Needing Arella (Rockers' Legacy Book 6)

by Terri Anne Browning

  “You look like a stalker standing out here glaring at nothing,” a soft voice said behind me.

  Sighing, I turned my head to find Aunt Gabs standing on the sidewalk beside me. I hadn’t even heard her approach. “Don’t be surprised if I suddenly turn into one,” I grumbled before bending my head to kiss her cheek.

  “Girl trouble?” she asked with amusement lighting her brown eyes. My only response was to grunt, causing her to laugh. “That’s the response I get whenever Asher has the same problem.”

  “Yeah? And what advice do you give him when he has these problems?”

  My rocker aunt lifted her brows in surprise. “If you need my advice, sweetheart, all you have to do is ask.”

  “Aunt Gabs,” I groaned. “Just tell me what I should do to make my girl—”

  She gasped. “Your girl? You’re claiming this one?” She gave a happy little dance. “Does LeeLee know?”

  “Mom doesn’t know. Yet.” No one but Mia knew the truth, and I wanted to fix that. Arella needed to know I wanted more than just her friendship before I told my parents…or hers. “As soon as I get this girl locked down, I’ll tell Mom. I promise. Until then, maybe you can suggest how I could go about doing just that.”

  “What, locking her down?” I shrugged in answer, and she sighed dramatically. “If this girl is who I’m thinking it is, you aren’t just going to ‘lock her down,’ as you so crassly put it. The way you appear in all those stupid tabloids, I honestly thought you were smarter and smoother than this Jordan.”

  “You know none of that filth is true,” I scoffed. “I can’t even stand those girls.”

  “Yet you’re in so, so many pictures in nightclubs, or coming out of nightclubs, with them. Usually with their lipstick on some part of your face or clothing.”

  Clenching my jaw, I didn’t try to defend myself. We both knew the truth, and I wasn’t about to discuss pointless shit with her.

  “Okay, fine. So you want to show this girl you’re serious about her?” I nodded, and she smiled sweetly. “Then you need to come home and stay home. Be there for her, show her that you want her and only her. No more pictures of slutty redheads hanging all over you.”

  I started to argue about the redheads, but she lifted both hands. “Yeah, yeah. I know your dumbass father has you wining and dining these girls to get their daddies’ business, but you’re going to have to choose who is more of a priority. The idiot who nearly lost the love of his life because he was without a doubt the dumbest motherfucker I’d ever met. Or the girl who could have her choice of any guy she wants and keeps running from you because she thinks you’re secretly in love with your best friend?”

  Shock hit me, knocking the air out of my chest, causing me to wheeze when I whispered, “She thinks that?”

  “Of course she thinks that!” Throwing up her hands, she glared at me. “I love you like you are my own, Jordan, but I swear you’re just as stupid as your father sometimes.”

  Gritting my teeth, I ignored her continued verbal abuse of my dad. He wasn’t as stupid as she let on, just had made repeatedly stupid decisions where my mom was concerned all those years ago. But she was completely right. Apparently, I was just as bad as my father if I couldn’t stop fucking up with my girl.

  How the fuck could she possibly think I was in love with Mia? Why would she even think that? I admit, fucking her was a mistake; I never should have done that. But she’d been hurting, devastated after finding out the future she’d always envisioned for herself was over. She’d needed someone to make her forget her broken heart for a little while. Honestly, it had been weird for me. Afterward, I’d felt sick to my stomach.

  Mia was hot, smoking hot, but I didn’t love her like that. She might have gotten my dick hard, but a guy either would have to be related to her, gay, or dead not to get hard at the sight of her. Still, it had felt wrong, and I’d never regretted anything so much in my life.

  Until now.

  Now, I regretted every move I hadn’t made to make Arella mine.

  Four

  Arella

  I woke with a start when I heard a giggle. My eyes snapped open, and it took me a moment to realize where I was. Beside me, Luca was softly snoring, a pillow under his head, while his huge body was stretched out on the floor. The television was still on, but the backlight was down low and the volume was muted. I wasn’t sure if Luca had pulled the comforter down over the both of us or if maybe one of his parents had.

