Tangled Hearts (Evermore 4 Book Box Set)

by ANDREA SMITH

  My cheeks burned—kissable mouth? Had I actually just thought that? And then I noticed Alan’s potent midnight stare fixed on me as if he could read my thoughts and my legs faltered.

  Blake laughed and leaned into me. “Don’t go all fan bird on me. He’s with his girlfriend. Not cool, Neely.” Blake knew me better than that, but yeah, I was his beard so I needed to go with the flow.

  My gaze shifted to the gorgeous blonde tucked against his side. Yep, it was her. Christian aka ‘Chrissie’ Parker. Hot bod, talented, and equally famous. Some girls get everything they want. First married to Neil Stanton, lead singer of Arctic Hole, and now Alan Manzone’s lover. But she was exactly the kind of girl you expected the ultimate rock god to be shaking up with. And without really knowing her, I felt like I knew her well. And I liked her.

  Their affair was epic and paparazzi gold. If only I could figure out a way to sneak a shot with my camera. It would be the biggest payday yet only because they were always so secluded it was difficult to get them together. At home. In love. Together.

  How do I get a picture? How do I get a picture…

  I felt the pressure of eyes on me and pushed away that thought because of the way Alan assessed me as if he knew my every thought even before they entered my head.

  Unnerving.

  My fingers tightened around Blake’s hand as he maneuvered through the cluster around Alan’s chair as though he belonged.

  “Don’t I know you?” I heard a heavily gravelly query and tilted my head to find Kenny Jones, Alan’s drummer, sizing me up in a very obvious way.

  Oh crap. Am I busted already? Help came from the least expected source.

  “No, you don’t, Kenny,” countered Alan, rising from his spot, ignoring Blake’s outreached hand and slipping an arm around him instead. Those penetrating, mesmerizing eyes locked on me. “Don’t pay Kenny any mind. Worst pick up line in Malibu, love. He doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s his signature line. ‘Don’t I know you?’”

  Alan’s eyes unwavering on me, he whispered something into Blake’s ear I couldn’t completely catch and they both erupted into laughter, Alan’s low, raspy humor nearly caused me to fall on my backside as he finished. “…if you don’t keep her close, Jasper’s going to steal your bird for the rest of the night. Or haven’t you noticed how he’s checking her out?”

  Jasper?

  My heart jumped into my throat as I hunted through the crush of bodies around us for him.

  “Not my bird to steal,” Blake replied under his breath, causing Alan to laugh harder. “But you better watch out, mate. Cuz someone’s moved in on your bird.”

  Alan arched a dark brow and stared down at his girlfriend in a way that was palpable and I knew in that second they were the real deal. All those stories in the tabloids weren’t just overinflated hype to sell papers. They were crazy in love with each other. And when Alan Manzone’s star aligned with Chrissie Parker’s there were no distractions for either of them.

  “Jasper, get the fuck away from my girlfriend, you wanker,” Alan taunted, and my startled gaze discovered Jasper Knight on the spot beside Chrissie left vacant by Alan. “Come meet Blake’s girl. Unless you want me to kick the shit out of you.”

  “On your best day you couldn’t take me old man,” Jasper shot back, smiling.

  “On your best day you couldn’t keep up with me in any way,” Alan jeered, and they all laughed as Jasper sprang from the chaise.

  Alan locked an arm around his neck in an affectionate guy hold. “Jasper, meet…” He paused, his dark eyes shimmering as the settled on me. “Sorry love, I don’t know your name.”

  Jasper’s gaze began to dance “The future Mrs. Knight,” he supplied, shocking me with the boldness of his words that were equally matched with his stare. His accented voice ran through my body like a caress, and the way he gazed at me through his thick, sooty lashes totally unnerved me.

  Alan released him. “Ah, so that’s the way it is. Then why the fuck were you making the moves on Chrissie?”

  Christian Parker rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t, Alan. Every guy who talks to me isn’t like you.”

  “They better not be, love,” Alan chided, his black eyes shimmering, before he stepped back to drop a heated kiss on his girlfriend’s mouth, leaving Blake and me alone with Jasper.

