Rocked

by Maya Hughes

  “There’s a lot I would like to show you. If you head inside, I’ll clear the bedroom and make you feel things you didn’t think were possible.”

  “Wow,” shaking her head, Keira couldn’t believe how thick this guy laid it on. She’d almost be impressed, if she wasn’t dead set on keeping things professional and hadn’t already had her eye set on the one guy she’d sworn herself not to touch.

  Clearing her throat, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him back, her fingers lingered for just a second on his hot and sweaty skin. Standing on shaky legs, she pushed him back a little farther. This guy was walking sex, but she had a job to do and getting involved with this guy, whoever he was, did not seem like a good idea. New tactic. She extended her hand and he glanced down at it, his eyebrow raised.

  “Hi, I’m Keira. I’m joining the tour. I’m the photographer traveling with Eric Newcastle until his tour starts.”

  His eyebrows scrunched down even further. “I’ll be doing a photobook of every show? For fans to buy? A special kind of keepsake?” Her voice got higher with each statement that made it seem like she was asking him questions. A commotion from behind her saved them both from his complete confusion.

  “Owen, what the hell are you doing down there? Get up here, you’re missing all the fun!” shouted someone from behind her. The barreling stomping coming down the bus steps had her turning around to see a guy with a clean-shaven head, lunging for, apparently, Owen, before freezing when he saw her.

  “Why hello pretty lady,” he said, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. And then a bit more than kissing it as he turned her hand over and started sucking on her fingers. She whipped it back from his full-on mouth assault. “Joining the party?”

  “No, not joining the party,” she squeaked. Was this what they were always like? She’d need a stun gun for the tour, maybe a little pepper spray. She was supposed to be the freewheeling bohemian and these guys made her feel like a pearl clutching grandma.

  “She’s looking for Eric. Apparently, he somehow managed to con the label into allowing him to bring along his own personal groupie to ‘take pictures’ for the fans,” he said, using air-quotes.

  “I’m not a groupie! I’m a photographer, here to do a job,” she said, rounding on Owen.

  “Keira, you made it!” Eric called out from behind Owen. Saved by the fiery haired guitarist, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Eric! I was looking for you,” she said, pushing the guys aside to get to him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, stepping a little in front of her while he said ‘Hi’ to the guys.

  “Our bus is back there,” he said, thumbing toward the smaller bus parked behind the bus of nakedness. Thank God. Not that they didn’t seem nice, but she couldn’t imagine sleeping on a bus filled to the brim with horn dogs that probably needed to be disinfected. Gah, she was such a grandma right now.

  Relief washed through her as she reached around Owen to grab her suitcase. Eric took it from her hand and pulled it along. Holding onto her bag on her shoulder so tightly that her fingers turned white, Keira looked back at the guys still standing outside of the bus.

  “We’ll see you later!” called out the bald guy, while the blue-eyed Owen stared after them. “Are you okay? Everything all right,” he said, keeping his voice low as we made our way to the other bus.

  “I’m fine. What is up with them?” Keira whispered to Eric.

  “Those guys? Well, let’s just say that they enjoy the party. A lot. The first few weeks were a bit insane, but then I had to take a step back from all that craziness. I’m not in a band, I’m a solo guy and their level of closeness, especially when it comes to getting naked, was a bit too intimate for me,” he said, chuckling.

  She couldn’t hold back her laugh.

  “You’re telling me. I’ve never seen more taints before in my life. I wasn’t even sure what half the body parts I was looking at were. They were all so tangled up in there.”

  Gesturing to the bus with the open door behind them, Eric ushered her inside. At the top of the steps, no noticeable smells, no noises other than the hum of the engine, peeking around the corner, a small living room with leather couches along one side, a small booth on the other with an even smaller kitchen area. There were two burners, a microwave and a few cabinets. It was all decked out in plush reds and browns.

