Becca. “Why were you hanging out with Jackson?”
“I wasn’t hanging out with him; I didn’t even know that he would be here. I was sitting in the truck in the parking lot and I was just going to wait for you. He offered to sign me into the building and let me wait upstairs with him. I get that you guys don’t like each other, Luke, but you really need to calm down and trust me a little bit.”
She’s right. I’m so protective of her, though; to be honest, I don’t even know where it all came from. “I do trust you, I just don’t trust him. He’s been after me since he had his first hit. He’s gone after the same songs as me, worn the same kind of clothes…shit, I’ve even caught him going after girls I’ve hooked up with. He isn’t a good guy, and I don’t want you to get caught in our fight.”
“Luke, I know but I just need to tell you –“
The door opens again and this time it’s my producer and my band. Thank God, because right now I need to blow off some steam and music is one the best ways to do it.
“Hey Luke, she joining us for the session?”
I look at the producer and nod my head. He takes out a copy of the studio’s Non-Disclosure Agreement and hands it to me.
“Listen, babe, it doesn’t matter. I trust you, okay?” She nods her head. “Okay, I gotta get to work. It’s policy here that I have to have you sign this, okay?” She grabs the pen from me and signs the agreement without hesitation. I walk into the booth, saying hi to all the guys as they set up.
The entire time I’m recording, I keep looking at Becca and can tell she’s really enjoying herself. We’ve been working for about three hours and have one more run through to do before we’re finished. Casey, my drummer, approaches me during the break. “Hey Luke, is that the girl everyone’s talking about? The one you’re bringing on the tour with us?”
Not him, too! I do not want to have to explain myself to one more person. “Yeah, why?”
“Calm down man, I just didn’t believe it at first when everyone was saying you were getting serious with some girl. So, how does it feel to be in love?”
My head snaps up and I look at him like he has four heads. “What are you talking about, Casey? I never said I was in love. Sure, I like the girl, but we’re still getting to know each other.” Casey just might be the only person in the band I feel comfortable talking to about relationships. He’s married with two kids, and his wife Sara is a sweetheart.
“Let me tell you something, time doesn’t mean shit. You could know the person for five minutes or five years, but either way, love happens when it wants to, not when you plan it. I knew Sara was ‘the one’ the first time I met her. Our relationship might have happened a lot sooner if I hadn’t freaked her out and told her then and there, but either way, I knew. I saw the way you were watching her, Luke, and the way that she was looking back at you. Just remember, there isn’t some kind of magic formula for how and when you’ll fall in love. It happens when it wants to and you have to be smart enough to pick up on it.”
He walks back to the drum set and sits down. The producer announces that after this we’re finished for the day and starts the countdown to let us know we’re going to begin recording.
Am I really in love with her? I look back over at Becca and she’s talking to one of the assistants, laughing and smiling. When I start to sing, though, her eyes immediately find me and we don’t break eye contact until I sing the last word.
Casey slaps me on the back as he’s leaving. “That little show definitely just proved it Luke. I hope you’re ready for the wild ride, because if you aren’t, love will chew you up and spit you right back out.”
We’re leaving for the tour tomorrow and there’s a big party tonight. I really don’t want to go, but when I tell Becca that I think we might stay in for the night, she almost looks disappointed. Desperately wanting some alone time with her before we leave for the tour, I compromise with her and tell her we’ll go to the party to ‘make an appearance’ and then we’re coming home. Thankfully, she agrees. The party is at the newest ‘it’ club and I can’t care less, but she seems so excited that it makes me smile.
The VIP section is roped off and already full of people. I lean down close to her ear. “What do you want to drink, babe?”
She looks up at me and smiles. “Um, I’m not really sure. Why don’t you pick something for me?”
I stop the waitress and order water for myself, since I’m driving, and ask her to bring Becca some kind of a fruity drink. I stop and say all of the obligatory hello’s to the people I’m supposed to while I’m waiting for our drinks. The waitress arrives with our drinks and I take off to find Becca. Once I find her I see that she’s sitting on one of the couches arranged around the section. That asshole Jackson has just walked up and is sitting down next to her. He’s like a damn vulture; I can’t leave her alone for a minute.