  The giggle came again, and then I heard Uncle Jesse’s deep chuckle. They were right outside the door and, by the sounds I was hearing, about to get hot and heavy. I cringed, not wanting to hear them going at it, and quickly reached for my phone.

  Turning my head, I found it on the floor beside me and glanced at the time. It was a little after one in the morning, and I figured my aunt and uncle were just now getting home from Aunt Emmie’s party. I’d been asleep for at least two hours.

  Sitting up, I pushed my hair out of my face and rose to my feet. By the time I got to the door and chanced sticking my head out, the master bedroom door was just closing. Breathing a sigh of relief that I wasn’t going to catch my uncle stripping my aunt in the hall, I quietly left the house.

  Outside, I noticed that most of the vehicles were gone, and I rushed toward my car. But I’d barely gone a few yards when I remembered the stalker. What if he was watching me?

  “Stupid,” I muttered to myself. It was the middle of the night, and no one was around that I could see. What if the stalker tried to snatch me?

  My sprint turned into a full-on run, but when I got to my car, I realized my purse—and more importantly, my keys—was still in Aunt Emmie’s house. Groaning, I glanced at her front door, wondering if she was still awake.

  “I got your purse earlier.”

  A small yelp left me at the sound of an unexpected voice. Jerking around, I found Jordan had unfolded himself from the driver’s seat of my car and was standing there watching me intently. He held up my purse, and I could only assume my keys were in there.

  Pressing a hand to my still-pounding heart, I glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  His jaw clenched so hard, I thought it might shatter if he gritted his teeth. “I was waiting for you so we could talk.”

  A gust of wind blew, making me regret not having brought a jacket. Wrapping my arms around myself to fight off the chill, I ignored the heat pooling low in my tummy at the way his dark eyes were trailing over me. I hadn’t stopped to glance at myself in a mirror, so I had no clue what I might look like, but I’d bet my hair was a tangled mess and my makeup was probably smeared under my eyes.

  The way Jordan was hungrily eating up the sight of me, however, told me he liked what he was seeing.

  Need made my inner muscles clench hard, but I knew better than to think he would even make a move. And if he did, was it because he wanted me, or because he couldn’t have the girl he really wanted?

  “It’s late, Jordan. I’m not in the mood to talk.” I walked around the car, expecting him to step back so I could get behind the wheel.

  His arms wrapped around me so fast it was like a cobra striking, making me gasp. One second, I was a foot away; the next, my front was plastered against the front of his body while he pressed me back against my car. Liquid desire was already soaking my panties and smearing on my inner thighs. The cool night air flowing up my dress made me shiver.

  Jordan pressed his forehead to mine and inhaled deeply. “Let me clear something up here and now,” he growled. The sound was sexy as hell, vibrating out of him and making my nipples pebble into painful little points against my bra. “Mia is my best friend. I love her.”

  Pain ricocheted inside me, and it took a strength I didn’t know I possessed to hold back the whimper aching to be released.

  “But I swear, I’m not in love with her.”

  I pulled my head back as far as I could and blinked up at him. “Why are you telling me?”

  “Because someone brought it
to my attention tonight that you were under a huge misconception.” He pushed a few locks of my tangled hair behind my ear before trailing his fingers down my neck. I held back the whine at how good his touch felt, but I couldn’t stop the goose bumps that popped up in his wake. “I should have cleared this up years ago. But I didn’t realize you thought my heart was engaged in that way with Mia.”

  “You slept with her,” I reminded him. “And every girl you go out with looks like her in some shape or form.”

  “Sleeping with her was the biggest mistake of my life. I regretted it the second it happened. If I could go back and change it, I would. But I can’t, baby.” His exploring fingers trailed down my bare arm before entwining with mine and holding my hand prisoner. “And you should know more than anyone that just because I’m in trash mags with someone doesn’t mean I’m sleeping with them.”