  “I’ll give you the grand tour,” he said, bringing her back up into the living area. Back further, a set of two bunks lined either side of the bus, each with their own tv. A tiny bathroom that Eric warned her was never ever for number 2. And at the back of the corridor, another door. He opened it, revealing a cozy bedroom tucked in there. Not as cramped as she would have thought. His guitar was laying across the bed. Some other furniture stashed around the room, a dresser, wardrobe and a queen-sized bed, which took up most of the space.

  Flopping on the bed, Eric motioned for her to sit down next to him. Her breath caught in her throat as she sat next to him.

  “They’ve upgraded my accommodations since signing me up for my new tour. This place is ridiculous. I hope you like it,” he said, laying back on the bed, his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. His shirt lifted a bit and she got a look at the deep v headed down into his jeans. She laid back and a blush crept up her neck when her mirrored reflection looked back at her from the ceiling. Thinking of all the things she could watch him do to her in those mirrors had her squeezing her thighs together. Down girl! You’re here for a job.

  “Just when I get used to how my life is going, there are even more curve balls thrown at me. Even when they are great curveballs, it still takes some getting used to,” he said, glancing over at her. Goosebumps raised across her whole body and she had to suppress a shiver. Squeezing her thighs together, he took her breath away. His tousled hair was falling over into his eyes, with the green peeking out from behind all that hair. She wasn’t going to make it.

  “Sometimes those curveballs are what make things worth living,” she said, smiling back at him. She covered her mouth as she yawned. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket, checking the time.

  “You’ve got to be tired. Come and lay down.” He patted the bed beside him and pulled the blankets down. Her mind whirred with excitement, but she had to stop herself from diving in like she wanted to. “It’s not like we haven’t slept next to each other before. Just sleeping, I promise,” he said, holding up his hands up. “We can both be completely clothed. But the bunks don’t have sheets on them yet, so I don’t want you to have to sleep out there.”

  He made a good point and she was so tired. The adrenaline of the day wore off about ten minutes ago and she was crashing. She nodded and he smiled wide, lecherously, if she didn’t know any better.

  “I’ll go into the bathroom and get changed, you change in here. I’ll go get your bag,” he said as he hopped up and darted out of the bedroom before she could say anything else. Standing and pacing, she checked herself in the mirror and promised she wasn’t getting in over her head. She totally wasn’t, not at all. Nope.

  14

  Eric stepped out of the bedroom, and grabbed Keira’s bag from the living area. Steve, their driver, introduced himself. He’d been on the road crew with Uncharted before, so Eric had met him a few times.

  “When are we heading out?” he asked, as Steve plopped down in the driver’s chair.

  “About twenty minutes, so if you’re going to send her on her way, you’ll need to make it a quickie,” he grumbled, pulling up a map on his navigation console.

  “It’s not like that, man. She’s not a groupie. That’s Keira. She’ll be on tour with us until my solo tour starts.” Steve glanced up at him, eyebrow raised and gave him a single nod.

  “Okay, then. We head out in twenty, make sure you go over the bus rules with her and we’ll be good to go.”

  “Thanks. Night, Steve,” he said, walking back to the bedroom. He knocked once and handed her bag over when she popped her head ou
t of the door.

  “Thanks! Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, we’re leaving in twenty minutes, so if you’re not used to going to the bathroom on a moving bus, you might want to take care of that now.”

  “Good idea,” she said, before scampering off to the bathroom. He went to his duffle, using the sniff test to figure out which clothes were clean and which were dirty. Damn, he needed to do laundry. Keira came back into the bedroom, face freshly washed and still looking as beautiful as before.

  “Bathroom is all yours,” she said, gesturing to the hall and putting her things on top of the dresser.

  Shaking his head, he grabbed his duffle and headed into the bathroom.

  Keira sat on the bed, pulled out her pajamas and sent a quick text to her sister.

  Keira: Officially on tour!

  Izzy: With the circus? Always knew you were a secret juggler :D

  Keira: Nope, I am the official artist accompanying Eric Newcastle on his tour.

