Cocky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel

by Regina Frame

  “Trinity, I know you have questions. Please hear me out,” he begged.

  “I’m not interested in your answers right now. Have a nice night.” I pushed on the door, but he held it open with his big hand. He had lost his suit jacket along the way, and his hair looked as if he had been tugging at it, or maybe it was her, that would be just my luck. His sad blue eyes lifted to mine, and I wanted to cry. A painful knot twisted in my stomach. I wanted to give in and open the door, but I’d been someone’s doormat one too many times. It has to stop somewhere.

  “I’ll give you tonight, but tomorrow we’re going to talk even if I have to hold you down to do it,” he promised. He stepped back on the porch and away from the door. I closed the door in his face and locked it. With my bottle of vodka, I sat on the back porch and thought about the turn of events. I thought I’d found the one. I had been so close to telling him I had feelings for him but held back. I really had shitty luck when it came to men. I unscrewed the top of the bottle and turned it up. I relished in the trail of cold liquid as it flowed down my throat. My head fell back against the back of the chair, and I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the ocean kissing the beach with every wave that rolled in. The next morning, I awoke on the back porch with an empty vodka bottle beside my feet and a hangover from hell.

  I dragged myself to the shower and turned it on as hot as I could stand it. I stepped under the spray and hung my head. Maybe my mother was right. What am I saying? Maybe I should have stayed in our little town. Maybe married a doctor or lawyer if I was lucky, but if I packed up and left now, I’d have lost my life savings. I sank everything I had into my dream business. I would leave with nothing more than the clothes on my back. After washing my hair, I shut off the water and heard someone knocking on the door. I already knew who it was, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face him. I looked at the clock on the nightstand, it was ten a.m. At least he let me sleep in before he came to make me regret my decisions. I slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and headed for the front door.

  I took a deep breath and gripped the doorknob so tight I thought it would break. “Well, at least you let me sleep in.” I stepped back and opened the door to let him in.

  “I’ve been in your driveway since two this morning. It took everything in me to respect your wishes for space,” he said.

  “Look, I’ve got things to do, so you need to say what you have to say and walk away.” That last word was like a knife to my heart. I just found him and now I’d have to let him go. I walked over to the leather chair and sat on it, not giving him the option to sit beside me. He sat on the coffee table across from me. He was still too close.

  “Let me start off by saying there will be no walking away for either one of us,” he said, reaching for my hands. I pulled them away.

  “I don’t want to hear bullshit excuses. I want the truth. I heard enough lies from my ex-husband. Who was that woman? Don’t tell me that she was no one to you, Tucker, because I could see it in your eyes that you more than knew her. Are you married? Ohmygod! You’re married, aren’t you?” I watched the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, and my stomach sank. He rubbed his hands on the knees of his jeans while his knee bounced wildly before meeting my eyes.

  “You’ll get nothing but honesty from me, Trinity. Always You’re right about the woman you saw me with last night.” My stomach sank, and the vodka from last night churned like an angry sea. “Her name is Penny Simms. She’s from Las Vegas, or so she says. Our band stayed in Vegas after playing two nights back to back, a little over a year ago. She was a blackjack dealer in the private lounge. I kept drinking until I could barely stand, but we ended up at one of those drive-thru wedding chapels. The next morning, I sobered up with a gold ring on my finger. I realized I was in some deep shit. Hell, I can’t say for sure that we ever slept together because I was fully dressed when I awoke the next morning. All I have to go off of is a signed marriage license, a picture in the drive-thru, and her word. If I’d just hung with the guys maybe none of this would’ve happened, but I wanted to gamble instead of going to a strip club. My life has been a shit storm ever since. Elliott and I have a lawyer involved now. Even though the marriage was dissolved with both parties agreeing, she wants money. She’s blackmailing me. She’s threatening to take this to the media. This has been going on for over a year now, and she keeps popping up, demanding what she calls alimony. We were married for a total twenty-six hours.” He scooted closer and reached for me. I took his trembling hands in mine.

