The Rocker Who Wants Me (The Rocker... Series)

by Terri Anne Browning

  There was another roll of his eyes before he turned to Kenzie. “What will it be, kid?”

  “Chocolate milk, please.”

  “Make that two,” I told him with a wink at Kenzie who rewarded me with a beaming smile. I hadn’t had chocolate milk in forever and the idea was suddenly very appealing.

  With a sigh, as if we were inconveniencing him, the greasy man went to get our drinks. Dallas laughed as she turned in the booth so that she was leaning her back against my side before opening her menu. “I want a double cheeseburger with onion rings and lots of barbeque sauce. And lots of fries. What are you having, Kenzie?”

  She was glancing through the menu and I could tell she was struggling with what to pick. Honestly it all sounded good to me. As hungry as I was right then I could have eaten one of everything and two of each dessert. “I don’t know,”

  “I’m going to get the chili cheese fries, the foot-long slaw dog, and the all American burger.” I glanced at the appetizers. “And we might as well get some fried mozzarella sticks and potato skins to start.” Dallas raised a brow at me, amazed that I wanted all of that to eat. “What? I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. That was nearly twenty-four hours ago, baby.”

  “You two are really cute together,” Kenzie surprised me by commenting. “It’s nice to watch you like this.”

  Dallas’s eyes widened but I couldn’t help but grin as I tightened my arms around her. “Thanks, sunshine. It comes easy when you have what we have.”

  An older woman suddenly appeared with our drinks on a tray. She looked like someone’s grandmother, but she seemed to find the job amusing. Her grin was warm and welcoming as she stood over us with her order pad in hand. Dallas and I gave her our orders but Kenzie was still struggling with her decision.

  I reached for her hand, her thin fingers trembling on the menu. “Whatever you want is fine, Kenzie. I promise. If you want two things or three things, hell if you want the whole damn menu, it is fine with me. Okay, sunshine?”

  Her chin trembled for a moment before she bit her lip hard. Swallowing, she gave the waitress her order of grilled cheese, chili, and a chili cheese hot dog. As small as she was, I wasn’t sure if should could hold all of that, but she sure did look like she needed that much. Beside me I felt Dallas stiffening and she sat up, giving Kenzie a closer look.

  “Kenzie, when was the last time you ate?”

  Kenzie’s chin trembled again and Dallas moved from our side of the booth to take a place next to the girl. She grabbed Kenzie’s chin, her eyes examining her closely. “Sweetness, you’re seriously malnourished. What’s been going on?”

  My stomach seemed to bottom out as Kenzie’s trembling chin was suddenly followed by two fat tears falling from her eyes. “I’m okay,” she whispered.

  “No, baby cakes. You damn well aren’t okay. Talk to me,” Dallas urged as she brushed a few locks of Kenzie’s hair back from her face. “Tell me what’s been going on at home.”

  “H-home?” Her voice seemed to shake more than her chin if that was possible. “I don’t h-h-have a h-home. My parents d-d-died when I was six. After that I was pushed from one f-f-family member to the next, because no one w-wanted me. S-s-o I ended up in foster care, and then when my a-aunt f-f-finally relinquished her custodial rights I was sent to the orphanage where I’ve been for the last four years.”

  Everything inside me clenched at her confession. Earlier I had thought she reminded me of Emmie. I couldn’t have imagined that I was right in more ways than one. Only when Kenzie had become an orphan she hadn’t had four Demons willing and waiting to care for her. My hands balled into fists under the table and I clenched my jaw as I turned my gaze to the window.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetness,” Dallas murmured as she pulled Kenzie against her.

  “I-it’s okay. I’ve learned to a-accept that my life isn’t all s-s-sunshine and daisies.”

  “Why haven’t you been getting enough to eat, Kenzie?” I surprised myself by asking. My voice was low, so that I wouldn’t scare her with all the emotions churning inside of me.

