Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels

by Candy J. Starr

  Without saying a word, she was gone, and I had no idea what that had even meant.

  Alice

  WHEN I LEFT HIS DRESSING room, he was a helluva lot more relaxed. I'd never done a thing like that before. I'd just known it was what he needed.

  During the soundcheck, I'd worked out where I needed to be to get the shots. I went back to the press room and gathered my gear.

  It didn't take long before we had to get out there. This would be it. Sink or swim time for Savage. My hands shook and I needed to calm that down or I'd ruin every shot.

  Adrenalin pumped through the crowd. They were a weird mix. Grown-up boy band fans, mixed in with a whole bunch of random others. Savage hadn't been wrong when he'd said people would turn up just to see him fail, but a lot of them were diehard fans too.

  The lights went down. For a second, the crowd became silent, then they screamed. All together in a wall of sound. I smiled and squatted down to get some shots of Savage going on stage.

  When he got out there, the place lit up and the music started.

  The first song was a ballad, the song he'd played on that first day I'd met him. It'd been amazing with him playing the acoustic but with a full band, it sent shivers down my spine.

  I had to stop seeing him as a man and start thinking of him as a subject within my lens. I couldn't be emotionally invested in this and do my job.

  His voice had such an edge to it. If people didn't love this, they had to be crazy. I couldn't focus on the crowd reaction though. I had to keep my mind on my job, just my job.

  The song finished. And nothing. No cheers, no applause. I bit my lip. That wasn't good. That silence was the worst thing you could ever imagine when you were on stage. I knew that. It must cut Savage to the heart.

  But then the silence broke and the screams deafened me, as though the crowd had been momentarily stunned and had just woken.

  The next song was much more rock. Savage moved like a god on stage. He showed no trace of those old moves, the cheesy pop ones. He'd become all rock. Even while I worked, I wanted to be out there in the crowd, just watching with no filter, nothing between me and the music.

  Again, more screaming. The crowd didn't want to shut up. Love seemed to well up from the floor and wrap the stage. I filled with pride. He'd done it.

  For the next song, I moved across the stage. I needed to get other angles. Savage caught my eye but kept on singing, although I knew that wink was just for me.

  I tried to ignore it. I tried to ignore the tingle it sent through me. We were both were here to work, not flirt. Still, that he'd take time in the middle of it all to wink at me like that gave me a buzzy glow.

  In between songs, he started with the banter. Cheeky, flirty talk that the crowd ate up. This album would be a huge success. The tour would be massive.

  Savage reached the end of the show far too soon. The crowd screamed themselves raw.

  I knelt at the side of the stage, hiding in the shadows. I thought he'd walk off right past me. We both didn't want anyone knowing there was anything between us. But he stopped and grabbed me. We kissed. He kissed me hard, not caring who saw.

  Out front, people screamed for an encore. He didn't stop kissing me. It was a kiss that felt like it'd stretch forever.

  I wanted to feel his body against mine but my damn camera got in the way. I tried to push it aside but it just got twisted, so I settled for kissing him with it between us.

  He had to break away eventually.

  "They want an encore," I said.

  "So do I," said Savage.

  With that, he swept me into another kiss.

  I wanted to tell him I loved him but the words got kissed out of my mouth. I couldn't believe how much he'd won me over in just a week.

  I sunk into his kiss. Before he could go too far though, I pushed him away.

  "You'd better stop or you'll go back on stage with a massive boner."

  He winked at me. "Yeah, I don't think I'll get many complaints about that. The ladies love a massive boner."

  He kissed my nose.

  "Are you going on tour with me?" he asked.

  Why did he have to ask that? Why did he ruin the moment? I couldn't say yes but I didn't want to tell him no.

  He walked back on stage. The crowd loved him and the lights made him look more than human. I raised my camera, wanting to capture this moment even as my heart sank.

  He picked up his guitar. His voice had a rough edge that hadn't been there earlier. Did he care that much or did I just imagine the pain that hadn't been there before?

  The crowd screamed. I hoped they kept screaming. I hoped he played forever because once he stopped, I had to pack up my gear and walk out of here. Even after that kiss, I couldn't give up everything for him.

  Or could I? The thought took hold of me.

  Savage

  "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING on with you and that photographer?"

  That wasn't the way I wanted my manager to greet me after getting off stage after a show like that.

  "Why? Where is she?"

  "I sent her home. Told her to stop messing you up."

  "You shouldn't have done that, mate."

  I fronted up to him. Gary might be my manager but he had fuck all to do with my private life. The one thing I needed now was Alice. I'd done it. I'd fucking done it. I'd proved them all wrong. Savage, the rock god, was born.

  And I needed someone to share that victory with.

  "Yeah? Well, I'm the one who got my arse in a sling. What were you playing at? Was it your idea or hers to get her a job on tour?"

  I folded my arms. I really did not need this now.

  "My idea. She had nothing to do with it."

  "That might be the case but I had her editor on the phone. Accusing me of poaching her team. Got really nasty about it too. You don't want to mess with those types. If she'd been the one wanting the job with you, then I'd have rung the editor back and ripped her a new one but since it came from you..."

