Carter: A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance (Rock Hard Book 3)

by Lilian Monroe

  “Let’s go meet these guys,” I said as the excitement welled up inside me.

  “Hold on to your panties, ladies,” Lacie joked. “I hear these guys are lethal.”

  “Lethal or not, we have a job to do,” Morgan replied. Her face was drawn and she clenched her fists, glancing at the building. It hurt me to see my friend like that. I wanted to be there for her, and all I could do was be the best I possibly could. I’d take the best photos of my life and make sure their social media pages were on fire.

  “Don’t worry, Morgan. You’ve got the dream team with you,” Lacie said.

  I nodded. “They won’t stand a chance. They’ll clean up their act in no time and they’ll be back to being America’s sweethearts.”

  “Can men be sweethearts?” Lacie asked, laughing.

  I elbowed her in the ribs and glanced at her sideways. “You know what I mean.”

  Pedantic weirdo, I mouthed at her, and she grinned.

  “Alright,” Morgan announced with a deep breath. “Let’s go clean up these rock stars and get them ready for their album launch.”

  We marched through the front doors just as the band’s manager, Tony, came down the hallway. He was a short man with a round potbelly. He looked like a failed mobster, or a used car salesman. I took a deep breath. Between their rehearsal space and their manager, they didn’t exactly scream ‘glamorous rock stars.’ He spread his arms out as if he was showing off his shirt that was a couple sizes too big. I could see the gold chain glinting against his hairy chest.

  “Morgan! You look gorgeous as always. And this must be Lacie and Veronica!”

  I barely even registered the introduction, because I was focused on the sounds coming from down the hallway. There were right there. Just a few steps away, I’d be meeting the biggest rock band I’d ever seen. Heck, I’d be meeting the biggest celebrities I’d ever seen.

  And my conversation with Lacie played over and over in my head. I knew it was silly—they wouldn’t be our future husbands. But still, the thought of being so close to such attractive men was almost intoxicating, and I hadn’t even met them yet.

  Lacie must have been feeling the same. She shook her head, blowing the air out of her nostrils and squaring her shoulders. Morgan was in front of us, and I squeezed Lacie’s arm. I gave her a wink and she nodded, giving me a weak smile.

  The song ended and we entered the room. Morgan was Morgan, and she was all business. She went to shake the lead singer’s hand.

  “Morgan Matthews.”

  “Garrett–”

  “Wood,” Morgan finished. “I’ve heard of you.”

  I saw Garrett grin, and then my eyes swung to the drummer. He was shirtless and sweating, and definitely sexy. But then, I turned towards Carter, the bassist, and my world stopped.

  He was a little bit slimmer than the other two, and he didn’t have that day-after-partying look that they had. His eyes were clear and bright, and a deep, dark brown. His eyelashes would have made any woman jealous, and the intensity with which he stared at me made me dizzy.

  Lacie took my elbow and led me to the couch, and I fumbled with my camera. Carter’s eyes followed me the whole way, and suddenly I wished I’d put more effort into my appearance. I’d put makeup on, but nothing outrageous. I was wearing a little black dress with a leather jacket and my usual Converse sneakers. I’d gone for the ‘rocker chick chic’ look, but now I wish I’d gone for ‘effortless glam’ like the other two. They looked a lot more feminine and put together than I did.

  Carter didn’t really seem to care. I watched as his eyes travelled down my body, drinking me in from head to toe. His tongue darted out to lick his lips and I practically came right then and there. My own lips parted and all I wanted to do was fall into his arms and crush my lips against his.

  I finally tore my eyes away from him and glanced at Lacie and Morgan. They looked just as star-struck as me, each staring at the band with wide eyes.

  Then, they started playing and my heart melted. Watching the band on TV was one thing—yeah, they were attractive. Seeing them in a room was another thing—they were out-of-this-world hot.

  But watching them play for us? Hearing them create this music for an audience of just us?

  Holy shit.

  I could feel every note in my chest. Every time Carter looked at me, it felt like he was undressing me and I fucking loved every second of it.