  The delivered notification barely had time to register before her phone vibrated in her hand.

  “You’re the what? For who?” her sister screeched. She couldn’t hold back the laugh at her sister’s response. Keira wasn’t exactly known as the daredevil of the family.

  “I’m a touring artist with a new singer, Eric Newcastle.”

  “But..but,” Izzy stammered.

  “I told you I’d take care of the summer classes thing. This job will pay more than enough to weather my rent situation and any other expenses that come up. It might even give me enough to take some time off and work on my photography in the fall.” Her sister exhaled a deep breath.

  “You did say you would take care of it.”

  “Yes, I did. See, I wasn’t lying when I said I could handle myself.”

  “I’m glad, Keira. I wouldn’t have thought you would go for something like that. I’m proud of you, Keke.” Her chest puffed out at her sister’s compliment. Izzy loved her, but she didn’t exactly hand out praise easily. She was like the Simon Cowell of life. For her to say it, meant a lot to her.

  “So, tell me all about it. How’s it been so far?”

  “We only just arrived on tour a little bit ago. But we flew here on a private jet,” she said, taking her clothes off to get changed.

  “A what?!” Izzy screeched. Keira pulled the phone away from her ear.

  “Are you trying to blow out my ear drums?” she chuckled.

  “You flew on a private jet?”

  “I know, right. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.”

  “Talk about landing on your feet,” Izzy grumbled. The door on the other end of the line slammed open and her sister’s muffled voice came through on the other line.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s cool. My new neighbor heard me scream and thought something was wrong.”

  “New neighbor, huh?”

  “Yup.”

  “Is it a guy?”

  “Yes,” her sister said, drawing it out.

  “Is he single?” Please let him be single.

  “As far as I can tell,” Izzy said, pretending to be nonchalant. She could hear the interest in her voice.

  “Is he hot?” she said, leaning in, even though her sister was a thousand miles away. Oh this was getting good. Her sister hadn’t been interested in anyone in a long time.

  “Ridiculously,” her sister said, almost annoyed that she had a hot, single new neighbor.

  “Is he still there, right now?” She said, laughing. Izzy had a great poker face, she was sure this poor guy had no idea what was going on. But she hoped Izzy went for it with the hottie neighbor. She needed a little hot, sexy loving and soon.

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to that situation.”

  “No situation. But call me later, I want to hear all about how you ended up scoring this gig.”

  “Will do. Tell Amy I said I love her and I’ll talk to you both later.” And she did. She missed them both so much. Maybe she’d be able to swing a trip to visit soon.

  “Night, Keke.”

  “Night, Izzy.”

  Quickly changing into her tank top and pajama shorts, Keira crawled under the covers. The excitement of the day finally closing in on her, she settled herself against the headboard, waiting for Eric. She tried to stay up to talk to him and set some ground rules for them on tour, but the soft pillows against her back demanded a snuggle. She sunk down in the bed and wrapped her arms around them yawning.

  She’d just close her eyes for a little bit. Resting them until Eric was finished. Or maybe tomorrow. Yeah, she vowed to set things on the right track with Eric in the morning when she had her head on straight. Tomorrow. They could sort everything out tomorrow. The clouds masquerading as pillows had Keira’s eyes shut in record time and she didn’t even remember falling asleep.

  He threw his duffle on one of the bunks outside the bedroom, next to his prized guitar, Vicki. It was one of the last things he’d had from his dad before he split. He should have wanted to bash that thing to pieces and never see it again, but he used it to remember the good times. The times they’d had before his dad ran out on the family.

  Digging through his bag, he knew there were some clean boxers in there somewhere. Giving a few pairs the sniff test, nearly knocking himself out with one particularly ripe pair. It must have been from a show night. He found a clean one and wrenched open the bathroom door. Sleeping next to Keira was sure to wreak havoc on him, but he’d suffer through it.