  "Sorry, mate." Shit, I hadn't thought of it like that.

  "I kinda figured it was your doing. She ranted about blacklisting that chick. All kinds of shit. I'm not sure if she has the power to do that but she is one tough bitch."

  Fucking hell. Why hadn't Alice told me this? Why'd she let me think that she was ditching me for Molloy?

  But then, I hadn't told her that I thought that either.

  The sweet taste of victory left my mouth, to be replaced with something bitter. I was a selfish bastard. Thinking only of myself, that had always been my style.

  Hell, I needed to talk to her. I needed to talk to her right now. I had to make things right with her before she went on that tour.

  "I'm out of here."

  "You can't leave now. Not while the fans are around. They'll rip you to pieces. Wait an hour or so, then you can leave."

  I shook my head.

  "It's a matter of life and death."

  There had to be a way out of here. Something had to be possible. I couldn't waste another minute.

  I tried to phone her but she didn't answer her phone. Why did she even have a phone? She never answered it. I paced the room in frustration.

  "There has to be a way," I said.

  "If we drive out now, they'll swarm the car. You'll never get through."

  I knew that but I couldn't just accept it.

  "There are other people working here. They must have vans and things." I kept pacing and thinking. "The people selling t-shirts, do they have vans? I could hide in the back of the van. Or one of the food vendors? Find someone and offer them a bucket of money to get me out of here. Fuck it, Gary, if you need to, hire a helicopter. Do whatever it takes."

  "I'll do it but I'm not dealing with that hell-demon editor again." Gary shook his head but he wandered off to do it.

  He could put a bit more hurry into that wandering.

  While I waited, I tried contacting Alice again.

  One way or the other, I'd get to her. Before she left for th
at tour tomorrow, I'd tell her exactly how I felt.

  If she told me to fuck off, if she spurned me worse than any man had been spurned before, I'd get on my knees and beg her.

  Alice

  THE PHONE RANG IN MY bag. I wouldn't answer while I was driving. Nothing would distract me until I got home. Ever since that Muffin incident, I took driving very seriously. Who knew what would happen if I didn't concentrate on the road?

  It was probably only Eleanor anyway, reminding me again that I had to be ready for the tour tomorrow. It would not be Savage. No point even thinking about it being him.

  The closer it got to the Molloy tour meetup though, the less convinced I was that it was the right idea. I never made wild, impulsive decisions but could I let Savage be hurt like he was today?

  The sane, practical side of me said that hurt would probably be cured tonight when he found someone else to share his bed. There'd been enough of them waiting outside when I'd left. A total babe buffet. No wonder he was such a man whore.

  The other side though, that other side pleaded with me to turn the car around and run to him. Nothing else mattered. There was Savage and me. The rest could take care of itself.

  My grip on the steering wheel tightened. That was way too much to struggle with. I needed to put those thoughts away until I got home and could think straight. It was just my juice box talking.

  Hell, what if I rushed back there and he was in some other woman's arms? That was likely. I couldn't expect a man like Savage to put up with my shit. He'd most definitely look for someone else to take my place. He probably didn't even remember my name.

  But what if he did?

  Maybe I needed to let go and just trust my emotions?

  The street lights blurred. Hell, I needed to focus on driving, not my love life.

  Even if I went back now, he'd be gone. It'd taken an age to get out of the carpark, with everyone else leaving the concert. I wasn't sure how long he'd linger around afterwards.

  I'd go home and try to call him. Then, if I needed to, I'd track him down. If he really wanted me to go on tour with him, I'd do it.

  I'd throw everything away for him. It wasn't my juice box talking, it was my heart. My heart said a thing like this only happened once in a lifetime and if I threw Savage away, I'd regret it for the rest of my life.

  No matter how long it lasted, I'd be with him while he needed me. I couldn't say no to him.

  Savage

  GARY FINALLY FOUND a food vendor to take me to Alice's. A hotdog truck. Not even a cool hotdog truck but the guy who brought in all the supplies for the hotdog vendors.

  I had to huddle in the back of the van with all the hotdogs. Man, those things smell pretty bad when you're surrounded by them. Also, the refrigeration in that van was not really good enough for storing meat products. God, I hoped people didn't get food poisoning from my gig. That'd be a PR nightmare.

  "My kids are never going to believe me when I tell them I had you in the back of my van," the man laughed.

  "Yeah, that's probably a good thing," I yelled back at him, trying to make myself heard over his radio.

  I tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position. No luck though. I wished he'd hurry but the guy seemed hell bent on taking his sweet time.

  I got out my phone to try Alice again but he took a sharp corner and the phone flew out of my hand. It whizzed across the van and sunk down between two stacks of hotdog cartons.

  I crawled across the van floor and tried to pry them apart. This'd be kind of funny if I wasn't in such a damn hurry. I grabbed one stack of boxes and tried to move them. Those cartons were heavier than they looked. I strained with all my might but he took another sharp corner and I fell, smashing my shoulder against the boxes.

  My phone rang.

  Maybe it was Alice calling me back. I righted myself and tried to move the cartons again. They moved a little bit. JFC, I worked out every day. A few cartons shouldn't defeat me.

