Bestselling Bastard : A Hero Club Novel

by Nicole Rodrigues

  "@thereadingmerbabes say we should stick with the intimate first time but definitely add that angry locker bang. See. Thirsty women."

  "Women. Just women. When men say perverted shit are they called thirsty men?" Jenna retorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "No."

  "What are they called?"

  "Is this a trick question?"

  "No," she laughs. "The answer is men. They're called men if they talk and act like that, but if a woman does it, she's 'salivatin' for the d', 'vitamin d deficit', a 'hoe fo sho'. See where I'm goin' with this?"

  "Okay, okay, women are allowed to be horny just as much as men and not have a name for it. Got it, don't bite my head off."

  "So we doin' this, Morgan? My fingers are itchin'."

  I take another swig from the bottle and nod.

  "Let's do it. I'll write the prologue then pass it to you."

  "How 'bout I write the heroine, you write the hero. Can't be more authentic than that?"

  I nod in agreement, glancing down at the eye on the top left corner.

  "Shit. This got a little out of control. There's over 5,000 people watching this."

  Jenna giggles, taking a swig from the Patron and winks.

  "Came for the magic. Let's give it to 'em. Laters, Morgan."

  She closes the live video and I laugh, shaking my head.

  "That girl…"

  I wake in the morning with a splitting fucking headache and a constant ringing in my ears. I groan, turning to my side and reach for my phone. The thing is ringing and buzzing like crazy and I slide the screen to open the phone as my father and mother's face pop up.

  "Lorenzo Morgan! What in the hell was that last night?" my father booms.

  "Shit, not so loud. I'm dying over here."

  "Not yet you're not. I'll be there in ten minutes and then you might."

  The screen goes black and I toss my head back, exhaling as the night comes back to me.

  Video chatting with Jenna, plotting a book together. Gold. We made fucking magic last night and I open my phone to her Instagram account.

  AuthorJWatson: Wake up!

  AuthorJWatson: Get up, Enzo!

  AuthorJWatson: I have a literary agent chain calling me! Wake the fuck up!

  AuthorJWatson: WAKE UP!

  I press the video call button, waiting as it rings and rings and Jenna's face pops up on screen. Shit. It wasn't whiskey goggles, she seriously is stunning.

  "Enzo! My phone has been ringin' off the hook! Do you know what the hell happened last night? I've had three different literary agents contact me! I had to rewatch our live video because I had no idea what the fuck they were talkin' 'bout! They want us to write that book! They want us to write that book!" she laughs, shaking her head and speaking a mile a minute.

  I smile, loving how passionate she is but realizing how hungover as fuck I truly am.

  "Yeah well fill me in on last night because apparently my parents are coming over and my dad sounds pissed."

  I run my hand down my face, slowly sitting up in bed and waiting for the dizziness to subside.

  "Ummm, you kind of—"

  A knock on the door breaks Jenna's words and slowly and painfully, I throw my legs over the side of my bed, getting to my feet.

  "Enzo!"

  I look down at my phone and curse, realizing I forgot about it when getting to my feet, giving Jenna a front row seat to my morning wood.

  "Fuck, my bad. Apparently, I didn't wear pants to bed last night."

  "I cannot unsee that!"

  "Oh Watson, don't pretend like you want to."

  I smile, giving her a wink and end the video call as I stumble to the bathroom, taking care of business and putting shorts and a t-shirt on.

  I open the door to my father's angry stare and my ma’s amused one, rocking the blue hair. Phew. At least I got one of them on my side.

  "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I ask with my most charming smile.

  "Getting shitfaced on a live social media video and telling the whole world about your mothers...piercings?"

  "Graham Cracker, relax. I thought we talked about this on the ride over."

  My father closes his eyes and takes a calming breath as my ma rubs his back.

  "We did, we did. Okay, Lorenzo. If you are going to do this, you need to be professional about this, okay?"

  "Understood, sorry. If it makes you feel any better, the girl, Jenna, has a bunch of agents after her and I have a ton of missed calls and messages. She said they want us to write the book together. Could be my big break."

