Fever

by Carnal, MJ

  By:SKYE TURNER

  Dedications

  This, my first book, is dedicated to my husband, James and our children, Raine and Tristyn. Your support and understanding when the house was not cleaned, dinner wasn’t 5 star, and Mommy had to write while you watched cartoons, is amazing. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. You three are my inspiration and my heart!

  I’d also like to dedicate this book to my family and friends who were so supportive throughout the process. Without you pushing me to actually take the leap and get my ideas out of my head and onto paper, this would also not be possible.

  Alluring Turmoil

  Book 1 Bayou Stix

  By

  Skye Turner

  ****

  Skye Turner Copyright ©2013

  All rights reserved.

  This ebook is the sole property of the author and may not be reproduced or transmitted without the permission of the author. Please help prevent the piracy of ebooks. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, places, events, or occurrences is purely coincidental. IF YOU DID NOT PAY FOR THIS BOOK, THIS IS AN ILLEGAL COPY. PLEASE RETURN IT IMMEDIATELY AND PURCHASE A COPY FOR YOURSELF.

  The author acknowledges the real people or places and copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, Boone’s Strawberry Hill, The Capitol, The Civil Wars, Corvette, Death Valley, Green Lantern, Hilton Downtown, Jello, John Mayer, Kryptonite, Lake Tahoe, LSU, Men’s Health, Michael Bublé, Mississippi River Bridge, New Orleans, Reno-Tahoe International Airport, The River Center, Rolling Stone Magazine, Spiderman, Superman, Tiger Town, Tiger Stadium, Twilight Takes Over Baton Rouge, UCLA, Usher.

  Cover Design by: Cover to Cover Designs

  Editor: Mandy Schoen

  Swag: Cover to Cover Designs

  *Due to graphic sex scenes and strong language, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

  <><><>

  Books by Skye Turner

  Alluring Turmoil, Book 1 Bayou Stix

  Alluring Seduction, Book 2 Bayou Stix

  Alluring Ties, Book 2.5 Bayou Stix

  Alluring Temptation, Book 3 Bayou Stix

  Alluring Infatuation, Book 4 Bayou Stix

  Alluring Surrender, Book 5 Bayou Stix

  Coming: March 13, 2015

  James Black, Book 1 James Black

  Chapter One

  Lexi

  “Come on, Lexi. Why are you being difficult? It’s front row at Bayou Stix. BAYOU STIX! Do you not understand this? Micah pulled some serious strings to get us these. Come on!” is what I hear from my old college roommate, now best friend Bradi.

  “Bradi, I just don’t know. Things are so busy here, I have inventory to do, and I really need to get started on the Masons’ wedding cake. Besides, I’m not a big fan of Bayou Stix. You know that.” I answer, as I look around at my coffee shop/bakery.

  Java and Sweeties is my baby. It was always my dream to own and run a coffee shop/bakery. I’m living my dream and I’m very proud of what we’ve put together here over the past few years. Looking around, I take in the autumn sunset colored walls with the back wall being a built in bookshelf. The black leather couches and recliners spaced intermittently with the bistro sets and warm mocha throw rugs on the polished hardwood floor give the space a warm and welcoming feel.

  Over the past two years, business has really taken off and Java and Sweeties has become the go-to place for LSU students and professionals alike to come to study, or work on presentations. My cakes and baked confections have also been on more than one highly respected person’s table over the past year.

  “Oh, don’t give me that bullshit Lexi! This place can spare you for one night. One night! I get it. It’s your baby, but you still need a life. You are coming with me to the concert. It’s Jude… fucking… Delecroix! Sex on a stick! Don’t make me break out the big guns, because you know I will!”

  “That doesn’t work on me Bradi. I’m immune to your wiles,” I say with a chuckle. “But you’re right… ok. I’ll come with you. But I am not going backstage. I mean it. I’m serious!”

  “Ok fine. We’ll see. Yay!” Bradi exclaims as she jumps around doing some sort of happy dance. “Sheesh, I don’t want to have to browbeat you. And I know it isn’t your thing, but it’ll be fun. You’ll see!”

  “Yo Erik, she said yes!” Bradi yells out to my lifelong best friend, as he’s making an espresso behind the counter.