  Blake cleared this throat, obviously noticing the way that Jasper Knight was making no secret of the fact he was undressing me with his eyes.

  I flushed under his gaze—oh, not because of his eye fucking me. No, it was because he was clueless to the fact that I’d put his fledgling relationship with Devon Donnelly on the skids with the pictures I’d taken just a month ago. Jasper seemed to have bounced back nicely from the scandal.

  Of course, he wasn’t the one who had to put up with the Hollywood gossip that would drone on for months in Southern California. Rumor had it that Truman Romanski had put his young wife on a short leash after those pictures had hit the rags.

  Of course, from Jasper’s perspective, there was probably no such thing as bad publicity. Which of course, made me curious to find out why he was here at one of Alan Manzone’s parties.

  “Jasper—this is Neely. She’s a friend of mine.”

  Nice Blake. How positively benign.

  “Hey,” I murmured, “Yeah, Blake allowed me to tag along. His real girlfriend is down with allergies you see.”

  Jasper snickered. “How unfortunate for her, but how fortunate for me, Neely. Would you care for a drink?” he asked, his hand moved to the small of my back as he urged me towards the table on the other side of the deck.

  I whipped my head around to catch Blake giving me a wink and a nod as if to say, ‘go for it.’ I knew Blake was here for hob-knobbing purposes only. Doing the lighting for a music video certainly wasn’t his lifelong dream, but it was a step in the right direction.

  What the hell. I might as well make good use of having Jasper Knight’s attention for a millisecond. “What’ll you have, love?” he asked as we came up on the bar that had been set up complete with a hired bartender it appeared.

  I didn’t drink. I’d learned that lesson, but an occasional glass of wine was not out of the question. “White wine is fine for me. Something dry,” I replied, glancing across the bar at the guy who was dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with white gloves and a top hat.

  Oh. My. Fucking. God.

  His look caused me to close my mouth swiftly, and I glanced away. It was Malcolm. My old boss, remember? He was on assignment. He had to be. I couldn’t imagine business with his agency had dipped that low since I left to require him to moonlight.

  I turned away from the bar and stepped over towards the stairs that led from the deck to the beach just as I felt Jasper tap my shoulder. I turned back, catching a look from Malcolm that clearly said, ‘We’ll talk later,’ before taking the wine glass from Jasper. “Thank you,” I murmured graciously.

  “You like the sand and water, love?” he asked. “There’s a volleyball tournament going on and a bloke whose teeth I’d love to knock out with my serve,” he finished, laughing. Jasper had obviously been getting lit all afternoon.

  “Not really. Why are you here?” I asked, and no, one sip of wine had not rendered me tipsy. I was simply curious, that’s all. I needed to see where Jasper Knight fit in all of this.

  Jasper tossed his head back and laughed heartily. “You get right to it, don’t you love?” he remarked. “I might ask you the same if I hadn’t seen you come in with Blake there. Are you his latest beard?”

  “Fuck you,” I replied, inching away from him. Fucking rockers. Think they can say anything to anyone. Fuck that. “Which married woman are you trolling for a fuck now that Devon’s off limits?” I tossed back flippantly.

  He placed his hand on my shoulder effectively halting my departure. I turned to face him and noticed his eyes were full of mirth. He hadn’t been offended whatsoever.

  “Whoa, hold on there, ba
be. I was just taking the piss. Truth is, I’m here because I was part of the video. That’s right. I played a younger Alan, and during the tune, I morph into the current Alan. Hell, I’ve got to tell you, it was a rush and a half. I fucking love special effects. Have you actually seen the video?”

  I turned back, taking a gulp of my wine. “Actually, no,” I admitted sheepishly.

  He gave me his dazzling panty-melting smile, and tugged at my hand. “Would you care to rectify that, love? I’d be happy to give you a private viewing.”

  I downed the rest of my wine and handed Jasper the empty wine glass. “Refill first, then let’s do it,” I replied coyly. Oh yes, this cat and mouse game was proving to be a refreshing distraction. I hadn’t once considered looking for Seth and Julia.

