The Essential Jagged Ivory
Jagged Ivory Box Set
By Lashell Collins
Published by Lashell Collins
Smashwords Edition
The Essential Jagged Ivory
Jagged Ivory Series Box Set
Copyright © 2014 Lashell Collins
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author. This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers (under age 18).
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this eBook may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Dedication & Thanks
For Gary, for believing in me.
And for anyone who has ever fallen in love with a rock star, whether real or imagined.
I'd like to thank the following people for their support:
My husband: for so much.
Mom: for passing along your love of reading and romance.
Willa: for being such a great friend and dance partner. You make the words pretty!
Erika: for daydreaming with me a million years ago.
Ann Proyous DeGuilio at http://agpdesigns.wordpress.com: for the beautiful cover art.
Jason and Marina of http://polgarusstudio.com: for formatting my books so that I don't have to struggle to do it myself!
All of you: for taking the time to read my stories!
And a very special thank you to way too many rock stars and music superstars to name. Thanks for the music, thanks for the inspiration, thanks for helping me hold on to my sanity. You will never know how much your words, your melodies, your riffs and your beats have meant to this solitary music fan.
Also by Lashell Collins
The Pierced Trilogy
Pierced By Danger
Pierced By Love
Pierced Ever After
Pierced By Christmas: A Holiday Novella
Pierced (Boxed Set)
The Jagged Ivory Series
Jagged Hearts
Jagged Dreams
Jagged Addiction
Jagged Secrets
Jagged Surrender
Visit http://jaggedivory.com to immerse yourself in the Jagged Ivory experience!
The Kelly Family Series
Ethan: A Kelly Family Novella
Storm: A Kelly Family Novella
Frankie: A Kelly Family Novella
Marina: A Kelly Family Novella
Where There's Smoke: A Kelly Family Novel
The Lunar Falls Series
Secrets of Lunar Falls (coming in Fall, 2014)
Sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all of my new releases:
http://tinyurl.com/m8tzmqn
Contents
Jagged Hearts
Jagged Dreams
Jagged Addiction
Jagged Secrets
Jagged Surrender
Also by Lashell Collins
About the Author
Jagged Hearts
Prologue
“I am so fucking tired of this shit! How many times are we going to have this same argument?” he screamed at her.
“Oh, I don't know,” Katie yelled back, punching him in the arm. “Maybe however many times it takes before I believe you!”
“Well, if you don't believe me now, then you are never going to believe me once we get on the road!”
“Oh you're not going 'on the road,' Noah,” she shot back sarcastically. “Grow up! Your little band's not going anywhere!”
He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. Were these her true feelings? He felt like she'd kicked him in the gut. Yet again. “Oh, I get it. So, not only don't you believe that I was faithful while you were gone last week, but you just don't believe in me at all! Is that it?” He didn't wait to hear her answer. The look on her face told him all he needed to know. “You know what, Katie? Doesn't matter. We're done!”
He turned on his heel and marched out her door, vowing to himself that it was over and that he didn't need her. Hell, he was better off without her. The guys were always telling him that, and now he was beginning to think they were right. The very last thing he needed was to waste his time on some bitch who didn't believe in him or his dreams. Angrily, he climbed into his old beat-up dinosaur of a van and took off into the night, heading straight for The Hut.
The Hut was one of their regular gigs on account of the fact that it had a large enough room on the back where the owner allowed them to rehearse for free. And on account of the fact that the owner also happened to be Buzzy's uncle. It was your typical hole-in-the-wall type of place. It was dark and unsavory, and the smell of cheap beer and stale cigarettes hung in the air as thick as the smoke. The patrons were usually a mixed bag of bikers, dopers and hard-working middle-class stiffs looking to blow off some steam at the end of a long week. Then there were the chicks.
A lot of them were attached in some way or another to the men in the place. But, as Noah walked through the crowded bar, he knew instantly from their excited glances that many of them were here for one reason, and one reason only. To be near Jagged Ivory. Noah smirked bitterly to himself as he neared the back of the bar where his bandmates were already setting up on the small stage. Katie was always accusing him of screwing around with other girls, and this is why. Because there was always an ample supply of pussy being offered up to him and everyone else in the band. But, just like the coke that always seemed to be in endless supply as well, just because it was being offered didn't mean he had to partake in it. That was the part that Katie just didn't get. That part she refused to see.
Well, screw her. He was going to get punished for the crime whether he did the deed or not, so tonight he would! He was determined. After their set was over, he would find the hottest chick in the bar, take her back to his place, and fuck her senseless!
