His signature smirk curved on his lips. “After those glowing reviews, you really give a shit about what I have to say?”
“Of course I do. After all, you’re the lead singer of Runaway Train.”
“Uh, Bray and I sing too,” AJ countered.
I laughed. “Whatever.”
Jake rubbed his hand along his chin. “Ever had voice lessons?”
My brows furrowed. “When my brothers made it on to the scene, my parents let me have some training. Before then, we really couldn’t afford it. Occasionally, some people from the ministry would work with us.”
He bobbed his head. “Just as I expected.”
“What?”
“True God-given talent,” he replied, with a wink.
His response stunned me, and I just sat there, guitar still on my lap, staring at him. He pushed himself away from the counter and came over to me. “There are people who can spend thousands of dollars on voice lessons and never, ever exude one tiny ounce of the talent you just did on a stinky bus rolling down the interstate.”
“Thank you,” I squeaked.
“I think you could give Adele a run for her money any day.”
A nervous laugh escaped my lips. “Uh, well, I don’t know about that.”
Jake squatted down in front of me, and I tried ignoring how my body hummed in response to his closeness. I had never, ever experienced anything like it before in my life. It was like every molecule in my body came alive, and the closer he was to me the more I tingled. Whoa. How could I possibly be having a reaction to him? He was an egomaniac jerk!
His gaze went to my guitar. “So you play some ballads. Can you do anything else?”
Pursing my lips at his challenge, I started strumming the opening to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. Jake instantly busted out laughing. “Damn, Angel, just when I start to underestimate you, you go and prove me wrong.”
Still playing, I teased, “And here I underestimated that you could ever admit when you were wrong about something.”
“I normally don’t. But I have a feeling I’m going to make an exception for you in a lot of areas.” At his wicked grin, I knew exactly what he was meant.
“Dream on,” I muttered.
“Fantasizing is healthy, you know. Maybe you should try it more.”
Closing my eyes, I kept playing Highway to Hell. I licked my lips. “Hmm, yeah, you’re right. Fantasizing is nice.”
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Angel?” Jake asked, his breath hovering close to my cheek. “Or should I say who ya thinkin’ about?”
“You,” I whispered. My eyes popped open to take in his surprised expression.
“Seriously?”
“Mmm-hmm,” I replied a little breathlessly for emphasis. He cocked his eyebrows expectantly. “I’m fantasizing about what it would be like to nail you in the balls again for being such an egotistical jerkwad!”
Laughter echoed around me from the other guys while Jake only shook his head. With a smirk, he replied, “Admit it though. You were still thinking about my balls.”
“You’re impossible.”
Before Jake could give me another witty comeback, my stomach rumbled so loud that it practically echoed throughout the room. Jake’s expression became concerned as his gaze honed in on my abdomen. “Why didn’t you tell us you were so hungry?”
An embarrassed giggle escaped my lips. “There’s kinda been too much going on to pay much attention to my stomach.”
“You like omelets?” he asked as he rose to his feet.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then one omelet coming up.”
“Um, thank you.” My jaw gaped open as I watched Jake head to the kitchen and take out the necessary supplies to make me a late breakfast. I gently put my guitar back in its case.
“You guys want one?” he asked over his shoulder as he began whisking the eggs.
“Nah, I think I’ll eat that leftover pizza,” AJ replied, sidestepping him to the fridge.
Rhys wrinkled his nose. “You’re disgusting.” He nodded at Jake. “I’ll take one.”
“Bray?” Jake asked.
“Nah, I’ll fix a sandwich when I come back out. It’s almost time for my Skype chat with Lily.”
When he started for the bedroom, Jake snorted. “Don’t be doing anything raunchy with Lily now that Angel is on the bus.”
Brayden whirled around to shoot Jake a death glare. “You know good and well that Jude and Melody are always there for my calls, you jackass!”
