Rock Me: Sexy (New Adult Rockstar Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance)

by Quinn, Arabella

  I forced myself to smile. “Thanks.”

  Tommy continued enthusiastically, “You’re already three shots behind. And I don’t want to hear any excuses from you tonight since you’re not working. I’ll go get some, so you can catch up.”

  I held up my hand. “Whoa. I don’t think I need three shots. I still have a speech to give.”

  “Okay. Two it is. Don’t go anywhere.” Tommy headed towards the bar leaving me alone with Tyler.

  My stomach was knotted with nerves. “So, how are you doing? We haven’t talked in a while.”

  His tone was almost hostile. “I’ve been busy, but I guess you already know that. You know everything we do, right?”

  My eyes narrowed. “Is there a reason you’re suddenly acting like a prick to me?

  Tyler folded his arms. “How do you want me to act? You want me to jump through your every goddamn hoop?”

  “Well it would be preferable to this. What the hell is wrong with you anyway?” I was getting frustrated with his perplexing behavior.

  Before he could answer, I heard a booming voice calling my name. Heads turned to watch when Hugo descended on me; everyone recognized him.

  “Ahh. Kaitlyn. You look gorgeous! You take my breath away.” He lifted my hand and kissed it. Only Hugo could get away with doing that without looking completely ridiculous.

  There was one person in the room; however, who didn’t appreciate Hugo’s larger than life personality. Tyler. His eyes were flashing with a barely suppressed anger.

  Hugo put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him. He whispered secretively in my ear. “Don’t get me wrong; you’re dazzling to me every day, darling. But it’s on nights like these when I ask myself why, in Heaven’s name, I haven’t ever made it into your panties yet.”

  I was well used to Hugo’s outrageous comments, but still, I blushed. I tried to pull away from him, but he held me tightly at his side.

  I snuck a peek at Tyler and could see his jaw was clenched tightly. This was hardly the reaction I wanted to get from him tonight, but at least I could see that he wasn’t completely indifferent to me.

  It was only a matter of seconds before a crowd gathered around Hugo and that’s when Tyler slipped away.

  Hugo’s warm hand rested gently on my back. He leaned in so only I could hear him again. “Oh my, Kaitlyn. Did I interrupt a lover’s spat? He was staring daggers at me. Please tell me you haven’t fallen into the sack with the rock star. Please. It would just utterly crush my ego.”

  “Mind your own business, Hugo. Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming tonight?”

  I could only speak with Hugo for a few more minutes, before the demanding crowd pulled him away from me. I separated from the pack and looked around for Tyler.

  “Ms. Winston?”

  I nodded as an older man approached me.

  “Mr. Thornton would like to address the gathering at this time. He would like to acknowledge you in his speech and ask you to make a few remarks. Are you ready now?”

  I spotted Tommy out of the corner of my eye. “Yes, I’m ready.”

  The man left and I caught up to Tommy. “Where are those shots you promised me?”

  Tommy offered up a shot. “Only one survived the trip back.”

  I downed the harsh liquid that I couldn’t identify and waited while the crowd began to hush around me as Jeff Thornton stepped in front of the ballroom with a microphone in hand.

  I made my way to the front of the crowd during Jeff’s long speech. He said some great things about Rock Star Diaries, including information that market testing had indicated the show would be a huge success, especially with the demographic groups they prized the most. Jeff spent far too much time thanking various Vibe employees, many of whom probably hadn’t done a thing to contribute to the show’s success.

  Finally, Jeff motioned me to his side. “And now, let me introduce to you our secret weapon, the magic behind the most highly anticipated new series in television, Kaitlyn Winston.”

  I took the handheld microphone from Jeff while the audience politely clapped. “I’ll keep this short, so that we can get back to having fun. First, I’d like to take the time to acknowledge the Rock Star Diaries’ crew. They have been toiling endlessly to put together a first class show. Their dedication, work ethic and expertise have been so impressive.”

