“Yeah.” The sorrow in her voice wasn’t lost on him.
“Or,” he began, drawing out the word, “you could stay for longer. I mean, you can write from here, right?”
“I could,” Julie said. “But I don’t think Gracie can stay much longer, and I don’t want to fly home alone.”
“Then I’ll fly back with you.”
Julie leaned into him. “Let’s play it by ear.”
Ryland chuckled. “Sure. I’m really good at that.”
Julie laughed with him as they walked down the green slope of grass to the lake shore. The last of the sunset still stained the violet sky with pink, but the moon was full and bright without a cloud in sight, so they were able to see.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Julie said, bending over to pick up a rock. She turned it in her fingers and skipped it across the inky surface of the lake. “And so peaceful. Not exactly the place you’d expect a rock star to live.”
“Unless you know the rock star,” Ryland argued. “I spend so much of my life in cities now. On the road, living on a bus with nothing but pavement for miles when we stop for a show. And we have to go to LA and New York a lot of course. I bought this place because I needed somewhere to unwind and center when I’m home. Plus, the paparazzi don’t bother me much out here. I have a very discreet security team to help me if they do.”
“Nice. Luckily, my house is on a huge lot in the old part of Wichita. And I have a tall privacy fence and a security system. And I didn’t get that until this last series was such a hit and got a movie deal.”
“Has anyone ever tried to bother you?”
Julie shook her head and skipped another rock. “Not really. Just a few fans stopping by wanting to see where I lived or get an autograph. But even then, sometimes I just want to find some place in the middle of nowhere and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
“I’ve got just the place then.”
“Huh?” Julie asked, looking at him with surprise.
“Can you swim?”
“Yeah?” She sounded worried now, so Ryland laughed.
“Don’t you trust me? I thought we could take the canoe out past the inlet.”
“Have you ever taken it out at night?”
“No. Come on.”
Julie laughed and followed him to where they kept the canoe beached, but then he remembered her anxiety. “Will you be alright? It won’t freak you out?”
“I’ve never done anything like this, but I don’t think so. Let’s go.”
Ryland picked up the paddles and handed them to Julie. “Hold these while I get it in the water.” After he slid the canoe in half way, he bent and held both sides of the boat. “Get in. I’ll keep it steady.”
She wobbled a little as she moved to the other end of the canoe and plopped down more than sat but quickly got settled. Ryland kicked off his shoes and pushed the canoe all the way in. Luckily, he was wearing shorts. Careful not to rock the canoe too much, he got in and took one of the paddles from her. After a little bit of instruction, Julie got the hang of paddling quickly, though Ryland did most of the work. As they paddled across the inlet, the lights around the house grew distant and the lights overhead took on more brilliance as night fell.
“This is amazing,” Julie said, resting her paddle in her lap and looking up at the stars.
“Just wait.”
He steered them around a narrow peninsula and straight out onto the open lake. The trees around the rim made a lacy, black fringe at the edges of the now-dark-blue-sky. Above them, stars were strewn across the dome of the heavens, so numerous and brilliant that Ryland stared. He pulled up his paddle and let the canoe drift.
Julie pulled up her knees and spun around on her seat, making the canoe rock.
“Whoa there,” Ryland said, steadying it as she got settled again.
“Sorry. The view is incredible, but I was missing the best part of it.”
Ryland grinned. “I should be the one feeding you lines like that.”
Shrugging, Julie looked up at the stars again. “I’ve seen the women you usually date. I know I’m not…like they are. I don’t know what you see in me exactly compared to them, but I’m okay with you being the gorgeous one here.”
Ryland started to protest, but he paused. There was something truly noble and classy in her acceptance of the women in his past, and of her trust in his growing attraction to her. “Julie, the only thing I have to say to that is that I have never felt so alive as I do when I’m with you. And this will make me sound really shallow, but the first thing I noticed about you was how beautiful you are. And I’m…extremely attracted to you.”
“I like when your voice gets all deep and husky like that,” she said, her voice bright with humor.
“Yeah, well, bringing you out here was a mistake.”
“What? Why?” she sounded hurt.
“Because you’re too far away and I can’t kiss you the way I want from across this canoe.
Dipping his paddle into the water again, he dug deeply into the water and turned the canoe back toward shore.
“I don’t want to go back yet,” she said.
“We aren’t,” he said shortly, saving his concentration for getting to shore as quickly as possible.
Julie turned around again, tipping the canoe dangerously, but Ryland leaned quickly in the other direction and paddled harder. It only took a few minutes to run the canoe ashore on the lake side of the peninsula.
“What are we doing?” Julie asked as she stepped out onto the narrow, pebble-strewn beach.
Ryland got out and pushed the canoe ashore, ignoring the sharp rocks poking at his feet. “This,” he said, tugging her to him.
As he kissed her, the feel of her soft curves and smooth skin nearly undid him. But he would not take this any further than a kiss. This moment was about showing her that he adored her, not chasing the flames that would spread through him like wildfire if he let them. For now, it was enough to taste her and hold her and feel the universe tilt as she kissed him back.
