Trouble in Disguise

by Sonia Stanizzo

  “I’ll take him,” she said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I want to.” She’d have something to remember Nate. Even if it was a weirdo cat.

  “That would be great.”

  After Jade could no longer use the distraction of Dorito to avoid what happened in Toby’s office, she said, “You can’t get rid of your disguise.”

  “Why not? I’ve caused you so much trouble. Christ, it’s even cost you your job.” He ran jerky fingers through his hair.

  “I could do with some time off. Those kids can be draining.” She tried to joke, but judging by his stern expression, it fell flat. She grabbed his hand. “It won’t come to that. I’ll have some time off, this will blow over, and I’ll be able to go back to work and all will be forgotten.” At least she hoped so.

  He shook his head. “You’re the one copping it all when this is my fault. If I let the world know about my disguise, no one will bother you again. I’ll be hot news for the next few days and the attention taken off you.”

  “You’ve worked too hard to throw away your disguise. Think of why you did it in the first place. The anonymity allows you to have a normal life off the stage. Can you really deal with people following you around twenty-four-seven? Trust me, I’ve had a small taste and its crappy. I don’t know how celebrities do it on a daily basis. No wonder they turn to drugs and alcohol.” She gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so insensitive. I wasn’t talking about your parents.”

  He tugged her arm to bring her closer, then lifted her so he could cradle her on his lap. “My parents thrived on the attention. The drugs and alcohol were a perk for them. It flowed freely at their parties until it eventually killed them. It’s a big part of that world. One I never wanted to be involved in.”

  Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, she said, “And that’s why you need to keep your disguise so you don’t fall into the same trap.”

  He chuckled. “I’m old enough to know not to get messed up like that. If it was ten or more years ago, who knows? It could’ve been me shaving my head and beating a car with an umbrella.”

  “Oh, you think you’d go full Britney, do you?” She smirked.

  He chuckled. “Hmm, maybe not.”

  Running her fingers through his dark sandy hair, she gently tugged it. “Good. It would be a shame to cut this off.” And then with more seriousness, she added, “And it would be a shame for you to throw away everything you’ve worked hard for. What if the truth coming out put the band in jeopardy?”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Your fans believe you’re this tough, tattooed, hard rocker. If they find out you’re clean-cut and as gentle as a pussycat—”

  “I’m hardly a pussycat.” He growled as he squeezed her tight.

  She laughed. “You know what I mean. The real man is not the rock genius they know and love. You’re still a fabulous musician—I’d buy your album.” She grinned, and he laughed. “But you’ll be different. Would Harvey’s Territory fans be as accepting? Do you want to risk it?”

  He stayed quiet for a moment, playing with a lock of her hair. She could see him weighing the decision in his mind. The struggle as to what to do was etched on his face.

  “I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “The media will move onto something bigger and better in a few days. Surely there’ll be a Kardashian flashing her arse in another magazine soon.” She placed a feather-light kiss on his lips. “Keep the disguise.”

  He nodded and drew her in for a deeper kiss. Then he dipped his head, pressing his mouth to her throat, and mumbled, “You smell so good.” His tongue licked her skin. “Taste even better.”

  Her heart hammered in her chest. What was it about this man that made her body turn to putty in his hands, or in this case, lips? Whatever it was she wished she could bottle it and pull it out to enjoy when he left. No, she wouldn’t think about that. She was here with him now, enjoying the moment.

  His hands swept down her arms and to the front of her shirt. He was quick to release the buttons, and in record time, her top was open and her chest exposed. Pushing the fabric from her shoulders, he cupped her breasts in his strong hands. His fingers stroked her raised nipples, and she shivered. His tongue replaced his hands, and the sensation nearly made her leap off his lap. This was torture of the best kind.

  Straddling him, she dragged off his shirt, unbuttoned the fly of his jeans, and reached inside the soft denim only for his hand to clamp around her wrist.

  “Why are you stopping me?” She gasped her displeasure.

  “Because I want to take my time. You reach in there and it will be hard and fast.”

  “I like hard and fast. I’ll take it.” She made to reach in his jeans and was stopped a second time. She released a frustrated groan.

  “I want to take my time,” he said as he kissed her shoulder, neck, and the top of her breasts. “I want to taste every inch of you then start all over again.”

  Her stomach quivered. No, no, no. She could not go slow. Her heart couldn’t take the emotion.

  For the third time she reached in his pants, and again he stopped her. “Why are you doing this to me?” She tipped her head back and blinked up at the ceiling.

  He laughed, and she gritted her teeth.

  “Look, if you need to go slow because you have erectile dysfunction or something and are embarrassed to admit it, we can try this another time.” She started to get off his lap, but he held her hips securely, moving her against him. He quirked an eyebrow. “Okay, so you’re hard as a rock. You don’t have to show off.”

  “I have a lot to show you.” His voice was low and sexy.

  “Then enough with the chitchat, big guy. Let’s do this.”

  Nate abruptly stood, ripping a squeal from Jade. But he held on to her tightly, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom, kissing her passionately all the way.

