by Roni Loren
“Are songwriting sessions usually this tense?”
He frowned. “They’re just under a lot of pressure, Lex especially.”
“How come?” Her inner journalism nose twitched, sniffed.
He shifted in his chair like there was a burr in the leather seat. “If they want to talk about it with you, they will. It’s really not my place.”
She faked a no-big-deal smile. Her first journalism professor had taught her that. Never seem too eager because it made people shut down. “Oh, sure, I understand.”
She returned the headphones to her ears and focused on the band. Well, focused on Lex, really. Even though he was an egomaniacal jackass, a girl could still enjoy the view. The guy filled out a pair of jeans like denim had been invented for him.
The band worked in fits and starts for two hours, hammering out one verse and the bridge but stalling out on the rest and eventually admitting defeat for the day. None of them seemed pleased with the results, including Pete. Pete punched the mic button. “Guys, let’s take tomorrow off. This studio time is expensive, and I don’t want to waste another day. Try to regroup, and we’ll give it a go again in a day or two.”
The guys started to pack up their instruments. Aubrey stretched her stiff muscles and yawned. The combination of her late night, the lunch with her mother, and two hours in a cool, dark room had helped exhaustion set into her bones. The door behind her creaked open, and she spun around in her chair. Lex propped his shoulder against the door frame, filling up the space with a smug smile. “Not fading on me already, are you, Ms. Bordelon?”
“Aubrey,” she corrected.
“Right, Aubrey.”
Coming from his lips, her name suddenly sounded sexy and dirty instead of sweet and Southern like it did coming from anyone else. With a voice like that, he could probably read her grocery receipt and turn her on. Hell, at the rate she was going, he could blink and accomplish the same thing. Pathetic. She crossed her legs. Clearly, her two-year bout of celibacy was shorting out her system, making it react to the most ridiculous things. She dug her nails into her palms to refocus. “Why does it matter if I’m fading? You guys are done for the day.”
“We’re finished with work for the day,” he said, nodding toward the studio window. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing a slice-of-life thing? We do other things besides work.”
She cocked her head, suspicious of his friendly tone. “Okay . . .”
“We’re going to dinner and then out on the town. If you’re game, you can come.”
She leaned forward in her chair. “What’s the catch? Yesterday you didn’t want me to even do the story.”
He shrugged. “I’m over it.”
Uh-huh. Sure he was. She had a feeling Lex Logan didn’t easily let go of anything—especially when it meant not getting his way. But even if she didn’t buy his sudden change of heart, any cooperation on the story would make things a hell of a lot easier for her, so she’d take her shots where she could get them. “Great. Then I’d love to come.”
Something flickered in his eyes, and his mouth twitched as if he were fighting off a smile. “Good, we’ll be heading out in a few minutes. You can leave your car here and ride with us in the limo. We’ll drop you off afterward.”
She had that brief lamb and wolf thought again. There was something sinister behind those innocuous words. But what else could she do at this point but follow him?
Baaa said the sheep.
***
“Damn, this is good,” Sean said through his mouthful of po-boy sandwich.
“Yeah, Aubrey,” Jared agreed. “Great recommendation.”
Aubrey smiled and licked a glob of mayonnaise that had escaped her sandwich off her thumb. Lex grimaced and forced his eyes down to his plate. He’d never noticed how sexy watching a woman eat could be, especially when the meal was messy and involved a lot of licking of fingers. Aubrey had a way of moving her mouth that made him think she savored each bite to its fullest, tasted every nuance of flavor. He found himself wondering if she’d savor a guy the same way. No, not a guy. Him. Would she take her time, close her eyes, and make those little happy noises like she was doing now when he slid into her mouth? Would that uptight demeanor disappear when she got all hot and desperate?
Lex shoved his chair back with a loud scrape and stood before all his blood rushed south and announced his thoughts. Last thing he needed to be doing was fantasizing about the annoying reporter. “I’m going to the bar for another beer. Anyone need anything?”