  My ma's face lights up and she runs over, wrapping me in a tight hug and I laugh, swallowing down the nausea as she squeezes my stomach.

  "I'm so proud of you baby. I thought the two of you were hilarious together. That chemistry cannot be faked."

  "Easy. Just a business venture, that's all."

  She shrugs, patting my cheek.

  "Sure, sure. I agree with her though, give your heroine a tongue ring."

  She winks and I groan as she walks back over to my father.

  "Disturbing," I whisper.

  "Well, we're proud of you, son. See this through and I know you can look over your own contract but if you need another pair of eyes, send it my way."

  My father pats me on the back and I nod as they walk to the door of my apartment.

  "Love you, baby. Keep us updated." My ma kisses me on the cheek and I shake my father's hand as they leave.

  I press my back against the door, smiling to myself as I think about working with Jenna. Making both of our dreams come true...together.

  Chapter 1

  Jenna

  Six months later…

  “How was the date?” Lorenzo asks through the phone as I put my key into my front door and open it.

  “Fuckin’ miserable,” I groan. “Totally goin’ into one of our books. The first words outta his mouth were, ‘you have much bigger tits in real life'. Can you believe that shit?”

  Lorenzo laughs and my irritation starts to disappear, just like it always does when I talk to him. I start laughing too as I put my keys on my foyer table and untangle my hair from my bun on the top of my head.

  “Well I can’t comment on the matter since I’ve never seen them in real life, but they look like a handful over video chat.”

  I roll my eyes, hearing the beep from my phone and shake my head as I agree to the video call.

  “If you wanted a glimpse, Mr. Morgan all you had to do was ask,” I laugh.

  “Don’t call me that. Sounds like you’re talking about my dad and that’s just downright disgusting.”

  “Impossible. Your dad’s head is so far up your mama's ass he’s not glancin’ at anything except her.”

  He groans, throwing his head back and I laugh again, remembering when Lorenzo's mother and father came on one of our video calls. Their banter and chemistry was apparent just from talking with them for a few minutes and I could see how it reflects in Lorenzo. He has that spark, that desire to connect with someone on that type of level—the opposite of me. That spark was lit inside my heart for a brief second before it was extinguished.

  “Again, don’t talk about my dad in my ma’s ass. Boundaries, Watson, boundaries," he says, interrupting my pity party.

  “Yeah yeah. Can you put a shirt on before we start plottin’ please?” I ask, walking into my office and plopping myself down in my computer chair.

  “Distracted? I thought it would give you some inspiration since we’re working through that sex scene in the office.”

  I take a good look at the screen of my phone and try not to let my desire show all over my face. I hate when he does shit like this. That look in his eye that makes me think he wants something more than this flirtatious friendship and business venture. The pull in my heart to want that too tries hard to overtake my brain, but I throw that effort into our story instead, just like I always do.

  "Stacey called me today askin’ about when our next draft will
be done," I groan, remembering my agent's words from this morning.

  "You can't ride out one best seller for the rest of your life, Jenna. You and Lorenzo need to get on the horse again. Everyone's read Secret Puck, they're waiting for what's next."

  "Yeah well Marley's been hounding me too. How about you come to New York and we can write together?"

  "Not happenin’."

  "Scared you'll wind up in my bed, Watson?"

  "Scared I'll kill you in a fit of frustration," I smirk.

  "Maybe we need to get drunk again. Worked the first time."

  I shake my head.

  "We can't keep relyin’ on getting shitfaced for book ideas, Enzo. Let's just...try and write. Maybe it'll spark somethin’ else and a direction for this damn thing."

  I get comfy in my desk chair, putting my phone on the stand as I fire up my laptop.

  "So we left off with fightin’ their feelings, denyin’ their sexual chemistry, where is this gonna happen? Too many office romances have desk sex—"

  "Yeah because it's hot as fuck," Lorenzo interrupts.

