LOW: A Rockstar Romance

by Lux,Vivian

  Finally, I shot a frantic look at Jax. He put down his fork and nodded at me, just the slightest tilt of his chin. And just like that, the burden was lifted. He was going to take care of it.

  "Three separate curse words in one single sentence," Jax mused, sounding impressed. "You've definitely turned over a new leaf, Nails."

  "Oh, fuck off," my Dad leaned forward and the heavy silence lifted. "You're not my kid, so I can swear at you as much as I want, you little shit."

  "Honestly, Jaxson," Annie huffed, "why do you always have to stir the pot?"

  Jax grinned, the natural order of things restored. "Thank you," I mouthed to him, feeling a rush of affection and gratitude.

  His mouth twisted strangely. "No problem, Bit," he said out loud. Too loud.

  Heat flamed across my cheeks. "What was that, Jax?" Annie asked.

  "Oh, nothing," Jax said airily, looking me dead in the eye. "Liliana was just thanking me for trying to lighten the mood here."

  He saves me only to throw me to the wolves? What the hell, Jaxson? "What?!" I said sharply, "No, I didn't mean…" I looked from Annie to my dad. Both of them were staring daggers at me and I knew I was in for a rambling, long-winded talk about feelings. I glowered at Jax, grateful at least that he'd have to suffer through it too.

  "It occurs to me…" Annie sat back in her chair, wielding her favorite opening line.

  "Whatever. Listen," Jax pushed his chair back, "as much fun as this little oversharing family time has been, I've got shit to do." His chair scraped across the floor obnoxiously. "Don't wait up."

  He disappeared around the back, deftly avoiding the photographers, and leaving me with our parents like some sacrificial lamb.

  "Lily, have you any idea what's going on with Jax?" Annie said.

  "Going on?" I stammered. "No, I just got here, how the hell would I know?"

  "I don't know, you two seemed awfully close for a while."

  I squirmed under Annie's gaze, tripping over how exactly how close we were. "Wish I could tell you something helpful, but I know even less than you do. Today was the first time we talked since I left for New York." My ears burned as I remembered exactly why I had left.

  And just like that, I hated him again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jax

  It was a new place, louder and more raucous than our usual haunts, but tonight, that suited me just fine.

  "Dude, slow down. I'm not in the mood to be cleaning up your puke tonight."

  I finished my shot anyway and then leveled my gaze on Casper. My guitarist, and the closest thing I had to a friend, was so pale that the black lights made him glow. "I already have a mother," I slurred. "I don't need another one."

  "I've met your mother, asshole!" he shouted over the sound of the bass. "She signed my guitar."

  "I'm never going to forgive you for that. Traitor."

  Casper grinned, his teeth glowing blue. "It's my retirement plan! In case my boss drinks himself to death instead of finishing his album."

  "Don't call me your boss!" I groaned. "Makes me sound like I'm paying you to hang out with me."

  "Well, shit! You kind of are. I don't have the money for this kind of place… bottle service… high-class girls." He shot a grin at his girl, Harlow, who looked up from her conversation with her blonde friend—Laney, Lana, something like that—and stuck her tongue out at him.

  "You will!" The liquor was making me feel expansive. Grandiose. "Just stick with me…" A ripple went through me and I caught myself before I added, "…please."

  It's a sad fucking state of affairs that even now, after years of knowing each other and two years playing together, I still wasn't entirely comfortable around Casper, or Toad, or any of them. There was always that voice—that nagging voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Annie's—that told me they were using me. Using my money. Using my mother's name. My name. That no one actually liked me for just… me.

  I used to think that about everyone. Until I met Bit. For some reason, she seemed to bring out a side of me that was actually likable. Maybe not to everyone, but to her, at least. She never looked at me like she was only barely tolerating my presence.

  At least, she never did before.

  Now, though, well… it was clear she wanted to hate my guts. Her cute little temper tantrum in the bathroom was proof of that. But the way she’d looked at me at dinner made her a liar. At dinner, when I had rescued her from her dad's epic awkwardness, she had looked at me like she used to. With those eager, open eyes.

