“Don’t say fuck,” I gently admonished her.
“Oh, shut up Layla,” she grumbled. “You say it all the time.”
“Yeah, but you’re better than me. Don’t curse.”
“Don’t you go starting that again!” Lana sat up, glaring at me now instead of the ceiling. “I’m not better than you. No one is better than you, Layla. You are the best person in the world in my eyes. I don’t care about your past or what you had to do to survive when Mom kicked you out. I love you!”
I clenched my jaw, not wanting to think about the past. “So what happened after he bought you the clothes?” I asked, changing the subject back to her day with Drake.
“I walked away. He still bought the clothes. When he and Lucy came out of the store, he drove us to another one that was just for kids and bought Lucy just as many clothes and half a dozen stuffed animals.” She shook her head again. “And he got mad at me for being mad at him. Really? He’s such a child sometimes! Thirty one years old and he acts younger than Lucy! Pouting because I wouldn’t talk to him. Muttering to himself…”
“Oh, Lana! You have that man wrapped so tightly around your finger…” I laughed when she glared at me. “He likes you. And I can see that he cares about you. Give the guy a break. He doesn’t know about how you grew up. He doesn’t understand your mentality when it comes to things like this. But I told him you aren’t like most girls. When he calls, talk to him. Tell him why you don’t like gifts, baby.”
Her amber eyes closed and she dropped back on the bed again. “I’m not ready to talk about the past. He either accepts that I don’t want him buying me things or he doesn’t.” She turned on her side, away from me. “Problem solved.”
I blew out a long sigh. “It isn’t always that easy, Lana, but you handle this the way you think you should. Until then, I’m borrowing these kick ass boots to wear tonight.”
“You can have it all. I don’t want any of it.”
Chapter 10
Jesse
Emmie woke me around two. I wasn’t expecting the glass of cold water, but I guess I should have. It was the easiest way to wake my ass up. I slept hard and enjoyed every second of it, but try to wake me up and you had a good thirty minute workout unless you tried to drown me.
I sat up in bed, water dripping down my face. “What?” I cried. “What’s wrong?”
She stood over my bed in a bikini top and wrap around skirt, her belly sticking out in a cute way that made me want to rub it. The grin on her face told me that she was in a good mood, and it scared the shit out of me. “What are you up to?” I demanded, wiping water off my chest with my damp sheet.
“Nothing.” She sat the glass down on the table beside of my bed.
“Nothing, my ass.” I tossed back the covers and stood. I was naked, but she didn’t bother to turn around. She didn’t bat an eye as she watched me pull out a pair of boxers from my dresser and pull them on. “Where’s Nik?”
“Around.” She was still grinning and it only made me nervous.
“Around,” I repeated, reaching for a pair of jeans from my closet. “Around where?”
“He might be tied up down by the pool with his own shirt.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. “But it’s his own fault. He invited fucking Axton and the bitch troll over tonight.”
I grimaced, pitying my dumb ass friend, and yet I couldn’t help but be amused. Nik was going to pay big time, if he hadn’t already. Emmie and Gabriella Moreitti got along about as well as a king cobra and a mongoose, meaning not at all. I hadn’t figured out which was the snake and which was the mongoose, but I was leaning toward Emmie being the mongoose. She could kick Gabriella’s ass if she had to.
I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of Gabriella. Maybe it was because she didn’t get along with Emmie and I was overprotective. Maybe it was because she had filled Emmie’s head with lies about herself and Nik. Or maybe it was because she tended to act like she was better than Emmie. Either way I couldn’t have cared less about the bitch. If it weren’t for Axton, who was cool to party with, I wouldn’t put up with her…even if she could rock hard.
“So are they here? Is that why you woke me up?” I glanced at the clock. It was just past two thirty, and I still had several hours before my date with Layla.
“Not yet.” She dropped down on the edge of my bed. “I wanted company. I called Layla, but she’s enjoying some time to herself. Shane left hours ago for only Gods know where. Probably an orgy or something even more fucked up. And with Nik all tied up…” She snickered at that. “Which left you.”