With a chuckle, Jake went back to working on his culinary masterpieces while Brayden slammed the bedroom door shut. AJ came over to the table with a Dominos box and began shoveling in several cold slices of pepperoni pizza.
“Are you even chewing that?” I asked.
He winked at me and replied, “I got a big appetite, Angel.”
I wagged my finger at him. “Manners, remember?”
Not taking his eyes from mine, he picked a napkin from the table and daintily wiped the corners of his mouth.
I grinned. “It’s not the dirty outside I’m concerned about, perv.”
AJ threw his head back and roared. “Damn, Abby, I sure am stoked about having you on the bus with us. You’re going to be fun as hell.”
“I hope so. I wouldn’t want to be a nag.” At the mischievous tinkle in his dark eyes, I shook my head. “Don’t even go there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t say some cheesy thing like ‘Ooh baby, you can nag me all night long—two or three times!’”
AJ’s dark eyes widened as his slice of pizza dropped onto the table. “Okay, it’s really creepy how you can read my mind, but then again…fuck! It’s so hot that you can think like a dude!”
I laughed. “Older brothers, remember?”
A wide grin spread on his face. “Remind me to thank them someday for raising you right, Angel.”
Rhys raked his hand through his unkempt hair. “Speaking of your brothers, I caught part of their show. They’re not bad.”
“Not bad?” I huffed indignantly.
Pink tinged his cheeks. “Well, you know what I meant…for light rockers.”
AJ bobbed his head. “Yeah, when they were introduced, I kinda expected some Jonas Brothers shit. But they’re actually hardcore for Christian rockers.”
Leaning my elbows on the table, I eyed AJ and Rhys. “My brothers are fantastic musicians! I mean, can you two play multiple instruments?”
“Well, no—” Rhys began.
I smirked at them before crossing my arms over my chest. “Although he’s probably the least musically inclined, Gabe is one hell of a drummer, and he can write a song like nobody’s business. Micah can play the guitar, bass, banjo, dulcimer, and piano, not to mention he has an amazing voice for harmonizing. And Eli—he plays the bass and the fiddle and sings too. Along with Gabe, they’ve been writing their own songs and composing their own music since they were ten.”
Rhys held his hands up in defeat. “I stand corrected, Angel. Your brothers are complete and total badasses!”
Jake flipped an omelet onto a plate and added, “And their sister is pretty hardcore too.”
I laughed. “Thank you—for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family’s DNA.”
After winking at me, Jake then shuffled over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. “I’d really rather have a Coke Zero if you have it.”
He ignored me as he poured two large glasses before handing me one. “OJ is better for you.”
Rhys shook his head. “Says the dude who has beer with his breakfast most days.”
“Shut up, douchebag.” Eyeing me, he then said, “You did pass out about thirty minutes ago from low blood sugar, remember?”
“You’re right.” I took a long swig of my orange juice, and I had to admit it was good. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Angel.”
I huffed out a frustrated breath. “Why do you all insist on calling me that?”
> Jake motioned to my dress. “For one, you’re all decked out in white.”
“But it’s just a sundress.”
Balancing three plates, Jake then came over to the table and set down our omelets. “Second, you appeared out of nowhere like a fallen angel from the sky.”
“How poetic,” I snipped.
AJ grinned. “Not to mention, you’re a 180 from the girls who are usually on this bus.”
“Definitely,” Jake replied. Tilting his head, he pinned me with his stare. “And then you’ve got the most beautiful aura of light about you—pure and exquisite.”
I almost choked on my orange juice at the sincerity of his words. “Really?”
“Yeah, you do.” After plopping down across from me, Jake added, “And finally, you felt like absolute heaven pressed up against me in bed.”
And just like that, the perfect moment was shattered. “Please,” I muttered, grabbing my fork. When I bit into the omelet, I closed my eyes from the ecstasy my stomach experienced. “Wow, this is really good.”
“I’m good at a lot of things besides singing and playing the guitar,” Jake replied.
