by Kylie Walker
“I have no idea where to start looking for it,” Abigail said with a resigned sigh.
Lucas chuckled. “Knowing that pair of nitwits, it’s probably in another building.”
“I don’t really want to go back to them empty-handed,” Abigail said.
Lucas studied her. “Don’t let them get to you. Most people who are exceptionally aggressive and power hungry are the types who are the most insecure.”
Abigail gave him a shy grin. “I don’t have to worry about that with you, I bet.”
She was teasing, maybe flirting. His blood ran hot, and he reined it in quick.
“I can be difficult to handle, Abigail. Don’t be fooled.”
An enticing blush colored her cheeks, and he had the biggest urge to grab the front of her blouse and pull her to him. He curled his fingers into resolved fists.
Her voice dropped, and so did her eyes right before they flicked back to his and drove him wild. “I believe you.”
“Good. Not taking me at my word can get you in trouble.”
Her lips twitched, and he wasn’t sure if she was amused or nervous. Her eyes lit, and he didn’t care what she was feeling, just that he wanted her.
“I certainly wouldn’t want that,” Abigail said in a breathless voice.
He locked eyes with her and thought he saw something resembling lust reflecting back to him. A demanding ache started in his crotch. She was the hot little intern, a sleek beauty that should crawl into his lap and stare down at him with her pouty lips begging to be kissed. He was close to not caring that he couldn’t fraternize with her. He was a rock star. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. If she was willing, why the hell not?
He didn’t like boundaries unless he was the one imposing them.
Frustrated with the lust pumping through him, edgy, he waved with his hand that they should start looking. She seemed to snap out of a haze and burst into motion.
“Oh, right!”
After several minutes of searching but coming up empty-handed, Lucas threw in the towel. “Who knows what that bastard did with it.”
Clear disappointment played across her face, along with a hefty mixture of annoyance and fear.
“He’s going to kill me.”
A tingle went down Lucas’s spine. Over his dead body.
“I’ll handle Burt. Don’t worry about it.”
“Seriously? I mean, you don’t have to get involved. This isn’t your problem.”
Lucas took a step toward her, pleased when she didn’t move away. “I saw how he treated you the other day. It is my problem when he’s treating our other staff like shit.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t believe him or understand why he was taking her side. He was attracted to her. That was all. He took care of his interests, that’s all.
“Look,” he said firmly. “I’m Burt’s boss. He’ll do as I say because that’s what I pay him for.” He took another step in her direction, expecting she was too innocent, too nervous about letting him close the space between them. But Abigail the Intern held her ground, watching him with interest.
Anticipation.
Desire.
“Ok.” The word dropped from her mouth. “Thank you.”
He could touch her. With one little indication from her, he’d run his hand through her hair; cup the back of her neck. Pull her to him.
Lucas stiffened and clenched his jaw.
“What... what were you working on before I interrupted you?”
She smelled like cherries. He felt the bulge in his pants begin to stir, and his sexual senses began to wake up. He needed to back off. She eyed him with interest and heat, but she hadn’t loosened her stance or made any motion to touch him or welcome him to touch her. She was going to be a challenge, one he didn’t have time for at the moment. Not with the new album coming out and a heavy concert schedule.
“Just fucking around.” He shrugged. “I come here to clear my mind.”
“Sorry about interrupting you.”
“Don’t be. It was a beautiful distraction.”
Her brows shot up, but she didn’t respond.
Lucas turned toward the room and the variety of instruments strewn about. “Do you play?”
“No,” she shook her head and frowned as if she regretted it. “I never had the opportunity to learn anything musical.”
Lucas nodded. He knew what it was like to look back on his past and have some memories that he wished that he could erase or do over altogether.
“Nothing is stopping you from learning now,” he said. “You’re an independent college student. Do what you want.”
“Maybe someday. My current schedule leaves no room for anything fun.”
Huh. He might have to change that after all. He could think of a million fun things to do with Abigail.
“What are you studying that has you so overbooked?”
“Public relations. I’d like to do PR in the music industry when I graduate. Things haven’t gone very smoothly so far; I’m afraid.”
He almost felt bad for her. “And then you ended up interning for Burt.”
Abigail took on a diplomatic expression. She shrugged. “His label was the only one offering internships.”
“Yeah,” Lucas nodded and took a sip of his Red Bull. “He takes interns under his wing.”
“I wouldn’t go that far...” Abigail trailed off reluctantly as if she was afraid of revealing too much.
“Men like Burt are a dime a dozen in this industry. Right assholes who belittle their staff and their clients to make themselves feel important.”
Abigail made a face of contempt. “That’s kind of fucked up if you ask me.”
“What?” Lucas quizzed.
“I don’t know. I mean you guys are the rock stars in the band. Without you, he wouldn’t have a client to yell at.”
“He would have plenty. Sadly, he prefers taking things out on the staff.”
Lucas wasn’t opposed to being a hard ass, but he liked to think he wasn’t hard on people unless he had good cause.
“Like me,” Abigail pointed pitifully to herself.