I grinned. “What about Drake? Couldn’t you have woke him up and gotten him to keep you company?”
Her green eyes sparkled with joy. “He went out. Took the SUV. It surprised the hell out of me, but he was up before I was. He left me a note saying he was taking Lana and Lucy out shopping and would be back later this evening.” She clapped her hands together in glee. It was such an un-Emmie thing to do that it made me laugh. “I’m so happy for him.”
That Drake was up early was a surprise in and of itself. That he was out shopping with two girls, a miracle. The man didn’t buy things… Ever. I doubt he had even touched any of the money we had made over the last ten years. Emmie bought him clothes when she thought he had worn out the ones he had; bought his personal items, even down to his condoms. I was glad for Drake, really, and thrilled that he seemed so happy with Lana around. But…
“Em, is this really okay?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Could Drake be in over his head here? She’s only seventeen. And while I trust him wholeheartedly with the girl, I’m worried that he’s feeling way too much, way too soon.”
“I always knew that when Drake found the right girl, it would change everything.” She sighed, gently rubbing a hand over that basketball stomach of hers. “I will admit that I wasn’t expecting her to be so young. But I’m not going to look this gift horse in the mouth, Jesse. Besides, it’s in its early stages. We don’t even know if she’s what he needs. Right now, I’m just happy that he’s happy.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, feeling the stubble that needed to be shaved before I picked up Layla. “Em…About Layla…” I needed her approval. It was weird, really. I shouldn’t need anyone’s opinion on who I dated, but Emmie’s opinion was the only one that mattered to me. If I didn’t get it, I didn’t think that would stop me from going after Layla, not with how strongly I felt towards her. But it would make the whole thing feel wrong in a way.
Another sigh left her. “I really like her, Jess. Please, don’t hurt her. Okay? I mean, I can see that there is something between you two. And if I had to choose, you know you will always be the own I pick, but she’s become my friend, and I don’t want to lose that. Just be careful.”
I nodded. “I promise, Em.” I pressed a kiss to her cheek and then stood. “Come on. I bet Nik is going apeshit down there. You really are a twisted little bitch, you know that?”
She laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
I found Nik laying on a lounger with nothing on but a pair of swimming trunks. His arms were tied around the lounger with his shirt while he glared up at me. “I’m going to spank her. I should have done it years ago. You just wait. As soon as I’m free, she’s going to get my hand print on that sweet ass of hers.”
Instead of untying him I sat down on the lounger across from him. “Well now. See, I was going to help you out, man. But you threatening my Emmie like that just got you a few more minutes.”
Emmie stuck her tongue out at him as she dropped down beside of me and cuddled close. “See. Told you he would be on my side.” Her stomach pressed against my side, and she laid her head on my chest. “Better treat me better mister.”
“Ah, fuck. Come on Emmie!” He twisted on the lounger, but his shirt was tied in a knot that I had taught Emmie myself so I knew he wasn’t getting loose anytime soon. “Alright, I’m sorry. I should have known better than to invite Ax over with Brie…Gabriella,” he amended when she gave h
im a killing glare. “Baby, please. I’ll fix it. I swear… If you love me you will untie me, Em!”
“You know I love you, Nikolas Armstrong,” she told him, but went back to cuddling close to me. “Too bad you haven’t shown me you love me today.”
Nik went still on the lounger. Emmie had gotten a direct hit on him and shit was about to get real. I closed my eyes, savoring my time with Em before Nik took her away. A minute later, a large shadow landed over us and I opened my eyes to look up at Nik. His arms were still tied behind his back but somehow he had gotten free of the lounger. Without a word he turned and I untied him.
As soon as his hands were free, he lifted Emmie into his arms. His blue eyes were darker than I had ever seen them. Anger and hurt seemed to pour from him. “I think we need to have a long talk, Ember.”