  I wedged my hand in but couldn't quite reach the phone. I gave the cartons another shove. The phone rang again but I still couldn't reach it.

  Sweat covered my skin and I probably reeked of processed meat. This was not the state I wanted to be in when I declared my undying love. But then, it wasn't like there was a convenient shower handy either.

  There was a stick in the corner of the van. I shuffled down, crab-style, to get it. I'd use that to get the phone out. Genius plan. With the stick on my lap, I shuffled back down the van. I got the stick in between the boxes and almost had my phone within grabbing distance when he slammed the brakes on.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he turned around and asked.

  "My phone..." I cringed.

  I looked like a total fool.

  "Well, you're here. Your girlfriend's place?"

  "Something like that."

  I grabbed my phone and climbed out of that death trap van. I just prayed Alice was home after all that.

  Alice

  I'D JUST REACHED THE front door of my building when a van pulled up. I was not expecting Savage to jump out of the back of it. I'd got his messages and tried to call him back but he didn't answer his phone and now he appeared, like magic, right in front of me.

  I wanted to rush to him but my legs seemed tangled up in themselves. My belly dropped down around my feet. Maybe that was the problem.

  It was really him.

  We had to work things out. No matter what it took.

  He looked up and our gazes locked. For a moment, we both froze. A million sensations buzzed in the air between us. I wanted him. Oh God, I wanted him so much. Not just the sex but all of him.

  Then I giggled. A stupid nervous giggle. And he grinned. Not that cocky grin but a hesitant curve of his lips.

  My belly dropped even more. I might actually die here on the street in a stupid, love-struck death. My heart was beating fast enough to explode, that was certain.

  I glanced away then back at him. Was he going to move? Was I?

  "I love you," I shouted.

  Had I really said that? I had. And I'd say it again a million times if I could.

  He rushed over, grabbing me into his arms, holding me tight, as if he never wanted to let me go. He crushed the breath out of me.

  I crushed him back. He was here and he held me. That was all I needed.

  He kissed me so that every part of me tingled. That kiss made the world disappear. Nothing remained, not one little thing, except my love for him.

  "I love you. I don't want to live without you. If you want to go on tour with Molloy, then go, but come back to me. We belong together."

  I couldn't answer him to start with. The tears welled up in my eyes. Stupid tears. What did I have to cry about?

  I couldn't doubt his words. The honesty rang through them. It was in the way he kissed me and the way he looked at me.

  "I will go on tour with Molloy," I said. "And I will come back to you, if that's what you want."

  If we were meant to be, Savage would wait for me. That was putting my fate into precarious hands. I knew that a million things could go wrong but I needed to make that leap of faith. Without it, I'd never be sure. I had to take charge and not be swept along by Savage but I had to know when to let him have his way too.

  "Aren't you worried about paparazzi? It's not as if they would bother coming back but..."

  "I don't care. I want the whole world to know about us. I'm a reformed man." He brushed the hair back from my face. "It's your call. We can go public or we can keep this hidden."

  I didn't care, I just wanted him to kiss me again.

  "We can't keep hidden forever."

  "Yeah, but that will be really tough on you. If I can protect from that, I will."

  "Protect yourself," I said. "I'm tough enough to handle it."

  I took his hand and we went back inside.

  "If you'd wanted me to, I'd have dropped out of the tour," I said to him in the elevator.

  He still had hold of my hand and he
squeezed it tight.

  "I wouldn't ask. Not now. I didn't realize what it meant to you. I was a stupid, jealous fool."

  "There's not one thing to be jealous about," I told him, not wanting to look at his face. These feelings overwhelmed me.

  Then the elevator stopped on my floor and we rushed to get inside alone. We had one night together before we had to part. I didn't want to waste one more precious second.

  Savage

  I REACHED OUT FOR ALICE, stroking her arm.

  "It's almost time," I said.

  She kissed delicate kisses along my stomach. That made it difficult to get out of bed. But we had to. Life had plans for us. And those plans meant we had to be apart for a while. I'd thought I'd accepted that in a very adult way but, when it came time to make the actual separation of her body from mine, I wanted to break down and cry.

  "I don't want to get out of bed," she said.

  "It's not too late. You can cancel the Molloy thing and come on tour with me."

  Then she scowled at me, so I had to kiss her forehead to kiss that scowl away. She'd told me so many times that she needed to do this. I understood now but I still didn't like it. I didn't trust Molloy, even if she wouldn't hear a word against him. And I sure as hell didn't want to be separated from her.

  "If he does anything, lays so much as a finger on you, you call me. I don't care where I am, even if I'm on stage playing or travelling between cities, I'll drop everything just so I can protect you."

  She laughed. "You just want an excuse to punch him, more like."

  "Yeah, well, that too. He's a jerk."

  She thought it was just jealousy talking but he was not the nice guy he made himself out to be.

  "What about you? What if you are with some hot chick?"

  I winked.

  "I'd much prefer you to any hot chick."

  She punched my arm.

  Hard.

  I flinched.

  "I was just kidding. You are the only one I look at. If you see any photos online or in gossip mags, do not believe them. It'll be all lies. Damn photographers and their making shit up."