Redeeming You

by Lisa Cardiff

  “Says who?” he snapped.

  “The band. The label. Me.” She shrugged. “I need to do my job effectively and that means making sure there isn’t a repeat of your little video stunt on my watch. I can’t do that if I let you wander off with a bunch of groupies after every show.” She shook her head. “Sorry, it’s not going to happen. Do you have any other questions?”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Are you going to follow me into the bathroom too?” he asked, his voice sickly sweet. “Because if you’re real nice, I’ll let you hold my junk.”

  “What’s wrong? Is it so small you have a hard time finding it?” she shot back.

  And then, he laughed that laugh that crinkled the corners of his startling blue eyes. “Maybe if you’re real nice over the next month, I’ll give you a peek, and I promise that you won’t be disappointed.”

  Taylor’s hand itched to slap him, but she painted a bland smile on her face. Don’t play his game. It’s a job. It’s not personal. She took a bite of her sandwich. Someone needed to teach his guy a lesson. He needed to be knocked down a notch or five hundred.

  “Well, what a nice offer, but like I already said, you’re not my type. As for bathroom breaks, I can wait outside the door and vice versa.”

  “What about sleeping arrangements?”

  “If we’re on the bus, it’s fine. Jax said I’d have a bunk on the bus. When there’s a hotel stop, we can get adjoining rooms.”

  “Sounds…fun.” He rolled his eyes. “So I guess our arrangement starts now.”

  Clearly, he was done teasing her for a moment, which was fine with her. She couldn’t take much more right now anyway.

  “Guess so.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cam took another bite of his burger, not that he was hungry. He lost he appetite the minute Taylor so kindly explained his bleak future. It looked as if he was in for one of the worst months of his life, and that said a lot because his life had pretty much sucked since Bre dumped him. Other than Chasing Ruin, he had nothing going for himself unless he counted his string of meaningless, faceless hookups and one pissed off liver.

  The guys had warned him repeatedly to exercise some control and to start using his head, but using his head was the last thing he felt like doing when he wanted to crawl out of his skin. Thinking was too hard, because invariably his thoughts always circled back to Bre and all the stupid shit he did to her. Then he felt guilty and wanted to start drinking—or worse—again.

  Unable to take another bite, he dropped his burger on his plate. He watched Taylor nibble on her sandwich, dabbing her mouth self-consciously after ever bite. He’d been a major asshole to her, but he couldn’t stand the way she looked at him. She hated him and he didn’t understand why.

  Studying her now, her dark blue eyes, long nearly black hair, cute pixie features, and porcelain skin, he felt like a complete piece of shit, and maybe he was. Taylor hadn’t done anything to him, and she was Alec’s little sister—one of his closest friends. Alec had been his constant companion and his only real friend after Bre left him for Jax, so the last thing he needed was for Alec to be pissed at him. Marcus didn’t care about anything or anybody as far as Cam could tell, and Jax…he had Bre, so even though they were friends, there would always be a wall between them.

  “Tay,” he said. He remembered Alec called her that and he thought it might soften her anger toward him.

  She looked up from her plate, her eyes wide and uncertain. “Yeah?”

  “Can we forget all that crap that just happened and call a truce? Thirty days is a long time to fight with someone.”

  Taylor raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. “If you’re trying to be nice to me to get me to blow off my job, it’s not going to work.”

  “I’m not,” he answered quickly, because he needed her to be on his side if he wanted to stay in Chasing Ruin. Jax threatened to kick him out if he didn’t get his shit together and he believed him, and he needed Chasing Ruin. As his world crumbled around him over the last year, Chasing Ruin was the only thing that had gone right for him. Even his parents were disgusted with him. They still loved him. That much was evident, but their disapproval seeped into every conversation lately and that killed him because they had sacrificed so much for him to learn to play guitar as a kid.

  “Tay. Cam,” Alec called as he walked into the restaurant. “I thought I’d stop by to see how things were going.”

  Cam saw Taylor roll her eyes out the corner of his eye.