Chapter Thirteen
By Wednesday, Julie was happier than she’d ever been in her life. If it wasn’t for the fact that she and Ryland both had to spend the majority of the day working and that Marvi was still there—and also sleeping in the guest house—everything would have been heavenly. Steadily, an awareness had begun to creep over her that she felt more for Ryland than attraction, or even liking. The sense of peace and ease she felt with him was astonishing. Every day they were learning new things about each other, but somehow, he felt like home.
Which was why she was so determined to figure out how to write in his studio instead of at the desk in her room. She wanted to be close to him.
Settled onto the couch, she had her noise-canceling headphones on and her laptop open on her lap as Ryland and Marvi went into the sound booth to record the vocals for their song. Julie could see him through the glass, singing into a filter in front of the microphone. As he sang, the muscles in his throat worked and his eyebrows scrunched together as he focused on every single note, obviously putting everything he had into filling his voice with the emotions of the song.
Spellbound once more, Julie took off her headphones so she could hear. His rich voice dipped for a low note, coming out like a throaty growl. His shoulders swayed slightly as he put immersed himself into the song. But then they came to the bridge, and after a few notes, Ryland held up a hand until everything came to a stop.
“What is it?” Tate asked.
“Something isn’t working,” he said. “It’s not gelling.”
“Yeah, I feel it too,” Marvi said.
“I think you just need to put some chocolate on it,” Elijah said, thumping his cymbals lightly with one of his drumsticks, creating a shimmering, metallic sound.
“What?” Ryland asked.
Elijah laughed. “You know. Make it sexy. You need to draw out each note. Right now, you’re rushing it.”
Ryland looked frustrated. “M
ind if we take a break?” he asked Marvi.
“Nope.” She picked up her bottle of room-temperature water and walked out of the sound booth.
Ryland followed her and came over to the couch. Julie moved her feet so he could sit down, but after he’d flopped next to her, he reached down and pulled her legs back up and draped them over his knee. Leaning back on the cushions, he sighed, but at the same time, his hand lightly ran up and down Julie’s calf. It sent chills of awareness racing through her even as it relaxed her to her core.
“It sounds great,” she told him.
“It’s getting there.” He turned his head and studied her with tired eyes. “And then you and I can spend a whole day together tomorrow. I promise.
Julie smiled. “I suppose I can put my work aside for a day if I get to spend it with you.
Before either of them could say anything else, Marvi walked over to them. “Guess what? My agent just booked us to sing at the Brookstone Auditorium tonight.”
Ryland sat forward. “Tonight?”
“Yeah. Isn’t she the best? Now we can try out the song on the public before it gets released.”
Julie thought it sounded like a great idea. Ryland apparently had a differing opinion. “You can’t just throw things like that at me like that, Marvi. We haven’t even talked about do this.”
“Tate and I worked it out together with both our agents.”
Ryland shook his head. “Julie doesn’t like crowds and I want to spend every minute I can with her while she’s here on the visit.
Marvi narrowed her eyes, Julie was sure of it. But the next moment, her expression was smooth again. “Come on, Julie. Surely you can do this one little thing for him. I mean, how can you date a musician if you won’t even go watch him perform?”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t,” Julie said. She couldn’t let the sneering woman win. But she knew her voice sounded weak.
“You don’t need to do that,” Ryland said.
“She should,” Marvi added. “You went to Dragon Con with you.” Then she raised an eyebrow and smirked. “If she can’t even come to your shows, well…she’s not exactly cut out to be a musician’s girlfriend is she.”
Marvi waltzed away, leaving an awkward tension behind her. Julie writhed inside because as much as she hated it, Marvi was right.
Ryland curved his hand around her cheek. “Don’t listen to her. Whether or not you go to my shows is the last thing I care about.”
Julie sat silently for a moment, processing her thoughts and soaking in the warmth from Ryland’s hand. “Would this be smaller than your other shows?”
“Well, yeah. But it will be crowded.”
“Is there any way I can watch without being in the crowd?”
Ryland smiled. “There’s balcony seating. Or you can watch from backstage.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I want to go.”
“Okay. If you’re sure, we’ll make it happen.”
***
Julie was amazed at the way Ryland took care of her. She rode with him to the venue, and watched while he and his brothers went up on stage to do the sound check two hours before the show. She hadn’t realized he had such a big crew. They had people running wires, checking mics, tuning guitars, and a whole lot more she didn’t even begin to understand. Marvi’s manager had only scheduled a spot to play their duet together between sets of the other bands that had already been scheduled to play that night, so Julie thought it was a lot of work for one song. But it would be easier for her to handle this environment for one song rather than a whole show, so it was great for her.
With Gracie by her side and her noise-canceling headphones handy, she felt confident that she would be fine. And she couldn’t deny that seeing Ryland in his element was hot.
After the sound check, she went to the dressing room with him to wait for their stage time. He made himself a cup of hot tea for his voice and pulled her down onto a sofa with him while he sipped it.
“Yeah, I like having you here with me,” he murmured into her hair.
Shivers ran over her, so she turned her head and kissed him. “I like being here.”
Ryland smiled and put his mug down so he could pull her closer. He tipped her back against his arm and proceeded to kiss her with mind-melting thoroughness.