  And it had been too fucking much for me to take. I had to get out of that restaurant before I said or did something that we both would regret.

  "Jaxson, I'm serious here. Give it a rest." Casper's hand was on mine. I hadn't even noticed that mine was on the bottle.

  I shook my head to clear it. "Fine. Let's take a break. I need to dance anyway. Clear my head."

  Harlow and Laney-Lana jumped up immediately. "Finally!" Harlow whooped and draped herself across Casper's back. He grinned and carried her piggyback down the steps to the crowded dance floor.

  Laney-Lana sashayed up to me, smoothing her hands down her hips, subtly pulling her already plunging neckline down even lower. "You ready?" she purred.

  "Lead the way, sweetheart," I told her.

  She took off ahead of me, wiggling her hips to the beat. I hung back and tried like hell to appreciate her luscious curves, but something was all wrong. She was built for show, all overflowing tits and overripe ass—which was usually something I appreciated in a woman—but tonight, it felt like too much. Too in my face. She was ripe to the point of rotten, and did absolutely nothing for me.

  What the fuck?

  I followed behind her and tried to screw my head back on straight. If nothing else, she was ready and willing. Probably a fan who couldn't believe that her friend was dating Jaxson Blue's guitarist. My name was all I needed to make this a sure thing.

  And yet all I wanted to do was drink and forget who I was for a night.

  The beat shifted as soon as I hit the floor, the unsteady rise of the two songs mixed together making me feel off kilter. Several whoops rose up from the crowd and the energy suddenly became frenetic. The pounding four-four beat took over my heart rate even as my heart plunged down into my stomach.

  My own voice—distorted and remixed into nasal oblivion—but my voice just the same.

  Not that song. Not tonight.

  "Oh my God, I love this song!" Laney-Lana shrieked, grabbing me and yanking me into the fray. "I can't believe I'm dancing with Mr. Cocky himself!"

  Her lips were right up against my ear, but I could barely hear her over the music. The DJ had remixed it completely, sampling only a fraction of the refrain. The worst fraction.

  "I'm just a lil bit… lil bit… lil bit… cocky…

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit…"

  Lana-Laney shimmed low, grinding her ass into my crotch. I stood there like a stone, letting her take over as I lost myself.

  "Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Cocky!"

  She swirled around and flung her arms around my neck, undulating wildly.

  "Lil Bit

  Lil Bit…”

  It echoed in my head. Her eyes. Her lips. The only thing I could think of. It could be her, but it's not, but it could be.

  Lil Bit.

  Her hands slid down my chest.

  Lil Bit

  (I am so drunk)

  Lil Bit

  Her hands went even lower.

  Lil Bit

  (I'm losing it here)

  Her fingers closed around my cock.

  It wasn't Lil Bit touching me

  "Get the fuck off me!"

  Laney-Lana's shocked face barely registered as I made for the door. My mind was blank of everything but the refrain in my head.

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit.

  Chapter Thirteen

&
nbsp; Liliana

  "I think you'll see, Baron Chevreaux, that your apologies are quite useless to me."

  "Is that so, my lady?" The baron's eyes darkened dangerously and suddenly Georgia's stays seemed laced too tight. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. "Then perhaps the time has come to dispense with words?"

  The baron's hand moved, quick as a flash, clasping the back of her neck tightly, possessively. This was no idle tumble with the stable boy. Jasper's tentative, fumbling touch hadn't marked her skin the way the baron's was now. Each fingertip seared her with inescapable heat, burning away the weak protests that died before they formed on her lips. And all the while the baron watched her with a hunger in his eyes that was both frightening and delicious.

  "Ah." His soft laughter thrilled through her, setting off an ache in her nethers. "My lady is more willing than her words would admit."

  "You are an arrogant, cold-hearted bastard."

  "You are correct."

