Fractured Hearts: A Fractured Rock Star Romance

by L. M. Dalgleish

  She nodded, frowning as she concentrated on tuning out the other instruments and the vocals so she could focus. When she did, she could easily pick out the low, driving notes, and a smile spread across her face as she felt the kick in her chest.

  “I hear it. It keeps the rhythm going the entire way through.”

  He stopped it and started another song playing. “This is a good one.”

  She smiled as she heard “Come Together” from The Beatles. Now that she was listening out for it, the bass was so obvious.

  “Last one.” He grinned as he searched for a song, then started it playing.

  She laughed as she heard the distinctive notes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give it Away.”

  “It’s so clear when you know what you’re listening for.” She was unreasonably delighted, as if she’d discovered something new and amazing. Well, it was new to her, anyway; she’d always been more into photography than music. “I feel like I want to go and listen to all my favorite songs now just to try to pick out the bass.”

  He laughed. “Don’t do that. Remember, the bass isn’t supposed to stand out—it’s all about joining with the drums to provide the song’s rhythm. It’s not about being in the spotlight.” He glanced over as Tex wandered through the living area on his way to the coffee machine. “I leave the flashy showing off to Tex, while I’m the one that gets everybody moving.”

  Tex rolled his eyes at Zac. “You just keep telling yourself you don’t want to be in the spotlight. Don’t forget, I’ve been with you at karaoke enough times to know you love getting out in front.”

  Lexie turned back to Zac, who was looking down at his guitar with a slight smile on his face. “You like karaoke?”

  “He’s there every chance he gets,” Tex butted in, then grinned when Zac narrowed his eyes at him.

  “So what? I like to sing. You realize I do backing vocals on all our songs, right?”

  When he saw Lexie looking at him and smiling, he gave her a suspicious look. “What?”

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  * * *

  Which was how they came to be sitting at the bar of a karaoke club at eight o’clock in the morning. They were the only ones there except for some college-aged kids sitting at the front that were drawing out the end of a big night.

  Zac had a cap pulled down over his face, but that was it as far as a disguise went. She’d been worried about taking him to a public place like this, even at this time of the morning when it was dead. It wouldn’t take more than one of the kids at the front to recognize him and call their friends, and they could end up mobbed before the end of the photo shoot. Still, when she’d mentioned it to him, he hadn’t been concerned, just shrugging and saying something about being able to blend in easily.

  Looking at him now, Lexie couldn’t understand what he was talking about. He was a very attractive man, tall and broad-shouldered, with gorgeous hazel eyes. Today, his long legs were clad in black jeans, and he was wearing a worn black leather jacket over a fitted gray t-shirt. As far as she was concerned, heads would turn whenever he walked into a room. He had plenty of fans, so she wasn’t sure why he thought no one would recognize him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wasn’t in the spotlight as much as Tex and Connor, so he thought he was less recognizable. She didn’t agree, but still, at this time of day they were about as safe as they could get.

  Lexie had put a fake name for him down on the list, and he would be on in a few minutes. Her camera was set up on a tripod, and she’d adjusted for the dim light conditions. The darkness of the club and the stage, illuminated only by a couple of smoky lights, provided a great atmosphere for the background. She’d got a couple of strange looks from the group at the front, but she’d already spoken to the bartender and got his okay to photograph Zac.

  When the guy currently singing finished his off-key rendition of “Sweet Home Alabama,” he jumped down, stumbling drunkenly to the laughter of his friends. Lexie smiled at Zac. “You’re up.”

  He gave her a nod and flashed her an unexpectedly nervous smile. Lexie positioned herself behind her camera, focusing on him when he walked out on to the stage. It was strange seeing him up there without his bass hanging off him, but he seemed confident enough now as he strode up to the microphone.

  When the music started, she was surprised to hear him start singing Calum Scott’s “Dancing on My Own.” Her jaw dropped. Zac’s voice was fantastic: deep, smoky, with just enough of a rasp to make you feel it in your gut. She’d heard him sing backing vocals before, but it was nothing compared to what he was doing now.

