Ladies Love Rock Stars: Taming the Bad Boys of Rock and Roll

by D'Ann Lindun

The limo driver angled the big vehicle into a narrow parking spot and stepped out of the car. He came to the side door and slid it open. They stepped out, ladies first.

  Stoney took Maura’s hand as naturally as if he’d been doing it for years. The four couples walked down a steep staircase to a dimly lit room. A long bar took up one side of the area, several tables were scattered around the interior. An old jazz tune came from a woman playing a piano in one corner. The scent of grilling meat filled the air made Stoney realize he was starving.

  To his surprise, no one seemed to be filming them on their phones, or approaching for autographs. Telluride must be used to celebrities. Come to think of it, not one person had bothered him since he’d been in Colorado.

  A pretty hostess showed the group to a table in a corner nook and promised a waitress would soon be along to take drink orders.

  “This is nice,” Stoney told Maura. “Been here before?”

  “No.” She sipped from a goblet of water. “I didn’t date much when I lived in Black Mountain.”

  “Focused on your career?”

  She coughed. “Something like that.” Her gaze went toward Adam at the far end of the table. “Most of the guys were into something, or someone a little different, I guess.”

  Suddenly the light went on. Eden’s hostility. The way Maura looked at the cowboy when she thought no one was looking. Adam Pelletier was the one who got away for her. Stoney’s gut knotted. Did she still want the guy? Was she with him tonight just to make another dude jealous? Was she just like Nicole? Only with him for what he could do for her career?

  His appetite vanished.

  This night couldn’t end soon enough.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Maura sensed a change in Stoney, but wasn’t sure what caused it. He’d been acting like an over attentive boyfriend, turned a cold stranger. He only spoke when spoken to and then only in short, terse replies.

  Maybe it was the group. She, too, felt out of place with this bunch. Other than Starla and Dillon, she didn’t feel overly welcome by any of the others, although they were civil enough. Both Shiloh and Eden believed she was after their man.

  In Dillon’s case, that had never been true. They were nothing more than duet partners, arranged by their manager.

  After her attempt and failure to seduce Adam last year, Maura had given up her quest. For the first time since the seventh grade, she’d no longer wanted Adam Pelletier after their one disastrous evening together. That night had finally killed her ardor.

  She slanted a glance at the man on her right, then one at Adam. The two men couldn’t be more different. Adam was a cowboy from the top of his Stetson to the soles of his Justin’s. He was clean cut, handsome and polite. Stoney wore his shaggy hair, tattoos and a bad boy attitude like armor.

  Underneath his cocky arrogance, she thought he was a lot more like the cowboy than he’d ever admit. He’d shown his softer side when he spoke about his child. The love he had for her was written all over his face and in his tone when he spoke her name.

  Maura was slightly offended he hadn’t told her about his daughter, but in all fairness, she hadn’t asked him if he had children. Being a parent wasn’t something she gave much thought to. She liked kids fine, but from the time she’d been young she’d been focused on her career. Maybe someday. If the right guy came along.

  Someone like Stoney.

  She started.

  Having his kids appealed to her, a lot.

  She took a big gulp of wine and choked. Getting back to Nashville soon had to be a priority. She was losing her mind. No, she was losing her heart.

  Her gaze flew to Stoney’s profile, then to Adam. She could not and would not fall for a man who didn’t want her ever again.

  The lady playing the piano caught Maura’s attention. Although not a huge fan of jazz, she recognized an old Sarah Vaughn tune her grandmother loved. “Excuse me.”

  The pianist smiled when Maura approached, took the microphone from its stand and began to sing the classic words. The restaurant went silent, and people turned to watch. As the last note faded away the small crowd applauded.

  The pianist’s fingers flew over the keys. “Know this one?” It was a newer tune by Diana Krall.

  “I know her Faint of Heart better,” Maura said. “Can you play it?”

  “That’s her duet with Vince Gill.” The pianist bent over her instrument.

