Needing The Memories (The Rocker...Novella #1)

by Terri Anne Browning

  Shane & Harper

  There are two Shane Stevensons readers meet within The Rocker…Series. The manwhore who can’t get enough. He wants a different flavor every hour of every day, and when he isn’t getting laid or rocking out with his bandbrothers, he’s running. He’s had to overcome the same demons his brother has, and some might say that his addiction to sex is more dangerous than Drake’s need for a bottle. Then there is the Shane that falls for Harper Jones. The man who will do anything to overcome her self-doubts in her beauty and worth.

  Harper has lived most of her life in the shadow of her model stepsister and mother. All her life she’s been told she’s not good enough, not pretty enough. Not enough, period. She has no idea what Shane Stevenson sees in her and it takes years—fucking, years—for her to realize that what she has with him is real and everlasting.

  Their story doesn’t end with their first book. In The Rockers’ Babies, Harper has to face the fact that she might never have a child of her own. That she might never carry life inside of her and give Shane the child she thinks he’s just as desperate for as she is. For Shane, he has everything he’s ever wanted, but can’t seem to make his wife realize that.

  Of all the Demons, readers have considered them the weaker of the couples, but as the years have passed, their demand for more from this couple has only escalated. They wanted a HEA for these two and with Forever Rockers they got their wish, but it wasn’t easy for Shane and Harper to reach that Happily Ever After ending. They had to come face to face with Shane’s past and the fear of losing everything before they finally get to hold that little bundle of joy in their arms.

  I ran into many roadblocks when I was writing Shane and Harper’s story. Honestly, I was just happy it was finished by the time I was done with it. The thought of having to write so much as another POV from Shane Stevenson gave me a headache. Quite frankly, I kind of hated Shane. Not because he was a bad character. No, I really love reading his book. It was simply because he was stubborn. I wanted him to go one way and he refused repeatedly. I deleted one chapter after another during the creation of The Rocker Who Loves Me. Seriously, I could have put an entire book together with the stuff I deleted. It wasn’t until The Rockers’ Babies that I realized maybe they had something more to offer than I’d originally planned for them. My heart hurt for Harper when she found out she might never have a baby of her own. Not everyone is blessed with being able to have children of their own. It’s something women have to face every day of their lives. It was something I was told would never happen for me when I was only sixteen years old. Yet, here I am with three crazy Demon Children running around making my life both crazy and complete. Still, even with that turn of events in TRB for these two, I was done.

  Forever Rockers was always going to be a book, but I wasn’t expecting it to center so much around Shane and Harper. As I did for the Demons in TRB, I wanted Forever Rockers to be a follow up for OtherWorld. But that wasn’t where the story took me. Instead, the couple I’d hated writing became the couple that readers demanded more of. I’ve never cried so hard in my life until I wrote that book and it was all because of Shane. So in the end I fell in love with his character like I’d never done with him before.

  Of course, I wrote FR while sick with the flu. Over 50,000 words of that book were written while I had a 103 fever. It burnt me out and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to write like that ever again. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case as I’ve put out a few more books since then.

  Axton

  He doesn’t look like he should have a number after his name with his dyed black hair and delicious body covered in ink and piercings, but at one time Axton Cage was known as Anthony Xavier Huntington. He left that life behind when he was eighteen to join OtherWorld. Without him the band wouldn’t have gone nearly as far or as quickly as it had. He’s closer to the Demons than his own band, though, and for him Emmie is the first girl to love him unconditionally. She’s the only person he can actually talk to, confide in. To hide his feelings, he started a relationship with Gabriella Moretti, but learned all too quickly his mistake. It might have killed him having to watch Emmie with Nik if he hadn’t met Dallas Bradshaw and realized that what he felt for Em was just gratitude and friendship, not that all-consuming love that ate at a man’s sanity and soul. Fighting for Dallas is the hardest thing he’s ever had to do, but he wasn’t going to give up the one thing that meant everything to him.

  I was intrigued with Axton from the first time I met him back in the novella Reckless with Their Hearts that featured Alexis Moreitti. From the second I introduced him in The Rocker Who Holds Me I knew I would give him his own book, but I never expected readers to want it just as much as I did.

  Dallas

  Modeling wasn’t what she’d wanted in life, that had been her mother’s dream. So when she turned twenty-one, she dropped her contract and started inking up her body, nearly giving her mother an aneurism in the process. She’s a country girl with only one goal in life: becoming a nurse. Having watched her parents’ divorce from the sidelines, she isn’t convinced that love and happily ever after are possible, but there wasn’t anything with having fun. Meeting Axton made her change her mind, but with another woman’s name inked into his wrist and that woman always running to him for help, she quickly realizes that maybe she had it right to begin with. To hide from the pain of their breakup, she lost herself in studying and graduating first in her class. Her dream now a reality, she keeps telling herself she couldn’t be happier, until Ax is tossed back into her life. Unable to keep her hands to herself for long, their relationship is quick to consume her again, but she can’t share him with the woman who still mark’s his skin and refuses to be his second choice. Telling him goodbye for the second time only forces Axton to open his eyes and make her realize that for him, she is the only one who has ever had his heart.