  The college kids in the front row had stopped goofing around and were staring at the stage, nudging each other and whispering. She wondered if they’d recognized him or were as stunned as she was by his vocals. Realizing she was just standing there staring at him, mouth agape, Lexie bent down to her camera and started shooting.

  She’d decided to go for a black-and-white portrait because it created the type of moodiness that emphasized facial expressions and emotions. That’s exactly what she wanted to focus on for Zac’s photo since his face and eyes were so expressive. The monochrome enhanced the glow of the lights on the stage behind him, forming a smoky halo around his face as he sang. With his eyes closed, lashes long against his cheeks, mouth almost touching the microphone as he crooned huskily into it, there was so much contained emotion in his expression it made her heart ache.

  When he finished, she enthusiastically joined in the applause the kids and the bartender were giving him. When he jogged back to her, his face lit up with a massive smile. Lexie couldn’t help throwing her arms around him. “Oh my God, that was incredible, Zac! I had no idea you had such an amazing voice. Why on earth don’t you sing more on your albums? I mean, you’re a brilliant bass player, but that was fantastic.”

  His grin grew even bigger at her exuberant response. “Thanks, Lexie. I love singing, but the band doesn’t need another singer when we’ve got Connor’s voice. I don’t really compare with him.” His smile dimmed a little.

  Her brow creased. “I don’t understand. You’ve got a different voice than Connor, but it’s still great. The others must know how good you are. Have you ever said anything to them about doing your own songs?”

  He shook his head. “When we first started, we decided Connor would be our lead singer since he has a better range than I do. At the time, I was happy playing the bass and doing backing vocals. Then when we got discovered, the label didn’t want us messing with a successful formula.” He shrugged. “It’s fine, I can’t complain. What we have works well.”

  She raised her brows. His expression made her think he wasn’t as happy about it as he was letting on. Still, it wasn’t her business what the band did or didn’t do. She was just a temporary interloper in their lives and didn’t have any right to make any judgments. They’d got where they were today without her input, and they’d keep doing just as well once she’d gone. Lexie tried not to think too much about how sad the thought made her.

  Chapter 34

  The music thumped loudly, the techno beat grating on Connor’s nerves. They were out at a club in Austin, for a PR event organized by the label. Connor would have been happier staying behind on the tour bus with Lexie but knew there was no way he could get out of an appearance.

  That he was on edge probably had less to do with the music and more to do with the fact that Lexie was out on the dance floor with Zac.

  When the bass player had asked her to dance, she’d flicked a tiny questioning glance his way. But since he didn’t want anyone to know what had been going on between them for the last four weeks, he couldn’t justify staking his claim and warning Zac off, as much as he might want to. So he forced himself to keep his expression neutral, and she’d turned away from him and smiled up at Zac as he’d grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor.

  Now he was suffering by having to keep up a conversation with Tex while he watched Zac put his hands on her,
albeit only an innocent touch on her waist. But it was killing him when all he wanted to do was walk over there, pull her away from Zac, and claim her in front of everyone. Annoyed at the unfamiliar possessive emotions, he forced his gaze away from the two of them, glancing over to the other side of the VIP area where Noah was uncharacteristically sitting by himself in a dark corner.

  Connor frowned. Noah was normally the life of the party when they were out. Actually, he’d been a bit off all day, but when Connor had asked him earlier what was wrong, he’d shrugged it off.

  Tex nodded over at the drummer. “What do you think’s wrong with him?”

  Connor watched Noah rub his forehead. He looked sick, and Connor’s concern sharpened. Noah being that quiet was definitely out of the ordinary. “I’ll see if I can get it out of him,” he offered, standing up. Before he left, he leaned down to Tex. “Keep an eye on Lexie.”

  Tex arched a brow in amusement. “What, you don’t trust Zac to keep his hands off her?”

  “It’s not Zac I’m worried about.” It came out as a growl as he glared at all the other men standing around, looking on admiringly as she shimmied her hips.

