The Rocker Who Wants Me (The Rocker... Series)

by Terri Anne Browning

  I let her have a moment. If she didn’t want to confide in me I wasn’t going to push. But as we grew closer I reached for her hand. “I’m happy for you, Rissa.”

  Her face lit up with a beaming smile. “Thanks, Dallas.”

  The rest of the day was spent in comfortable companionship. We were split up for our massage and facials. But when we had our hair and nails done we sat side by side, gossiping like we had been friends all our lives. It was fun, but made me miss Harper and Lana. Especially Harper.

  “Can you believe that Devlin punched Zander last night?”

  Marissa’s question caught me off guard, and I glanced at her with my mouth gaping open. “What?”

  Marissa lifted her mimosa to her lips and took a sip. “Yup, that was what I said when Li told me this morning when I had breakfast with him. He didn’t go into details, he never does. Between him and Wroth you would think I was a baby the way they try to protect me from the real world. But from what I pieced together, Z was running his mouth about Natalie and him sharing a suite. Devlin didn’t say a word, just punched him in the mouth and walked away.” Her face clouded over. “I’m not stupid, Dallas. I know what happened between Dev and Tawny and my brother all those years ago. I might have just been a kid at the time, but I still knew what was going on…”

  She broke off as a different stylist walked by. Leaning forward, Marissa lowered her voice. “Tawny worked a number on both of them, and it tore them apart. Dev and Liam were closer than Dev and Z at the time. They were inseparable and she ripped them to shreds. Natalie, she isn’t like Tawny, I know that and I’m pretty sure that Dev and Z know that. But this is kind of history repeating itself. Two best friends, both of them interested in one girl.”

  I could see exactly what she was talking about. Natalie definitely wasn’t like the bitch that Liam had told me about. Sure she was feisty and stubborn, but she wasn’t vindictive or a heartless whore. I had seen first-hand that both Zander and Devlin were interested. One didn’t want to be. The other was more invested in the idea of something than actually romantic feelings. And while Natalie was obviously infatuated with Devlin, I could see disaster approaching for her from five miles away.

  “Could you try to talk to her? Tell her to distance herself from both of them?” Marissa grimaced. “I don’t want her to get hurt, and the way things are looking, she could be annihilated. I’ve known Dev and Z all my life and they can be more than a little intense when it comes to something they want.”

  “I’ll speak to her, Rissa,” I promised. “But that doesn’t mean she will listen. I’ve only known Nat for a few years now, but I can tell you that she is one of the most stubborn women on the planet. She’s emotionally invested with…” I sighed, not wanting to give too much away even to Marissa. It seemed disloyal to Natalie. “…one of them.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Marissa assured me. “Dev is just as stubborn. He wants her just as much, and while he fights it in front of her, he doesn’t when Z is around. That man gives me whiplash watching him.”

  “Do you think I should talk to Lana and Harper? Maybe her brothers should be aware of what’s going on.” I didn’t want to seem like a tattle-tale, going to Natalie’s sisters-in-law like that. But we were only into day three of a three-month tour. If Devlin Cutter was throwing punches already, then what did that mean for the rest of the tour? Shouldn’t her brothers be aware of the situation and maybe have words with their two friends before someone got their heart broken?

  Marissa shook her head. “Natalie is an adult; let’s let her sort her own life out.” She rolled her eyes. “I wish Wroth would let me do the same thing, but hey, he is who he is. Just talk to her and let her make her own decisions.”

  I nodded, accepting that piece of advice but my stomach twisted in trepidation for what could happen to my friend.

  Axton

  “You have gotta be fucking kidding me!”

  I raised my brows at Zander as he tossed his Xbox One controller against the wall near the flat screen he had just died on. I didn’t know how to take either him or Devlin lately so I didn’t say a word, just kept moving across the map on the screen.