  “I can sing it alone, but someone here might know the words.” Maura strode toward Stoney, microphone in hand. When she was almost to him the music started. Keeping her gaze on him, Maura leaned close and sang her lines.

  The lyrics said what she couldn’t—that she wanted to take a chance with him. She held out her hand, and after a second, he took it. She looked up into his dark eyes and something flashed there that made her knees shake.

  Stoney sang Vince Gill’s part like it was his own song.

  The music ended, but Maura didn’t know if anyone clapped or not. The only person she saw in the room was Stoney.

  He kept his hand on hers, stood and led her past their table, outside. Without hesitation, he led her to the limo and helped her inside. He tapped the window and the driver opened it. “To the best hotel in town, please.”

  Maura’s mouth went dry. There was no doubt what Stoney had in mind. They weren’t going somewhere to sleep.

  As the limo sped through town, an unwelcome memory played in Maura’s head.

  Adam led her to the couch. Swiping a pile of newspapers and unfolded clothes to the floor, he sat and pulled Maura across his lap. He tossed his Stetson aside and wrapped his arms around her. “You smell good.”

  Her tongue touched his ear and a shudder ripped through him. “You taste good.”

  He wrapped his hand in her hair and dragged her lips to his. There was no teasing, no seductive caresses. Instead, he ravaged her mouth. She met the thrusts of his tongue with equal eagerness. Her hand circled his neck, holding him prisoner. He didn’t need much encouragement.

  He slid his hand under her loose blouse and found her braless breast. Small, taut. Her nipple hard against his palm. He tweaked it and she moaned. Together, they removed her top, and his, tossing them aside.

  She straddled him, her hands cupping his face as he claimed her mouth again. She rode up tight against his erection, their jeans a frustrating barrier. He reached for her zipper, and she helped him slide it down. She bent and sucked his neck, her hair in his face.

  Her black jeans fell open. He kicked off his boots.

  He splayed his hand across her flat belly, before he slid his palm down her stomach, under her panties and into the silky curls between her legs. Dipping his middle finger into her wet center, he pressed deep until she moaned into his mouth and her hips rocked in a steady rhythm with the tune he set.

  He took his mouth from hers and dipped it to a nipple. He sucked deep, and her vagina clenched in orgasm. Her scream echoed through the house before she sagged against him, her nipples pressing like twin shards against his chest. “My God.”

  He smoothed her hair away from her face. “Good?”

  She ducked her head into his chest. “Yeah.”

  A low chuckle rumbled out of him.

  Slipping to the floor, still caught between his legs, she reached for his fly. Shimmying, he helped her tug off his jeans. He kicked them aside, uncaring where they landed.

  “Do you have a rubber?”

  “Yeah. I’ll go get ’em,” he said in a guttural voice.

  “Hurry.”

  Adam hustled into the kitchen where he’d dropped the grocery bag with the coffee and condoms. Grabbing the box, he ripped it open, grabbed two foil packets and carried them back into the living room. He stopped at the stereo system and turned on the CD player. Soft country music filled the air.

  Maura lay splayed across the couch, her legs open. “Come here.”

  He obeyed, opening one of the foil wrapped condoms as he crossed the room. Already sheathed, he moved between her part
ed thighs. He braced on his elbows, keeping his weight off her, and kissed her again. The tip of his erection moved against her slick opening.

  “Love me,” she pleaded.

  He closed his eyes and moved his mouth to her ear. “I’ve waited so long.”

  “No more waiting.” She urged him to mount her with her hands on his hips. “Now, Adam, now.”

  “I want you, baby.” He pressed forward, heaven waited. “Sweet Eden.”

  She shoved his chest. “Eden? What the hell?”

  His eyes flew open. “Maura. I meant Maura.”

  Moments before, she’d been filled with desire. Now she was filled with anger and hurt. “The hell you say.”

  She shoved him again, and he stood, erection fading fast. “I know who you are.”

  She climbed to her feet and crossed her arms over her bare chest. “Do you, Adam? Because as long as I can remember, it’s been Eden you want. Not me.”