  She wiped her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m nearly eighteen, so Miss Rhodes says I can get my own food. I have a job after school so that I can pay for my own food. But…” She broke off and swallowed hard. “But when I heard that OtherWorld was doing a meet and greet after the concert, I started saving my paychecks so that I could meet you and the band.” Her chin started trembling again. “My last happy memories are of my parents. They were amazing parents. I was so lucky back then. They loved me…so much. They were also big rocker fans. They loved OtherWorld the most, and were fans from your first album and never looked back. I can remember them saying that they would take me to see one of your concerts one day. It would be a new experience for all of us, because they had never been to one either.” Kenzie shrugged again. “I just wanted to honor them by seeing you guys. Just once.”

  I leaned forward in the booth and grasped both of her hands in mine. “I’m really glad you came tonight, Kenzie. I think your parents would be beyond honored that you worked so hard and sacrificed so much to see us. You’re a brave girl, and I sincerely admire you for that.” Her cheeks filled with pink and I gave her a small smile. “Things are gonna get better, sunshine. I promise you that much.”

  Dallas wrapped her arm around Kenzie’s shoulders again. The kid leaned back, laying her head on Dallas’s shoulder. My mind was filled with all kinds of crazy thoughts that I needed to get straight, but right then, looking into Dallas’s eyes, I saw her love shining back for a moment before she looked away. Tonight was going to be a night all three of us would remember for the rest of our lives.

  I called Emmie as soon as we dropped Kenzie off at her house. The orphanage had been just a two-story house with an old swing in the front yard and a sign that said it was Miss Rhodes Orphanage for children ten years and older. I wanted to knock on the door and demand to know how the bitch that ran the place slept at night. She was responsible for feeding Kenzie, for her wellbeing and all her needs until she turned eighteen. Miss Rhodes should have done her job and made sure that Kenzie was eating. That she was healthy.

  I hated the woman and I hadn’t even met her yet.

  On the taxi ride back to our hotel, Dallas fell asleep against my chest while I made my call. The phone rang a handful of times before a grumpy sounding Emmie finally picked up.

  “Ax, it’s two in the morning here. I’m gonna kick you in the balls the next time I see you. And if this is about Devlin and Zander, I already know. I’ll fly out tomorrow. But for now, my pregnant ass is going back to sleep.”

  My eyes narrowed at the mention of my bandmates. “What the fuck happened between Dev and Z this time?” They had been keeping their distance for the last week or so.

  “Don’t get me started. I’m too tired and more than pissed. Nik is going to the UK in two days so he can’t come with me. I’m seven months pregnant, hormonal and mad as hell.” She sighed. “But obviously that isn’t why you called. So, what’s up?”

  “I need you to do something for me.”

  “And this something couldn’t have waited until the sun came up?” Her tone was dry but I thought I heard a hint of amusement in there.

  It was my turn to sigh. “It could have, but I just… I needed to hear your voice, Em.” I tightened my arm around Dallas’s shoulders and laid my head back against the seat in the taxi. “I met this kid tonight that… She reminded me of you as soon as I set eyes on her.”

  There was a long pause before Emmie finally spoke. “Did she have bruises?”

  “No. She was just a bag of bones, but she was all smiles.” I grimaced then dived right in to telling her about Kenzie. When I was done I asked the only question that was left to ask, because I knew that Emmie understood what I wanted. “Can you help me with this, Em?”

  “You know I would do anything for you, dummy. I’m just going to need details and a day or two. I’ll start on it first thing in the morning a
nd have some news for you by the time I get into Baltimore tomorrow night. I know you can’t meet Mia and me at the airport, but can you keep an eye out for us at the convention center? Mia isn’t gonna be happy that she has to go without her daddy—and really neither am I. So she’s gonna need her Uncle Ax to cheer her up.”

  “Anything for Mia.” The taxi was nearly to our hotel so I said goodbye to Emmie reluctantly. “Go back to sleep, Em. See you tomorrow… Tonight. Be safe.”

  “You too. Love ya, Ax.”

  “Love you, Emmie.”

  As the taxi slowed I kissed the top of Dallas’s head. “Baby, wake up. We’re here.”

  Moaning, Dallas lifted her head and glanced around, trying to figure out where ‘here’ was. “I’m so tired.”

  “I know, baby.” I pressed another kiss to her head. “We’ll be in bed soon.”