Lucas subtly leaned in just to get another whiff of her perfume. “As I said, I’ll take care of Burt.”
She looked a little stunned, a little dumbstruck. Perfect, just the way he wanted her. Let her feel a little awe at being alone with him right now. Let her pulse race and her flesh heat, and the desire pool between her legs. If he had to suffer in quiet desire, so could she. Abigail was quiet for a few seconds, and then she rocked up and down on the balls of her feet.
“Will you play something for me?”
“Sure,” Lucas said and grabbed his guitar. “What do you want to hear?”
Abigail didn’t even have to think about it. “Do you know any Beatles songs?”
“Every song.”
“Here Comes the Sun.”
He strummed a quiet chord. “Is it your favorite?”
“It’s hard to pick a favorite, really.”
“Agreed.”
He began gently strumming the notes on the guitar and then started to softly sing the lyrics. He got lost in the moment, almost forgetting that Abigail was even there. But when he opened his eyes again, he could feel her gaze melting him.
He glanced at her, and she had a look of lust and awe on her face. Did she want him? He cleared his throat and stopped playing. “Good enough to be in the Beatles?”
Abigail chuckled. “Let’s see,” she said and picked up a note pad and a pen from the table and pretended to start grading him.
He didn’t know if she was just acting the part, or if she really wanted to pursue him, but he was turned on. He wanted to grab her hips and yank her on top of him. He wanted her to straddle him and bounce up and down on his hard shaft. His vivid imagination was running wild with the mental images of how he could ravage her. Whatever she was up to, she had his full attention.
“You certainly have the voice and the guitar skills and the...” she tra
iled off as if she didn’t want to admit what the last part was, but then with a grin, blurted it out. “And the body image.”
“Body image?” Lucas smiled and rose from his seat. “Is that a professional term for sexy?”
“In so many words.”
Lucas grinned. It was a real grin this time, one he didn’t have to force or put on for show. He closed the space between them and reached for a strand of her hair. She didn’t pull away, so he took the silken length between his fingers. He held her eyes, wanting things he shouldn’t want. Knowing he was going to act on them if she didn’t resist. His chest brushed against hers. A tiny gasp flew from her lips as they parted so invitingly that he held back a groan. He couldn’t stop words from grinding out of his mouth.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
The breath rushed out of her, her lids fluttering and opening again half way. Pink blossomed across her cheeks. And not a single part of her indicated she didn’t want him to. Lucas pressed against her, his hand cupping the back of her head as his fingers thread through her hair. She lifted her chin, but it wasn’t enough. With a firm, yet gentle grip on her hair, he pulled her head back and angled her just right. Hot breath escaped her lips, and his libido jumped as it washed over his own. The thrum of her pulse was visible against the delicate skin of her neck. Forcing himself to go slowly, to let her have room to change her mind, Lucas bent to take her mouth.
Paused.
A moan rushed out of her.
He kissed her, firmly, deeply. Her eyes widened in surprise, catching him with an intimate lock that he’d never experienced before. She gazed up into his eyes with such a magnetic desire that he felt her flutter through him. How did she have the power over him like that? He didn’t know the answer, but he loved her vivacious spirit.
“Yes,” he whispered. “I want to kiss you.”
He slid his one hand down the small of his back. She draped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She was so warm and feminine. He could get lost in her embrace.
Their mouths moved together, his demanding, hers warm and supple and needy. He was playing with fire, but what was one more flame? God, she tasted good. Full and minty and a full of want. His cock hardened painfully, and it took all his will not to grind it against her curvy hip.
Slowly spinning her, he pushed her back against the wall and deepened the kiss. He ground her lips to his and kissed her with all the pent-passion he had burning inside of him. He couldn’t resist. Wasn’t even going to try. The temptation had already cracked him. There was no turning back now, but he was in for the wild ride.
He’d take this farther. Fuck yes, he would. But not here. Not now. Bracing himself with his hands on the wall on either side of her head, he pulled away and looked down into her eyes.
She was panting, her lips swollen from his kiss. He licked his lips, loving the passionate way she gazed at him. Loving the lust and stars in her eyes. He did that. And he’d do it again.
Pushing slowly away from her, he whisked a thumb over his lower lip.
“I’ll see you around. Abigail.”
He didn’t look back as he left. But he could feel her watching him, and she’d be thinking about him for days.
Just the way he liked it.
Chapter Four
ABIGAIL CROSSED THE street in front of her apartment building. She couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, all the muscles in her face ached. She was sure a permanent smile had been engraved into her cheeks.
When she arrived at her apartment, Meghan was sitting at the table having a sub sandwich. She chuckled when she noticed Abigail’s demeanor.
“What’s gotten into you?” Meghan smiled, apparently catching onto Abigail’s joy.
“Oh, nothing. I just had a good day at work today,” Abigail said and breezily walked over to the fridge to pluck a water bottle from the door.
“Really?” Meghan pitched her eyebrows in surprise because she knew how much Abigail hated working at the record label. “That’s a little hard to believe.”
“Maybe things are looking up,” Abigail said and floated to her room, leaving Meghan in suspense.