  “So, you’re saying other than demanding money from you, she’s not in your life? Does she ever show up at your home?” He shook his head.

  “No. She doesn’t know where I live. The only reason she showed up last night was because the location of the label party had been advertised, so she knew I’d be there. I didn’t even know she was there until she walked in on me in the restroom.” He held my hands a little tighter. “Please believe me, Trinity,” he pleaded. “I’ll have Elliott talk with you if you’d like. You can ask him anything,” he offered.

  I exhaled a heavy breath as I rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand. “I believe you, Tucker,” I said softly.

  “You do?” He looked up at me with watery eyes.

  “Yes.” I could see his whole body relax. “Is there anything else I need to know? Do you have children that are going to pop up and surprise me?” I asked.

  “No! I swear on my life!” he said, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my hair. “I’m falling for you Trinity Walsh, and last night I thought I’d let you slip through my fingers,” he admitted.

  “Tucker James, I fell for you that night outside Temecula when I crawled on the back of your bike,” I admitted. He pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.

  “Thank you for believing in me,” he whispered and kissed my forehead.

  “Willow will be here soon. I should get dressed,” I announced, standing from the chair.

  “Willow isn’t coming home anytime soon.” He arched a brow and grinned.

  “Oookay, spill it.” I giggled.

  “Let’s just say that she and Blake are getting along very well. She’ll be preoccupied for a while.” He nipped at my ear sending shivers throughout my body. He grabbed my hips and hoisted me up. I wrapped my legs around him. I could feel his hard dick through my thin shorts as I ground myself against him shamelessly. It felt so good. I needed him now. I needed him inside me desperately.

  “That’s going to get you in to trouble,” he said, lightly licking the side of my neck making me moan.

  “I kind of like trouble. Why don’t you punish me?” I arched my brows, challenging him. He walked us to my room and dropped me on my bed. He made quick work of removing my shorts while placing soft kisses along my neck and collar bone. He looked at me with smoldering eyes and groaned when he realized that I wasn’t wearing panties. I reached up and pulled my tank top off and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. I ran my hands over his broad chest and on to his abs before I popped the button of his jeans. We made quick work of getting rid of them. His tongue swirled around my nipple before moving on to my navel and then between my slick folds. My hips lifted from the bed on their own. He flattened his tongue and pressed hard against my clit causing me to fall apart. At this point, I no longer had control over my body. It belonged to Tucker. He settled himself between my thighs and teased my clit with his hard dick.

  “I’ve fantasized about touching you, about giving you pleasure, and worshiping your body the way it should be worshiped. I want you to be mine in every way possible. I’m in this for the long haul,” he said.

  “I’m yours, Tucker. I promise.” He pressed his hard cock inside me in one thrust. My walls gripped him as he began to slowly rock in and out. He lifted his head and looked at me with ice blue eyes that set my body on fire with need.

  “Harder.” My hips bucked against his begging for more. He grunted and picked up the pace. The air around us sizzle
d as we burned like an inferno. With one more hard thrust we fell apart together and collapsed in a heap of sweat slicked bodies. My heart pounded, and my chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. We lie there holding each other saying nothing because everything that needed to be said, we said with our bodies. Tucker’s breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep. I laid there listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat until sleep pulled me in.

  I awoke sometime later with a warm body pressed up against me. One tanned arm draped over my waist. I rolled onto my side and feasted my eyes on the man lying beside me. His blond hair was sticking up, making him even sexier. I trailed my fingers along his stubble jaw and his soft lips. He smiled against my finger and pulled me a little tighter against him, making me giggle.

  “Good morning,” he greeted, kissing me on the tip of my nose.

  “Good morning.” I cocked a grin and ran my fingertip over his soft lips again. He nipped at my finger. “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  “Only for you,” he said, with his lips pressed against my neck before moving on to my collar bone. He made me squirm in the best possible way. “Shower with me.” He cocked a grin.