“It's about damn time! Where the hell have you been?” Otis glared at him. “We go on in less than ten minutes!”
Noah ignored his harsh words and his questions as he went about setting up his gear. He was already way too pissed off to enter into a verbal sparring match with his brother. With the mood he was in right now, that could only end one way: badly. Very badly.
“Did you hear me?” Otis insisted, refusing to be ignored.
“Yeah. I heard you,” Noah answered with a growl, firing a warning shot at his brother with his eyes. “Now back off!”
Taken aback by his little brother's attitude, Otis simply stared at him for a moment, glancing around questioningly at their other bandmates. “What crawled up your ass?”
“Don't worry about it,” Noah snapped back. “We doing this, or what?”
Grateful when Otis finally let the matter drop, Noah turned his attention back to his instrument. And when the show got underway, he was even more thankful for the release. He threw himself into the performance, venting his frustrations and his anger on stage, allowing himself to become completely immersed in the music, letting it wash over him like a tidal wave.
As he played, he also allowed his eyes to roam the crowd, scoping out the available talent. He felt strangely liberated tonight, without the burden of Katie's disapproval weighing him down, and he intended to take full advantage of it. Normally, he woul
d simply party after they left the stage, drinking his fill of Jack and flirting a little with the hotties. Maybe doing the occasional line of coke. But even on those nights when Katie wasn't shackled to his side, he never let the flirting go too far. Not very rock and roll of him, he knew. And he was constantly getting ribbed for it by the guys, but he didn't give a shit. Peer pressure had never been his thing. But tonight would be a different story. Tonight he could have any girl in the place, maybe even two. Or three! Hell, he could take home a harem if he felt like it, and make up for lost time. That would show Katie, wouldn't it?
As that thought slithered enticingly around his consciousness, Noah's eyes suddenly locked with the biggest, prettiest pair of brown eyes he'd ever seen. Seated directly in front of the stage, she stared up at him adoringly, singing along with every word as her eyes drank him in. He'd seen her before. She was at nearly every show, every weekend, no matter what club they were playing, and always with the same group of girls. Noah couldn't help but notice her, she was gorgeous. Those crazy, big brown eyes and that long mane of wavy brown hair. And curves in all the right places! Oh, yeah … he had noticed her alright. But he had never been free to pursue it before.
Holding her gaze as the band played on, Noah smiled at her, watching her eyes widen as a soft blush stole over her face. Target acquired and securely locked in, Noah set about seducing her from the stage, playing right to her, turning on the charm. She was already putty in his hands and he knew it. There was no way in hell that she was not going home with him tonight.
When their set ended and the band packed up and left the stage, eager to get the party started, Noah was careful to never lose sight of her in the throng. As he and his bandmates gathered at a corner table with their usual entourage of females and “friends,” Noah watched her from across the crowded bar as he lit up a cigarette. Man, she was hot! Tall and curvy. Voluptuous is the word that came to Noah's mind as he took in the slope of her breasts beneath her red halter top. Like a pin-up girl. Now that was sexy. And this chick had that pin-up girl look about her. He watched, fascinated, as she stood and slowly made her way up to the bar, her tight jeans hugging the curve of her ass with every step. He felt his manhood sit up and pay attention as he watched.
A second later he was on his feet and moving toward her; he couldn't have stopped himself if he had wanted to. Slowly, he slid into position beside her at the bar, his eyes locked on her as she waited for her drink. He was standing so close he could feel the heat of her skin as it rolled off of her bare shoulders. Nervously, she glanced up at him, and Noah could easily see the shock expressed in her eyes when she realized it was him. They stared at one another in silence for an endless moment, and when the bartender set her drink in front of them, Noah silently pulled out a couple of bills and handed them to him, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Thank you,” she said softly, still clearly in shock, and Noah smiled slowly at her.
“You're welcome,” he said, leaning against the bar and staring at her intently as he took a drag off his cigarette. “I know you.”
“You do?” she asked, her voice sounding timid.
Noah nodded slowly, blowing the smoke from his lips. “I see you every weekend. Are you a stalker?” he asked playfully.
“Oh. No,” she giggled nervously. “We're not stalkers. My friends and I … we just love the music.”
“Hmm,” Noah mused, narrowing his eyes as he watched her. “Well, you're not a groupie.”
“How do you know?” she asked, sounding slightly indignant, and he smiled at her again.