I popped one eye open to peer at him. “There’s some more lovely innuendo in there for me, isn’t there?”
Jake grinned as he took my glass to get me more orange juice. “Nope, I’m being a good boy.”
“I doubt that seriously.”
The table fell into silence as we all gobbled up our food. Brayden came out of the bedroom with a smile from ear to ear. “I guess by your expression your call went well?” I asked.
He beamed. “Melody said ‘dada’ today and blew kisses at me. She’s never done that before.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” I replied.
Brayden’s expression darkened. “I just hate that it’s going to be two more weeks until I get to see them. Jude gets bigger and bigger every time I see him.”
“Maybe you should think about bringing them along on the tour again,” Jake suggested.
I stared at him in amazement. “You like kids?”
He gave me his signature smirk. “Of course I do. I especially like Jude and Melody. I also like having Lily around because she cooks for us and cleans.”
Brayden threw a napkin at Jake, hitting him in the face. “My wife is not your glorified cook and maid, douchebag.”
“I know that, twatwaffle. But more than anything, I like how having her around puts you in a good mood. When you got your kids around you and you’re getting laid often, shit just runs smoother for all of us.”
Clenching his jaw, Brayden slammed the refrigerator door. “Somewhere in that statement was something decent and redeeming, but like always you had to trample all over it,” he grumbled, bringing his food over to the table.
Raising my arms over my head, I yawned. “Tired of us already, Angel?” Jake asked with an amused grin.
“No, it’s just I didn’t sleep much last night. Nerves and all. Then I had to get up at the asscrack of dawn to get to the airport for my early flight.”
With his expression waxing concern, Brayden leaned forward in his chair. “Why don’t you go lie down for a while?”
I glanced around at the guys. “You wouldn’t mind?”
AJ shook his head. “Nah, we’re probably going to crash again ourselves. We had a week straight of gigs before Rock Nation, so our asses are dragging.”
“Oh, okay.”
Sweeping his hand to his chest, Jake said gallantly, “And I’ll even let you have the bedroom.”
“That’s awfully sweet of you, but I can always take one of the roosts.”
With a twinkle in his eye, Jake replied, “I insist.”
“Thank you then.”
When I rose out of my seat, he followed suit. Taking my suitcase, Jake rolled it down the aisle to the bedroom. I glanced back at the guys to see their open-mouthed, wide-eyed expressions of disbelief. Putting one foot in front of the other, I trailed behind him. Once Jake wheeled my suitcase inside, he turned around. “All yours, Angel. We’ll make sure to wake you for dinner. We’ll probably stop a little earlier than normal because those omelets won’t sustain us for long, and we’re almost out of groceries.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.”
Jake didn’t move out of the doorway, so I had to squeeze past him. Our bodies meshed together, and I fought the familiar tingle that prickled over my skin at being so close to him. It was a feeling I wasn’t used to experiencing with anyone. Once I was inside, I turned back to him. “It’s very sweet of you to give me the bedroom. The privacy is nice.”
He inched closer to me. “Well, just to forewarn you the lock is busted. So if you need me to watch the door while you change into something a little more comfortable, I’d be happy to. You know, so the guys don’t get a peek at your goods.”
“How sweet of you,” I noted as I moved in front of him. Bringing my hand to his chest, I gave him a hard shove, sending him flying out into the hallway. “I’ll make sure to put my luggage in front of the door just in case.” With a sickeningly, sweet smile, I added, “And thanks again for being so thoughtful when it comes to my goods.”
Behind Jake, the guys hooted with laughter. Instead of anger, amusement twinkled in his sky blue eyes. He wagged his finger at me. “I’ll get to you sometime, Angel. I’ll break down all those goody girl walls you have built around you.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see then.” With that, I slammed the door in his face.