  While the audience clapped, I searched for Tyler. I found the other guys, but Tyler was gone. “Many people have come together to make this show a success, but let’s not forget, it certainly wouldn’t be a success without Cold Fusion. I would like to thank the band’s manager, Scott Boyd, for all that he has done to help us. And I’d like to wish Cold Fusion continued success with their tour. I want to personally thank Tyler, Tommy, Nick and Alex. They’re really an interesting and extremely talented bunch of guys. I can’t wait for the world to get a peek into their diaries. Thanks everyone.”

  Well-wishers surrounded me when I was done. It was over an hour later, after continuously scanning the crowd, when I finally admitted my bitter disappointment. Tyler had taken off.

  Chapter 10

  Tyler hadn’t budged in hours. He had heard Katie’s speech from a small bar that was tucked away in an alcove on the far side of the ballroom. After the speech, Nick and Allie had disappeared. Shortly after that, Tommy and Alex had left to head to a local bar somewhere off the strip. Tyler had made up some lame excuse that he was going to drink for free until he nearly passed out and then stumble up to his hotel room.

  Now he was pissed that he stayed behind. There was nothing for him here. The party was beyond dull and he didn’t even have any drugs to take the edge of boredom off. He doubted anyone at this party would be able to help him out, either.

  Deep down he knew why he stayed, to fucking torture himself with Katie, a girl who wouldn’t even have sex with him. A girl that he didn’t even like.

  Despite the denials to himself, he had been looking forward to seeing her at this party. By the time she had shown up looking so stunningly breathtaking, he was almost ready to forgive her. She had just been doing her job. She hadn’t betrayed him as he had originally imagined. It was his own fault that he was too naïve to understand how everything really worked in the TV business.

  But then that pompous ass had shown up. Tyler had seen the possessive way he had acted towards her, touching her with familiarity and whispering secret promises in her ear. He must be the boyfriend she had spoken so dreamily about, the one who treated her like a princess. Jealousy, an emotion he wasn’t used to, slashed through his gut like a carving knife, cutting him to pieces.

  What killed Tyler the most was what he saw in Katie’s eyes when she looked at him. She looked absolutely star-struck when she saw him. And it made Tyler nauseous. He saw that look from his fans all the time so he knew exactly what it was. Tyler wanted Katie to look at him like that, not that prick.

  His night had soured so quickly that he was well on his way to doing exactly what he had told Tommy and Alex he would do, get blasted and stagger back up to his hotel room. It seemed a shame to waste a rare night in a hotel room without any girls to keep him company, especially when his rotation in the back room of the tour bus was almost over. It was hard to have good sex in a small bunk. He knew he could wander the strip of Las Vegas and have a handful of beautiful girls at his beck and call within minutes, but it just didn’t seem appealing to him. In fact, fucking random girls had become somewhat of a chore he did to uphold his reputation. He wanted to get back to normal where he didn’t question everyone’s motives. What the fuck, he hated feeling like this. And it was all Katie’s fault.

  He signaled for another shot to the bored looking bartender when he felt a presence at this side. It was Katie’s assistant, Michael.

  Tyler glanced at the frazzled looking man. “Back for another? You seem to be hitting it hard tonight, man. What’s the matter? Woman problems?”

  Michael ordered a drink from the bartender and then answered him
. “No. I just hate socializing. Thank God Katie is being so nice. She’s helping me out. Without her, I’d be hiding under the tables by now.”

  Tyler took a sip of his beer. “I’m surprised she even notices you, bro. Not with her boyfriend here.”

  Michael creased his brow. “Hugo? That’s her boss. Well, her old boss. He’s a legend. A freaking genius. He was the one who got me on Rock Star Diaries. This is a huge opportunity for me and it wouldn’t have happened without him.”

  Katie’s boss? “He seems overly friendly. He doesn’t act like a boss.”

  Michael laughed. “Oh yeah. Hugo’s a force of nature. He can do whatever the fuck he wants and nobody would blink an eye. Women fall all over him all trying to get in the sack with him. Hell, I would… er, never mind. Let’s just say he has a way with the ladies and leave it at that.”

  Tyler saw how bombed Michael was, so he pressed for more details. “Has Katie slept with him?”