  He stood silent in the face of her accusation. He couldn’t deny it. “I’ll drive you home.”

  ~*~

  The driver delivered them to the front door of The Miner’s Inn, one of the fanciest hotels in Telluride. Stoney paid and they walked down the silent hall to their suite. At the door, he inserted a key card.

  Maura’s heart pounded so hard she felt it might come out of her chest. Once she stepped through that door there was no turning back.

  Stoney opened the door and ushered her inside. He turned the lights down and she took in her surroundings in the soft light. An enormous cavern, carpeted in dove gray, it was bigger than her apartment in Nashville. A paisley maroon sofa set sat in front of a marble fireplace.

  Maura was drawn to the floor-to-ceiling windows looking toward the mountains. In the dark, only the jagged edges stood against a purple sky.

  Stoney moved behind her, and music came from hidden speakers. She turned to watch him as he poured two glasses of wine from the bar. He handed her the glass. “I was surprised you knew that jazz tune.”

  “I like most music. I listen to everything.” She sipped the wine and looked at the lights of the little town in the valley below. “So pretty.”

  “It is, but I prefer somewhere bigger,” he said.

  Maura turned to face him. “Like L.A.?”

  “Yeah. I love the warm days and the beach. All the excitement in that town. Never a dull moment, or time to feel sorry for myself.” He looked away from her and gave a short laugh. “Which is a good thing.”

  “I feel the same about Nashville,” Maura shared. “It’s home and I love it there.”

  He gestured toward the mountains in the distance. “You don’t miss this?”

  “No. I was never comfortable being a small-town girl. My best friend and I wanted out from the time we were very young. We both wanted more than bare feet and babies.”

  He gave a short laugh. “In my hometown, half of my friends had kids by the time they were eighteen. I didn’t want that life. An unhappy wife, bored kids and a logging job. Music was all I cared about. Still is.”

  “You have a child, though? But not the unhappy wife?” If he was married, she was bolting for the mountains.

  “A kid, yeah. No wife. We never married. A fact that makes Nicole extremely angry.” He shoved a fistful of his shaggy hair away from his face. “We met at a backstage meet-n-greet. One thing led to another and she joined the tour. It was supposed to be temporary, but when the gig was over, she came home with me kind of like a stray dog.” At Maura’s horrified look, he elaborated. “Nicole’s a leech, looking for a sugar daddy. When I asked her to leave, she told me she was pregnant.”

  Maura drew in a breath, but didn’t comment.

  “I didn’t see that as a good enough reason to marry her, which made all hell break loose. I ended up in court, sued for child support and maintenance, which she was awarded. A hefty amount, I might add. But she won’t let me see Lucy. When I try, she’s always at dance or voice or a playdate.” He sighed. “Guess that’s more than you wanted to know, right?”

  “I’m sorry,” Maura said softly.

  “Me, too. I love my kid hard, want to be in her life.” He downed his glass and slammed it on an end table. “Maybe someday.”

  “It must be hard being around Cowboy and Montana so happy with their baby,” Maura said. Kind of like seeing Adam and Eden together, expecting a child.

  He snorted. “You don’t know half of it. All my wild-ass buddies are settling down, getting married. It’s like they all caught some love sickness, or something. I never thought Cowboy would hitch himself to another woman after what his first wife did to him, but he’s head over heels for Montana. And you’d think he was the first guy to ever make a kid the way he goes on about their baby.”

  She cocked her head sideways. “Are you immune to love?”

  “No, but I don’t want it be used as a tool to tie me down.” He looked straight into her eyes. “Cowboy and the rest of my buddies might be ready to put their necks in a noose, but I’m not the staying kind, honey. I’m not looking for a girlfriend.”

  Maura flinched. She wasn’t looking to get married either, but to be told upfront he didn’t want more than sex was a bit much. She wasn’t a groupie looking for a hookup so she could tell her friends she’d been with a guy in the band.

  She turned and walked away from the windows with her arms wrapped around her waist. His question turned her around.