  Jasper returned with a full glass of wine with a cocktail napkin wrapped around the stem. “The bartender said you needed a fresh glass of wine. Said you left lipstick on the other one,” he chuckled. “Asked if you’d mind wiping off your lipstick before drinking this one.”

  I looked up and over at Malcolm who gave me a slight nod. What was up with that? It wasn’t as if he had to wash all the glassware, did he? I shrugged and turned to Jasper. “Lead the way,” I said smugly.

  My smug feeling of satisfaction was short-lived however once Jasper had seated us in Manzone’s private theatre complete with leather recliner seats, walls that were completely acoustic paneled for sound perfection, and of course, state-of-the-art Dolby Surround Sound®.

  He used the hand-held remote to dim the lights and start the video on the wide screen that ran the length of the wall. Immediately, my eyes landed on Julia who it appeared, had a starring role in this video. Fuck my luck.

  Barely dressed, she shimmied and shook the best pair of tits her daddy’s money could buy right in Jasper’s (as young Alan Manzone) face. As much as I despised the bitch, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the obvious chemistry that emanated between Jasper and Julia. I watched as they moved purposefully and seductively to the music, claiming the spotlight as if they owned this video and Manzone’s band was merely a prop for them.

  “Holy Mother of Christ,” I murmured, louder than intended.

  “We’re hot, eh?” Jasper commented, his arm slipping around my shoulders, “She’s got the moves, but I’m betting you’ve got some of your own, right love?” he finished, his lips so close to my ear that I felt his words more than I heard them. I shivered in response.

  I knew what he was doing. I wasn’t stupid. Aside from my obvious lack of sexual expertise having only ever fucked Seth and then Professor Andrews that one semester, I still knew a come-on when I heard it.

  Jasper Knight was willing to fuck me because he couldn’t fuck Julia. Seth was in the way. Probably the bloke Jasper mentioned earlier that he wanted to off with his killer volleyball serve.

  But was I willing to let him fuck me? He’d been a crush I’d had but only in the abstract sense. You know, it was a star-struck kind of thing. I’d never really considered him anything more than a fleeting fantasy. In person, he actually was a letdown, if I were being honest with myself.

  So why shouldn’t I fuck him? I deserved to have some hot sex, and some celebrity sex would be a new adventure for me. All these confettied thoughts were swirling around my mind as Jasper’s lips were now placing warm, soft kisses on my exposed neck.

  I lifted my wine glass to my lips and took a sip. As I was lowering it to the cup holder I saw that I’d left lipstick on the rim. Oh fuck Malcolm, I thought. He’d get over it.

  Jasper’s lips were now moving downward, his warm breath tracing along my collarbone. “You smell so sweet, love,” he murmured as my flesh tingled with anticipation. “I want to taste every inch of you. Would you like that?”

  “Hmm,” I purred. My hand found his cheek and I ran my fingers tentatively over his stubble. Was this really going to happen? Was I going to fuck Jasper Knight in the theatre of Alan Manzone’s Malibu mansion? Was I that girl?

  And as Jasper’s teeth teased and pulled at my bottom lip, his breath now mingling with my own, I knew that yes, I was that girl. Why the hell not?

  In the instant it took for Jasper to press the button that electronically positioned my chair to recline, I knew my decision had been made.

  Chapter 11

  Seth

  She was here. I’d glimpsed her almost immediately from the sand where we’d been playing volleyball for the past hour and a half. Julia had insisted we play since she’d missed her workout at the gym this morning, but I also figured it was her way of avoiding Neely. Neely wasn’t a welcome topic around our place. She never had been.

  Blake had told us the night before he was bringing Neely to Manzone’s party because Jazzy hadn’t been feeling well. I hadn’t been bothered by that fact nearly as much as Julia had. Maybe I had finally come to terms with everything Neely.

  Or maybe I hadn’t, I realized bitterly. When had Neely and I ceased to be important to one another I wondered.

  Had it been when she’d left early to return to Tennessee that summer, leaving the promise ring I’d given her with a brief note telling me she thought we were both too young to make promises? I’d been devastated, but still determined to fix whatever it was that caused her to want to distance herself from me.