  “Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that showering with you means shower sex?” My body heated, and a steady pulse began at my core.

  “Shower sex is the best sex.” He slapped me on the ass and ushered me toward the bathroom. Three orgasms later we were in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when Tucker’s phone rang.

  “Elliott,” Tucker barked. “This better be important. For fuck’s sake can’t we have a day off?” He growled. “He did what? I’ll be right there,” he said.

  “Babe, I have to go to the studio. Ayden got stupid drunk last night and fell. He broke his arm, so we’ve got to talk about what to do going forward. We’re supposed to be recording the new album in two weeks.” He let his head fall back and exhaled a heavy breath.

  “Go. I’ve got some things to do at the shop. Go and be the leader the guys need right now. Talk to you later.” I stood on my tip toes and kissed the corner of his mouth.

  8

  TUCKER

  Elliott was pacing the floor like some caged animal as I walked into the conference room. “Can you believe this? We’ve got two months to record an album before we hit the road again. He won’t be able to play for at least three months. He’s having surgery this morning,” Elliott said as he looked at his watch. “Right now.” Before I could ask more questions the rest of the gang walked in talking and laughing about something crazy Cade did last night and took a seat at the long wooden table. Elliott started off by telling them basically what he just told me. Ayden would be out for at least three months.

  “He’ll have a metal plate and screws in his arm,” Elliott explained.

  “What exactly happened?” Blake asked. How’d he break his arm?” He leaned back in his chair and propped his booted feet on the table.

  “I heard he got his legs tangled up in his pants while trying to grab a condom and fell,” Cade snickered. Elliott shot him a glare that said shut the fuck up. “What a boner killer.” Cade went on to say. Everyone laughed but Elliott.

  Elliott slapped his hand on the table and shouted, “Shut the fuck up! Everything’s a joke to all of you. I’ve got news for you; Stealth records can cut you loose if you don’t produce an album in two months. You know what that means?” Elliott leaned in and braced both hands on the table. We all sat there in silence staring at him, waiting for the next shoe to drop. “We have to hold auditions for a temporary guitar player.”

  “What?!” Cade grumbled as everyone began to talk at once. I placed two fingers in my mouth and whistled as loud as I could.

  “Guys, this is no joke. We’ve got to find someone for maybe six months to a year depending on Ayden’s recovery. He could be back sooner, or it could be later. We have no way of knowing.” I said, looking each one of them in the eye.

  “I’ll place some calls. We’ll begin auditions tomorrow morning.” Elliott announced. “I expect you all here at ten sharp and ready to work,” he said before walking out of the room.

  “I’ll see you ladies in the morning,” I said leaving them laughing at Ayden’s expense. I headed to the hospital to check on our friend.

  When I walked into the meeting room at the studio, everyone was ready and waiting on me.

  “I vote from now on to tell Tucker to arrive two hours early if you want him to be on time. What’s your excuse this time? Did you stay with Trinity last night?” Cade smirked.

  “I’m dealing with some shit right, which happens to be none of your business. I’m here now. Let’s get started.” I was up late the night before working with an investigator who was looking for Penny Simms. We were going to serve her with a restraining order and if that didn’t work, I’d have her arrested for blackmail and harassment. We listened to six guitarists before lunch and judging by the group in the next room, we were in for a long evening.

  “Can’t we just hurry and pick one? My ass is numb from sitting in this chair all morning,” Blake complained.

  “I have an idea, Blake, why don’t we bring them all in and we could throw darts until one of them sticks. Bingo that’s our guy,” I said sarcastically. He flipped me off. “This may not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. This is our band we’re talking about and our brand. We have a certain sound that the fans are used to. Don’t you want to find the person that matches that sound as close as possible? It could mean the life or death of our band,” I explained.