  I lifted my camera up and started shooting. It was a dream job for me. They were all good-looking and photogenic. They played their hearts out, and it came out on film. All I had to do was point and shoot.

  “They’re good,” I said to Morgan in a breathy whisper. “This is going to be the easiest job of my life.”

  I could see the album already, and it would be some of the best work of my life. Behind-the-scenes photos of the biggest band in the world. The Mondays: unedited.

  A lot of my photos ended up being of Carter. I couldn’t help it. He might not have been making love to me, but he was making love to the camera and that was as close as I was going to get.

  Well, I hoped I’d get closer, but I was here to do a job. We all were.

  That job just seemed to get a whole lot more difficult, judging by the state of my underwear when the band finally stopped playing.

  Chapter 4 - Carter

  By the time the new PR team left, my cock was hard as rock. Thank fuck for this bass guitar in front of me, or else it would have been a really difficult show.

  That photographer was smoking hot.

  Ever since this divorce process had started, I’d sworn off women. I hadn’t slept with anyone since Angela, even though I’d had ample opportunities. It was like that part of me died when she ripped my heart out of my chest.

  But now?

  Oh, that part of me was well and truly alive.

  I came to my sense and punched Garrett in the arm. “What was that? I’ve never seen you agree to an early morning show in years!”

  He’d folded so easily to the new PR manager’s schedule, and we’d have to be up and at the The Morning Show with Mark and Michelle’s studio no later than seven AM.

  Garrett shrugged. “Trying something new.”

  “You sure it’s not the foxy PR Manager that was eye-fucking you since she walked in?” I grinned, trying to deflect from my own attraction to Veronica, the bad-ass vixen with the long brown hair.

  “Shut the fuck up, Carter,” Garrett said, but I could see a grin on his face. Maddox was quiet, and the two of us put our gear away and grabbed our things. I followed Maddox to the door and turned towards Garrett. “You coming?”

  “Nah, not feeling like a beer tonight. Early morning, remember?” Garrett grinned, rolling his eyes. I laughed and shrugged.

  “Your loss.”

  The two of us walked down the hallway towards the exit. When we got outside, my heart started beating harder. What if the girls were still here? What if I could catch Veronica alone and talk to her? I hadn’t even heard her speak. For some reason, I desperately wanted to hear the sound of her voice. I glanced up and down the street frowning.

  “Looking for someone?” Maddox asked, arching his eyebrow at me.

  I cleared my throat and shrugged, not looking at him. “Forgot where I parked. Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  I knew exactly where I’d parked. Once we got in the car, I fired up the engine and headed towards our post-rehearsal hangout: O’Grady’s pub. I hadn’t had the urge to drink more than a drink or two in months, but after seeing that photographer at our rehearsal space, I felt like I needed to unwind.

  O’Grady’s was a shitty pub in a mostly dead area of town, but that’s what made it great. We’d been going there for years, and Mickey had always treated us like regulars from the first time we walked in.

  Right now, I didn’t really care if we were at O’Grady’s or any other bar in town. The only place I actually wanted to be was between Veronica’s long legs, feeling that hot little pussy of hers dripping al
l over me.

  But I’d settle for the bar.

  We pulled in, and I sighed. There were only a couple other cars parked outside and I chuckled. “Busy as usual in there,”

  Maddox laughed. “Just the way we like it.”

  “What do you think of our new PR team?” I asked casually, getting out of the car. Maddox looked at me as a grin spread over his lips.

  “I like them,” he said. “We’ll see if they are as good as they say.”

  “Or as good as they look.”

  Maddox grinned again. “That makeup artist was hot as hell.”

  “The blonde one?”

  He nodded.

  I shrugged. “I thought the one with the camera was hotter.”

  “She’s all yours,” Maddox grinned, opening the door to the bar. I swept my eyes around the bar and my breath caught in my throat.

  There, in a booth in the back corner, were Lacie and Veronica. It was as if the stars had aligned just for us. I elbowed Maddox and nodded to the girls, raising an eyebrow.