The door to the dressing room banged open, and Elijah came in, drumsticks in hand, drumming them on every surface he passed. Tate was behind him, along with a whole bunch of people Julie didn’t know or recognize.
Ryland murmured something under his breath—well, growled it actually. Julie laughed and laid her head against his chest. She was as disappointed as he was that their moment had been broken so abruptly.
“Get a room,” Elijah said, drumming on the counter in the little kitchen area.
“So original,” Ryland said dryly.
“So, is this the new girlfriend then?” said a guy Julie didn’t know. “The one everybody is talking about?”
She felt Ryland tense, but his voice was pleasant enough. “Julie, this is Charlie, lead singer for Black Skulls.”
“Hello,” she said. She didn’t offer to shake hands because the guy was looking at her in a way that made her extremely uncomfortable.
“No wonder Marvi is so bent out of shape over it,” Charlie said.
“Isn’t it about stage time for you?” Ryland asked.
Charlie shrugged. “Trying to get rid of me?” He grinned and ran his eyes over Julie’s bare legs. She wished now that she’d worn jeans instead of a skirt. This guy was giving her the creeps.
Ryland ran his hand over her arm and murmured, “What do you say we go somewhere else?”
Julie nodded and stood up. As soon as Ryland was on his feet, she shifted to his other side so he was between her and Charlie. “Good luck, tonight,” Ryland said to the other band as he opened the dressing-room door and led her out with his palm pressed to the small of her back.
When the door shut behind them, they walked hand in hand down a long, ugly hallway, skirting around all the equipment and storage cases scattered down it’s length. She could hear the ruckus of drums and wailing guitars nearby, but they seemed to be heading in the opposite direction from the noise up ahead.
“So that guy was…” Julie wasn’t sure how to finish.
“You have no idea,” Ryland said. She looked up and saw that his jaw was clenched. He looked down at her with an apologetic expression. “Not somebody I would have ever wanted to introduce you to. My brothers and I are committed to living a clean lifestyle. We’ve seen too many amazing talents ruin their careers with drugs and partying. We don’t tour with people like Charlie, but we run into them occasionally.”
Julie bumped his shoulder lightly with hers. “You don’t have to feel bad about me having to meet him.”
Ryland squeezed her hand. “Well, I do. He’s like a parasite—an opportunist. He hates that he’s still playing gigs like this. It worries me a bit.” He pulled her around a corner and into his arms. “But I’ll shut up now. You certainly don’t need to worry about anything. I’m going to take you to join Gracie in the private box so you can get settled there. We’ll be on stage in about twenty minutes, and then we can go home.”
“Home,” Julie said, smiling. She liked the way he referred to it as her home too. It was a delicious thought.”
Tightening his arms, Ryland pressed her more closely against him. He didn’t kiss her or speak—just held her as if she was a life raft in a turbulent sea. His chest rose and fell rapidly for several moments. Julie clung to him, wondering what thoughts drove such a strong reaction. Reveling in the undeniable connection between them, she pressed her face into his shoulder, absorbing his strength and warmth and intoxicating scent. She was happy to stay this way as long as he wanted.
When at last his grip on her loosened, he drew in a ragged breath. “I want to be your home, Julie. And I don’t want to be away from you. Please tell me you feel the same way.”
Julie nodded
and looked up. His eyes were lit by powerful emotions—more intense than she’d ever seen in him. “I do. And it scares me a little.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want it to end.”
Ryland kissed the end of her nose and pressed his forehead to hers. “Me either. So we can make this happen.”
Julie nodded as Ryland shifted and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I have to get my ear piece. Come one.”
He led her down a darker hallway to a metal door. A security guard stood by the door and only opened it when Julie showed him the pass Ryland had given her earlier.
“This goes directly to your private box,” Ryland said. “I’ll be here to pick you up afterward.”
“Good luck,” Julie said, hugging him before she turned into the dark room and found a staircase. The narrow space smelled like paint and wood polish, and the steps creaked under her feet. The sound of the pounding rock music grew louder and louder as she climbed. At the top, it was almost deafening until she entered the private box where Gracie waited.
“Hey, there,” Gracie said. Her legs were kicked up on the low wall of the box and she was looking at her phone, as if she had little interest in the show below.
It was the Black Skulls—Charlie’s band. Their music was harder rock than what Sterling House played, and Julie didn’t like it at all. “Hey. Got those headphones for me?”
“Of course.”
Gracie handed them over, and Julie put them on. Not because she was feeling anxious—because she didn’t want to get a headache.
From this safe distance, she watched the crowd below. The crowd was so thick, she couldn’t see anything but writhing, shifting bodies pressed close together. For a moment, she started to imagine what it would be like to be stuck down there. Her heart began to race and her throat closed up.
“Are you okay?” Gracie asked.
Julie sat back quickly in her seat and nodded. She would not be looking down again.
Luckily, that music set lasted less than fifteen minutes. When Sterling House and Marvi were announced, the crowd went crazy. Julie took her headphones off and realized her pulse was hammering at the thought of listening to Ryland sing live on stage
Saved by the Rockstar (Rich and Famous Romance Book 1) Page 8