“Nik…I was just kidding.” Emmie clutched at his shoulders as he turned on his heel and stalked into the house with her still in his arms. “Nik!”
“Shut up, Em,” he snapped and kept on walking.
I knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, but I had to follow them inside. He hadn’t gone far. I stopped outside of the living room where Nik had put her on the long end of the sectional and stood glaring down at her. His hands raked through his hair, making him look slightly demented.
“Do I not show you how much I love you every day, Em?” He demanded.
Emmie sighed. “Of course you do. Look, I’m sorry. It was just a joke.”
“Well don’t fucking joke around about that! I love you, baby. You are my everything. If you don’t believe me, then tell me now so that I can fix it.” He fell to his knees in front of her. “Tell me, Em.”
“I know that you love me. It took me a little while, but I really believe you. I’m sorry I said that, Nik.” I heard the tears in her voice now and had to restrain my urge to pound my friend in the face. Emmie should never cry. Never! “I was being a bitch and I’m sorry. I get a little evil like that when I think of you and Gabriella in the same room.”
“Em, I told you nothing happened. She lied to you. Gabriella is nothing to me. Nothing! It was always you and she used that to hurt you.” Nik pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. “Please believe me, baby.”
“I…I… believe you.”
I turned away, feeling as if I was intruding. Nik and Emmie had come a long way over the summer. Sometimes Em had moments when she second guessed Nik’s feelings but they worked through their problems. Nik had his hands full with her insecurities, but he never lost his patience when it came to showing Em what she meant to him.
I kind of wanted what they had, insecurities and all.
Layla
I left Lana and Lucy in front of the television with a large cheese pizza. Lana was still stuck between pouting and glaring off into space. I hoped that she and Drake would be able to sort it out before I got home. Sure, Lana was over reacting a little about Drake buying her things, but her life had been full of the men our mother had paraded before her, all trying to win her over with expensive things so they could get closer to Lydia…
Or the really perverted ones trying to get closer to her!
Been there done that. It was why my mother had thrown me out when I was sixteen. One of her boyfriends had taken a sick liking to me, and one night he had tried to climb into bed with me. When I had woken up to a naked forty year old man beside of me, I had freaked out. I screamed until everyone in the house was up. My mother had taken one look at the picture—me, only in my night gown, her boyfriend naked and in my bed—and went ballistic. She pulled me up out of my bed and dragged me out of the house. I wasn’t sure what had happened to the boyfriend, but I did know that Lydia had considered the whole thing my fault. She was insecure about her age, hated that she was getting older and losing the fresh young looks that she had always relied on to help find sugar daddies—and rock stars—to pay her bills for her. It hadn’t mattered to her that I was only sixteen. All she had cared about was that I was prettier than she was and therefore competition.
If she hadn’t died when she had I was sure she would have ended up tossing Lana out too. Lana, who was so much more beautiful than I was, would have been serious trouble for Lydia’s self-esteem.
At seven there was a knock on the front door, and my heart moved to my throat. It was crazy that I was nervous. It wasn’t like this was my first date or anything. I have had boyfriends in the past and even thought I was in love a time or two, but this was different. Jesse was different.
When I opened the door, the sight before me took my breath away. Dressed in jeans, a shirt that stretched across that massive chest and biker boots, he was my version of sexy multiplied by ten. Screw the date! I wanted to haul him into the closest bed and devour him whole.
His eyes changed colors as soon as he saw me, going dark and animalistic as he trailed his gaze from the top of my head to my toes. I had left my hair down, with the ends just slightly curled to add some body. My makeup wasn’t all that special except I had paid extra attention to my eye makeup, giving them that smoky with cool grays and metallic blues. His eyes paused momentarily on my chest, obviously liking the way my top clung to my breast. The skinny jeans I had on were a pair of Lana’s, and they hugged my hips tight. The boots that Drake had bought her finished my look, and I could almost see the fantasies Jesse was having in his eyes—imagining me with nothing but those boots on.