When Becca sees me coming, she gives me a look that makes me regret my decision to wait for her to make the first move. I want her so badly that every muscle in my body aches for her. She stands up when I get closer and walks over to grab her drink, giving me a kiss when she reaches for it. I need to learn to relax a little with her because I know jealousy isn’t something she likes. When I look back to where she was sitting just a few seconds ago, Jackson isn’t there anymore.
The music in the club is pumping and Becca’s on her third drink. I can tell she’s feeling the alcohol, and every time I look around, some asshole is staring at her. I can’t control the fact that I want to kill any guy that even looks at her. This feeling makes me think back to what Casey had said to me about love not having a certain timeframe. Becca’s standing in front of me with her ass pressed against me as she starts to sway to the beat of the music.
Her hands grab mine and she puts them on her hips as she continues to move with me. She leans back against me and sighs; I’m really not sure how much more of this I can take. My hands dig into her hips as I try to hold onto what little self control I have left. She turns her head to the side and kisses me, running her tongue along the seam of my lips.
Then she gives me a coy little smile and leans closer to my ear so only I can hear what she’s about to say. “It’s been so hard for me not to give into you, Luke. I don’t know how much longer I can last.”
That’s it. I grab her hand and lead her out of the club. While we’re waiting for the valet we can still hear the music and Becca continues to move against me. She kisses me again, and this time it’s me who’s whispering into her ear, although it sounds way too rough to be a whisper. “Baby, I’m warning you, if you keep it up I will pull you into that alley right there and take you against the wall.”
She gazes up at me through her long lashes. “Promise?”
Thank God the valet pulls up with my car, because I’m just about to show her how serious I am. The drive to my house usually takes close to an hour, but we make it in a little over half. When I pull up and go to open her door for her I can’t believe that she’s passed out. I thought she had just been enjoying the scenery. There’s no amo
unt of cold water that’s going to fix what she did to me tonight.
Rebecca
My head’s pounding and what little light that’s filtering in through the window is quite possibly the worst kind of punishment I’ve ever received. I scan the room and don’t see Luke, but there’s a glass of water and a couple of aspirin on the bedside table. After I take the pills and drink all the water I try to think back to what had happened last night. I only had three drinks; they must have been poured pretty heavy.
As I’m still trying to put the pieces together from last night, the door opens and Luke walks in. He has no shirt on—which is a sight in itself—and his basketball shorts hang low, exposing that sexy V that makes me want to pull them down and see where it leads. His body is dripping with sweat and his muscles are so tight from whatever exercise he had been doing. When my gaze reaches his face again he has a smirk that lets me know I’ve been caught looking.
“Hey, sleeping beauty.” He walks over and gives me a kiss. Who knew someone can smell so good even when they’re covered in sweat? “I’m gonna take a shower. We need to leave in about an hour because I have a show tonight, okay?”
The only thing I can do is nod my head because I don’t trust myself to speak. Luke’s show tonight is at some all day music festival in San Francisco. He told me yesterday that he wasn’t a fan of closing these kinds of shows because by the end of the show everyone is really drunk and things get pretty crazy.
When we arrive at the venue, the size of the crowd is so much more than I expected. Luke keeps a tight hold on my hand. It seems as though he had to always be touching me today in one way or another. After last night, the sexual tension between us is so high. We barely had any time alone today, though; by the time we’d both showered it had been time for us to meet up with everyone else. We drive around by the back and they lead us to Luke’s dressing room. Once we’re in and the door is closed, he takes my hand and leads me over to the couch. Luke sits down and goes to pull me down to sit next to him. I decide to be a little bold, though, and sit down on his lap facing him. I can see the fire in his eyes ignite; I want him so badly right now.
Surrender to Me Page 8