  Call of Duty was the game of choice today. I was playing because there was nothing else to do as we rode toward Charleston, West Virginia for tonight’s show. Dallas was on the other bus, where she had firmly stayed. I fucking hated the distance that our buses put between us. The only alone time I had with her was when we happened to be in a town for more than one night. Then she was all mine for the duration of our stay in whatever hotel we happened to be booked in. It wasn’t enough time for me.

  Sure, I wanted the sex. It was mind-blowingly amazing. Each time taking my breath away and leaving me dazed because it should be illegal to feel that alive. But it was also when Dallas really let herself open up to me, because afterwards we would just lie in bed and she would tell me something about her childhood that I hadn’t already known. Or I would tell her about my own life growing up with Sharon Huntington as a mother. We would laze around our room, ordering the most expensive things off of the menu and order movie after movie until I had to leave for that night’s show.

  Which brought up a new predicament within myself. Before Dallas, before this tour, I was almost high on the thought of taking the stage and rocking out to tens of thousands of fans singing along with me and the band. They would chant our name, my name, and by the end of the night I was raging for more. Now? I had to fight with myself to leave Dallas. The thought of going on stage brought more dread than anticipation, because I knew that it would mean giving up more time that I could have been spending with my girl.

  Thankfully, Dallas always came to the show, and stood backstage with Harris, Marissa, and Natalie. After the shows we would go back to our room instead of a nightclub like I normally would have done. But I would rather have her alone in our room than sharing her in a crowd of strangers. To me, our time was precious and I wasn’t going to waste it on any-fucking-body.

  Those nights seemed rare, because we normally only stayed at each stop for a day or two. I missed her when she wasn’t beside me. Her insistence to stay on the other bus, even when Liam was on mine, felt like she was putting up walls—walls that I tried my damnedest to break down in our alone time and mostly I succeeded, but by the next day they were up again. It was slowly driving me insane, and making the leather bracelet I never took off itch with the secret I hid underneath. I wanted to show Dallas what was under the leather just as badly as I wanted to confess how in love I was with her. But I couldn’t seem to find the right words. Which was really fucked up because I was king of finding the perfect thing to say to get what I wanted.

  “That’s the second remote you’ve destroyed in the last two weeks,” Wroth grumbled as he sniped some kid from Washington who had been running his mouth for the last twenty minutes about how good he was. It pissed the boy off every time Wroth sniped him or I used a rocket launcher on him. It was amusing to hear the fifteen-year-old screaming obscenities in our headsets each time he was killed off. “That’s why we had to play with the Xbox One and not the PS4. If you tear up the Wii controller I’m gonna kick your ass.”

  Liam chuckled from his position on the couch across from my recliner. He was lying with his leg propped up on the arm of the couch, his head on a pillow as he played along with the rest of us. On the floor, Linc was playing on the other team with Devlin and Natalie. This was our normal afternoon ride. Everyone normally slept until noon and then when the buses stopped to fuel up, Harris switched buses to do his homeschooling with Marissa while Wroth, Liam and Linc jumped on with us to either rehearse or play video games.

  It had been working for us for the last seven weeks, but the tension between Devlin and Zander was getting out of hand. The two were barely speaking to each other now, and when they did happen to share words they were nasty and quickly followed by fists flying. Natalie was trying to keep the peace, but it was obviously wearing on her. She’d already told Emmie that she w
asn’t sure how much more she could take, and Emmie had threatened everyone that the next fight would result in her having to join the tour.

  While I was all for that because I was a selfish dick who missed my best friend, I knew that having a very pregnant Emmie would not be necessarily enjoyable. Not to mention how pissed off the Demons were gonna be if that happened, especially Nik. It took a lot to get my buddy to the point of pissed, but once that happened he was worse than Jesse Thornton in a rage. I so didn’t want that kind of anger brought to the tour.

  “Bring it,” Zander snapped at Wroth, which got him a hard look from the ex-marine. “Just because Marissa only plays Wii with you-”

  Whatever Zander was going to say was cut off by Liam throwing his bottle of water at Zander’s head. The lid was off the bottle and water went flying across Zander’s bare chest. “Motherfucker, what was that for?”