  I paid the driver then helped Dallas from the taxi. She stumbled a few steps so I lifted her into my arms and carried her inside the hotel. When I got to the elevators, I used my elbow to push the call button then did the same when the doors opened for our floor. Dallas kept her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her head on my shoulder as she closed her eyes again.

  Getting into the room was a feat in and of itself. I secured her with one hand under her delicious ass while using my free hand to pull my room keycard from my back pocket and unlocked the door. Kicking the door shut behind me, I crossed the room to the king sized bed and laid Dallas across the middle. She sighed contently, turned over and cuddled my pillow close. Already back to sleep.

  I stood there smirking down at her for a long moment before removing her shoes and then her jeans. With a shake of my head I took off my own jeans and boots then crawled in behind her. With the finest ass in the world pressed against my crotch, and the scent of her shampoo filling my nose, I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.

  Dallas

  It felt like I had only just closed my eyes when my phone’s alarm went off. Moaning, I turned over in bed, automatically reaching out for Axton. When I discovered the bed empty I opened my eyes and sat up. I still had my shirt, bra and panties on, which confused me. Why hadn’t he woken me and devoured me like he normally did?

  Then last night’s events rushed back to me and my heart suddenly felt weighed down as images of Kenzie filled my head. Poor kid. She had been so sweet and obviously really bright while I had kept her company for Axton. Later, to find out what she had been going through only made me respect her more because she was such a brave kid. Even if she was nearly eighteen, to me she was a kid. She was so tiny that I couldn’t imagine her as nearly an adult yet.

  My alarm was still going off and I reached over to turn it off. Axton must have dug it out of my jeans and set it before leaving for the convention center again. With a tired sigh I crawled out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Before I could even turn on the light there was a knock on the door. “Room service,” someone called.

  Quickly I grabbed a robe from the back of the bathroom door and slipped it on as I hurried toward the door. Opening it, there was a man in waiter’s clothing standing there with a tray. “I didn’t order anything,” I told him, figuring he had simply gotten the wrong room.

  “Mr. Cage asked that we bring your meal at exactly three forty-five,” the waiter informed me with a small smile. “He was very specific about the time.”

  I bit my lip, trying not to show this man how affected I was by Axton’s thoughtfulness. With a tight smile I stepped back and the waiter came in. Instead of placing the tray on the table by the balcony, he placed it on the bed. “Breakfast in bed, miss.” He smiled again and turned to go.

  Speechless, I didn’t walk him to the door as I stared down at the small tray of food. There was a glass of orange juice, a covered plate, some assorted hot tea packets with a small ceramic tea pot, salt and pepper and even a small bottle of ketchup on the tray. But what really caught my attention and had me melting was the thin little vase with one single sunflower.

  That damn man sure did know how to make me fall deeper for him on a daily basis. Last night, after we had dropped Kenzie off, I’d heard some of his conversation with Emmie on the ride back to the hotel. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what it was that I had felt for Axton Cage before last night, but it had nothing on what I’d felt right then and there. As I had shamelessly eavesdropped while pretending to be asleep, I’d fallen helplessly in love with him all over again.

  How had I missed the fact that he was such a great guy? Had I been pretending to hate him for so long that I had forgotten how amazing he could be? His heart was kind, maybe the kindest I’d ever come into contact with. Only a robot wouldn’t have fallen in love with Axton Cage, and I was no robot.

  Because he had obviously wanted me to have breakfast in bed, I climbed into the middle of the king sized bed, arranged the pillows, turned on the television and finally pulled the tray across my lap. Lifting the lid from the covered dish I found cheesy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, toast and hash browns. Shaking my head at the sight of my favorite breakfast, I picked up my cellphone, snapped a pic of me blowing a kiss and texted it to him.

  Seconds later my phone chimed with his text tone.

  Axton: Don’t rush. <3

  Seeing the heart on the text message, my own heart melted all over again and I had a smile on my face as I took my time enjoying my breakfast at nearly four in the afternoon.

  Axton

  Rehearsal was over. That was the good news. The bad news? It had sucked ass. Devlin was playing like shit, but Zander was playing even worse.