  “Everything is fine,” Taylor answered, folding her arms across her chest.

  Alec speared Cam with his eyes. “Are you treating my sister with the respect she deserves?”

  Cam looked at Taylor and he saw her lips twitch. “He’s being a perfect gentleman, aren’t you, Cam?”

  What the hell was she up to? “Always,” Cam replied returning her smile.

  Alec’s eyes alternated between Cam and Taylor and then he exhaled loudly. “Cam, don’t fuck with my sister.”

  Cam lifted both of his hands in the air. “I won’t. We were just discussing the rules and expectations. I think we’re both on the same page now. Right, Taylor?” Cam asked nodding in her direction.

  Taylor looked up from her lap, finding his gaze. Her eyes were arctic, and for a moment he thought she was ready to sell him out. How could a woman so hot be so cold at the same time? What a waste.

  He slid his leg between hers, nudging her under the table. She responded by kicking him in the shin, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “Yes, I think we’re damn close,” she said and then popped another fry into her mouth.

  “So what’s the plan for tonight?” Taylor asked, turning toward her brother.

  Alec slid into the booth next to Taylor and draped a lazy arm over her shoulder. “Marcus wants to go to some club. Jax and Bre will probably do their own thing. They always do these days.”

  Taylor snuggled into Alec’s side like she’d been there many times before, and she probably had. Their dad died before Taylor started elementary school and their mother went on a drunken binge that lasted until Alec and Taylor left their hometown the day after Taylor graduated from high school.

  “I’ll go with Marcus. I’m not going to go to the movies or dinner with Jax and Bre, and I wouldn’t mind dancing,” Cam said.

  “Dancing?” Taylor said skeptically. “I never pictured you being the coordinated type.”

  And there they were—right back slinging insults at each other. Their truce was nowhere to be found. “You’ll be impressed. I heard that women like my moves, but I’ll let you be the judge. You’ll have the opportunity see them up close and personal tonight since you can’t leave my side.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

  Her face twisted in exaggerated disgust. Admittedly, the comment was stupid, but he didn’t think it warranted that extreme of a look.

  “Did I mention that I’m feeling ill?” she commented.

  Alec laughed. “Tay, go easy on him. He can be a jackass sometimes—”

  “Just sometimes?” she interrupted, lifting her perfectly arched eyebrows.

  “Okay, a lot of the time,” Alec amended and they both laughed together…at him.

  Frustrated, Cam had the inexplicable urge to punch Alec in the face. He was sick of people making jokes at his expense and he didn’t need Taylor to think worse of him than she already did, not that any of that should matter to him. He didn’t care what Taylor or anyone else thought him…for the most part.

  “I’ll come too. We’ll have fun,” Alec added weakly. Alec hated clubs and he hated socializing. Clearly, he planned to watch his sister and make sure Cam didn’t hurt her or trample on her tenuous position.

  “Loads of fun,” Taylor said sarcastically. “But only if Cam lets me see his moves.”

  Cam glared at both of them, then started picking at his food again. Hanging out with Bre and Jax while watching some dumb chick flick sounded better and better with each passing second.

  “I’m going to
run to the bathroom,” Taylor said, pushing Alec out of the booth. “Don’t let Cam leave without me.”

  “Got it,” Alec said as he watched her walk to the back of the restaurant, sitting down again when she was out of view.

  “Be nice to her.” Alec lowered his voice so Cam had to lean forward to hear him. “Tay acts tough, but she’s not. Underneath that hard shell she’s fragile and broken.”

  So what; wasn’t everyone these days? He downed the rest of his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “This month can’t end fast enough.”

  “Just get your shit together and don’t take out your anger on her.” Alec glanced over his shoulder looking for his sister. “And keep your hands off of her. She needs stability and you can’t provide that, not even close.”

  “Thanks for the warning, but you can rest assured: I’m not interested in your sister, and she’s made it abundantly clear that she’s not interested in me, so back off. You don’t need to play chaperone for the next month. I’ll be nice enough.” Alec’s eyes narrowed and Cam threw his hands into the air. “I promise.”

