Fractured Hearts: A Fractured Rock Star Romance

by L. M. Dalgleish

  She nodded up at him, her big brown eyes looking disappointed, so he pressed a quick kiss to her lips to make up for it. Some women would have made a huge scene if he tried to leave them, so he’d got lucky. He lifted her off him, gave her hand a final squeeze, and began moving through the crowd to try to find Lexie. He searched for a few minutes, but when he couldn’t find her, he grabbed Noah instead.

  “Hey, where did Lexie go?”

  “Drew asked her if she wanted a lift back to the hotel. I saw them head out a few minutes ago,” he said, not noticing the frustration on Connor’s face.

  The adrenaline of the last few minutes seeped out of Connor’s body, and he started coming back to his senses. What was he thinking? The reasons he hadn’t wanted to mess with Lexie in the first place were still valid. What were the chances she’d want to hook up for just one night? Slim to none; she wasn’t the type. He was fairly sure he could talk her into his bed if he tried, but he didn’t want to fuck around with her and then potentially have it ruin the rest of the tour. It was too late to get another photographer, and he loved what Lexie had done with her photos so far. She was easy to be around and had developed a great rapport with everyone. She was one in a million, and he’d be stupid to throw that all away just to have her for one night.

  Connor scrubbed his hands over his face and groaned. He couldn’t even be bothered trying to track Tiffany down again. His plan to distract himself from Lexie by screwing another woman had just crashed and burned. At least for tonight, anyway.

  “Do you want to get out of here?” he asked Noah, who nodded and finished off his beer.

  “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 14

  Drew walked Lexie back to her hotel room. “Is everything okay? You were pretty quiet on the way back.” Concern pinched his brows together.

  “Just a long day.” She rubbed her temples where they’d started throbbing.

  “Do you need any painkillers? We carry a whole stash with us.”

  She shook her head. “No, thanks, I’ve got some in my room. I’ll take a couple and go to bed. It should be gone in the morning.”

  Drew studied her face as she rummaged for her room key. He cleared his throat. “Lexie, do you remember what I told you during the first concert?”

  Finding the key, she pulled it from her purse before turning to him. “Yes,” she said warily.

  “Look, I know you were upset about what I said then, which I’m sorry about. But I hope you know that I was looking out for you, as well as the band.” Lexie nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. “These guys are my friends. I’ve got to know them well over the last few years, and they’re good guys. But when it comes down to it, they’re still rock stars. They’re not used to being told they can’t have something. Which sometimes means their inner toddler comes out. If you tell them they can’t have something, it just makes them want it more.”

  “I understand,” she said, just wanting him to stop talking so she could retreat to her room.

  He sighed. “What I’m saying is, just look after yourself, okay. Don’t let the guys get to you, or at least don’t let them know they’re getting to you. They’ll just want to do it more.”

  Finally, he finished, gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, and wandered back down the hallway to his room closest to the elevator.

  Gratefully, Lexie opened her door, switched on the light, and then closed and locked it behind her. She walked over to her bed and slumped down on it, toeing off her shoes.

  She didn’t want to think about why she’d reacted so badly to seeing Connor with that woman. Yes, she found him very attractive, and yes, she enjoyed being around him. But she enjoyed being around all the guys; they were a lot of fun.

  Maybe it was because she hadn’t seen him do anything like that since she’d been on tour with them, and she’d become complacent. Spending so much time around him, she’d almost started seeing him as just a man—an incredibly hot man admittedly—but that wasn’t who he really was, was it?

  Too tired to shower, she changed into her pajamas and then wandered over to the bar to pour herself some water to take her painkillers. When she heard voices in the hallway, she paused, straining to identify who it was. It sounded like Connor and Noah.

  She listened hard to see if she could hear any female voices, but there was nothing. Did that mean he hadn’t brought that woman home with him? Or had she just been rendered mute by the anticipation of sleeping with Connor?

  Lexie held her breath as she heard Noah’s door open and close and then what sounded like a single pair of footsteps getting closer. So, Connor hadn’t brought the woman back with him.

  His footsteps slowed as he approached her door, and Lexie’s heart rate sped up. Was there a chance he was going to stop and knock? She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to have him in her bedroom right now. Her pajamas didn’t leave much to the imagination, and she was still trying to figure out her feelings about what she’d seen that night.

  She didn’t end up having to make the decision though, because he kept on walking, and then she heard his door open and close. Letting out a deep breath, Lexie switched off the lights and climbed under the bedcovers.

  The fact that she felt happy about Connor coming home alone—and let’s be honest, slightly disappointed that he hadn’t knocked on her door—did not bode well for her sanity. She still had two more months of this tour to get through.

  Closing her eyes, she willed herself to go to sleep, but her brain kept insisting on replaying the image of Connor with that woman sitting on his lap. She knew it was wrong to feel jealous. There was nothing between them except a working relationship, and maybe the start of a friendship.