  It’s a toss-up of who I enjoy writing more, Emmie or Dallas. Loving Dallas so much made it easy to write her book with Axton. I love how fiercely she loves her friends and how hard she worked to follow her dream of becoming a nurse. I gave her all that ink because I was in love with the idea of tattoos on women, but it wasn’t until after this book released that I got my first tattoo. Just as I imagined it would be, getting ink became addicting and I’m always look for a reason to get another tat.

  Wroth & Marissa

  Wroth has his own demons to face. After joining the marines to help his parents save their farm with the sign-on bonus, he came home a changed man. The only one who could reach his calloused and scarred heart was sweet Marissa. For years he’s watched over her, made sure that nothing in the outside world could hurt or taint her. Between him and her brother Liam, they’ve kept her pretty sheltered.

  Marissa has overcome a lot in her life already. Having nearly lost the battle with a childhood cancer, she only wants to experience life to its fullest. She’s loved Wroth since before she even understood what love was, but never let him see it. Not until Liam is nearly killed in a car crash and her world seems to start crumbling down around her.

  Liam’s near miss opened Wroth’s eyes, and his feelings for Marissa can no longer be kept locked inside. He loves her, but is determined that the only one worthy of having all of Marissa is her husband. Their relationship is, at times, a little juvenile but is no less swoon worthy.

  After a misunderstanding that leaves Marissa thinking that Wroth cheated, she spends a year trying to find herself in New York. She enjoys the new freedoms, but misses Wroth just as much as she claims to hate him. Determined not to let Marissa go, Wroth spends the summer tour winning her back.

  Of all the couples, Wroth and Marissa are the most like Beast and Belle. Wroth, the wounded beastly marine who only cares about one thing in life: Marissa. Some say that Marissa is meek, a little immature, and unlike any other Rocker chick in the entire series. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Sometimes a beast just needs a gentle hand, not a fierce ball-buster who wouldn’t put up
with his over the top alpha maleness.

  I enjoyed writing Marissa’s story. She was a different kind of character I had to get into, and she forced me to change up things a little, which was something I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Wroth was a Beast with more bark than bite, but I loved how Marissa could tame him with just a touch of her hand. I’m a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast, so getting to write something that mirrored it even a little was a treat.

  Devlin & Natalie

  Devlin Cutter doesn’t come without complications. Having a smart mouthed son is only the tip of the iceberg. But none of that matters when he’s face to face with Natalie Stevenson, which only complicates things that much more for him. For one, he thinks she’s too young for him, and two, she’s his friends’ little sister. So he fights what he feels for her, until his best friend starts paying her a little extra attention. When Zander suggests a bet to see which of them could get Natalie in bed first, Devlin is determined to win. The bet is soon forgotten when all those feelings he’s been trying to fight start rearing their ugly head and what was only supposed to be a bet turns into so much more.

  Working for Emmie as her right hand has put Natalie right in the middle of Devlin’s path, something she would never complain about. She’s been half in love with him from the first day she laid eyes on the OtherWorld drummer. When things get hot and heavy with them all of a sudden she’s living on cloud nine. That all changes when Zander drunkenly lets her in on the bet the two friends have going, leaving her shattered.

  Natalie still has a job to do though, and to make sure her overprotective brothers don’t find out what went down with her and Devlin, she sucks it up and spends the summer tour on the same bus with him and his bandmates. Still fighting a broken heart, she decides to have a little payback and bets Marissa she could make Devlin come crawling back to her and then drop his ass at the end of the summer. This grand plan only lasts for a split second before she’s back on the Devlin rollercoaster that tosses her emotions upside down all over again, but her bet isn’t the only secret she’s keeping from Dev.

  The Rocker Who Cherishes Me and The Rocker Who Shatters Me were released a month apart, because I was able to write their books almost simultaneously. I have to admit, that out of all the Rocker couples, Natalie and Devlin were my least favorite to write. Yet it took me no time at all to write it. I love these two as a couple, but I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t give their story more justice.

  Gabriella

  She’s better known as ‘Brie’ to the OtherWorld guys, and ‘Troll Bitch’ to anyone who knows Emmie. For nine books readers have loved to hate her. Being Emmie’s greatest enemy, and nearly destroying Drake and Lana’s relationship all over again, she has won awards for being the most detested female character in a series. Still, a few readers were still cheering for her and repeatedly requesting a book with her front and center.

  With one scene, readers went from hating the troll bitch, to respecting if not loving her and praying for her to live. Saving Mia, Emmie’s daughter, was a selfless act that had everyone gasping at the change of direction and doing a full 180 where she was concerned to the point that the few who wanted a book featuring her turned into thousands begging for it.