  Cam wished he could start drinking heavily right now because he needed to be drunk to hang out with Alec and Taylor all night. He could envision the whole night right now—Alec with his cold, suspicious eyes following his every move, making sure he kept his hands and everything else away from Taylor, and Taylor with her sassy mouth and…well, everything.

  Except for his time spent on stage, performing with the guys, this month would suck. No women, no drugs and no stupid behavior, but he could drink as long as he followed the rules and he planned to do plenty of that tonight.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Taylor watched Cam take his third shot of tequila in the last hour. They were alone in the VIP section of the club—at least at that particular table, if she didn’t count the bottle of Patrón taunting her. There were plenty of other people laughing and dancing around them, but their table could have been in Siberia with the coldness radiating off Cam’s body. Marcus had disappeared within twenty minutes of arriving and she hadn’t seen him in over an hour. Her brother hovered near the corner of the VIP section overlooking the dance floor, hardly paying attention to the women circling around him like he was a bright shiny diamond necklace.

  At least she didn’t have to deal with Cam’s groupie addiction tonight. Fortunately for her, Cam waved any woman away that came in his vicinity¸ and if they didn’t heed his warning, his cutting words did the trick. He had a sharp tongue when he wanted to use it. He wasn’t all fun and easygoing charm like the tabloids portrayed him.

  She sighed, pushing her hair behind her shoulder as she tapped her fingers against her leg in time with the music. Maybe this month wouldn’t be as bad as she feared—just boring, if tonight were any indication, and she could deal with boring. After all, she lived a dull life since she graduated from college and moved to LA to be near her brother six months ago. No, that was unfair. Her life had been boring, confining and utterly suffocating for a year and a half before that courtesy of her crappy ex-boyfriend Miles. Dating him had been like living in a glass cage, watching the world around her, but never being able to experience it. His controlling nature and insults had sucked the life right out of her until she felt as if she couldn’t breathe without him critiquing her technique.

  Life with Miles was a series of no’s and don’ts. No talking to other guys when he wasn’t around, no going to bars with her roommate, Evelyn, no dancing if it wasn’t with him, no wearing short skirts. She could spend a full twenty minutes going through his disapproval list. Miles sucked.

  The sad thing was that, initially, she had thrived on the attention and concern he showered on her. She’d been so snowed by him she’d mistaken his controlling behavior for something akin to devotion. She probably shouldn’t be so hard on herself for misreading him. After all, except for Alec, nobody had ever cared what she did and Alec had left home shortly after she turned thirteen, so it had been a long time.

  On paper, Miles was a great guy. He came from a mostly normal family. He had a college degree and a passion for music that matched hers. He sang in a band, but it wasn’t as good as Chasing Ruin, not even close. It was a little too grunge-like and depressing for her taste, but she didn’t care at the time.

  When she met him, he seemed like a dream come true. As time had passed, his attention turned obsessive and confining. He yelled at her and demeaned her every chance he got. Luckily, he never crossed the line into physical abuse, but the mental and emotional crap was more than enough to justify leaving him. She shook her head trying to erase her thoughts. She wanted to keep those memories buried in a box with the rest of the shitty stuff in her life. Thank god he was finally out of her life for good. She hoped he would realize she had no intention of getting back together. He needed to stop trying to contact her.

  Cam scooted his chair closer to hers and a playful smile slid across his face that lit up his sparkling blue eyes. Okay, maybe she spoke too soon about the next thirty days being boring.

  “Don’t look so pained. Have a shot,” he said, sliding the empty shot glass toward her. “Tonight doesn’t have to suck. We might as well enjoy each other’s company.”

  “Not interested,” she responded, folding her arms across her chest and leaning away from him. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m working. I have a job to do.”