  “Well,” he said. “This night just got better.”

  I nodded to Mickey, striding to the bar. “Two beers and whatever this girls are drinking.”

  Mickey grinned. “You got it, boys. Just finished rehearsal? When’s the new album coming out?”

  “End of the week,” I replied, keeping my eyes on Veronica.

  “Well, be sure to drop a couple copies off here,” he said. “I’ll sell ‘em for you.”

  I chuckled. At this point, I’d take any sale I could get. “Will do, Mickey.” He handed us the drinks, and Maddox and I walked towards the table.

  My cock throbbed between my legs with every step, and my mouth suddenly went dry. Was I nervous? I hadn’t been nervous around a woman in a long, long time.

  Maddox dropped Lacie’s drink on the table.

  “Here,” he said. “To a successful working relationship.”

  Veronica’s eyes landed on the drink I held out for her, and then travelled up to my face. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in the sexiest way. My cock strained against my pants as she reached for the drink. Her fingers brushed against mine, and the sizzle of electricity sparked between us.

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  “What are you ladies doing in a place like this?” Maddox asked grinning at Lacie.

  “Just putting some finishing touches on the plan for tomorrow,” she replied. Veronica’s tongue darted out to lick her lips, and then she curled them around the straw and took a sip of her drink.

  I nearly died. The desire coursing through my veins was almost too much to handle. We both slid into the booth beside the girls, and Maddox turned to Lacie. He said a few things to her, but I didn’t hear any of it.

  I nodded around the bar. “Is this your kind of place?” I asked.

  Veronica smiled, and my heart thumped. “Maybe it is,” she replied, quirking her eyebrow. “What if it was?”

  “That would tell me a lot about you as a person.”

  “Like what?” Her voice was breathy, and her eyes were deep pools of amber. A blush stained her cheeks and I resisted the urge to run my fingers down her side. I settle for draping my arm over her shoulders and stretching out in the booth.

  “Well,” I started, trying to ignore the feeling of her thigh against mine. “It would tell me that you don’t necessarily judge things by their appearance.”

  A smile started spreading over her lips. “Okay,” she said, taking another sip of her drink. “What else?”

  Her eyes flashed, and in that moment I knew I had to have her. It didn’t matter that we were supposed to work together. It didn’t matter that she was supposed to be part of the team to turn our careers around. It didn’t matter that I was getting a divorce, or that I was almost broke.

  All that mattered was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen was inches away from me. Her perfume was driving me wild, and I could see the untethered desire burning in her eyes. My body was aching for her, and I wouldn’t be waiting to claim her.

  She would be mine.

  “It tells me that you’re not afraid to try something new.”

  Her eyebrows raised and she laughed, tilting her head to the side. “Well, that’s true.” She grinned again and her eyes flashed in that way that made the cum in my balls churn. “Are you going to be the one to show me something new?”

  “Only if you want me to.”

  She inhaled, catching her lip between her teeth. She stared at me for a long moment and finally grinned.

  “I think I want you to.”

  Chapter 5 - Veronica

  “So what have you guys got planned for us tomorrow,” Carter asked, moving closer to me and draping his arm over my shoulder. My whole body hummed. Being this close to him was almost too much for me to handle. Every heartbeat sent waves of desire coursing through me.

  “Oh, you know, the usual ‘rock star’ sort of thing. Bad boys, leather, black,” Lacie responded with a grin.

  “The usual ‘rock star’ sort of thing,” Carter repeated. “I might be wrong, but it sounds like you might be making fun of us.”

  “Not at all,” Lacie replied innocently. She grinned at me. “We’re just working with what you’re giving us.”

  “And that is…?” Maddox asked.

  Carter’s arm tightened on my shoulders and my heart beat a bit faster. I moved my hand to his knee, feeling like my chest was going to explode. I hadn’t been this nervous around a man since… I don’t know, ever? Since I was fourteen, maybe.

  “You’re giving us the ‘bad boy rocker’ vibe.” Lacie, said, batting her eyelashes at Maddox. I grinned. She was a great flirt. “Trashing hotel rooms, bankruptcy, angry exes,” she teased. “We’ve all seen the papers.”