  “Oh great. That’s awesome. It’s going to be an interesting night. One that we’ll certainly never forget!” Erik calls back, giving me a small wink and a sheepish smile, before turning back to the customer.

  “Sooo, what should I wear? I’m thinking my purple skinny jeans with my black stilettos and my black sequined halter top. You know the one that makes my boobs look fabulous? Or should I wear my leather mini skirt with the red tube top and my thigh high leather boots? I want to be sure the band notices me!” Bradi asks me with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Come on Bradi, seriously? Aren’t you back on with Micah? You know, hence the front row tickets to the sold out concert. And you being noticed is never a problem!” Bradi is gorgeous. As in supermodel gorgeous. She’s what guys call “stacked”. At 5’8 with wavy blond hair accented with dark chocolate lowlights, moss green eyes, a perfect heart shaped mouth, breasts that women pay for, a narrow waist, and curvy hips with legs for days, yeah, she has no trouble being noticed.

  Now, I’m not unattractive, but next to her, I feel like a wallflower.

  Bradi gives me a devious grin and says, “Yes, we’re back on. We’re always on. Even when we’re off. I love that man! And was he on last night… Ahhhhhhh! However, there is nothing wrong with trying to catch a sexy rock star’s attention. Besides, I’ve already told you, if Jude Delecroix motions my way, I’m dropping my panties before he can blink and change his mind. I would so have his rock star babies. “

  My heart starts racing and my head feels strange as I say, “Ok, you do that. Rock stars are overrated. In my opinion, you should stick with Micah and have his babies. He’s crazy hot, he’s in love with you, and he puts up with your insanity.”

  Bradi gives me a serious look and says, “Lexi, you know I’m joking, right? Are you ok? I would never do that to Micah. Jude is a fantasy… you know, most women have a guy they fantasize about. Sometimes, I wonder about you chick. Are you feeling ok though? I mean really, you look a little off. I think you’ve been working too much. You really do need a break, even if it’s just for one night!”

  I wipe my hands down my jeans and cover her hand with mine. “I know babe. You’re you and that’s why I love you. And yeah, I have been working a lot. This place just takes a lot out of me, but I love it.”

  “And that’s why you’re coming with us Friday night! You need to remember that you’re only 26. You might be a crazy successful business owner, but you’re also a fabulously sexy chick who needs to get out, have some fun, and shit, get laid!” she says with a smirk. “Now what are we going to dress you in?”

  I roll my eyes and can’t help but laugh at her. I love this crazy woman so much. Besides, she’s right, I need to have some fun. It’s time to let loose again and be a regular 26 year old, single woman. “You pick. Just make sure all my womanly bits are covered!”

  “Well, you’re no fun,” Bradi says with a smile. As she reaches over to kiss my cheek and I give her a hug, I don’t hear the door to the shop open.

  My back is to the door. The shop is busy for a Wednesday night. Almost every couch and chair is filled and there’s a nice line of people at the counter waiting to order their coffee or pick up a sweet treat from our bakery display racks. John Mayer is playing over the speakers low enough not to bother anyone working, but loud enough that you can hear the music.

&nbs
p; Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stands up as if I’ve just been shocked. Bradi is facing the door and her eyes go wide. “Oh my god… Oh my god… OH MY GOD!”

  I slowly turn around, as if pulled by an imaginary cord, but I already know what I’ll see. My mind sees everything as if in slow motion. My eyes travel the length of a slim, but cut, 6’1 body, taking everything in, from the tips of his black boots to the top of his spiked dirty blond purple tipped hair. I notice all of the tattoos and the scruff that looks as if it’s a permanent part of a chiseled face.

  “Oh FUCK ME!” I gasp out.

  I feel faint. My hands start to sweat, my stomach starts to clench, and my panties start to moisten. It’s instinctual. My eyes move back down a smidge and rest on the clear, hard, hazel eyes of the one and only Jude Delecroix, lead singer of Bayou Stix, and he’s staring right back at me.