  Cam slanted his body toward hers, his eyes giving her a smoldering once over and for one brief, crazy moment, she wished she had worn something a little more revealing. She mentally bitch slapped herself. She didn’t want anything from Cam because Cam didn’t have anything to offer except, perhaps, a night of meaningless sex and that wasn’t her thing. She had a mother who fed her alcohol addiction by trading meaningless sex and she wouldn’t repeat her mistakes. It was a road to nowhere, and she already had a front seat on that trip. She didn’t need to experience it again.

  “Friends don’t let friends drink alone,” he whispered, his hot breath fanning her neck, making her knees tremble.

  “We’re friends now?” she questioned. As much as she didn’t want to be swayed by his proximity, her body moved closer to him of its own volition. Like most rock stars, he had a gravitational pull a mile wide.

  “It’d make this month easier for both of us,” he answered, brushing his knuckles along her bare leg just below her short black skirt.

  The heat of his fleeting touch, while light and almost nonexistent, seared her skin and she just barely succeeded in holding back the shiver that begged to be released.

  “Friends would be nice,” she said, a little confused by her reaction to him.

  Cam looked amused. “Well?” he questioned, pointing to the bottle in the center of the table.

  Taylor looked at the glass, the bottle of Patrón and then Cam. “I don’t do tequila without salt and lime. Not even Patrón.”

  Smiling wickedly, Cam winked. “Ahh…so you still need training wheels.”

  She nodded, unable to speak when Cam focused all of his sinfully dangerous attention on her. She could drown in him if she wasn’t careful.

  “Salt and limes coming up.” He tore his gaze away from hers and waved to the waitress behind her. “One more shot glass with salt and limes.”

  Within minutes, the waitress placed everything she needed to indulge in several shots of Patrón in front of her. She hesitated, taking in the artful display of debauchery in front of her. She hadn’t been remotely close to drunk and reckless in over two years, which was depressing in and of itself at the age of twenty-three.

  One of the many things Miles had forbidden was drinking alcohol. At the time, she never protested because her mother was an alcoholic and that was reason enough not to drink. But now, as she watched the rest of the people her age dancing, laughing and enjoying life, she resented her ex-boyfriend even more than when she caught him naked with Natalie, her neighbor and friend of two years. He had truly robbed her of a year and a half of her life.

  Cam li
fted the bottle, pouring the clear liquid into her glass until it nearly spilled over the rim. He did the same thing with his glass.

  She could feel Cam’s hot gaze on her as she licked the skin of her hand between her thumb and forefinger. Cam lifted the saltshaker, sprinkling it on her damp hand. Her eyes never leaving his, she licked the salt from her hand and tilted her head back as she poured the clear liquid into her mouth. When she slammed the glass down, Cam handed her a lime that she promptly sucked into her mouth.

  “Your turn,” she said pushing the saltshaker and plate of limes in front of Cam.

  Cam twisted his shot glass in circles on the table. “I think you need to have two shots for every one of mine. I’m way ahead of you.”

  “No, I don’t drink much. You have a higher tolerance.” She lifted his hand. “Lick,” she said.

  “I don’t need training wheels,” he said lifting the glass to his lips and then pulling it away. “Unless you plan to let me lick the salt off of you, in which case, I’m all for training wheels.” He lifted one eyebrow, the clear shot glass resting against his plump lower lip. Could she be jealous of that glass? Because right now, she wanted to be touching those lips.

  She licked her lips, and his eyes tracked every movement like he wanted to devour her, and at that moment, she’d be incapable of resisting if he tried.

  When she didn’t respond, he reached for her hand. “I could use the same spot you used.” His thumb pressed the still damp skin between her index finger and thumb, rubbing it gently. “Or maybe your neck.”

  His fingers traced the thin skin along the side of her neck and she moved her head to the side to give him more access. More than likely, he could feel her pulse hammering against his fingers.

  “So, which is it?” he asked suggestively. Her eyelids grew heavy at the sound of his voice and every nerve ending in her body came to attention. He captivated her without even trying and she told herself to walk away and find her brother, but she couldn’t. Her legs wouldn’t move if she begged them to.