  My fingers raced across the keys. It was far too late and I was far too jetlagged to be wasting sleep like this, but as I seethed on the ride home from dinner, hating Jax with every ounce of my being, a knotty piece of dialogue finally unraveled itself. I had to race upstairs to my room to get it all down.

  Goddamn Jax. He was inspiring, I had to give him that.

  "I've desired you from the moment I saw you," the baron pressed his lips against the pulse in her neck, and Georgia fretted that he would find it racing like the beat of a hummingbird's wings. She placed her hand against his hard, warm chest, and found the throb of his heart beating nearly as rapidly. For a moment she reveled in her power. He wanted her just as much, and she had nothing to fear…

  Until his lips devoured hers.

  Her pride dissolved immediately, and Georgia found herself helpless against the onslaught of his mouth on hers. With a sharp stab of his tongue, he pried her lips open and began a slow, aching exploration of her mouth. Her breath quickened as she realized she was now forever marked. He was claiming her as his and she would never be the same.

  He pulled back with a growl and cupped her chin in his hand. His eyes, bluer than an October sky, darkened as they bored into her. "I am not a man that sits idly by and waits for opportunity. I see what I want, and I must immediately possess it. And Georgia, I mean to have you."

  She moaned futilely into his mouth as he pressed her against the wall. Georgia was trapped between the cool of the marble and the warmth of his desire. "All of you. Now."

  As the baron's hand plunged underneath Lady Cunningham's skirts, I squirmed in my seat. This was going to be good. Epic, even. My thoughts focused down with crystal clarity as I wrote what Georgia wanted—fuck, what I wanted the baron to do to her.

  Sex scenes. Sometimes I just left them for later, putting a placeholder—SEX GOES HERE—in my text and coming back when I was in the mood.

  But tonight, dammit, I was in the mood. The words were just flowing.

  "Tell me what you need, Georgia," the baron rasped.

  Lady Cunningham's pale body writhed. The sensations were too intense, too forbidden and yet…

  "More!" she cried in a voice so shatteringly loud that it was bound to send the servants running to the room. But she didn't care. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Baron Chevreaux's bruising kisses and the swell of his manhood pressing against her. What this meant for her marriage, for her future, didn't matter to her now. There were no more barriers between them, no more chances to back down now. Georgia knew she was lost and she reveled in it. "I need more!"

  He pressed against her entrance and with one, smooth thrust…

  BANG!

  "What the fuck!" I yelped, remembering a second too late that it was way past the hour that normal people were asleep. I looked at my screen guiltily, like I had been caught with my hands in between my legs, and I was immediately pissed. That loud noise sounded just like something heavy hit the wall just outside of my doorway.

  I nearly tore the door off its hinges. "What was that?" I demanded.

  He turned slowly, blinking like he was having trouble focusing. His eyes were hooded sleepily and his blue hair was an electric disarray. He looked completely drunk and completely fuckable and a million thoughts raced through my head at once.

  Oh, shit, it's Jax.

  Oh, shit, I'm in my purple cloud pajamas.

  Holy shit, he looks hot.

  Holy shit… he looks pissed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jax

  Punching a wall hurts like hell, usually. I know, I've done it before. But this time, the expected pain never came—and that's when I knew how drunk I was.

  That made it doubly dangerous that Lil Bit was now standing in front of me, looking rumpled and breathless and sexy as hell.

  "What was that?" she grumped. Her mouth was twisted in a disapproving sneer but her eyes… fuck, those wide brown eyes were shining unnaturally bright.

  She looks horny, Jax.

  She looks hard-up.

  She wants it.

  Fucking shut up!

  "What was what?" I snarled at her, meaner than I meant to be, but fuck, she needed to get out of here with her sexy, rumpled hair before I got ahold of it in my hands. The music from the club still pounded in my head. That repeated fucking refrain the only thought that I could muster.

  "That bang, dipshit. It sounded like you punched the fucking wall."

  "Oh yeah? Must be because I punched the fucking wall." I propped myself up against her doorway and leaned my hand against it, knuckle side down. Nope, still no pain. That could be good or terribly bad. "Why are you being such a tight-ass?"

