Rock Hard: A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance

by Archer, Arielle

  Whatever was going on, this had to be very interesting.

  "Really? Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

  More buzzing from the phone. So loud that I could almost make out the words. Almost, but not quite. Rachel nodded a couple of times, mumbling into the phone.

  Then she put her hand over the receiver. "Are you absolutely sure there was nothing between you and Grant last night?" she asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. A mischievous twinkle that suddenly had me on guard. That suddenly had me very worried. That suddenly had excitement warring with a sick feeling deep in my stomach.

  There was something about that expression that didn't bode well for me. There was something about that excited expression that had me just as excited, wondering if it was even possible.

  "Um, maybe?" I said, still not wanting to give anything away on the off chance she was still fishing for gossip.

  "Well that "nothing" that happened between the two of you the night before must've been one hell of a “nothing,” because he's down at reception asking for you. At least I'm pretty sure he's asking for you. You're the only Mia that we have working at this company, after all."

  I held up a hand, wanting to stop her. Wanting to somehow stop him from getting any farther than the reception desk. Only Rachel still had that mischievous twinkle in her eye. She looked down to the receiver. "Go ahead and send him through."

  I sighed. She put the receiver down. She looked up at me and cocked an eyebrow.

  "Sorry, but I'm very interested in seeing this!"

  To be perfectly honest so was I. Rachel nodded towards her office door and I stood, ready to go out where he would be coming up any moment now. I felt so nervous. I felt weak in the knees. What was he doing here. How could he possibly know where I worked? Why had he tracked me down?

  And above all of that, why was this giving me a ridiculous hope?

  I opened the door to Rachel's office and stepped out.

  Word must have traveled fast. It looked like the receptionist had told everybody in the cube farm what was happening. Women were popping up like prairie dogs and looking around in anticipation. And I was surprised to find a flash of jealousy at their behavior. I was surprised by the sudden possessive streak that went racing through me as I saw them looking around in obvious anticipation.

  He was probably coming up the elevators right now. He was probably stepping off and making his way down the hall towards our doors. And right on time with my imaginary estimation of his journey he stepped around the corner looking absolutely amazing.

  Not quite as amazing as the previous night when he was wearing practically nothing. And he didn't look anything like later in the night when he was on top of me completely naked… But it was probably best that I didn't think about that. I could already feel a blush rising, and that was the last thing that I needed right now.

  No, what I needed more than anything was to melt into the floor. Melt into the walls. I needed to go somewhere other than just outside my boss's office where everyone was dividing their attention between him and me.

  I was rooted to the spot. That smile on his face, the way his tight outfit clung to his body, the whole package was so incredibly sexy. I was under the same spell I'd felt the night before when he was singing up on stage, and this time around he didn't have the combined force of all of his rock star power backing him up. It was just him, in much the same way that he'd been last night when I met him at the diner, and for some reason that was even more alluring than the rock star.

  Though from the giggles and the way the girls were staring at him it was obvious they were all definitely seeing the rock star. It was obvious they were looking at the great Grant Thompson and wondering what the hell he was doing here. From the way a couple of them looked at me, their eyes going up and down my body in not-so-subtle judgmental glances, it was obvious they were all wondering what it was I had that drew his attention.

  Heck, I was wondering what it was I had that drew his attention. Did I leave something back at his bus? Maybe an ID or a credit card or something? That had to be why he was here. He couldn't possibly be here because he wanted to see me. It's not that I was down on myself or thought I was unworthy of a hot guy, far from it, it's just that I definitely wasn't used to this kind of attention from a man who had defined what "hot" was for my entire generation. This sort of thing just didn't happen to girls like me, even if I had gone through a couple of boyfriends that were close to Grant in the looks department!

  All those thoughts left my mind as he stopped in front of me and smiled. His thumbs were in his jeans. Jeans that were so impossibly tight. I glanced down and blushed as I saw that they definitely showed off the incredible bulge in the front. A bulge I'd gotten to know very up close and personal the night before. A bulge I'd still very much like to get to know up close and personal again.

  "Hey Mia," he said.

  His voice was quiet and he was glancing around the room as though suddenly unsure of himself. I blinked. Grant? Unsure of himself? What the hell was going on here?

  19: Mandatory PTO

  "How did you find me?"

  Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best way to start the conversation, but it was the thing that was foremost on my mind aside from just how goddamn sexy he looked standing there in those tight jeans and that black shirt that showed off the contours of his muscles without being skintight.

  He blinked. Apparently that wasn't the response he was expecting either. Good, let him be off guard just a little bit.

  "I suppose that's a fair question," he said. "I woke up this morning and you weren't there and I wondered what happened…"

  I tuned out what he was saying for a moment though. Because from behind me I heard a triumphant whisper.

  "I knew it!"

  When I turned around I saw Rachel standing next to another girl from our department. She at least had the good grace to look embarrassed when I gave her a flat stare. I wanted to scream in frustration. If she had her suspicions before, well they were good and confirmed now.