  "It is but can we try somethin’ different? How about a blowjob under the desk durin’ a conference call?"

  "Fuck, that's hot. They've had too much foreplay though, it's gotta be a sex scene. The build up has been torture. If I'm frustrated they're not banging by chapter fifteen, so will the readers."

  "I guess," I groan. "But desk sex is so over used. I came up with the blowjob scenario, come up with somethin’ then."

  This is making me frustrated and I can't just blame it on our inability to come up with any fresh new scenes that have never been done before. It's because I haven't had sex in ages. Every date has been a bust, not even making it to a second. I know it’s me. I know it’s my fears but I need to let out this frustration somehow.

  "How about office sex during a meeting?"

  I perk up, paying attention to my screen again and lean forward.

  "I'm listenin’…"

  "They miss a meeting and our hero gets pissed because he knew the heroine would be a distraction."

  "Alright, alright we could work with that. Write it up and I'll follow. I have to make dinner."

  "I thought you just came from dinner?"

  Shit.

  "I...am still hungry. The food was crap."

  "Funny how we can write a regular scene in real time together over video but you always have something to do when it's a sex scene."

  "Well, I also wanted to take a bath. You know I need a—"

  "Warm bath with the lavender bath bomb, I know, I know. You could do that after we write though."

  I open my mouth to protest but it's useless. He's right and he knows it.

  "I...fine," I grumble. "I just don't wanna write a sex scene with you watchin’ me. It's...weird. I have a system and you watchin’ me just...I don't like it."

  "Why? You flick the bean reading it over?"

  His smile would put the devil's himself to shame and I scoff.

  "I'm not answerin’ that ridiculous question. I'll log on after and see where you're at."

  I hang up the call without saying goodbye and immediately walk down the hall, strip out of my clothes and head to the shower. I push down the urge to take my pleasure into my own hands, remembering Lorenzo's voice, his bare chest, his flirty one-liners.

  I feel my hand start to slip down my bare stomach, the warm water from my shower egging me on.

  "No. Don't you fuckin’ dare, Jenna. Not for Lorenzo."

  I pull my hand back up, focusing on shampooing my hair, washing my body and then get out, drying up as I put on pajamas and head back down the hall to my kitchen.

  I'm used to being alone, making dinner for myself, opening a bottle of wine and pouring one glass. Tonight though, tonight it feels...lonely. Date after date, I just want someone to share my life with but that little voice in the back of my head rears its ugly head.

  Even if someone stays for a little while, doesn't mean they'll stay forever.

  I shake it away, pouring myself a drink and must have worked up an appetite as I toss in a frozen pizza, opting to cook something healthy tomorrow. Tonight I'm indulging in things that are bad for me. I pour more wine into my glass, filling it to the top as I reach for my phone, opening Google Drive.

  I open the folder I share with Lorenzo and see a file labeled "first office sex scene". I open it and nothing could have prepared me for what I found.

  "Holy shit," I whisper.

  Most of the time, when Lorenzo and I write together, it's in real time over video. The sex scenes are usually on our own time but right now, right now I watch as he types word after delicious fucking word in real time.

  "Tell me you want my thick dick in that tight little cunt of yours," I say, grabbing Maisy's throat softly, pushing her into the side wall of my office.

  "But P-Parker we...can't. The meeting—"

  "Fuck the meeting. I'm about to fuck you. Tell me no right now or I'll have no willpower left. I'm gonna tear you up, Maisy. Tear. You. Up."

  She whimpers, swallowing against my palm still on her throat and the motion snaps an animal inside me to the surface.

  "I'm not saying no. No chance in hell."

  I keep reading, line after line and I don't stop my hand from wandering down my pants this time, furiously rubbing one out as I brace a hand against my kitchen counter, watching Lorenzo unravel a scene like a sex God on my phone. I shouldn't be doing this, I really, really should not be doing this but when my orgasm barrels into me, it's too late. I said I was indulging in things that weren't good for me tonight, and pleasuring myself to thoughts of Lorenzo acting out that scene with me is definitely not good for me.