“Groupies have a certain … vibe about them,” he explained, letting his eyes wander slowly over her figure, and back up to meet her gaze. “Their intentions are always crystal clear. But you … you're an enigma.” She smiled broadly at him, and Noah's breath hitched unexpectedly. Damn, she was pretty!
“An air of mystery is a good thing for a woman to have, don't you think?”
He couldn't disagree with her as he struggled to regain his footing, taking another long drag off his cigarette and blowing out the smoke. “Well, if you're not a stalker, and you're not a groupie,” he said, watching her closely, “then there's only one other possibility.”
“And what's that?” she asked.
“You must be a fan,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, and she flashed him that million dollar smile once more.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“Well, now that we've established that, Ms. Enigma, the real question becomes whether we're going to your place or mine when we leave here?”
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a definite longing, and Noah's cock twitched in response. “And what makes you think I'm going anywhere with you, Noah Ivory?” she asked, her voice husky.
“Because I don't believe you follow us around every weekend just for the music,” Noah answered bluntly, his eyes never wavering from hers.
“That's a little arrogant of you,” she responded, her voice sounding indignant again.
“Arrogant but true,” he shrugged.
“Where's your girlfriend tonight?” she asked pointedly, and Noah felt himself cringe.
“We broke up,” he answered after a beat. “And you sure know a lot about me for someone who says she's not a stalker.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I thought we'd established that I'm a fan. And I'm sorry. About your girlfriend.”
“Are you?”
“No,” she answered with a small, coy smile, and Noah smiled back.
He took a last hit off his cigarette before dropping the butt of it to the floor and stepping on it. Then he looked at her as he took a couple steps away from the bar. “You coming?”
She hesitated a split second, and then said somewhat nervously, “I need to tell my friends I'm leaving.”
Noah smirked at her condescendingly. “Like they haven't been watching our every move since we said hello? Just wave on your way out,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
Taking his hand, she looked across the bar to her friends, who sat watching with stunned expressions, and waved goodbye.
Chapter One
“Are you freaking kidding me?”
Amber's excited and astonished voice rang out loud and clear across the quad, drawing a few curious glances their way as fellow students made their way around the UCLA campus. “You're not talking about following them around Europe like a crazed fan; you mean you'll actually be traveling with them on the Thank Heaven tour!”
“Oh, my God, Mercy!” Barb chimed in with an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she munched on her apple. “I still cannot believe they signed with your dad's firm! I would go to work for him if it meant I'd get to meet Jagged Ivory. Let alone tour with them? I swear, I hate your life. You are the luckiest bitch I know!”
“Shh! Don't announce it to the entire student body, you guys,” Mercy rolled her eyes at her friends, but she couldn't help the excited smile on her own face. How could she? Two whole months traipsing around Europe, partying and socializing with her favorite rock band, and getting to watch them perform night after night. For free! Hell, Mercy felt like she'd won some sort of lottery. How had she gotten this lucky?
Of course, it wasn't just luck, Mercy knew. Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. Her good fortune was all due to her father's guilt. Not that he had anything to really feel guilty about. At least, Mercy had never thought so. It had always been her firm belief that her mother had ruined her life, not her dad. After all, it was Rosie Holland who had kicked her father out after fifteen years of marriage. It was Rosie who had filed for a divorce when Mercy was just 12-years-old, and then went to court to ensure that Mike Holland had little to no contact with his daughter ever again. And it was Rosie who had then packed their things and moved them across the country to make sure the court order was enforced. In her struggle to minimize her own pain, Rosie had ripped her daughter's heart to shreds in the process, dragging her to Ohio to get her as far away from Mike as she could. M
ercy rolled her eyes once more at the memories and then pushed them from her mind, turning back to her friends.
“Well, the trip's not work, Barb,” Mercy stated. Then she corrected herself, remembering her father's stern “suggestion” that she be like a sponge this summer and soak up the amazing learning experience he was handing her. “Well … not exactly. I mean, I'll be shadowing my dad and I'm supposed to observe and pay close attention, so that I can learn the ins and outs of dealing with artists and difficult personalities, and all that. But I won't actually be on the clock; my job doesn't begin until the tour's over and we get back to the States. This trip is just an awesome graduation gift! And it's my dad's way of trying to show me how cool his job is so that he can try and entice me into going to law school to follow in his footsteps.”
“Still,” Barb replied with a resigned huff, “I would kill to be going with you this summer.”
“Oh, God, me too,” Amber chimed in, her voice sad and wistful.
“I'd even be willing to pay for my own plane tickets and hotel rooms,” Barb continued. “But my new job starts the week after graduation. There's no way I'd be able to go.”
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 1