  Or had it been when she ignored my letters and phone calls the weeks afterward, and then finally sent me the letter that had torn me to shreds?

  Neely had been mine. Right from the start, even as kids before either one of us knew the score, I’d claimed her as mine. I thought she’d felt the same, but obviously, I’d been wrong.

  I’d come inside from the beach to check out the party. I looked around and spotted Blake at the bar getting a shot of tequila from the looks of it. “Hey dude,” I greeted, slapping him on the back, “where’s your date?”

  Nothing like getting right to the point about Neely and her whereabouts.

  Slick. Real Slick, Seth.

  He spun around, giving me a shit-eating grin that only meant one thing. He was shit-faced. “Uh…probably getting laid by Jasper Knight would be my guess.”

  I frowned. Was he serious? “What the fuck are you talking about, man?”

  He tossed down his shot, and asked for another. “He took her to a private showing of the music video in the studio I guess. That was like thirty or forty minutes ago. You do the math.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. I wasn’t fucking amused.

  For one thing, I’d had enough of the hype around the video. That’s all Julia could talk about over the past month. Yeah, I got it that chicks had a thing for rock stars, but when she wasn’t going on about Jasper Knight, then she was going on about Alan Manzone.

  What the fuck was I?

  Chopped fucking liver?

  I had a starring role in a prime time drama series, not to mention that TV Guide had nominated me for a best supporting actor award in said series. And no, I hadn’t won, but being nominated was no small thing.

  “Do a shot with me, man?” Blake asked, bringing me back to the present. He held out a glass that had a shot of tequila in it.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  We both took a shot and I handed the glass back to him. “Hey, when Julia comes back from the restroom, tell her to stay put, okay? I’m ready to take off and I don’t want to have to start looking all over the place for her. I’ll be right back.”

  “Aye-aye,” Blake said, giving me a salute.

  I headed into the house and turned down the hallway that led to another wing in the mansion. I knew my way to the studio because we’d all been in there earlier when the video premiered.

  Nobody was around, and when I reached the door to the studio, I noticed the light above it was illuminated to show Recording in Process. Yeah, I didn’t think so since Manzone and the rest of the band were still outside on the deck partying.

  I opened the door slowly, and peered inside the dark theatre. There was nothing on the screen, and n
o sounds were coming from the system with the exception of some soft static, meaning it was turned on.

  That’s when I heard another sound. It was the sound of skin slapping against skin, and a muffled, male voice groaning in pleasure. I froze just inside the door, my breath hitched in my throat. Somebody was getting fucked in here and I wasn’t leaving until I knew who it was.

  I silently descended the carpeted steps until my eyes were fully adjusted to the darkness. I could make out Jasper Knight’s head and shoulders in the front row. His back was to the screen, which meant he was facing my direction, and had he raised his head, he would’ve seen me.

  I could tell by his movements he was cock deep into pussy. And when I heard the soft mewling sounds coming from underneath him, my blood boiled with anger. That in and of itself took me by surprise.

  What right did I have to be angry? I had no claim to Neely any longer. I was with Julia. Neely had every right to be with whomever she wanted. I was sure she’d been with plenty of guys since me. She was gorgeous and sexy, and had the most beautiful brown eyes that I’d ever seen.

  All those thoughts were swimming in my mind as I walked down the carpeted aisle to see it for myself. I’d never allowed myself to picture another man fucking Neely. It was a visual I had no desire to entertain. But I needed to do this so at least in my mind, I could get past all of it. Maybe a shot of cold hard reality was what it would take for me to put the past where it belonged: in the past. None of these feelings or emotions belonged in my present. It wasn’t fair to Julia. It wasn’t healthy for our relationship. I needed to look forward and stop lamenting about things that could never be undone.

  Jasper was so caught up in his pleasure, he never saw me approach. His longish dark hair framed his face, his eyes were closed, and his head tilted back as he rocked into her. I could see that her legs were wrapped around his hips, and her hands were clutching his ass, which was still covered in the denim of his jeans. He hadn’t even taken his pants off. He’d just pulled his dick out through the fly and was pounding into her now. The fucker hadn’t even bothered with a condom.