  “That’s the rumor – that Katie slept her way up the ladder. They do seem to be exceptionally, uh, close. But now that I know her, I don’t believe it. She’s really talented; she doesn’t need to do that. But I wouldn’t blame her if she did. In this business, you have to grab your opportunities when you can. Hugo’s a powerful man. He has seduced more young women than anyone could ever keep track of.”

  Tyler downed the shot that the bartender had placed in front of him. He was fuming. Katie acted so smug and superior, turning him down over and over, when all along she was sleeping with her boss just to advance in her career. The way she had talked about her boyfriend, though, made it seem like she really loved and respected him. Or at least she thought she did. And all along her ‘boyfriend’ was a bigger pig than Tyler was; at least he never took advantage of anyone in a vulnerable position.

  The bartender returned with Michael’s drink. Michael grabbed it off the bar. “Ah. Liquid courage. I gotta go back out there now and rub elbows. I wish I could do it as effortlessly as Katie does.”

  Tyler barely acknowledged the man as he left; he was too busy nursing his growing anger.

  Not soon after, the bartender started shutting down the bar. “I’m done serving, buddy. You can continue drinking at the main bar on the first floor if you want.”

  Tyler looked at his watch. “Ah, hell. Already? I’m not even half way plastered yet. It’s still early.”

  The bartender shook his head. “The party is clearing out. The staff will chase you out of here soon.”

  Tyler plunked down twenty bucks to tip the man and got up. When he made it the few steps into the ballroom area, he saw that half the crowd had already left. With the main bar at the back wall of the ballroom also closing, it looked like the other half of the crowd was soon to follow. He noted bitterly that Katie and her lover were nowhere to be seen.

  Was he really going to go back to his room this early? Half sober and alone? Trawling the streets of Las Vegas to pick up a girl for a cheap thrill didn’t hold too much appeal either. Since the cameras were off for the night, maybe he’d take a night off, too. No sex, no drugs, no rock ‘n roll.

  He stealthily slipped out of the ballroom, hoping to make it back to his room without anyone stopping to talk to him. He followed the corridor to the bank of elevators. He made it just as an elevator door was sliding closed. It closed, but not before he saw Katie. Hugo’s hand rested possessively on the small of her back.

  He froze to the spot as his eyes connected with Katie’s, right before the door closed, mercifully blocking the agonizing sight. It felt like he had just gotten punched in the gut. Hurt and disappointment mingled with his brewing anger. Fuck, he didn’t need this right now.

  There was no way he was going to sit in his hotel room all alone now. He pulled out his phone and called Tommy, hoping like hell his friend would answer. He needed to go out and get loaded. Score some drugs. Drink himself silly. He needed sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll in really big doses. Anything, so that he could forget about Katie.

  All the elevators were occupied on other floors so Tyler decided to find the staircase, since he was only going one floor down to exit the hotel. Tommy wasn’t answering so he punched the End button and tried calling Alex.

  He was halfway down the hall when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Wait Tyler! I didn’t know you were still here. I thought you left hours ago.”

  Tyler disconnected his call and turned to Katie. They were alone in the hall. “I’m just leaving now.”

  “Oh.” Katie looked disappointed. “Where are you going? Maybe I can come with you? I’m not tired yet.”

  “Where’s your boyfriend? Maybe he should be the one babysitting you.” He knew he sounded childish, but he couldn’t contain his hostility.

  She bit her lip. “Hugo is an old friend. Tyler, what’s going on with you? I thought we were friends?”

  She looked so vulnerable and innocent; for some reason, it made him even madder. His anger bubbled to the surface as he replied heatedly; “We were never friends, Katie.”

  Her eyes widened. “Tyler, what’s wrong? I want to help- ”

  “You can help me by leaving me the fuck alone.” He had backed her against the wall in his anger without even realizing it. “Don’t pretend to be my friend, Katie.”

  She was upset. Her lower lip trembled. Hell, it looked as if she were about to cry. That look was his undoing. He had felt months of repressed lust pent up with wanting her. Just being near her gave him a raging hard-on, even though he pretended he couldn’t care less about her.