***
The RV shuddering to a halt jolted me awake. My eye-lids fluttered open. As I took in my darkened surroundings, panic crept over me. Wait, where the hell was I? Gazing around the blackened room, I tried getting my bearings. “Ugh,” I muttered when all the events of the day raced through my mind.
When the lamp on the bedside table came on, I jumped out of my skin. Jake perched on the side of the bed, practically on top of me. “W-What the hell are you doing?” I cried, jerking the sheet against me.
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Angel. I’m not here for a repeat performance of this morning.” With a wave of a shoe, he added, “I’m sorry to have disrupted your beauty sleep, but all my shit’s in here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“Besides that, we’re stopping for dinner, so I figured I’d better wake you up.”
“Thanks.”
He cocked his pierced brow at me. “Did you know that you snore?”
My eyes widened in horror. “I do not!”
“Yeah, you do.”
Covering my mouth, I muttered, “Oh God, I do?”
Jake grinned as he bobbed his head. “It’s kinda cute though. Nothing like the loud-as-fuck snores me and the guys do.”
“How mortifying.”
“You embarrass too easily, Angel. How are you going to make it a week with us if a little snoring gets you so riled up?”
“I’ll be just fine thank you.”
AJ peeked his head in. “Hey, I need to get my stuff.”
“Go right ahead.” I threw the sheet back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get my things and go to the bathroom so I can get dressed for dinner.”
Jake opened his arms wide before collapsing onto his back on the bed. “Be my guest.”
When he didn’t move, I grunted in frustration. Just as I started to climb over Jake, AJ flung the closet door open to get out his clothes. Since we were in such close quarters with the bus’s bedroom, I couldn’t move. To my utter horror, I’d gotten stuck straddling Jake.
When I caught his eye, he grinned and winked at me. My face flushed. “AJ, would you hurry up with the freakin’ door!” I snapped.
He peeked around the side and snorted back his laughter. “Whoops, my bad.”
I sighed with exasperation. “Any day now, AJ!” The moment I said it, I knew he’d take his own sweet ass time—anything to keep me in the precarious situation of riding Jake.
“You don’t have to go, Angel. I’m sure this could
be a win-win situation for both of us,” Jake teased.
I stared at him for a moment before flopping back on the other side of the bed. I shook my head at him. “Why do you have to do that?”
“Do what?”
“Act like a constant manwhore who only sees women as sex objects.”
Jake arched an eyebrow at me. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I just objectify you?”
“Yes,” I hissed before narrowing my eyes at him. “Is it too much to ask that we carry on a civil conversation without you always having to make everything between us about getting off?”
Jake’s brows creased. “And there’s something wrong with that?”
“For me there is.” I gave him a pointed stare. “And for our bet.”
He turned over on his side to where we were face to face. “I’m not losing this bet, Angel.”
“Then start playing by the rules.” With the sweetest smile I could muster, I then batted my eyelashes at him. “Or I’m going to start walking around here in my underwear.”
His mouth gaped open. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me, big boy. Sporting my bra and panties is basically a bikini, so why not?”
Staring at me dumbfounded, Jake drew in a ragged breath. “I’m never going to intimidate you, am I?”
I shrugged. “Nope.”
“Damn. I don’t know how the hell to take you, Angel.”
“Why do you have to ‘take me’ period? Can’t you just talk to me like you would any girl?”
With a sneer, he replied, “If I do that, it won’t help us.”
I propped my head on my elbow. “When was the last time you actually had a conversation with a female, besides your mother, that didn’t involve dirty talk?”
“Hell if I know,” he replied.
“I thought as much.”
“Wait a sec…” He snapped his fingers. “Actually, it was Tuesday. I talked to my baby sister on the phone.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You have a sister?”
“Well, she’s my half-sister. My dad and step-mom each had a kid when they got married. Then they had Allison. She’s fifteen and spoiled rotten.”
I smiled at the sincerity in his voice when he talked about his sister. “I bet she idolizes her big brother.”
Rock Star Romance Ultimate Volume 2 Page 4