  Angrily, I tilted my chin up. “Maybe you should tell that to Letizia.”

  His laugh was so deep, it made his entire body shake with it, causing my own to clench as my clit pulsed. I loved the sound of his laugh. It never failed to cause happiness to explode inside me, but right then, I wanted to punch him in the face.

  “Baby, Letizia is delusional. The only reason I see her so often is because of work.” Leaning in, he brushed his nose over mine, causing the sarcastic retort I’d been about to spew at him to dry up in my throat.

  Damn, why did that feel so intimate? It was like he was nuzzling something deep in my soul. When he did it again, I couldn’t contain my little mewl of contentment and melted against him ever so slightly.

  Jordan groaned as the sound left me and thrust his lower body against mine. It was then that I focused on his hardness. Holy shit, he was huge. My lashes drifted closed, and I felt a little faint as he twitched against me. It was like he had a third leg in his pants, for fuck’s sake.

  “Um, Jordan, how…” I paused and licked my suddenly parched lips. “How do you even walk around in this condition without ripping your pants?”

  When he didn’t answer, I lifted my lashes and found his gaze locked on to my mouth. Nervously, I licked my lips again and was fascinated by how his eyes dilated. My breathing started to pick up, my chest lifting and falling, making my tits jiggle slightly in the confines of my bra. The dress I was wearing was low-cut, so I knew it was giving him a nice little peep show of my cleavage.

  Still holding my hand in one of his, he lifted the other. Skimming his middle finger over the collar of my top, he brushed his nose against mine once again. “I have to go back to Italy.”

  Disappointment made my eyes sting with tears, and I clenched them closed.

  “But I swear, as soon as I get back, things are going to be different, baby. Once I’m home, I’m not leaving without you again.” He cupped my breast through my dress and bra, squeezing as if he were trying to mark me. “Just give me a little more time.”

  Swallowing the lump threatening to choke me, I put my free hand against his chest and pushed firmly. “I gave up on you a long time ago, Jordan,” I told him honestly, meeting his gaze. “You’re free to do whatever you want. There’s no need to make me promises or ask me for them in return.”

  “Maybe not,” he murmured, pulling me close once again. “But I’m making them anyway. When I get home, I’m staking my claim, Arella.”

  “Just because you call something yours doesn’t mean it’s true.” I tried to push him back again, but he wouldn’t budge. “Jordan, let me go.”

  “Never,” he breathed against my lips before he sealed his mouth to mine.

  My brain told me to fight him, to push him away and kick him in the balls. Who knew where that mouth of his had been recently?

  But my heart gave a happy little scream, and I melted against him, kissing him back hungrily. His hands cupped my ass, lifting me up. My fingers thrust into his hair, while my legs automatically went around his waist, causing my dress to hike up until his cock was pressed right against my soaked core.

  “Fuck yeah, baby,” he groaned as I cried out into his mouth when he rubbed against my clit. “That sound is the sexiest thing I have ever heard. As soon as I get back, I’m going to find out exactly what you sound like when I make you come all over my cock.”

  The only response I could muster was a weak little whimper as I rubbed myself against his hardness.

  “Really not the sight I was expecting—or even wanting—to see tonight.”

  My head snapped up at the sound of Lyric’s voice. I glanced around and saw him and Mila standing on the sidewalk. Mila had a tired but amused smile on her face, but my cousin was looking at us with a disgusted frown.

  Still breathing hard from our kiss, Jordan shot him a glare. “No one told you to look, Thornton.”

  Lyric snorted. “Kinda hard not to see you two going at it like that, man. Maybe you should take this somewhere else before one of the parentals sees you two.”

  My body felt like it was on fire, but reality was setting in and making me cool off way too quick. I started to shiver, and Jordan set me on my feet. “I-I should go,” I stuttered.

  “Night, Arella,” Mila called, tugging her husband toward his parents’ house.

  “N-night,” I muttered, moving to get into my car.