  Placing her on her feet, he took his damn time removing the rest of her clothing. But she made quick work of stripping him naked; it would be a crime to cover that body for a moment longer. He took her breath away every time she looked at him. Strong, toned, and that tattoo over his pec made him look badass.

  She scrambled on the bed, and he followed her. He paused above her. She looked into his eyes, and for a moment she could see herself reflected in them. Her heart and soul shone back at her. Oh God, this was not good. She couldn’t fall. Not for Nate. The man was leaving.

  But when Nate placed his mouth on her breast and sucked in a nipple, her back arched off the bed and all coherent thoughts flew from her mind. He followed through with his promise of taking things slow. After paying her girls an equal amount of attention his lips moved down to her stomach, along her inner thighs, and back up. Only to start all over again until Jade was a quivering mess, panting and desperate for him like she’d never been before.

  Finally, when he entered her, she burst into a thousand pieces, and Nate was right along with her, reaching their peak together.

  Just before she drifted off to sleepy oblivion, the thought of the days of them being together soon ending entered her mind, and her heart ached.

  * * * *

  Jade slowly came awake in the dark bedroom, the spot next to her in bed empty. Soft music floated in the air along with the smooth, sexy timbre of Nate’s voice.

  Getting out of bed, she threw on Nate’s t-shirt and padded barefoot toward the beautiful sound. He wasn’t in the living room, so she made her way to the kitchen, checking carefully around the doorway in case Nate was online with someone. She didn’t want a repeat of the other night.

  With his back to her, Nate sat on a kitchen stool with a guitar propped on his thigh. He was shirtless and wearing faded denim jeans, his hair tousled from her fingers. As he strummed the guitar, the muscles worked in his back. The sight stopped her heart.

  She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, enjoying the beautiful sounds coming
from the man and his instrument. As she listened to the lyrics, a tingling sensation exploded across her body.

  I close my eyes and picture you standing there.

  Your touch is all I crave.

  For you, I’d rip off my disguise and give up everything for a whisper of your love.

  I’d give you the stars to make you smile.

  Rattled by the words, she slowly backed out of the kitchen. Oh God, that song. So beautiful, so loving. But they were only words to him; he couldn’t mean them. He was a songwriter—they made this stuff up all the time. But hearing them was like an arrow to the heart, because it meant so much more to her.

  She held her palms to her chest. The pounding behind her ribs beat stronger and stronger until she thought her heart would explode. This was really, really bad. The man who sang like an angel but looked like a rock god had made her fall in love with him. And he would leave her. Just like the curse predicted.

  Chapter 22

  Nate penciled the last line down on the sheet of paper on the table. After making love to Jade, he couldn’t fall asleep. Song lyrics kept swimming around his brain until he gave up on sleep and went into the kitchen to write them down. Never had his song writing flowed so freely. Inspiration poured onto the page.

  Coming home to Brimland Point, away from the heaviness of his band, opened a new part of him. But if he were to be honest with himself, it wasn’t his hometown getting his creative juices flowing, it was the woman. Having Jade as his muse changed his song writing to something deeper, more emotional. And it kind of scared the crap out of him. He didn’t sing about love and commitment and happily ever after. But every song he wrote now had the same theme. And he liked it. Liked the way it made him feel.

  A noise behind him had him turning around. Jade stood dressed at the kitchen doorway. That wasn’t how he’d left her. He’d left her asleep, naked, and thoroughly sated. The plan was to give her some time to recover and they’d start all over again. Would he ever get enough of her? He would have to, because once he left for New York it all had to end.

  “I was about to come back to bed.” After getting the song out of his head, exhaustion had hit. And the thought of sleeping with her in his arms was, after sex, the best way to end the day.

  “I’m heading home. I’ve called a taxi to pick me up.”

  “Stay the night. You don’t have school tomorrow. We can sleep in and spend the day in bed.” And keep her there for days if he could.

  He rose from the chair, walked to her, and reached out to pull her into his arms. But she stepped back out of reach. What the fuck?

  “I have to get home to organize things for the substitute teacher. She needs to know what the kids are up to.”

  “Fuck that. Let Toby handle the substitute teacher. He’s the one who’s stopping you from working.”

  “Nate. I’m doing it for the children,” she said. “I really should go.”

  He could tell by the set expression on her face he wouldn’t change her mind. “Let me put on a shirt and I’ll take you.”

  A car honked its horn outside.

  “My taxi’s already here. Goodnight, Nate.”

  What had turned Jade so cold? It was only an hour ago she’d been fiery hot in his bed. He wasn’t buying her bullshit excuse about getting school work ready for the substitute teacher. But he nodded, said goodnight, and watched her walk out the door.

  As Nate sat back on the chair, Dorito woke up from his bed and wound his body around Nate’s legs. Nate picked him up, let the cat rub his face along his bristly chin, and placed him on his lap. He’d grown rather fond of the little red furball.

  There was another redhead he’d grown extremely fond of too, and he let her walk out the door. But what could he have done? It didn’t look like she wanted to talk about what was bothering her.

  He glanced down at the song he’d written. The intention was to write it and send it off to Roan Blake to sing. But it was too personal. Too much of Jade shone in the lyrics. This one he was keeping for himself.