  He didn’t plan it. Suddenly he was kissing her. He couldn’t stop himself. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. They were kissing like their very lives depended on it, with an urgency that inflamed his desire to unbearable heights.

  He was lost in the kiss and didn’t come to his senses until Katie was pulling away from him. That’s when he realized that his hand was no longer stroking her bared back, but was slipping inside her dress.

  Katie was panting heavily. “Not in the hallway.”

  “Come to my room.”

  His stomach clenched as he waited for her to answer. She didn’t speak but nodded slightly. Before she could change her mind, he grabbed her hand and led her quickly back to the elevators.

  They rode up to his room in silence. His mind was churning with confusion. What was going on? He was scared to talk and break the spell between them. They weren’t even touching, but he still had hold of her hand. No way he wasn’t letting go.

  They entered his room and Tyler saw her looking around awkwardly. He didn’t have long before she regained her senses and bolted. And he wanted her so badly. Without saying a word, he pulled her into his arms. His pulse thickened with a rush of desire when he felt her soft body molded to his.

  She wasn’t having second thoughts. In fact, her hands were slipping under his shirt and caressing his skin. He was burning with need now. He wanted to rip her clothes off right then and there, but he held back. Not because he thought she’d be scared or overwhelmed, but because he was going to seduce her fully. He was going to give her the best sex of her life, so that she never forgot this night. That she would never forget him. He wasn’t sure what his motives were, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t want to think anymore. He just wanted to feel. All that mattered now was being with Katie.

  Chapter 11

  All night I had been wallowing in disappointment that Tyler had left the premiere party early. Even Hugo’s unexpected appearance at the party couldn’t pull me out of my funk. I had built up expectations of the night so high in my imagination that the reality was crushing. Tyler wasn’t interested in me. I wasn’t even worthy of a one-night stand it seemed. I had successfully extinguished whatever sexual attraction I had initially felt between us with my superior and condescending attitude towards him.

  The irony was that now I was completely infatuated with him. I had set out so determined not to let that happen that I pushed him away until he apparently despised me. Now, I was chasing afte
r a bad boy rock star who epitomized the very qualities in a man that I so completely detested. What a mess.

  When Hugo and I were heading back to our respective hotel rooms after the party, I even contemplated, for the tiniest flash of a moment, soothing my consternation by sleeping with him, but I would never have been able to live with myself. Hugo could be no stand-in for what I really wanted, Tyler.

  At the last second, before the elevator doors slid closed, I saw Tyler. He looked rumpled and beautiful. And when our eyes met in that one unguarded second, I knew that he was crushed when he saw me leaving with Hugo. The hurt that I saw in his face made my breath hitch. I couldn’t let him assume the worst. Hell, it made no sense that I felt that way when I suffered seeing him with a different girl night after night, but it was there.

  This time I didn’t overanalyze; I just acted. I chased after him, scared out of my mind that something was happening between us, that the fragile thread holding us together could be forever broken.

  I had known for weeks that something was off between us, so his anger when I caught up to him was no surprise; maybe the sheer intensity of it was a bit unexpected. The kiss was completely unexpected though. One second he was blazing with anger and contempt, and then the next, he was kissing me with an uncontained passion.

  Kisses can be fun, comforting, sexy, passionate, toe-curling even. This one was so much more powerful. It robbed me of all reason. There were no more choices. There was no stopping what was about to happen.

  We rode in the elevator up to his room in silence. I was confused and didn’t know what to say. I was scared that this wasn’t real, that he’d suddenly realize what he was doing and ask me to leave. I had no idea why I thought he would reject me, but I was worried. This was something that I had fantasized about for months, and now that the reality of it was upon me, I was nervous. Shit, was I having second thoughts?

  Tyler didn’t give me time to think. As soon as we got to his room, he kissed me again and that was the end of all my swirling doubts. There was no resistance. No thinking. I was in his arms and completely at his mercy. And I planned on enjoying every last second of it.