  I turned back to Grant and sighed. "I really don't think this is the best place to talk about this."

  I still didn't get my answer as to how he found me, but I figured it probably wouldn't be too difficult for a man with his resources to track me down if he had my phone number.

  Grant looked around and he seemed to realize that we had a bit of an audience. He turned back and smiled. He also had the good grace to blush.

  "Sorry," he said. "I guess I of all people should be used to having an audience. I've just been so distracted thinking about you all morning… I've been so worried I wasn't going to be able to track you down…"

  "Well you tracked me down somehow," I said. "And this really isn't the best place for us to do this. Maybe you could meet me after work or something…"

  "Actually I was hoping we could maybe go out now?"

  "I'm at work," I said.

  And even as I said that I found myself wondering why I was acting like this. Why I was trying to push him away. Maybe there was still a part of me that figured there wasn't a chance this would work out. That he was just here looking for round two no matter how much I wanted him to be here because he couldn't stand being away from me. I guess I was afraid to even give him a chance.

  "Don't be silly!" Rachel said, a hand suddenly descending on my shoulder as she came up beside me. "Mia here has the rest of the day off if you want to go out with her Grant. Hell, she has tomorrow off too if she needs it!"

  Grant grinned. I looked over to Rachel who was smiling, though the smile was ruined ever so slightly by the way she kept glancing at him and breathing just a little bit heavily. It was obvious she was looking for an excuse to be near him just as much as she was looking for an excuse to try and help out my love life. Not that my love life was in any particular need of help, damn it.

  "You hear that Mia?" Grant said with that panty-melting grin plastered across his face. "It sounds to me like you just got the next day and a half off!"<
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  I turned to Rachel and rolled my eyes. Of course she wouldn't understand why I was mad. All she would think was that she just got me a couple of days with Grant. For her that would probably be the best thing in the world.

  For me it also seemed like the best the thing in the world, but at the same time this was dangerous. I worried about getting attached. I worried about where this was going. I was so afraid of falling for him.

  Falling for him? Yeah, I guess that would be pretty accurate. I felt like I was falling for him in a way that I hadn't fallen for a guy in quite some time, and it terrified me.

  I turned back to Grant. I smiled. There was something infectious about the way he smiled at me. There was something oh so hot about the way he smiled at me.

  "Fine," I said. "You win. I'll go out with you."

  His face lit up and I felt so hot. Not just aroused either. There was something about that look that filled me with warmth. That made me feel good. That made it seem as though everything was right in the world even if it was only for just a moment.

  It was the giddiness of having a crush and knowing your crush was returned. A dangerous feeling. Very dangerous.

  Grant smiled and held out a hand. I looked at his offered hand and blushed as I thought of all the things he'd done with those hands last night. Magical hands. Hands that were far more talented than any man had a right to be!

  I took it. As I took his hand I heard a squeal from behind. No doubt Rachel getting a little too excited as she lived vicariously through me.

  Only I could understand where Rachel was coming from. Just taking his hand was enough to send electric pleasure running through my body. It was enough to send memories of all the naughty things I'd gotten up to the night before running through my mind and body at the same time. I very nearly gasped in pleasure right here in the cold fluorescent glow of the cube farm.

  Thankfully my body didn't betray me. That would've been too much. Too much indeed!

  "Let's go then," Grant said.

  It was too bad. It really was a fairytale moment, only I couldn't enjoy it because I was so damn nervous. I was going over and over this situation in my mind. Wondering what all of it meant. Wondering why he was here at my workplace of all things. Wondering why he seemed to be chasing after me when we'd just had the one night together. An incredible night, to be sure, but it was still just one night.

  I was so worried that I missed the fairytale moment where a beautiful rock god took me by the hand and escorted me out of my work while all the girls I worked with stared on with a mixture of hostility and jealousy.

  It's really too bad. That would've been a fun moment if I wasn't so far up my ass worrying.

  20: Lunch

  "Why did you leave?"

  I sighed. I'd been afraid he was going to ask this question from the moment he showed up at work today. And I didn't have a good answer even though I'd been thinking about it all morning.

  "I had to work…"

  It seemed like a weak excuse even as I said it. Judging from the way he was looking at me across the table he thought it was a weak excuse as well. He had a look that said he wasn’t putting up with my bullshit, though it was at least a friendly and amused “not putting up with your bullshit” look.

  "Your boss seemed more than reasonable. I'm sure she'd understand if you had to take the day off…"

  “Yeah, that would’ve been pretty easy,” I said, a little annoyance creeping into my voice. “I’d have to convince her I’d just spent the night with Grant Thompson and I needed the day off to have a whirlwind day with you. Kinda hard to believe unless you’re standing right there validating the story.”

  “I could’ve sent a selfie or something,” he said.