  The line for you, I’d rip off my disguise and give up everything for a whisper of your love sprang from off the page. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about giving it all away. He was serious about doing it, to take the attention off Jade so she could get back to her normal life. And in a perfect world, maybe they could share a love. A family. A life.

  He ran his hand through his hair. He shouldn’t think about unattainable things. By losing the disguise to be with Jade, he’d be letting down a lot of people. His band, the record company, fans…his father. And that was the crux of it all. The dream his father built for himself and wanted his son to follow would all be gone. The one piece that held him to his father would no longer connect them.

  He had commitments and obligations to stick to, and he would see them through. Even if it meant a part of his soul got lost in the process. He had enough musical creativity with the band to keep him happy. And after playing his own stuff at Jovi’s without the disguise, why couldn’t he do the same in whatever city he was in?

  Picking up his guitar, he brought it into the living room and put it away in its worn-out case. No one would ever know, and he’d have the best of both worlds. But that would still mean he couldn’t promise Jade anything. Not love or commitment. Soon he’d be on the other side of the world touring most of the year. His chest tightened. In time, he’d get over her. He’d have to.

  * * * *

  After getting the taxi driver to drop her off at the school to pick up her car, Jade drove around Brimland Point for an hour before deciding to go to Ava’s house. Going home wasn’t an option. She’d driven past, and after the story proclaiming her involvement with Nathan Harvey, the size of the paps camped on the lawn had doubled.

  Didn’t they have anything better to do? She didn’t have the strength to push her way through them, especially when they ask her questions about their relationship. After the realization she was in love with Nate, she didn’t want to accidentally blurt out anything they could twist into another article.

  A cool sea breeze blew around her as she knocked on Ava’s door, reminding her of Nate and the night in the ocean. She needed to push that memory aside.

  Worried about the late hour, she’d messaged Ava, telling her that she was coming. Her friend, now in the late stages of pregnancy, hardly slept and messaged back that she’d be grateful for the visit.

  Nick opened the door. Dressed only in long pajama pants, his chest was bare and his dark brown hair tousled. He smiled at her with startling blue eyes. God, her friends managed to tie down good-looking men. Jade had an extremely hot man of her own, but unfortunately, he was only temporary.

  “Sorry, did I wake you?” Jade said as she followed him inside.

  “No, just keeping Ava company until you arrived. She’s feeling a little uncomfortable.”

  “Everything okay?” Jade asked with concern.

  “She’s been cleaning the house all day, and now she’s exhausted but can’t get comfortable enough to sleep.” He gave her an I don’t know what to do shrug.

  “I should let her get some rest.” Jade turned to leave, but Nick stopped her.

  “No, don’t go. She wants to see you. She won’t sleep until she does.”

  “Are you sure?” Jade asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” came Ava’s voice in the direction of the living room. “Stop talking about me behind my back and come in here so I can tell you everything myself. I’ll be pissed if you make me get up.”

  “A little moody?” Jade whispered.

  Nick’s eyes widened. “God, don’t say that to Ava, she’ll bite your head off,” he whispered back.

  They moved into the living room where Ava was lying on the couch with multiple pillows propped behind her back. Jade sat on the chair opposite her friend.

  “I’ve been calling you all day. I could have gone into labor and you wouldn’t have known. Then if you’d missed it, it’s your bad luck. Because I’m not doing this
again.” Ava tried crossing her arms over her chest but her belly got in the way.

  Having the good sense to look chagrined, Jade said, “I’m sorry. I’ve had a full-on day. And I’ve told Nick to message me when the time comes.”

  Ava huffed. “Well, it was rude.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” she apologized again.

  “I’ll leave you two girls to talk. I’ll be in the office if you need me.” Nate bent and gave Ava a kiss on the lips, and her friend beamed like she was a teenager in love. It was still so weird seeing Ava smitten with a man.

  Once Nick left Ava said, “I saw the article. The primary school teacher bagged the rock star, did she?”

  “I’m not exactly a teacher anymore.”

  Ava frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Toby wasn’t happy about the article. Parents were calling and complaining. It’s not great seeing their children’s teacher with her arse exposed for the world to see and flipping the bird.”

  “Toby fired you because of the article?”

  “No, he put me on leave because a parent caught me kissing Nate in the hall after music lessons.”

  Ava shook her head. “God, Jade, for someone who’s kept a relatively simple life, you sure turned it upside down. Toby can’t be serious about putting you on leave. You’re one of his best teachers.”

  “It wasn’t easy for him. I understand he has to appease the parents. I’m supposed to be involved with a musician, but I’m seen kissing the music teacher. It looks bad.”

  “Your personal life is personal.”

  “Not when it’s splashed in the tabloids. As a teacher, I have a certain image to uphold. And I haven’t done so.”

  Ava rubbed her belly. “It still sucks.”

  Yeah, it did.

  “How does Nate feel about all this?”

  “He offered to give up his disguise so they’d leave me alone.”

  Ava’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s a huge sacrifice. He must care a lot about you. Is this turning into something more than a fling?”