  “You can talk trash about me or Devlin or anybody else, I don’t really give a shit, but you start saying something about my sister, and I will cut your fucking throat.”

  “I wasn’t gonna talk trash about Rissa,” Zander exclaimed, as if shocked Liam would even think that. But it was what we all had thought. Zander was quick to fly off at the mouth any more, and it didn’t seem to matter who he was talking about. Not even Marissa was safe from his nastiness.

  Just the day before, Zander had made some raunchy comment about me and Dallas and before I could even fully comprehend what he had said, Dallas had kneed him in the balls. “I don’t know what your deal is, but my name doesn’t ever leave your mouth like that again. Comprehend, asshat?” Dallas had snarled as she backed away from a downed Zander. Since it had brought Z to his knees I hadn’t felt like more punishment was due, but that didn’t mean I was forgiving. He knew he was on my shit list.

  “Just shut the hell up, Z. You’re only digging yourself deeper,” Wroth told him in his growly voice that was scary on a good day, but was completely full of menace right then. It made me very thankful I wasn’t on the receiving end of Wroth’s wrath.

  Cursing under his breath, Zander jumped up from his seat and stormed toward the back of the bus. No one said another word as we forced our attention back on the game we were playing.

  Fun times.

  Axton

  I wasn’t a fan of April Fool’s day. This year was no different.

  Forcing a smile for the chick in front of me, bouncing up and down in a mixture of excitement and seduction as it made her boobs practically pop out of her tight top, I asked her name and signed the poster she had set down on the table for me to autograph. “Thanks, darlin’,” I hugged her with one arm and smiled for the pictures her friend took before stepping back, ready to greet the next fan in line. Bouncy Boobs continued down the line to meet the other members of the band and perhaps entice one of them with her assets.

  I glanced toward the corner of the room where Dallas was sitting with Marissa drinking fruit juice and snacking on a fruit tray that had been provided for our after concert signing. OtherWorld didn’t do too many fan meet and greets like this these days for which I was thankful. As much as I loved and appreciated our fan base, the ones that came to our meet and greets were mostly chicks looking to hook up with one of us for the night. I was over that shit.

  As if sensing my eyes on her, Dallas turned her head and caught my gaze. When she noticed the expression on my face—a mixture of dread, depression, and desperation—she raised a brow and I just shrugged. I wanted this to be over so that we could get back to our hotel and maybe take a bath together before ordering something from room service and falling asleep. That was all I fucking wanted, so why wasn’t this line moving along faster?

  Another fan stepped in front of me, forcing me to turn back to the job at hand. With a tight smile I greeted the little girl in front of me. Little described her well. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen and she was nothing but bones. With long strawberry-blonde hair and bright blue eyes she was cute and in those eyes I saw pure excitement. For the first time that night my smile became genuine. Oddly this little girl reminded me of a young Emmie when she had first come to live with the Demons. Nothing could have opened my heart to her more. “Hey, darlin’. I’m Axton. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Kenzie,” she got out in a breathless voice, pink filling her cheeks. “I’ve been listening to you guys since I was five years old.”

  “Your parents let you listen to us that young? That rocks, sweetheart.” I glanced behind her but didn’t see any parental figures. “You all alone tonight, darlin’?” It was after midnight and most of the people that still remained were in varying degrees of drunkenness. I didn’t feel right about her being alone.

  Kenzie shrugged. “I snuck out to come tonight. No way was I gonna miss getting to see OtherWorld live.”

  My grin didn’t dim, but my concern escalated. “Aren’t you a little rebel.” I winked then looked over at Dallas and Marissa. Dallas was still watching me closely and I waved her over.

  Still nibbling on a slice of pineapple, Dallas walked past the line of now glaring chicks with a sass that I couldn’t help but grin at. That walk alone told every one of the girls in line that she was mine and she knew it. “What’s up, babe?” Her gaze went to Kenzie and she smiled. “Hi, sweetness.”