  “Are you still into that guy? Adam, the goat roper?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

  Maura froze. “What makes you say something like that?”

  “You’re not good at hiding your feelings. Probably why you’re a singer.” He moved and perched on the back of the sofa. “I could tell he means something to you. You hung up on him?”

  “Not anymore.” Maura gave a harsh laugh.

  “But you were?” he braced his hands on the sofa.

  He’d shared, so she figured she had nothing to lose by telling him a little bit of her sad story. “For way too long he was my ideal man. I thought Adam Pelletier was perfect. His father’s a judge and Adam’s entire family has money, manners and good looks. He seemed like a god on this pedestal that no one else could ever surmount. From the time I was in the seventh grade, he was my crush. Everyone knew and teased me about him. I didn’t care. I was in love.”

  “But…?”

  She hesitated. To tell the whole story would make her seem so needy, so desperate. Would he think she was like his ex, Nicole? Do anything to catch a man? She licked her dry lips. “I was blind. I thought if I tried hard enough, I could make him notice me. Make him want me, not Eden.”

  Stoney waited.

  “It’s like a sad country song, really.” She tried to joke, but neither she, nor Stoney laughed.

  “What happened?”

  She didn’t want to tell him. The only person she’d ever shared the entire mortifying episode with had been her best friend, Madeline. Guilt and shame at her foolish actions filled her. “Nothing.”

  “Tell me,” he urged.

  She needed him to understand why she no longer loved Adam. The words came slow and painful. “Adam and Eden lost a child, he was stillborn. Grief over his death broke them up, but they didn’t divorce. Adam came to The Waterfall one night when I was performing and we started talking, and to paraphrase you, one thing led to another.” She ducked her chin into her chest as remembered humiliation washed over her. “Let’s just say that it was proven to me that Adam would only love one woman. And it is never going to be me. He went back to Eden and they’re expecting a baby.” She refused to look up, twisting her hands together. “So now you know the whole awful story.”

  When Stoney stayed silent, she turned and bolted for the door before the condemnation in his dark eyes destroyed her.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Maura fought to open the door through a cloud of tears.

  “Stop.”

  She shook her head because her throat was too clogged to speak. Stoney moved behind
her and placed his palms above her head, on either side of it. “Maura. Stay.”

  “I have to go.” The words clogged in her throat.

  Instead of responding, he dipped his head and gently kissed her bare shoulder. Maura froze. He brushed her hair away and did it again, then moved to her neck, planting kisses along the way.

  He crowded up against her and the hard length of him left no doubt that he wanted her. She shivered when he spoke next to her ear. “Come to bed with me.”

  A million doubts flashed through her head, but she banished them. “Yes.”

  Without speaking, he dropped his hands from beside her head and began undoing the row of hooks down her back. When he reached the bottom, the bustier fell open and Maura held it in place with both hands. She turned around, and holding her garment, met his eyes. In them she saw desire, but no judgment.

  Holding her gaze, he reached for her top. She let him take it, dropping her hands to her sides as it fluttered to the ground. With one finger, he reached out and traced one areola until her nipple stood at attention. He repeated on the other side.

  Goosebumps broke out on Maura’s skin.

  “You cold?” Stoney’s voice was low and husky.

  “Uh-uh.” She shook her head.

  Without warning, he scooped her up, hands under her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Her beaded nipples pressed into his chest and the friction on his shirt made them even stiffer.

  He packed her as if she weighed nothing, placing her on the king-sized bed in the master suite as if she were a priceless treasure.

  While he kicked off his boots, she did, too.

  She watched as he stripped out of his shirt, her mouth going dry as his hands reached for the top button of his jeans. When he undid them, and pushed them from slim hips, she swallowed hard.

  Even in the near dark, she could see he was already primed to go. She watched as he sheathed himself.

  Maura was ready for him, too. Her nipples stood at attention and her sex was wet and slick, ready for him. Without waiting for assistance, she shimmied out of her skin-tight jeans and thong. Kicking them aside, she scooted back against the mound of pillows.