  She shouldn’t be feeling this attracted to him, but it was hard not to. If he was just a gorgeous face and a hot body, then she could have dealt with it. But he was more than that. He was talented and funny and generous, which was ridiculously unfair. And the way she felt when she was around him? Like everything inside her lit up. When he pinned her with his green eyes, that intense look on his face as if he could see all her innermost thoughts, it made her breathless.

  She needed to get rid of those feelings and get her jealousy under control. There was nothing between them, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of the tour getting upset whenever he touched another woman. Confused and frustrated, it was a long time before she managed to get to sleep.

  * * *

  The next morning, after having tossed and turned all night as a result of vaguely remembered dreams, Lexie told herself that she needed to get a grip and stop putting Connor on some kind of pedestal. He was a man, like any other. Well, that wasn’t exactly true considering how he’d been genetically blessed in both the looks and talent department. But he had the same wants and needs as any other man, and imagining that he would somehow be above messing around with the willing women that threw themselves at him was extreme naivety on her part.

  What he did, with whomever he wanted to do it with, had nothing to do with her. She needed to keep that fixed in her mind and not let her feelings about it change the relationship between them.

  So, when she saw him down at breakfast, she made sure her smile and greeting were as warm as usual. After grabbing some fruit from the buffet, she wandered over to the table the guys were sitting at. Since there was only one empty seat, she didn’t have much choice but to slide in next to Noah, and opposite Connor. Tex and Zac were sitting on the same side as Connor, while Drew sat on the other side of Noah.

  The ever-affectionate drummer immediately draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  “Morning, Noah.” Lexie couldn’t help but smile back at him. He was such an outgoing guy, as excitable and enthusiastic about everything as a Labrador puppy.

  Sliding her eyes back in Connor’s direction, she found him staring resolutely out the window at the end of the table with a stormy expression on his face, his jaw noticeably tense. Sh
e craned her neck to see out the window, curious as to what had upset him, but couldn’t see anything obvious.

  Without thinking, Lexie reached across the table and lightly placed her hand over his, which he’d clenched in reaction to whatever had pissed him off.

  “Connor, is everything okay?” She said it quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of everyone at the table, who’d all gone back to talking animatedly about something or other.

  Connor’s gaze went to where her hand rested on top of his. For a second, he didn’t say or do anything, and she couldn’t get a good look at his expression because his eyes were hidden by his dark lashes.

  Worried that he was annoyed at her touching him, she was about to pull back when he suddenly turned his hand over and clasped hers. At last, he raised his gaze so that his now clear green eyes met hers and held, as his thumb began stroking the soft skin on the back of her hand. The slight roughness caused by the guitar string callouses on his fingers enhanced the sensation.

  Lexie couldn’t help the shiver that ran through her. He stilled briefly before resuming the movement and she knew he’d noticed her reaction.

  Oh God. She really needed to pull her hand away from his. Especially after last night and her resolution from this morning, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. Connor’s eyes began making a lazy perusal of her face, as if cataloging every inch of skin, every freckle on her nose, before dropping to her mouth. His intense scrutiny was nerve-wracking, and without thinking how it might look, she licked her lips to moisten them. His eyes flashed back up, burning into hers.

  Not sure what to do, Lexie froze, her heart hammering inside her chest. Part of her wanted to run and hide from the intensity in his eyes, and part of her wanted to climb over the table and crawl into his lap.

  The visual of that scenario shocked her back to reality, especially with the vivid memory of another woman sitting in his lap just last night. A woman almost the complete opposite of her. Had that woman felt the same as she did right now? Had Connor made her feel like she was the only person in the room, just like he was doing to Lexie?

  Feeling exposed, sure that her wide eyes must be broadcasting her every thought and feeling, she broke his gaze and looked down at the table. She tugged her hand out of his and placed both of them in her lap, so he wouldn’t notice them tremble.

  After taking a deep breath, embarrassment swept through her. She was acting like a naïve virgin having her hand held by a boy for the first time. She was a strong, smart woman. She’d been married for God’s sake. Lexie remembered what Drew had said the night before, about the guys wanting something more if they thought they couldn’t have it. Was that what was happening here?

  Frustrated at her overthinking of the whole situation, she jerked her eyes back up to face him, only to see him looking out the window again, this time with a small smile on his infuriatingly gorgeous face.

  Lexie blew out a breath, gave herself a mental shake and a stern talking-to about keeping her hands to herself from now on, then tuned back into the conversation underway at the table. The guys were trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Since everything had been set up at the venue the day before, they only needed to be back in time for the final soundcheck later that afternoon, so they had several free hours. Noah, Zac, and Drew were tossing around ideas, but both Tex and Connor were silent. Connor, because he was still staring out the window with a smug expression on his face, and Tex because he had pulled out one of his books and started reading.

  An idea popped into Lexie’s head, and she smiled to herself. “Hey, Tex?”

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to her. She made sure not to let her eyes stray to Connor’s. “Can I steal you for a few hours this morning?”

  Tex’s eyebrows rose, and he blinked at her lazily. “You can do anything you want with me, honey.”