  I unconsciously start to shake and forget that I’m still holding onto Bradi. Only now I’m squeezing her as if she’s a lifeline. I feel her move to where she’s looking into my face, but I can’t move. I can’t speak. I cannot break the all consuming hold of the hazel eyes across the room. Those eyes that still haunt my dreams… every night.

  <><><>

  Jude

  I’m staring into the whiskey golden eyes across the room and I can’t stop. It’s almost as if I’m frozen. Rooted to the floor. My hands clench and unclench and I have to grit my teeth. The urge to run across the room and kiss those moist red lips or to scream into that beautiful, perfect face for still affecting me is almost too much to handle.

  Alexia Sloane… here, in front of me. This is what I wanted. This is what I needed. But now that I’m here, everything I’ve ever thought this moment would be, the way it would play out, goes out of the window. My head is suddenly blank, but I can’t stop looking into those eyes. Those eyes, that I once thought could see into my soul. The eyes that every night when I close my eyes, I still see, no matter what I do to banish them.. no matter how many women I take into my bed. My heart is empty. Dead. But those eyes… those fucking gorgeous eyes. They haunt me.

  Chapter Two

  Lexi

  Bradi is pulling on my arm. I can feel her, sort of. It’s as if I’m in a tunnel, me on one end and Jude on the other. Everyone and everything else is covered in fog. Nothing else exists. It’s only him and me.

  Our eyes stay locked. I am stunned, frozen in time. I thought I’d do this differently. I knew there was going to come a time when we would be in the same room together again, but I’m not ready. Not now. I’m not ready! I need more time.

  “Lexi. Lexi. What the fuck Lexi? LEXI?” Finally I’m able to tear my eyes away from Jude and focus on my friend.

  Shaking my head to clear it, I look at her. I see the concern and confusion on her face. I’m finally able to comprehend that she’s talking to me, though I can’t yet understand what she’s saying. “What?”

  “Lexi! WHAT THE FUCK? Why are you and Jude Delecroix… Jude Fucking Delecroix, eye fucking and strangling each other from across the room? Do you know him? Lexi, tell me now! DO. YOU. KNOW. HIM?” Bradi is squeezing my hands now; I never even noticed she’d grabbed them.

  I sigh and look into her eyes, before glancing back at him. He’s still staring and I can see the rage on his face and in his eyes. The rage directed at me. I tear my eyes away from Jude and look back at my confused best friend. Suddenly I feel defeated, “Yeah. Yeah you could say that. There was a time when we knew each other very well. A time when we ripped each others clothes off at every available opportunity and fucked like rabbits. A time when the only way I was me, was with him. So yeah… you could say I know him. Or I guess I knew him.” My voice fades in and out as I talk. My voice is flat, monotone, as if I have no emotions.

  Bradi’s mouth is opening and closing like a fish and her eyes are wide, like saucers in her head, as if she can’t form a coherent sentence. She’s looking from me to Jude and back, like she simply cannot believe it. Finally, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before looking into mine. “The fuck you say? You…. you and Jude Delecroix? THAT Jude Delecroix?” She points at him. “The ROCK STAR! The one I talk about non stop? Are you fucking serious? How? Why? Oh my god… I don’t understand this.”

  I sigh long and loud. My heart is still racing. I cannot believe he’s here. He’s here. In my shop and in my space. It’s hard for me to breathe and I feel as if I’m going to throw up, but I can see the confusion and a hint of betrayal on Bradi’s face. I know I owe her some sort of explanation. “We grew up together. You know he’s from here. We were inseparable. The three of us were inseparable, Erik, Jude, and me. You know the guy I told you about? The guy I said I lost myself in? The guy who broke me… well… there you go. That’s him. It was Jude.” I’m flapping my hand in his direction as I talk.

  Looking at her and waiting for her reaction, time stands still. I don’t know what I’ll do if she walks away. With Jude here, with my emotions all over the place, with my heart in my throat and fear consuming me, I just wait… and wait.

  She takes another deep breath and she looks at me, really looks at me. It feels like an hour has passed, but I guess it’s really only been a few seconds.

  “Ok. Ok then. You and Jude Delecroix. Ok. It’s perfectly fine. But wait, no. No, you know what? It’s not ok! You and Jude Delecroix! You and Jude and you never told me?!?! Why didn’t you ever tell me Lexi? I’m your best friend! You should have told me!”