  “Are you sure you trust me? She looks mighty fine tonight.” Tex grinned and gave Lexie an appreciative look.

  Connor glanced over at her again. She was always gorgeous, but now, wearing a figure-hugging short black dress that exposed almost all of her back, she was stunning.

  He dragged his eyes away from her. “Not really. But if you want me to find out what’s eating Noah, then you’ll fucking do it.”

  Tex smirked. “I guess it’s lucky we have that agreement then.” He looked Connor straight in the eye, his smile widening.

  Connor’s suspicion that Tex knew about him and Lexie grew stronger at his friend’s pointed tone, but if he thought Connor was going to admit anything, he was sorely mistaken. He narrowed his eyes at Tex. “Are you going to do it or not?”

  “You got it, man. I won’t take my eyes off her.” He made a show of adjusting himself in his jeans as he looked over at Lexie. Connor ground his teeth together but knowing Tex would look out for her, he ignored him and turned away. He walked over to Noah, who now had a barely dressed woman sitting pressed up against him, although he appeared to be ignoring her.

  “Give us a minute, will you, love,” Connor said to the woman, who gave him a flirtatious smile before sashaying over to the bar. Noah barely seemed to notice her leaving.

  Connor sat down next to him. “Are you okay? You’ve gone white.”

  Noah looked sideways at Connor, squinting against the light as he tried to focus.

  “It’s my head. It’s been coming on all day.”

  Shit. Noah occasionally got nasty headaches, verging on migraines. He hadn’t had one for such a long time it hadn’t even occurred to Connor that’s what it might be.

  “Why the fuck didn’t you say something sooner? You shouldn’t even be here. Come on, it’s time to head back to the bus, anyway. We’ll have to leave in a couple of hours if we’re going to make tomorrow’s venue in time.”

  He thought Noah would argue with him, but after blinking blearily a couple of times, he just nodded and got to his feet, staggering slightly. If Connor didn’t know Noah had barely touched any alcohol that night, he’d think he was drunk. He got his arm underneath Noah’s, and then one of the security guys had his other side. Next thing Tex was striding over to them, looking at Noah with concern. “One of his headaches,” Connor muttered to Tex.

  “I’ll get them to call a car to the back entrance so we can try to avoid the paparazzi. People will assume he’s wasted if they see photos of him like this.”

  “Good idea.” He looked around but couldn’t see Lexie and Zac, which bothered him more than it should. “Can you round up Lexie and Zac too?”

  Tex nodded and headed off, while Connor and the security guy got Noah out the back and then into the car that pulled up for them. A few minutes later, Lexie, Zac, and Tex came out of the same door. Lexie’s expression was concerned, while Tex and Zac had their heads close together, probably trying to figure out the best way to help Noah. When they slid into the limo, Lexie sat opposite Connor and gave him a worried smile.

  By the time they got back to the tour bus, Noah was groaning, his head in his hands. Connor asked Lexie to tell Maggie what was going on since she’d know where they kept the painkillers. Once they got Noah inside the bus, Maggie handed him a glass of water and two pills, which he downed immediately.

  Lexie spoke up. “I think he should stay in my bedroom tonight. It’ll be too difficult trying to get him into his bunk, and he’ll be close to a bathroom if he needs it. I can take his bunk.” Connor paused, thinking. As much as he didn’t want to kick Lexie out of her bedroom, she was right—it would be better for Noah to be in a proper bed.

  He nodded at her. “Thanks. After we’ve got him in bed, we’ll get his bunk fixed up for you.”

  He and Tex half-carried Noah into the bedroom and got him undressed. Maggie got a bottle of water and put it by the bed, then went to help Lexie change the sheets in Noah’s bunk. After Connor and Tex got Noah into bed, they left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

  Lexie stood next to the bunks, her eyes worried. “Will he be all right?”

  Connor rubbed the back of his neck. “He hasn’t had one of these for a while, but with the painkillers and a good night’s sleep, he should be better tomorrow morning.”