  Lexie could see the humor in his whiskey-colored eyes, so she knew not to take him seriously. Sensing the sudden stillness emanating from Connor’s direction, her devilish side made her smile seductively at Tex and purr in her huskiest voice, “Then I need you to take me somewhere we can be all alone.”

  She couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her at the five shocked faces staring back at her. Then a big grin spread over Tex’s sinfully handsome features as he stood, pushed his chair back, and walked around the table to hold out his hand to her.

  “What are we waiting for then darlin’? I’m all yours.”

  Lexie gave everyone still sitting at the table a big smile as she stood up, then looked directly at Connor as she reached for Tex’s hand. If she’d been a better person, the confusion in his eyes wouldn’t have been quite so satisfying, but no one’s perfect, right?

  Chapter 15

  Tex had scrounged up a car from somewhere and now he and Lexie were driving around the seedier downtown area of Minneapolis. Lexie had something specific in mind for Tex’s photo, she just needed to find the right place for it. She told Tex to keep driving until she spotted what she was looking for.

  Drew had tried to insist they take security with them, but Tex had firmly declined. She’d noticed a distinct glint in his eye when she’d told him what she needed him to do before they left, including getting changed into leather pants and a white shirt, finding a spare guitar to take with them, and grabbing one of his books. He seemed to be enjoying himself, even though she wouldn’t tell him what she was planning.

  Now, as they cruised the back streets, Tex regaled her with crazy stories of the things the band had got up to when they were younger. Lexie loved hearing all about their meteoric rise to fame, and the escapades they’d all got up to. They also talked about favorite movies and books. And when Tex confessed his guilty secret to her, she made an immediate emergency stop at the first bookshop she found.

  Eventually, Lexie spotted what she was looking for: a grungy bar that appeared to have just opened for the day. Parking out the front, Lexie told Tex to stay in the car while she scoped the place out, but he ignored her, saying he didn’t want her wandering around in that kind of dive on her own. Shrugging, she figured it wasn’t the most likely place for him to get inundated by fans wanting him to sign autographs. They both got out of the car, made their way to the bar, and pushed through the swinging door into the dingy interior.

  “It’s perfect.” Lexie grinned, looking around at the dirty walls and carpet, stained wooden tables and chairs, and the light practically having to force its way through the dirt-encrusted windows. A rough-looking older man was behind the bar eyeing them curiously. Lexie went over to talk to him.

  “Hi, I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor?” He just raised his eyebrows at her and kept on chewing a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Lexie pulled some cash out of her purse. “Since there’s no one else here yet, how would you like to earn $50 for letting me take a few photos of my friend?”

  The man glanced over at Tex in his leather pants and white shirt, buttons open almost to the navel. “This porn?” he grunted. Lexie’s shocked laugh caught Tex’s attention, and he wandered over.

  Still laughing, Lexie replied, “No, just an impromptu photo shoot for my friend.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “He’s a musician.”

  The man gave Tex a once-over. “Would I know any of your music?”

  “Probably not.” Tex smiled smoothly back at him.

  The man stopped caring at that point and plucked the money from Lexie’s hand. She then set about moving tables and chairs around, trying to get things set up just right. She asked Tex to go out to the car and bring in his guitar and her tripod that she’d put in the back seat, as well as the book she’d purchased on the way there. By the time he’d come back, Lexie had bought a cheap bottle of whiskey and put it on the table next to a glass.

  After he gave her the tripod, she set it up facing the table and chair which she’d moved to sit in the single shaft of light coming in the dirty window, so that they almost seemed li
t by a spotlight.

  Finished fiddling with her camera, she turned with a big smile on her face to get Tex and ran smack into a wall of muscle. Shocked, she stared up into Tex’s tawny eyes. His serious expression made her smile fade, and before she knew what was happening, he’d put his hands on her upper arms and tugged her closer so that her body was flush against his. Surprised and confused, Lexie didn’t resist, but when his eyes dropped to her mouth and he moved one hand up to cradle the back of her head, she realized what he was intending.

  Frozen and unsure how to respond, unable to deny she was curious as to how it would feel, she didn’t resist as he tipped her head back. He paused, giving her time to protest, and when she didn’t, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.

  Lexie didn’t move except to bring her hands up to his chest, though whether to push him away or pull him closer she wasn’t sure. He’d taken her completely by surprise. She thought he’d been joking every time he made a comment about getting her alone. The devilish glint that always seemed to reside in his eyes probably hadn’t helped.

  It was her first kiss in three years, and she braced herself against the familiar pang of guilt, but when it came, it wasn’t as strong as she expected. Instead, she focused on how nice the intimacy felt. The touch of a man, the feeling of being desired, those were things she’d missed every day since Damien’s death.

  And she wasn’t going to lie, Tex could kiss.

  A slow warmth spread from where his lips were pressed against hers, radiating right through her body. But that’s all it was—the warmth of being touched and held close by an attractive man. There was no fire in it, no static on her skin, nothing sparking deep inside her.