All three band members raised their empty beer bottles. Aubrey shook her head. Because of course she wasn’t drinking—too professional and all. She probably flossed after every meal, too, and always returned grocery carts to their little corrals.
“I’ll go with you,” Jared offered, jumping out of his seat. “I think I may want something stronger than beer this time.”
Once they made their way to the counter, Jared ordered a Crown and water and the beers. Then he leaned against the bar. “So what do you think of reporter girl?”
Lex shrugged as he watched Aubrey laugh at something Sean said. Sean leaned over and nudged Aubrey’s shoulder with his. Lex’s jaw clenched. “Kind of stuck-up. She’s definitely a society girl. If we didn’t happen to be her job, I doubt she’d be seen out in public with guys like us.”
Jared tilted his head. “You think? She seems kind of cool to me.”
“She’s dangerous,” Lex warned. “She saw us fighting today. If we’re not careful, she could blow open all the shit we’re in to the world.”
“Dude, you and Sean can’t go a day without fighting lately. How are we going to hide that?” The bartender lined up their drinks on the bar, and Jared dropped money on the counter.
“We’re not going to have to hide.” Lex grabbed his beer and took a swig. “I’m going to get her to drop the story.”
“Oh, is that right?” Jared looked unconvinced. “And how the hell are you going to do that? The chick’s determined.”
Lex eyed the subject of his plan. “She’s determined, but she’s also a little terrified of us, even if she’s doing her best to hide it. So I’m just going to give her the full rock-and-roll experience, drag her so far out of her comfort zone that she’ll go running back to her stories about four-star restaurants.”
Jared ran a hand through his short-cropped black hair, glancing at their table. “Or I could just sleep with her.”
Lex whipped his head around. “What?”
Jared swirled his drink and took a sip, his dark eyes dancing with mischief. “If I fuck her, then we could claim conflict of interest on the story, get her pulled off of it. Plus, she’s hot. I’d totally be willing to take one for the team. That whole buttoned-up, good-girl thing totally does it for me.” He pulled the stir stick out of his drink and tossed it on the bar.
Lex’s blood roared in his ears and he had the urge to throttle his friend before the guy said another damn word. “You stay the fuck away from her.”
Jared lifted his eyebrows and then raised his drink as if toasting Lex. “Chill, bro. Don’t get your panties in a knot. It was only a suggestion. If you’ve got a hard-on for her, you could be the one to bed her.”
Lex couldn’t even form a response to that. “Look, I’ll handle her, okay?”
They made their way back to the table and handed out beers. Lex made sure to lean in between Sean and Aubrey to put the drink down so that Sean had to scoot his chair away from her. Seemed like everyone was ready to take one for the team with the reporter. Opportunistic motherfuckers. Lex slid back into his spot across from Aubrey. She had a pen in her hand and was making notes on a small pad she’d placed on the table.
Lex didn’t like the look of that. “What are you doing?”
She peered up at him. “I was asking Sean a few questions for the story. He was telling me how you all met.”
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“Ah. All work and no play for you, huh?”
She twirled her pen in her fingers, considering him. “What would you like me to write? A story about which kind of sandwiches you guys prefer? I do have to ask some questions.”
“A sandwich story? Isn’t that what you usually do?” Lex asked, smirking.
Her eyes narrowed. “Something like that.”
Lex could tell he was annoying her despite her cool tone—that telltale shade of anger stained her cheeks. Good. “So how’d you get to be head food writer for the magazine anyway? You look too young to have worked your way up. Does your daddy own the company or something?”
Her jaw flexed, but her voice was all still water. “No, my father hasn’t done me any favors. But I guess you assume that’s how it works since I heard your dad paved your way into the music business.”
Gunner, his bass player, choked on his first sip of beer.
Aubrey threw Lex a cocky smile that gave him the urge to turn her over his knee and spank her smart ass.