  Carter growled beside me, and I looked over at him. His eyes drank me in, sending more shivers coursing through me. I felt like I could stare at his face for ages. My tongue darted out to moisten my lips, and Carter’s eyes followed the motion. They flicked back up to mine and I just about melted in my seat.

  Maddox laughed and I jumped. “What if I told you that we were actually just three sensitive guys who were going through a tough time right now?”

  “If that were true,” Lacie said slowly, “I would be very sympathetic. But I don’t condone any sort of trashing of any sort of room.”

  “Maybe because you haven’t done it yet,” Carter laughed, tearing his eyes away from me. “It’s actually really cathartic.”

  “‘Yet’ he says,” I grinned, rolling my eyes as he looked at me again. “As if you two will corrupt us so easily.”

  “You never know,” Carter replied, leaning in closer to me. His scent filled my nostrils and it was all I could do to stop myself from leaning in and kissing him right there.

  What was going on?

  We were supposed to work together. We would be working together for months. And here I was, barely able to contain the lust in me just from sitting beside him.

  I mean, I knew what was going on. I wanted him. Desperately.

  But that didn’t mean I had to act on it. I just wanted to act on it really, really badly.

  Maddox glanced at Carter, and I saw them exchange a knowing look. Maddox looked at me, and then swung his gaze to Lacie.

  “What do you ladies say we get out of here?” He said. “Our place is only a short drive away, and I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot nicer than O’Grady’s.”

  Lacie turned to me with a loaded look. I swallowed, a war of emotions waging inside me. I wanted to go with them. I wanted to have Carter’s arm around me, to feel his fingers sliding over my skin and to taste his lips.

  I wanted those things, but was it a good idea?

  Morgan would probably kill us if we did.

  Lacie blushed, and I knew what she wanted. And you know what? Fuck it. Her mom was sick, My ex was stalking me, and we finally had the chance to have a bit of fun. Lacie saw me smile and turned back to Maddox.

  “Sure,” Lacie sai
d. “We’d love to. Never been to a rock star’s house before.”

  “You guys live together?” I asked, arching my eyebrow at Carter.

  He nodded. “Ever since we moved over from Colorado. I’ve know this guy since I was fourteen.”

  “Kind of like us,” Lacie laughed. “Vee and I have known each other since grade school.”

  Maddox slipped out of the booth and held out his hand to Lacie. She stuffed the rest of her papers in her bag, looking at me with wide eyes. I know she was thinking exactly the same things as me: are we really doing this?

  And the answer was yes. Yes we were.

  Lacie cleared her throat and nodded towards the washrooms. “Just gonna pop in there and I’ll meet you out front.”

  “Sure,” Maddox answered, and Lacie glanced at me.

  “Me too,” I said, knowing she wanted to talk, and I followed her to the washrooms.

  As soon as the door closed, Lacie turned towards me with her hands up.

  “What the fuck are we doing?”

  “I don’t know,” I laughed. “Do you want to?”

  “Yes,” she said. “So badly.”

  “Me too.”

  “But should we?” She chewed her lip, glancing at me with concern in her eyes.

  I took a deep breath, looking in the mirror and pulling out my travel makeup bag to touch up my face. I took a deep breath, looking at my best friend in the mirror.

  “Probably not,” I said. “I mean, if you think about it, we’re going to be working with these guys for a while, and going over to their house the first day we meet them probably isn’t the most professional thing we could do.”

  “Uh-huh,” Lacie said, stepping up to the mirror to fix up her own makeup.

  “Yeah, I mean, if we were thinking from a professional standpoint, it’s probably a bad idea.”

  “Uh-huh,” Lacie repeated, putting a fresh coat of lipstick on.

  “But then again, they are really, really attractive. And neither of us have gotten laid in way too long.”

  “We don’t have to sleep with them,” Lacie said as if she were trying to convince herself. “We can just go for a drink, see their house, and then go home.”