  Once I was seated, Jordan crouched down beside me and cupped my face. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone this time, but I swear it is going to be the last time unless you go with me.”

  “Jordan—”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he cut me off. Leaning in, he brushed a kiss on my cheek, and I had to clench my hands around the steering wheel to keep from pulling him in for another deep kiss. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  Five

  Arella

  Since my little brother didn’t believe in Santa any longer, we didn’t have to wake up ridiculously early to open presents at my parents’ house, so I didn’t arrive at their house until lunchtime the next day. I was just in time to help Mom make a huge brunch for everyone before we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts.

  Ever since Daddy had spent one Christmas in the hospital recovering from his liver transplant, I hadn’t taken spending this particular holiday with my family for granted. I wanted to make the most of every minute I had with any of them, and I wasn’t going to waste a single second.

  Pushing all thoughts of Jordan and the stalker out of my mind, I enjoyed the day with my siblings, brother-in-law, and parents. Cuddling with Conrad was the best part, though, and I fell asleep on the couch with him on my chest. The sweet baby scent filled my nose, and his slight weight and the utter trust he had in me to love and protect him had my eyes drifting shut to the sight of his precious face.

  “Arie.” My dad’s voice roused me from my restful sleep as he lifted my nephew off my chest. “Time for dinner, sweetheart.”

  Other than the nap I’d taken the night before with Luca, this was the most I’d actually slept since I’d gotten the first package from the stalker. I couldn’t close my eyes for longer than an hour or two at a time because I was always scared someone was watching me. Even in my hotel room, I couldn’t get comfortable, thinking the stalker could possibly find me at any moment.

  I could have told Nevaeh and Braxton and gotten a bodyguard within minutes, but I knew my sister would tell one or both of our parents, and I just couldn’t stomach the thought of either of them stressing over me. I wouldn’t be responsible for my dad worrying himself sick, and Mom was just starting to get back to herself after losing Pop-Pop.

  Besides, I was an adult. I could deal with all of this on my own. And it was just two little packages. It wasn’t as if this idiot was actually trying to get close to me.

  At least, that was what I kept telling myself. I’d repeated it over and over again since the first package, but I wasn’t so sure I believed it.

  After dinner, my parents talked me into spending the night in my old room, but Nevaeh and her little family went to their own house, which was just down the block. Really, Mom
didn’t have to try very hard to get me to agree. My parents lived in a gated community. The guards worked tirelessly to keep unwanted people out.

  Which was why when I walked to my car late the next morning and found a box sitting in my passenger seat, my knees went weak.

  Shaking, I got behind the wheel and fought my gag reflex as I called Cathryn on my drive out of the neighborhood.

  “Bring it to me, doll,” she said grimly. “And I’m going to suggest you get out of town for a bit. Somewhere this person can’t easily find you. After seeing the contents of the last box, I was worried, but you didn’t want to know what was in it.”

  I breathed in deeply, trying to keep the panic from swallowing me whole. “I still don’t, but I think you should tell me.”

  “There were pictures, just like last time. On one of the pictures, he left a message and called you ‘little bird’ again. At the bottom of the box, there was a dead bird, Arella. The detective I’ve been working with on this to keep it under the radar said it looked like the poor thing’s neck was broken.”

  My gaze jerked to the box on my seat, scared at what could possibly be in there. Was it another dead bird? Ah fuck, I hoped not.

  Tears filled my eyes, and I had to blink them away quickly so I could see to drive. “I-I got an offer to go stay with one of my cousins,” I told her in a choked voice.

  “I’ll make the arrangements,” she offered. “We’ll book you a flight under one of the aliases that we use when you have to do press tours.”

  “I’m on my way to your office now.”

  “Listen, doll. I know we both agreed your parents shouldn’t find out about this, but if this guy was at their house…”

  One of my tears spilled over my cheek. “As long as I’m not around, he won’t bother them.” Which meant I had to stay away from the two people I loved the most to protect them. Fuck, this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “You need private security.”