Lex counted to three in his head to keep his composure. This girl didn’t back down. He wasn’t used to that. How long had it been since a woman had even questioned him? Two years of yeses and whatever-you-wants had left him unsure of how to handle someone like Aubrey. He met her eyes. “Don’t believe everything you hear. We’ve paid our dues.”
She held his gaze. “So have I.”
He didn’t buy that for a minute. She had “pampered” written all over her, but he let it go. For now.
“So what’s next?” Jared asked, tapping two straws on the table like they were his drumsticks. “It’s not even ten yet.”
Lex smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Well, I figured since we need to get some songs written, we should do something for inspiration.”
Sean examined his reflection in the window next to their table, touching the tips of his blond spikes. “Like what?”
“I’ve got a few ideas,” Lex said, slowly peeling the label off his beer. “I was thinking we’d go old school.”
Jared gave him a knowing nod. “Gotcha, I’m in.”
“Aubrey, how ’bout you?” Lex asked.
She gave him a pointed look and tucked her notebook into her purse. “As long as it’s legal, I’m up for whatever.”
He attempted his most angelic smile. “Of course we wouldn’t ask you to do anything illegal.”
Chapter 4
Aubrey tried to keep her face impassive as she strolled up to their next destination. Music blared from the open doorway and a short, stocky man called out to people as they passed. “Beautiful ladies for you! Only twenty-dollar cover! Totally topless! Come on in and experience Bourbon Street the right way!”
Lex scooted between her and Jared, placing his hand on the small of her back in a possessive gesture. She ignored the uptick in her heartbeat when the heat of his palm bled through to her skin. “Have you been here before?”
She gave him a you-gotta-be-kidding-me look, and he laughed.
“Yeah, it’s my first time, too. I have a buddy who lives down here, and he said the girls here are the best. Vegas quality.”
“Super. I’d hate to be subjected to crappy strippers.”
His smile was wry “Hey, if you want to go home, I can have the limo take you.”
Oh, so that’s what he wanted. He was trying to get her to leave. Good luck with that. “No, I’m great. Let’s go stuff dollar bills in G-strings.”
His self-assured expression faded a bit. He lowered his hand, dug a few bills out of his wallet, and then handed them to the doorman. The guy gave her a head to toe evaluation. “You too, cher?”
Lex threw an arm over her shoulder. “Yeah, she’s with us. This was all her idea.”
Aubrey shot Lex an eat-shit-and-die look.
The man grinned and nodded. “Ah, nice.”
As soon as they stepped into the club, Aubrey jabbed her elbow into Lex’s ribs. He dropped his arm from her shoulders and grabbed his side. “Hey!”
Jared walked by and clapped him on the back. “You deserved that one, dude.”
Aubrey straightened her shoulders and flounced past Lex to catch up with Jared. She prided herself on being an independent woman, but a seedy strip club filled with mostly drunk, definitely horny guys was not the place to wave her feminist flag.
Jared slowed his step, allowing her to catch up with him.
“Thanks,” she said over the music as she fell into pace beside him.
His expression was impossible to read in the dim pulsing lights of the club, but she sensed he was amused. “No problem. Lex was just being an ass.”
She nodded. “He’s good at it.”
He chuckled and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “You could say that.”
The others caught up to them, and Aubrey put her energy into ignoring Lex. Being a Saturday night, the club was already swarming with customers and tourists. She fielded a few curious glances, but most eyes were focused on the stage, where a girl crawled toward the crowd wearing Mardi Gras beads and not much else. The stage was an inverted T-shape, like a fashion runway, only with poles and without fashion. Unless sequins and G-strings were your thing.
The band commandeered a large table near the edge of the stage. And despite her best efforts for avoidance, Lex managed to snag the spot next to her. He leaned over until his lips were right next to her ear. “You look right at home here. The girls are going to love you.”
She pressed her lips together, smoothing her lip gloss, determined to not let him push her buttons. “So how exactly is this songwriting inspiration?”