  By the time the last chord was played on our last song for rehearsal, I was ready to throw a few punches of my own. Damn the two of them. Neither one of them could pull their heads out of their asses to see that they were bringing the reputation of our band down along with their friendship.

  Wroth and Liam stood on the side of the stage while I glared after Devlin who stormed off in one direction while Zander did the same in the opposite direction. Jaw clenched, I turned to face the remaining two members of our band. “What the fuck happened last night?”

  Liam, who now sported a walking boot over his cast since his last doctor’s visit the week before, shrugged. “Dev took Natalie to some club last night. Zander ended up being there. Apparently Z was drunk as fuck and ended up spilling the beans that no one else seemed to know anything about.” When I just raised a brow at him, Liam shrugged again. “Dev and Z made a bet at the beginning of the tour. First one to bag Nat was considered the winner.”

  “Oh fuck,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “Oh. Fucking. Fuck.” This wasn’t good. As in the Stevenson brothers vengeances, not good. Natalie might not have become a part of Drake and Shane’s life until just a few years ago, but that didn’t mean shit. When they heard about this, there would be no place Devlin and Zander could hide from the two Demons.

  Wroth grimaced. “Apparently as soon as the words left Z’s mouth, Devlin started throwing punches. Nat didn’t have a choice but to call Emmie, then pay for the damages that they caused from the fight. Did you see Dev’s eye?”

  “Or the way Z is holding his ribs when he walks?” Liam shook his shaggy head. “Pretty sure Dev cracked a few of his ribs from the way Z’s walking.”

  The sound of heels clacking on cement had us turning our heads to find Natalie walking toward us. The dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her skin, and the bloodshot blue-gray eyes that seemed to be a Stevenson trademark told their own story. I tried to catch her gaze, but she quickly averted her eyes.

  Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together in front of her. “I would…” She cleared her throat and started again. “I would appreciate it if none of you mentioned the reasons for last night’s fight to any of the Demon’s Wings guys. Emmie knows, but I’ve asked her not to share the details. My brothers really don’t need to know…” She clenched her jaw and turned away. “Just please, for me, don’t say anything to them.”

  As she
walked away, her shoulders hunched, the three of us muttered curses under our breath. I waited until she was out of sight before turning to Wroth and Liam. “What the fuck were they thinking? We don’t do this kind of shit anymore.”

  Wroth grunted. “Obviously neither one of them got that memo, bro. So, what are we gonna do about it?”

  “Emmie will be here tonight. Let’s follow her lead,” Liam offered, and I had to agree that it was the best plan of action.

  Liam went to find Linc to do his physical therapy while Wroth went to find Marissa who was helping Harris with his homeschool work in our dressing room. When my cell vibrated with a text message, I pulled it free and groaned out loud at the sight of the picture of Dallas blowing me a kiss. I sent her a message telling her to take her time before saving the picture as my wallpaper so that I could see that gorgeous face blowing kisses at me every time I looked at my phone.

  I could have gone back to the hotel, because there was plenty of time before we took the stage at nine, but I knew that if I went back Dallas wouldn’t get any time to herself to relax. She deserved to have some time just for herself. Instead, I pulled up my emails and started going through some of the work I’d put off the day before.

  I had some things that needed my attention from America’s Rocker. I’d agreed to sign on for another two seasons if my changes were implemented. Cole Steel wasn’t coming back, but thankfully Drake had agreed to at least another season. The show was a huge success, which had surprised me, because I thought it would be a flop after the first few seasons with the way the producers tended to run everything. I would admit that there had been some amazing talent that had been able to get recognized because of it, last season’s winner being the best of them all.

  Obviously, someone was going to have to replace Cole for the next season. The producers were already throwing out names and having sit downs. Two names topped their list though, and I was sure that when Emmie found out who was on that short list she was going to flip her lid. Honestly, the producers better be glad that they got Drake to sign an air tight contract or they would have had to replace him should Tommy Kirkman get the job. Thankfully, Drake and I had some say in who took the third judge’s position and they would be getting a ‘fuck no’ from us.