  “Oh my gosh! You’re Dallas Bradshaw. You were in the OtherWorld video a few years back. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life.” Kenzie was gushing over Dallas more than she had been me and I fucking loved it. “Can I have your autograph, too?”

  “Um, sure?” Dallas glanced back at me. “Ax?”

  “This is Kenzie, the gorgeous rebel who snuck out to see us tonight. I thought you two could hang out until we were done here and maybe we would grab something to eat before giving her a ride home?”

  Something I rarely saw flashed across Dallas’s face. It was there only a moment, but it gave me all kinds of hope for us and our future. “That sounds great,” Dallas said with a beaming smile. She leaned forward and pressed a hard kiss to my lips. “I was bored as hell and Kenzie seems awesome.”

  “Hey, other people would like to meet the band too,” someone called from the back of the line. “Move it along, ho.”

  Dallas’s eyes widened as she stepped back from me. “Dallas,” I said, trying to stop her, but she was already turning around.

  “Shut it, cunt bags. We’ll move as fast as we please.” Turning back to me she gave me another kiss and urged Kenzie toward the next table where Wroth was still signing Bouncy Boob’s impressive chest. I breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment I was sure that Dallas had been going to call the chick out and start throwing punches. Which would have been seriously hot, but would have put a serious damper on my night if I had to spend it bailing her out of jail instead of cuddling in our bed back at the hotel.

  The line slowly died down and by two o’clock we were finished. I stretched, trying to work some of the tension out of my muscles. Out of everything else that went on during a tour, to me the meet and greets like this were the most exhausting.

  As the last fan was led out by security, I headed toward Dallas who was sitting with Kenzie and Marissa by the buffet. Kenzie had a pile of food on a plate which I had seen Natalie get for her an hour ago. Either she hadn’t eaten much or she was on her second plate. I lifted Dallas up, sat in her chair and secured her on my lap. “What have you lovely ladies been doing all night?”

  Dallas buried her head in my neck, but instead of kissing me she whispered against my ear, “She’s sweet.”

  “Kenzie has been telling us about herself,” Marissa said with a smile.

  A blush filled Kenzie’s cheeks but she didn’t comment as she stuffed another carrot into her mouth. I reached for one off her plate and took a bite out of it. After chewing a few seconds I turned my head and spit it out. “Christ, that is not real food. I’m starving. Who wants to get some nice fat-filled grease-coated food?”

  Dallas was the first to raise her hand.
“Me. Me. Me. Please, babe. I’m starving.”

  I stood and grabbed ahold of Dallas’s hand, needing to constantly touch her to feel centered. I took the plate from Kenzie and offered her my free hand. After only a small hesitation she accepted it and stood. My gaze went to Marissa. “You wanna come with? Wroth said he had to make sure his Fenders were stored safely. Knowing him and his love for his guitars, he might be a little while.”

  She laughed as she got to her feet. “No thanks. I was going to head back to the hotel and order some room service. I have a craving for pancakes and sausage.”

  “It was nice to meet you, Marissa,” Kenzie said, shaking her hand. Her manners surprised me. Seriously, I didn’t know kids still had manners like that anymore. Sure Mia and Lucy had them, but that was because Emmie and Layla beat them into their heads on a daily basis.

  Marissa hugged her tight. “I hope we get to see each other again, Kenzie.”

  We stepped into a taxi out in front of the huge convention center. I let both the girls get in before I finally took my place by the window with Dallas tucked against me. After finding out what they wanted to eat, I told the driver to take us to the closest all night mom and pop. Ten minutes later we stepped into a small restaurant that reminded me a lot of Denny’s. A gruff-looking man with a grease-stained apron led us to a booth in the back and took our drink orders.

  “How’s your sweat tea?” Dallas asked immediately, making me grin.

  “Diabetic coma inducing,” the man said with a roll of his eyes.

  Dallas clapped her hands together in glee. “I’ll take a glass and keep ‘em coming.”