  Even though I had readers asking for a story with Gabriella, it took me nine books to decide if I wanted to give her one or not. From the first time I introduced her, my plan was to kill her off. It was so much a part of my big plan that I’d actually had dreams about how I would end her. But with each new request, my plans and dreams of her started to shift and it wasn’t until I really met Liam in The Rocker Who Wants Me that I realized she was his ‘one’.

  Liam & Gabriella

  He’s the drug addict who fucks up everything he touches. For years he hides from what Brie made him feel for fear of fucking her up too. He’s watched her with Axton from the sidelines, knowing that she belonged with him and only him. When Axton and Dallas hook up for the first time, he knows it’s time to get his head out of his ass and make a move. But not even his little Brie can make him kick his need to get high.

  From the minute she bumped into him and fell on her ass at his feet, Gabriella has fought her feelings for him. Getting what she wants, however, came at a high price and when Liam’s bad habits put her nephew at risk, she knew she had to tell him goodbye. Liam’s near fatal car accident makes her wonder if she should have fought harder for them, but when he wakes up he throws her out of his hospital room.

  Seeing a stranger carrying her nemesis’s only daughter away sends Gabriella after the would be kidnapper and straight into danger. It was worth risking her life to save Mia and she would gladly do it again. But when she gets shot in the process, Liam is forced to open his eyes and admit that he’s not ready to face the rest of his life without her.

  I thought it would be hard to write their book because I still hated Gabriella nearly as much as Emmie did by this point in the series. Surprisingly, this book was easy to get into and I wrote it in a short time frame. I loved Liam, and by the end of the book, I was a fan of Gabriella as well.

  Zander & Annabelle

  There are only two things Zander wants in life, music and Annabelle Cassidy. In the small town of West Bridge, Tennessee he’s the odd ball out. With his OCD he feels like the only one who really knows and understands him is Annabelle. While he works every day, she sneaks into his room each night to hide from her abusive stepfather. Breaking his promise not to tell her brother, Z changes everything for both of them. To protect Annabelle, Noah drops out of OtherWorld and decides on a solo country music career that will take Annabelle away from West Bridge. While there, he sets into motion the beginning for OtherWorld but the end of Zander and Annabelle.

  For all of two seconds, Z thinks he can have both his music and Annabelle, but after only a few days on the road he realizes he was only deluding himself. Knowing he has to let her go, he doesn’t send her a letter or even call her. He just breaks all contact. If he so much as hears her voice he will leave the band and run back to Tennessee for her.

  Saying goodbye to Zander wasn’t supposed to be for forever, yet it turned out to be just that. He’d broken his promises to Annabelle leaving her behind a shattered mess that her brother had to attempt to put back together. Realizing she’s pregnant, she tries to do the right thing and tell Z, but he wouldn’t answer her calls and her letter is sent back unopen. She has to face the loss of one of her babies when an accident sends her into labor dangerously early. If that wasn’t bad enough, five years later she has to deal with nearly losing the second twin when she’s taken during a school trip. Through it all, she only wanted Zander to be there to hold her through the scary and heartbreaking moments.

  Seventeen years after Z said goodbye, they are forced to face one another again. But it’s Mieke, the daughter Z knew nothing about that pushes them back together. Realizing what he threw away, Z thinks the only way to win Annabelle back is to trade one dream for another. Leaving the band isn’t something he ever thought he would do, but if he had to choose between music and the woman who has always held his heart, then there’s no contest.

  It took me forever to get into Zander’s head. There were times when I loathed him—even more so than I had Shane. The first chapter was difficult to get right. I started and deleted it six times before I was satisfied. While the beginning started out rocky for me, by the time it was done, I was in love with not just Zander’s character but Annabelle’s as well. While she’s not as in your face strong like some of the other chicks in this series, her quiet strength made her a superhero in my eyes. The loss of a child would destroy most people, and the near miss with Mieke would have sent me spiraling into a nervous breakdown. I was sweating just writing the scene where Mieke told her father what had happened.

  Some readers didn’t enjoy that half the book was written in the past. I went back and showed their relationship from the beginning, not only because the characters demanded it, but also because
readers hadn’t seen OtherWorld’s start yet. With Demon’s Wings, readers were given a glimpse of what life was like before they became rockers at the beginning of each book. Other than a brief flash back of Marissa when she’d been so sick, there hadn’t been any light shown on how OtherWorld had gotten their start or really why they were who they were now close to two decades later.

  Secondary Characters

  Lucy Daniels Thornton

  Layla and Lana’s baby sister and adopted daughter to Jesse and Layla. She also has her own series featuring Harris.

  Harris Cutter

  Devlin’s son and Lucy’s best friend.

  Linc Spencer

  Harper and Dallas’s best friend.

  Jenna Stevenson

  Youngest of the Stevenson siblings.

  Clyde Stevenson

  Father to Drake, Shane, Natalie and Jenna.

  Stella Stevenson

  Natalie and Jenna’s mother.

  Kenzie Cage