  Her eyes blazed. "Better a tight-ass than an asshole."

  "You wound me, Bit." God I missed her. "Always with the insults."

  "You get your fair share in too. Like to set 'em to music too."

  I had no idea what she was going on about. "Not at all. You're the one with the mouth on her." Fuck, I was drunk. "I like your mouth better on me…"

  "Ew!" She swatted my arm.

  "That's right, touch me. You're dying to touch me aren't you?"

  "I'm not!"

  But she was breathless and her lips were parted and I knew she was lying. That only got me more riled up. "Then I'll help you. Here," I grabbed her small hand. "I'll make first contact so you don't have to."

  She pulled her hand back and folded her arms across her chest, like she wanted to keep her hands under control. Like she was afraid of what she'd do if she let go.

  "What the hell are you staring at?" she demanded.

  Damn, she caught me. What the hell was I doing again?

  I looked around wildly, trying to force my eyes to stop darting all over the place and come to rest somewhere.

  Unfortunately, I realized a second to late that they settled right on her tits.

  They were hidden under those ludicrous pajamas, but that somehow made them even more tantalizing. I knew exactly how they'd feel if I snaked my hand underneath her top right now. I wonder if she's wearing a bra? Probably not. I could just make out the tips of her nipples pointing through the fabric. Was she really turned on? Fuck, now I was hard.

  "Jaxson, people are trying to sleep."

  "You're not," I pointed out. "You look wide awake to me."

  She pressed her lips together and looked shifty for a second. Guilty. What was she doing that she’d be guilty about? "I was working," she said loftily.

  "Working, huh?" Caught you, Bit. "Writing? Were you writing one of your sexy books, Bit? Holy shit, you were. I bet you were writing a dirty scene right now and that's why you're all squirmy."

  "Fuck off, Jax."

  "What do you write about, Bit? You ever write about me?"

  "Oh my God, you are such a cocky bastard."

  "You do!" I crowed. Her blush gave it away. "What do you write about, Bit? Do you think about my body? What's your favorite part, hmm?" I reached down and grabbed her hand, expecting her to snatch it away and slap me. Hell, maybe I
wanted her to slap me, derail this particular train of thought before I rode it all the way to the end.

  She didn't smack me though. She shushed me. "Keep it down. Do you want the whole house to hear?"

  "Mmm, maybe I do." I circled her wrist with my fingers and pulled her closer.

  "What are you doing?" she asked. No, more exhaled in a soft sigh.

  "Do you want me to stop?" I asked. She was pressed up against me now. She fit just under my chin, perfectly. My puzzle piece. Fuck, I forgot how incredible it was just to have her near me.

  "No," she wavered. "Yes. Maybe. It depends on what you're doing."

  "I'm doing this," I told her.

  Tipping her chin up, I let my lips brush hers. I barely fucking touched her, but it was the most electrifying kiss of my life. Lil Bit—my Lil Bit—was back where she belonged.

  I expected her to be angry, or even to hit me. Something to rile me back up again. Aggravate me so I stopped wanting to kiss her again and again, letting my lips wander down memory lane as I rememorized the curves of her body. Like I was ever able to forget them in the first place.

  "Jax…" She moaned my name into my mouth, and it was the sexiest sound I had ever heard in my life.

  "Fuck, Bit. I've missed you so much." Did I say that out loud? I was kissing her too hard to tell. I pressed her against the wall. I needed to feel her against me, under me. Sudden clarity popped into my head as I immediately sobered up. I couldn't afford to forget this.

  She wrapped her hands around my neck, her little fingers fluttering against my back, and I was gone completely. I was ready to rip her clothes off right here in the hallway and lift her tiny body right onto my cock. She was making these little sounds, tiny, mewing noises that were killing me.

  Then her whole body shuddered and she pulled back.

  "No." I was sure I said that out loud.

  She placed her hands on my chest. For a brief moment, I was hopeful.