  “You sounded great, honey,” Cade said to the cute little red head that just finished a wicked solo. Too bad she doesn’t fit what we’re looking for. “Can I get your number, sweetheart? You’ll be hearing from me.” Cade gave her his signature panty dropping smile. The one that made his dimples pop.

  “I think what Cade meant to say is, thank you for coming out today. We have your number and hope to make a decision by the end of the day tomorrow,” I explained. She thanked us and walked off the stage. For a moment, I thought she was going to take Cade at his word, but instead she walked out letting the door shut behind her.

  One last guitarist struts on stage with a red fender strapped over his shoulder and completely shreds it. The performance was jaw dropping, out of this world. “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Luke.” He slid his guitar off of his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his brow. How can this guy not already be signed to a label?

  “All in favor of giving Luke a six-month contract, raise your hand.” It was unanimous. “Looks like you’re in, Luke.” I walked across the stage and shook his hand. “Be here at two tomorrow to begin practice,” I instructed.

  “Dude! Thanks guys,” he said, picking up his guitar and strapping it back over his shoulder. “Thanks for giving me a shot,” he gushed.

  “Luke? You like strip clubs?” Cade asked. “Wait a minute, how old are you?”

  “I’m twenty-five,” Luke answered with a grin on his face.

  “Well, come on let’s go see some titties and celebrate!” Cade shouted, rubbing his hands together. Once everyone was gone, I called Elliott to come back into the meeting room to listen to the recordings from today.

  “Who is that playing? He or she needs a contract. I haven’t heard playing like that in years. When you happen upon talent like that, you scoop them up before someone else gives them a better offer,” Elliott said excitedly.

  “His name is Luke, and he’ll be here tomorrow. We knew as soon as we heard the first song that he was the one. Even after Ayden comes back, I’m thinking we could use two guitarists. Could you imagine the two of them together?” I asked excitedly. “I can’t wait to get in the studio tomorrow.” Elliott and I sat there for at least another hour discussing contracts and what kind of pay to give this guy. Once we came to a decision, I was ready to get to my girl. I hadn’t talked with Trinity all day and I missed her like hell.

  9

  TRINITY

  “Shit,” I groaned, pulling my
hands from the dishwater and drying them on a towel. My cell vibrated across the kitchen counter, so I scooped it up. “Hello.”

  “Ms. Walsh?” a male voice said.

  “This is she.”

  “This is Winston Green. I’m calling from Lincoln Bank & Trust.”

  “What is this in regard to Mr. Green? Before you ask, I’m not interested in an interest free loan, and I actually use a different bank.” I would normally hang up at this point, but the next words out of his mouth left me speechless.

  “Ms. Walsh, I’m not offering you a loan or any type of interest free credit card. I’m calling regarding a loan for ten thousand dollars that you and your husband Keith signed six months ago. It appears the payments are behind, so unless you can pay seven thousand dollars, we’ll need to take action. The document you signed is a legal and binding contract.

  He must have me confused with someone else. Perhaps another Trinity Walsh. “Mr. Green, I think you have me confused with someone else. I haven’t signed any type of loan papers with your bank. I haven’t borrowed money.”

  “Ms. Walsh, I’m looking at your signature on a contract, stating that if you didn’t pay back the money loaned within two months, you would be charged a higher percent interest rate.”

  My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach where bile churned.

  “Mr. Green, what is the date on the so-called contract?” I questioned.

  I could hear shuffling and crinkling of papers, and then he read the date to me. Today is exactly six months to the day the loan papers were signed. “Why haven’t you contacted me before now? Better yet, why haven’t you contacted Keith?”

  “Ma’am, we’ve called your husband Keith numerous times, but it appears that he has changed his number.” Of course he had. “We were finally able to reach out to your mother, and she provided us with this number.” I can’t believe this. The last thing I needed was for my parents to find out about this. My father would never let this go. I’d be a disgrace. He said we as a family are the face of the city and the mayor’s family is expected to live a perfect life. This has to be some shit that Keith has pulled.