  By the time everything had been sorted, they were all ready to crash. Lexie got changed in their tiny bathroom while Connor, Tex, and Zac just stripped down to their underwear in the aisle as they normally did when there weren’t any women around.

  When Lexie came out of the bathroom, Connor’s heart rate went through the roof. She was wearing a thin white tank top, that didn’t in any way hide the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra, and a pair of tiny pajama shorts that only just covered her ass. Lexie’s eyes widened and she froze, clearly not expecting them all to still be lingering in the aisle. She quickly raised her bundle of clothes to cover her breasts, but the stunned silence from the three men caused her face to flush bright red.

  Connor cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Tex and Zac until they stopped staring, mumbled good night, climbed into their bunks, and pulled their curtains shut.

  As soon as they did, Connor took two steps forward until he was standing in front of her. He said nothing, just wrapped his arms around her, grabbed her ass, and pulled her up against him so she could feel what she did to him. She let out a small gasp that he silenced by covering her mouth with his, unable to resist the temptation of tasting her.

  It was difficult, but he broke the kiss quickly, not wanting either Zac or Tex to look out and see them. When he did, she was staring at him, eyes flaring with desire. He ran his hand through his hair and blew a breath out, then leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Get into bed, Lexie, before I take you right here.”

  She shivered but nodded and then raised herself on her tiptoes and pressed a feverish kiss to his mouth before ducking down and disappearing into the bunk.

  Connor groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. Now he had the hard-on from hell, and considering the situation, not much he could do about it right now. Grumbling, he pulled himself up into the top bunk and closed the curtain, hoping sleep would come quickly. Two days from now they had another hotel stay, and he couldn’t wait to get Lexie in his bed again.

  * * *

  Connor lay in his bunk, acutely aware that Lexie was sleeping below him. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours before he finally heard familiar soft snores from both Tex and Zac. Lying there in the dark, looking up at the ceiling of the bus, he felt like a teenager again, constantly horny. Hearing restless shifting from the bunk below him, he stilled, wondering if Lexie was also having trouble sleeping.

  After a few more minutes of rustling from the bunk below, and then a small frustrated sigh, Connor smiled to himself. He climbed out of h
is bunk and quietly lowered himself to the floor next to Lexie’s curtained alcove. Squatting down, he whispered her name, not wanting to startle her into making a noise and waking the others. When he heard her soft, questioning reply, he pulled the curtain back and slid in next to her. Lexie seemed surprised but didn’t protest when he slipped under the covers, dragging the blankets back up over both of them.

  “Hey,” he whispered. “Couldn’t sleep.”

  She laughed quietly. “I know the feeling.”

  Lying on their sides facing each other, he pulled her flush up against him, lowered his mouth and pressed his lips to hers until she opened for him. She moaned as he swept his tongue into her mouth, and he broke away to whisper in her ear. “Not too loud, baby. Zac and Tex both sleep like the dead, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  He slid his hand up under her top, stroking the warm satin skin of her stomach, before moving up further, his fingers grazing the side of her breast. He palmed her, then rolled the hard point of her nipple between his fingers and thumb. Lexie’s breathing became uneven, but she stayed quiet, running her hand up over his shoulder and smoothing it down his back.

  Connor didn’t want to push his luck any further than he already had and pulled his hand away, prepared to leave and let her get some sleep. But when Lexie started shimmying out of her shorts and panties, he couldn’t resist helping her take them off, then grabbing her ass and pulling her hips to his so she could feel the hard ridge of him pressing against her. She was already so wet he could feel it even through the material of his boxer briefs, and his heart thudded almost painfully in his chest.

  Still in complete silence, Lexie ground against him, and Connor felt nearly out of his mind with lust, just from having her rub herself on him.

  He should stop this now. When he’d come down here, he’d only been intending to make out with her a bit, never expecting she’d want to take it further while they were in the bunks. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Lexie, baby, we don’t have to do anything tonight. I know this isn’t the best place for it. We can wait until we get to a hotel.”