He rubbed a hand over his mouth, taking his time as his eyes made the return trip back up to my face. “Killing me here, baby.”
I grinned, loving that I was affecting him so much. “I can change.”
“No.” He shook his head and grasped my hand. “I like that you are killing me.” He tugged me out the door and I called a “good night” to the girls before shutting the door behind us.
I had never had someone open a car door for me, and really I wasn’t expecting it from the big bad rocker, but he surprised me when he did just that. Stopping by the SUV, he opened the door and didn’t let go of my hand until I was seated in the passenger seat. As he closed the door another vehicle pulled up beside of the Escalade.
I didn’t pay attention to who was in the Ferrari because I as too busy checking out the car itself. In the dim lighting, I saw that it was metallic silver. The art work on the driver’s side was sick, with skulls in black and dark shades of gray. I was instantly in love with the car!
Jesse called a greeting to the couple getting out of the car but didn’t stop as he moved around to climb behind the wheel of the Escalade. I caught a glimpse of long dark hair from a woman shorter than I was and the tattoos on the arms of the man as they walked up the steps to the front door. For the first time I noticed who it was… “Is that Axton Cage?”
Jesse glanced back at the beach house as the door opened and Nik stood in the door way. “Yeah… Did you want to meet him? We have time.”
I shook my head. It would have been cool to have met the man deemed ‘Rock God,’ but I was more excited to just be with the rocker beside of me. “I’d rather be with you,” I told him honestly.
His hand stopped in the process of starting the vehicle. Eyes darker than I had ever seen them captured mine, and before I could blink he was reaching for me. I went willingly, desperate for the taste of him. He wasn’t gentle, and it only served to make me want more. His tongue thrusting into my mouth made me wet, and I nearly climbed across the seat to straddle him.
He tasted like toothpaste with something more potent underlining that mint flavor. That something went straight to my head, and I became an instant addict for it. A small moan escaped my mouth, and I clutched his shoulders, my nails sinking into his flesh through the material of his shirt.
The kiss went on and on. It could have lasted hours and I wouldn’t have been able to get my fill. When he finally raised his head, it was because we needed to breathe. He leaned his forehead against mine, his fingers tangled in my hair to hold me close. “Seriously, Layla. Killing me here, baby.”
I bit my l
ip to stop myself from attack his mouth again. “I’m dying a little myself,” I whispered.
We sat there for several minutes. It was soothing the way his fingers, still tangled in my hair, massaged my scalp while we got our breathing under control. When he raised his head, his eyes had changed again. They weren’t as dark as they had been just a few minutes ago, but they weren’t his normal brown. He pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning in the seat and reaching out to start the SUV.
“What would you like to eat, babe? Italian, Greek, Mexican?” He reversed, backing smoothly out of the driveway. “Anything you want just let me know.”
I told him I wanted a hamburger, and he just blinked at me. “Really?”
I grinned. “Yes, really. But I want a really good hamburger. The best hamburger in the world. Know a place like that?”
“Yeah, but it’s in New York.” He frowned, as if thinking about his options then turned left at a red light. “Okay. I know a good place. It isn’t the best burger you will ever eat, but it is as close as I can get without flying across the country.”
He took me to a little mom-and-pop place that was surprisingly crowded. We seated ourselves in the back at a little booth, and a waitress in her late thirties came to take our orders. She barely gave us a once over before asking us what we wanted to drink. Two cokes and two full works burgers later and we were both stuffed, of course Jesse had finished my burger because it had been so huge that I had only been able to eat half. The man could eat because not only did he have his burger and mine but he ate most of the fries that had come with both as well.
Even though I had only eaten half, it was still the best burger I had ever had. I didn’t know if it was because of the food or because of the company I had while I enjoyed it. Jesse kept me laughing through our meal—telling me all kinds of hilarious things about him and the band over the years—and I felt light hearted by the time he paid the bill.
The Rocker That Savors Me (The Rocker...) Page 9