She had debated whether or not to spill the dish about kissing Lucas at the studio, but she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to tell anyone yet. It wasn’t like they were dating. They shared one simple kiss, and that was it.
Besides, Abigail didn’t know if it would end up happening again. If it did, she would relish in it and be completely elated, but if it didn’t, she needed to go into this thing with the mindset that everything that was meant to be would happen. As cliché, as she knew that was, she knew it was the best mentality to have about the situation because she couldn’t set herself up for disappointment.
Lucas was a really hot guy, but she knew that he probably wasn’t in it for a relationship. He probably hooked up with girls all the time. She was just a drop in the bucket to a famous rock star like him.
He had given her positive attention, and she had taken it and run with it. He was so gorgeous. She loved his sexy, smoldering look and that he didn’t have that traditional clean-cut aura. She loved the fact that he had a hint of a five o’clock shadow and chin length hair that fell around his face and made him look alluringly mysterious. His features and demeanor gave him a rustic, rugged look that set her senses on fire and made her thirsty for more.
She walked into her bedroom and sat on her bed, still grinning from ear to ear. She imagined his arms wrapped around her waist. Her curiosity ran wild. The bulge in his pants had been hard and thick, and it had taken all her self-control not to rub her hands all over it.
“Stop it,” she told herself. “Don’t get too crazy with this. You can’t take it that far. You had one kiss; get over it.”
But she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it. She could still taste him. She could still feel the prickliness of his scratchy facial hair tickling against her cheek. The touch of his mouth on hers still lingered on.
“Are you sure there isn’t something you don’t want to tell me?” Meghan’s voice called out.
Abigail glanced up, jolted out of her fantasy and back to reality when she noticed that Meghan was standing in her doorway with a cup of coffee in her hand and a curious expression on her face.
Abigail sat up and sighed. “Nope.” She placed her purse on her desk.
“Well, I bought you a sub sandwich too. Meatball. I know it’s your favorite.”
“You did?” Abigail was moved by the gesture. “That is seriously so sweet Meghan. I was just getting ready to start debating on what I should have for dinner.”
Meghan beamed and looked proud of herself. “Now you don’t have to.”
“This day just got even better,” Abigail chimed as she walked back to the kitchen to retrieve her sandwich. She hadn’t even realized she was hungry until Meghan had mentioned it, but Abigail had always been a sucker for those meatball subs.
Part of her felt guilty for not confessing the kiss to Meghan, but part of Abigail wondered if Meghan might judge her or think that Abigail was just doing it to get ahead in the job, which wasn’t the case at all. And Meghan was never the jealous type and always saw the good in people, but still, something Abigail back.
It was almost as if she felt like she needed to respect Lucas’ privacy too. Maybe he didn’t want his personal business being blabbed all over the world, although Meghan probably would swear to secrecy if Abigail requested it. Either way, it made Abigail feel naughty to keep the little private moment she had with Lucas under wraps for now. She didn’t know what would happen if word got out that she had kissed him.
She knew that he would be fine because he was in the band and could do anything he wanted, but would it be something that Burt would fire her over if he found out? The prospect made her stomach do a roll. She didn’t want to think about that for now. For once, something spontaneous and amazing had happened inside the walls of that studio. She wanted to cling to the remnant a little longer.
The nex
t morning, Abigail did her makeup and wore skinny jeans and a shoulder-baring top. She didn’t know if she would run into Lucas again, but she needed to be prepared just in case. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror one last time before heading off to her internship.
“Remember,” she told herself. “You are strong and independent. He might not give you the time of day, and it’s not a big deal if he doesn’t.”
She was talking to herself like she expected him to blow her off, but she knew deep down that he probably would. She had been around long enough to know how these things normally worked. Lucas wasn’t an exception to the rule. He was rich and famous. Guys like him didn’t settle down with girls like her.
She rode the train into downtown and stared up at the skyscraper where the record company was on the fifteenth floor. She took a deep breath. Why was she suddenly nervous? “You can do this,” she mumbled. Nothing had changed, really. She’d walk in; it would be a shitty day. She’d go home.
Nervous energy began bubbling up in her belly. She felt a tingling sensation all over as if she expected something to happen once she got inside.
“You are driving yourself crazy for no reason,” she mumbled to herself under her breath and forced herself to walk into the lobby.
The elevator was crowded, but not with anyone she recognized.
“Excuse me,” she said and pushed her way to the front once the car had landed on the fifteenth floor.
She stepped out and walked into the office. Everything appeared normal. The sound of phones ringing echoed through the air. The hum of chatter from people having conversations filled the room.
Abigail glanced at Burt’s office before she headed to her cubicle on the other side of the room. He was inside, perched at his desk and leaning over his computer. He appeared to be deep in concentration.
She tensed up when she walked past Jaime’s cubicle. Her computer screen was on, and her purse was tucked neatly under her desk, but her chair was empty. Abigail instinctively glanced over at her own cubicle. All appeared to be normal. She finally allowed herself to let out a deep sigh of relief and headed over to her workspace.