  It was pure dumb luck that he’d get to sleep next to her again tonight. The memo must not have gotten around that he’d be bringing a photographer on tour and, apparently they hadn’t thought they would need to put sheets on the bunks. Whoever had made that screw up would be getting a bottle of whiskey as a reward in the morning. After getting changed, he popped out his contacts and debated whether or not to wear his glasses. He never wore his glasses out in public, not since high school and even then, he did it only in extreme emergencies. They definitely didn’t lay the ground work for the seduction he’d hoped for. He’d go along with Keira’s plan of professionalism, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t wear her down.

  Knowing that he would literally be wandering around the room with his hands out in front of him, searching for the Keira sized blob if he didn’t wear them, he grimaced and grabbed them out of the glasses case. Sliding those coke bottle frames onto his face, the familiar weight of them meant he could see where he was going. Gathering his clothes and shoving them into one of the bunks, he knocked on the bedroom door. No response, he listened for movement.

  “Keira? Are you decent?” Still no response. He cracked open the door, ready for a shoe to the face for walking in on her again. Instead, he found her under the covers, fast asleep in the bed, her chest rising and falling steadily, a gentle snore coming from her mouth.

  He smiled and took his glasses off, putting them beside him on the nightstand. He had to stop ending up in bed with her when she was already knocked out. Her light brown curls were fanned out all over the bed, spread out like a delicious wet dream waiting to be completed. His mouth went dry and his shaft thickened taking in her uninhibited beauty. Wishing he had her artistic ability to capture what she saw in front of her, he settled for what he knew and picked up his notepad, perching on the edge of the bed, so as not to disturb her.

  The lyrics and rhythm flowed through him as he sat there and observed her, so fast he couldn’t grab them to get them down on the paper. So, sweet and bright, her sunniness was one of the things he’d been drawn to. Previously, he’d thought that the temperamental woman who exuded angst fit the type of passion he needed to create his music. The conflict and angst feeding into the creative energy, that’s how he’d ended up with Talia. But Keira, she was so open, so joyful, not afraid to show just how excited and happy she was about something. It was refreshing and made him appreciate things he took for granted. She put him at ease and made it easier to create aro
und her. He wasn’t afraid of her judgement and it already unlocked something in him that he’d been afraid to let out and she’d been around for less than two days.

  Watching her sleep, he scribbled down thoughts and as they raced through his head. The melody and beat hadn’t come to him yet, but the words flowed from the end of his pen and filled two pages in record time. Not wanting her to wake up with him staring at her and scribbling frantically, he set the notebook on the bedside table and pulled the covers up over her shoulders.

  Turning off the light, the bed dipped as he climbed in beside her. Keira grumbled in her sleep and rolled toward him. He froze, his breath catching as her hair brushed against his arm. Her previous declaration that they would keep things strictly business hadn’t deterred him. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her head, but he was sure she didn’t want to jeopardize her work. He’d just have to convince her that it wouldn’t be an issue. They could keep things professional and still enjoy each other’s company. She sighed beside him and flung her arm over her head, nearly whacking him in the face. He grinned and moved her arm back down. He squeezed the pillow behind his head and settled in, closing his eyes.

  His eyes snapped open at the gentle caress of her fingers on his chest. She snuggled in deeper next to him, murmured, and rested her head on his chest. She let out another sleepy sigh and rubbed her cheek against his chest. His skin heated up and another part of his anatomy swelled as the weight of her head shifted on his chest, her hair tickling him. Craning his neck, he breathed in her scent. She smelled like lilacs and other deliciousness. She sighed and he leaned his head back against the pillow and wrapped his arm around her. Maybe she wasn’t as wary of getting close to him as she said when she was awake. He’d take what he could get at this point and make her see how good they could be together.

  15

  Waking up next to Eric Newcastle twice in three days had her pinching herself under the covers. The pillows were just as comfortable as she remembered, but that didn’t stop the hot flush that traveled through her when she looked over at him. Squeezing her thighs together, she retreated to her mantra of professionalism and not wanting to screw this up.