He reclined in his chair and spread his hands wide. “This is perfect for inspiration. Naked girls, good music, overpriced liquor. What more could you ask for? This is a classic inspirational spot.”
She gave him a droll look. “Classic? What great songs have been inspired by a strip club?”
He scoffed. “Like half of Mötley Crüe’s catalog.”
“Hey, boys, can I get you something to drink?” The cocktail waitress bent over and put her hands on the table, letting the guys get a full view of her barely contained cleavage. Sean started rattling off the order, but the girl’s eyes locked on Lex’s. They got wider and wider until Aubrey worried they were going to pop right out of the woman’s head.
“Oh. My. God. Are you Lex Logan?” The waitress turned and examined the rest of them, her mouth forming a silent O. “Holy shit. You’re Wanderlust! I was at your show last night.”
Lex’s lip curled into an arrogant smile. “We are, but we’re kind of playing it low-key tonight, so can you not mention it to anyone else?”
She grinned and bobbed her head like she’d agree to absolutely anything he said. “Right, sure, no problem. Can I get an autograph, though? I tried to get backstage last night, but they wouldn’t let me in.”
“A travesty.” Lex waved her over and she handed him her pen. He signed the cocktail napkin and passed it to the rest of the guys. When Sean gave it back to her, she pulled her halter top down a few inches, exposing everything and tucked the napkin inside her transparent bra.
“Oh my god, I cannot believe y’all are actually here. You’re even hotter up close.” She stared at Lex like she wanted to eat him.
“So . . . Bridgette,” Aubrey said, reading the girl’s nametag and dialing up her Southern to her mother’s bless-your-heart level. “How ’bout them drinks, hon? Being surrounded by all this hotness makes a girl mighty thirsty.”
The girl straightened and smiled. “Right, I’m sorry. Y’all are making me forget myself. Four beers and a Sprite. Let me go get those.”
Lex coughed over his laugh. “Wow, that’s a knife-wielding accent if I’ve ever heard one. Not a fan of Bridgette?”
“She was about to pounce on the table and attack you. I just saved you from a mauling,”
she said dryly.
“Maybe I don’t want to be saved. She could serve as great inspiration.” The corner of his mouth kicked up into a challenging grin.
“Yeah, you could call the new song ‘Manwhore,’” she offered. “Or maybe ‘I’m So Easy.’”
He threw his head back and let out a loud laugh. The other guys threw curious glances his way, but then turned their heads back to the stage.
“That has a nice ring to it. And Ms. Bordelon, if I didn’t know better, I would say you’re acting a little jealous.” He smiled and tilted his chair until it rested on its two back legs.
“Jealous? Yeah, okay. You go ahead and tell yourself that.” But she could feel her face going hot and hoped that the dark lights would conceal her reaction. She was acting jealous, like an overprotective girlfriend. What the hell was wrong with her? If Lex wanted to bed the whole waitstaff, why should she care?
Lex let his chair drop back to the floor with a thud and leaned forward until he was inches from her. His eyes went multihued in the blinking lights, dangerous temptation dancing in them. “Maybe you want to volunteer to be my inspiration?”
The dark suggestion in his voice slipped over her skin like warm milk. A vision of him, naked, perched above her flashed through her mind—sweat glazing that tattooed skin and those eyes that made her want to lose herself staring down at her. She cleared her throat. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
He chuckled.
Bridgette dropped off drinks and then positioned herself on Sean’s lap, apparently assuming Lex was taken, and going for the next available band member. Aubrey resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead stirred her soda while she scanned the room. Men of every shape, size, and age filled the cheap velour seats. There was one other woman customer besides her across the room. She was smiling, watching her date get a lap dance from a pixie-size redhead. Aubrey shook her head. To each her own, but she didn’t get it. She wasn’t into sharing.
She sipped her soda and blanched. Blech. She touched Lex’s arm. “Hey, I’ll be right back. My drink’s flat, and our waitress seems a little preoccupied.”