  Suddenly we realize the coffee shop is no longer quiet. We both look around. Girls are screaming. Laptops are left on tables and couches as Jude is completely surrounded. Hands are all over him, people are in his face, thrusting things at him to sign. He meets my eyes one last time and then it’s as if a switch is flipped. He turns away from me, dismissing me, and turns towards his fans. He’s instantly smiling, signing things, shaking hands. He’s no longer the boy I once knew. The boy I can’t get out of my head. He’s in his element; he’s Jude Delecroix… the rock star.

  I grab Bradi’s arm and pull her into the back, towards my office. I have to get away, away from Jude, away from his fans, away from the chaos in my beloved shop, I need to get away!

  <><><>

  Jude

  I look up from my fans. My fans, the people who love me. Guys who want to be me. Girls who want to be with me. I notice that Lexi is running from the room as if the hounds of hell are on her heels, dragging the blonde bombshell with her.

  I smile. I take photos. I shake hands and sign whatever is thrust at me. I’m going through the motions. I can do this in my sleep, but my mind continues to focus on the redhead who just tipped my world on its axis, again, and then fled. Leaving me and racing from the room as if she can’t get away from me fast enough.

  I don’t know why I’m surprised. It’s Lexi, and that’s what she does. It’s what she’s good at. At least with me.

  I come to a conclusion as a busty brunette rubs intimately against me and slips me her phone number and address on a Java and Sweeties napkin. I give the brunette a sexy smirk, place the napkin in my pocket and use her hand to pat it. Then I gently squeeze her ass, as I look in the direction Lexi just fled.

  Lexi can run, but she and I have unfinished business. And it’s past time she gets the fuck out of my head.

  Chapter Three

  Lexi

  I fall against the desk in my office. Bradi is as breathless as me, and is still looking at me like she’s never seen me before. I cannot breathe. Like at all. I feel like there’s not enough oxygen in the room. Dammit, I will not let him do this to me. He’s just a guy. A guy I used to know better than I knew myself, I thought, but still he’s just a guy.

  I try to take deep breaths and calm my racing heart. Finally, I am able to see straight and as I look into the shell shocked face of my best friend I realize he’s not just a guy. He’s Jude. He was my Jude. My life. He’s back. And I’m totally and completely fucked.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell y
ou, Bradi. I don’t talk about him. I can’t talk about him. I just… can’t. ”

  I’m biting down so hard on my lip, I taste blood.

  As Bradi looks at me, she takes in my wild, glazed eyes, my erratic breaths, my lip biting, and her face softens. She walks over and sits next to me on the desk, taking my shaking hands in hers. “Lexi, it’s ok. I don’t really understand what just happened, but I get it. I’m not mad. Honestly I am shocked though. You’re my best friend. We’ve been best friends for seven years, since sophomore year of college, and you’re always so put together. The Lexi I know hates rock stars, so the thought that you’ve gotten jiggy with one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is a lot to take in, ok? But it’s cool. I love you.” She sighs softly. “Are you going to be ok? What are you going to do?”

  Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I look at her and shrug. “I have no idea. What can I do? He’s here. I don’t know why he’s here or why he came into my shop, but he’s here. Fuck me.”

  There’s a knock at the office door and it slowly opens. Erik pops his head in. “Hey love, you ok?” He looks at me with concern. “That was… well shit, that was intense. I’m sorry it happened. I shut the place down for the night.”

  Nodding my head yes, I drop Bradi’s hand and look at Erik. “Yeah… is he gone?”

  “Yeah babe, he’s gone and his fan club along with him. Now tell me the truth. Are you ok? Remember I know you, so I know when you lie. And I know that was hard for you.” He throws his arm around me and I lay my head on his muscled chest and squeeze his jean-clad thigh.

  “I dunno, E. I really don’t know. I wasn’t expecting that, although I should have. I mean I knew he was in town with the concert and all, but why did he come here? Why would he come here? Did you know he was coming here?”

  Erik hugs me tight and I wrap my arms around him. He’s so built, my hands can barely reach around his stomach. He’s warm and comfortable and he feels like home. I love him so much.