  I quickly grab the pizza from the oven, wrapping it in tinfoil and scramble to the foyer grabbing my keys. I need to get to my safe space, away from thoughts of Lorenzo and what they just made me do.

  Shit.

  Chapter 2

  Jenna

  I bolt upright in bed, panting and sweating, clutching my chest and frantically looking around the room.

  I'm home. I'm safe.

  I wipe my hands down my face, sighing as I throw myself back in bed and take deep breaths. I haven't had a nightmare in years, why now? I instinctively reach for the scar on my knee, pushing down all the old feelings I've thought I've come to terms with.

  "Don't go there, Jenna. Don't go there."

  I briefly think of reaching for my phone, calling Lorenzo and finally confiding in him, but I pull my hand back quickly.

  I can't. Not yet.

  I take another deep breath, get out of bed and walk to my bathroom, washing my face and waking myself up. Taking the creaky stairs down to the kitchen, I make myself coffee and eggs and walk out to my back patio.

  I sit in one of my adirondack chairs, sipping my coffee as I listen to the roosters from the farm behind my fixer-upper house. I breathe in the crisp country air and lean my head back, taking in the expansive, clear blue sky.

  I love that our book deal allowed me to buy my own place in the outskirts of Nashville a few months back, away from the city and the craziness. I love the peace, the bliss I feel everyday knowing that all of this is mine. It's an old farm house that still needs a ton of work, but it's mine. I finished the master bedroom and kitchen first, knowing when I need an escape from living downtown, I always have this to come to. Hopefully it'll be officially done and move in ready in the next few months so I can let my apartment go downtown and just live here.

  My phone ringing in the kitchen inside grabs my attention and I groan, knowing there's a time limit on all this if Lorenzo and I don't deliver anything new. I can't pay for the guys to finish working on this if I don't make any money and a mortgage along with rent every month is a lot to pay with no income.

  I take another deep breath of the blissful air as I walk back in my house and answer my phone.

  Stacey's face pops up on my screen and then Marley's and...Lorenzo.

  My cheeks immediat
ely heat, remembering how I shamelessly got myself off last night reading the sex scene he was typing out.

  No. Those thoughts don't get to invade me here.

  "Morning, gorgeous. You look like you slept well."

  He smirks, giving me a knowing smile. He couldn't have known I...shit.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I forgot that he can see when I log on. God, just swallow me whole. He knew I was watching him type the whole damn time last night and my embarrassment barrels into me, knocking the breath out of my body.

  I drop my phone to the island and snap my head up, shaking myself out of my catatonic state and take deep breaths before picking it back up. How fucking embarrassing.

  "S-sorry, I spilled my coffee on my hand, it was hot as shit."

  "Something was hot alright," Lorenzo mumbles.

  “You two ready for your book signing and appearance day?” Marley asks.

  “Our what?” I squeak, choking on the coffee I just swallowed.

  “We have a whole day scheduled for appearances and a signing in Atlanta. Your book has been out a whole two months and the podcasts and video interviews aren’t cutting it anymore. People want to see the two of you together,” Stacey answers.

  “I’m game,” Lorenzo shrugs.

  “Of course you are,” I mumble. “Is there a choice in this? Or was it already made for me?”

  “Jenna, this is about your careers. You didn’t expect to write books together and never meet, did you?” Marley laughs.

  That’s exactly what I was expecting. How can I now finally face him and keep things professional?

  “No, I...okay. When is this happenin’?”

  “Two weeks,” Stacey answers. “We put all the info on your calendars. Can you make the drive down yourself Jenna or you want us to send you someone?”

  “No,” I answer quickly, “I can drive it. Please.”

  I see Stacey’s face change to sadness and I try and change the subject, not wanting to make a big deal.

  “How long we stayin’ there? What’s the plan?”

  “A quick trip. Friday night is the signing and then Saturday morning and afternoon are a few radio shows and a local new station. You could drive back home Saturday night if you really want,” Marley answers.