  That was true. There were ways around my flawed logic. Hell, she’d seen me at the concert the night before even if I didn’t know that when I was sneaking away in the middle of the night. She probably would’ve believed me even without the crazy story, but I wasn’t telling Grant that. No, this was getting too close to the real reason why I left.

  I was afraid. Afraid I’d been a one night stand. Afraid I might be more than a one night stand. Afraid of my feelings and of the world he lived in. Afraid of being pulled into that world which I wasn’t sure I wanted.

  Grant reached down and picked at his salad. We were at a nice little diner just down the street from where I worked. Not too different from the diner where we'd met the night before, only now we were sitting at a booth instead of up at the counter. Also we had to deal with women walking by and taking a look, then taking a second look as though they couldn't believe they were seeing what they thought they saw in the giant diner windows.

  So far no one had come in.

  Yet.

  Someone banged on the window and I looked up to see a woman who looked to be in her middle years. We made eye contact for a moment and she scowled at me. Yeah, it was pretty damn obvious what she thought of me. It was pretty damn obvious that I wasn't required. She looked to Grant who in turn looked down at his food and studiously ignored her. Not that it stopped her from pulling out her phone and snapping a quick picture. I rolled my eyes.

  Talk about a shining example of the sort of thing that made me hesitant to think of him as more than a fling. I couldn’t imagine dealing with that on a regular basis. I didn't know how he lived in that world. It was crazy!

  "So do you get this a lot?" I asked, desperate to find any excuse to change the subject.

  Grant looked up and locked eyes with me. A smoldering glance that took me aback. That had my entire body raging. That was a look of pure lust, but there was something else under all of that lust. There was pain there. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but I didn't. I was mindful of the people walking past, of the cell phone cameras that would flip out and take pictures.

  Grant might live in a totally different world, but I knew enough about that world to know that a picture of Grant with some random woman was already going to be all over the Internet. A picture of him holding that girl’s hand would set gossip sites on fire, and the last thing I wanted was to have my face plastered all over the Internet. Not that there was much I could do to stop it at this point.

  "You never answered my question," he said. "Why did you leave last night? I thought we had a good thing going."

  I sighed. It seemed like we really were going to do this. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried to avoid this conversation it was something that was going to happen. Well, if he wanted to have this conversation then I guess we could go ahead and have it. I might as well rip the bandage off now.

  "We come from two different worlds Grant. You've got all the stuff you're doing, and I'm just a girl fresh out of college who pushes spreadsheets around!"

  Grant leaned forward, reaching out to take my hands. I grimaced and glanced over to the window where more people were taking pictures. I thought I even saw somebody out there with a real camera. Well, I suppose it was only going to be a matter of time before word got out that Grant was here.

  Amazing how quickly people gathered even if it was a celebrity whose star had faded quite a bit.

  He seemed to take that grimace for something that it wasn't though. I saw that pained expression on his face again.

  "Mia…"

  He stopped. He seemed to be at a loss for words. And I felt my heart going out to him. I melted at that look. He really was everything I would look for in a man if I could choose all the traits I wanted in a partner. There was just the little problem of him being sought after by women all around the world. There was just the little issue of him being the "hot one" in a band I’d despised ever since I was in middle school.

  Though after last night I was at least willing to admit that maybe my distaste for the band hadn't been entirely warranted.

  "I don't think that's really what's going on here," he said. "What's really the problem? You can tell me."

  What was really the problem? Other than being pulled into a world where people wer
e randomly taking my picture just because I was out having lunch with a guy? Other than the fact that he'd been doing tours for more than a decade now and I was sure there were plenty of girls just like me who’d gone out with him, had a little bit of naughty fun in the back of that tour bus, and now all they had were the memories of that brief encounter?

  I was sure the road behind his tour bus was littered with forgotten one night stands. I didn't want to be one of those forgotten girls. If I was going into this then I wanted to know it was serious, but at the same time I was terrified of it becoming serious because it would mean being pulled into his world. The world I was getting a sample of right now as even more women were snapping pictures.

  "It's hard to explain," I said. "You can have any girl you want, and I'm nothing special. And you are what you are…"

  Grant’s hand squeezed tighter on mine. He held my gaze. It was a hypnotic stare. For a moment the outside world was forgotten. The sound of the diner disappeared. Even all the people out on the street stopping to take pictures of us, which seemed pretty damn rude if you asked me, left my mind as I was captivated by his stare.

  It wasn’t fair that a guy could do that to me.

  "I really think you're not being fair to me here Mia," he said.

  I blinked. "I'm not being fair to you? Are you being serious?"

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "You do that whole charming thing at the diner last night, you take me back to your bus and seduce me…"

  Grant blinked. Then he shook his head and started to chuckle. "What are you talking about? You're the one flirting with me with those text messages. You're the one who agreed to go back to the bus for a tour. You're the one who started playing that little what-if game…"

  "Are you seriously saying I was the one who…" I felt my voice rising. I knew that was bad, I knew there were people from the lunch crowd all around us, but I couldn't help myself.