LOW: A Rockstar Romance

by Lux,Vivian

  "Yeah well maybe, but one of those calls was from me. I knew you were fucking hiding, I would too. But Low, what about Zoe?"

  I licked my lips. "Zoe probably has no idea."

  "Bullshit."

  "What, Pep? She's not going to want to hear from me! I fucking ruined her life with this."

  "Did you? So you're just going to hide from her too?"

  "How do you know we haven't talked already?"

  She just cocked her head and gave me the most withering of stares.

  My shoulders slumped. "No. I haven't called her yet. I should, shouldn't I?"

  "Yes, you fucking should."

  I looked down on the floor at the wreckage of my phone. She glanced down and sighed, then reached into her purse. "You're fucking hopeless. Here. Use mine."

  I stared at her phone balefully. "What the fuck do I say to her?" I asked my sister. "This is exactly - fucking exactly - what I was afraid of. Like, it could not be more of a sign from above that I cannot do this to this girl. Me loving her is only going to hurt her. Fuck, it already has!"

  My sister's eyes went soft, then hard. She stepped into my face and I could see it. The trembling rage that vibrated under her skin. And I knew, I knew she was reliving the moment that she had to tell. Her own violation and how it had to be spelled out for others to understand. She was angry at me because she thought that I - of all people - would know what to say, to a girl who had had her body violated like this.

  Hell, I should know.

  But I was too caught up in my own fucking guilt at letting this happen to Zoe.

  "You want me to tell you what to say?" Pepper seethed. "Fine. This is what you say. You say, hi. I'm here. What do you need?" She thumped me in the chest with her finger. "You say, I love you, and I'll help in any way I can. Can you do that, Low?"

  This was the first time my sister called me by my new name and the importance was not lost on me. "I can do that, sis," I exhaled. "You know I can."

  She shoved her phone into my hand. "Call."

  Chapter 35

  Zoe

  The little triangle of light where I had propped up my blanket to let the air underneath was the only thing that mattered to me right now. It seemed to me that if I focused on that triangle, that everything else in my life might just fade away.

  The phone hadn't stopped ringing, and when I refused to answer my cell, the bastards had moved on to the landline. When Max picked up with his sunny little "Hello?" his poor little face screwed up at the voice on the other end. "No. No Zo-weee. You yellin'!" he bellowed. "You don't yell at Zo-weee." Then he stabbed the off button and let the phone drop at his feet.

  I was ready to hire him to take all of my calls.

  "Zoe?" The door to my bedroom creaked open. At any other point in time, my mother's gentle voice would be the perfect soothing balm that I needed. But instead of relief, all I felt was hot shame.

  She had come home early from work, just like she had when I was a kid and got sick at school. The angle of the late afternoon sun through the gap in my window shade piercing the full dark of my room was giving me a profound sense of deja vu. I felt queasy and ill and filled with self-pity. "Mom," I croaked. "I'm so sorry."

  "For what, baby?"

  I rolled over and swallowed. "For being a naive idiot."

  She sat down at the end of my bed. "I'm going to need a little more than that," she said mildly, patting my hip.

  I curled more tightly into a ball and flung the cover back over my head. Somehow it was easier to hate myself without her kind eyes looking down at me with nothing but love inside of them. "Well, for starters I should have known better than to let a guy have nudes. Fuck, that's like girl-101."

  "Do you think he let them out there on purpose?"

  I blinked. "No. I think he was just...careless." I swallowed. His unsecured Wi-Fi was a testament to that. "And that's almost worse."

  "I don't think you need to be sorry about sending someone you love some pictures to remember you by," my mother said thoughtfully.

  "It wasn't just any old someone that I loved, though," I protested. "It was Lowell Stowe. He's a drummer. In a rock band! Do you know how many people are dying for a slice of him right now? Why the hell did I think I could be on his same level. I was like...playing out this fantasy world, where I was someone different and he was part of that fantasy and I just...I just went too goddamned far. From the moment I met him, I was just in way the fuck over my head. " I pulled the blanket off my head. "Sorry for swearing, " I said automatically.

  My mother chuckled. "I think times like this, I'll waive the no-swearing rule." She leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Seems appropriate in this context."

  "Mom, what do I do?"

  "About Low?"

  "About the pictures."

  "Oh, those? Well if it were me, I'd just wait until people lost interest. Let it blow over. Do my damnedest to do something interesting enough to get my name associated with something else." She smiled, a little glint of mischief in her eye. "And I would talk to Low too. See his take on this whole thing."

  "Why do you know everything?"

  She shook her head. "Experience." Then she held up a finger to ward off my next question. "And I am not telling you what the experience was. I need to preserve at least some of my mystery."

  I laughed for the first time today. It felt good.

  The landline rang again and this time, I actually got out of bed and made for it. I had no plans on answering, but I did plan on ripping the line out of the wall.

  "Phone!" screamed Max, tearing across the living room floor. Before I could intercept him, he picked up with a chirpy little, "Hello?"

  Fuck.

  "Hey, Max? Maximus? Maximillian? Maximum Overdrive?" My brother did not respond to any of his nicknames. His little nose was scrunched up in concentration.

  "Max, give me the phone."

  He ignored me and listened to whoever was on the line.

  At least he wasn't berating them for yelling. I chewed on my thumbnail.

  All at once, he smiled. "Mr. Low," he announced. "You brought Zoe back before Froot Loops."

  The sound I made was so alarming that my mother came rushing in from the kitchen. I tried to wave her off, while at the same time I tried to snatch the phone from my brother. "Max...Max! Give me the phone!"

  "Max that's a one!" my mother barked. Instantly my brother snapped up straighter and handed me the phone.

  "Jesus Christ," I muttered.

  I could hear soft laughter from the other end of the line. Then his faint voice, calling "Zoe? Zoe, are you there? Shit, I think the little booger dropped me on the floor and left. Zoe? Are you listening right now and just not saying anything?"

  I didn't reply, but I did exhale more forcefully than normal.

  "Okay good enough," Low said. At the sound of his smooth voice, my whole body broke out into goosebumps. I wanted to cry and I didn't know why, and I didn't want him to think that it was him that was making me want to cry so I just kept my mouth shut.

  "Zoe, if you just want to be quiet and listen right now, I get it," he said. "But you should know that I am right outside if you want to be silent to me in person."

  I took a deep breath.

  "You can either come out to me," Low said, "Or I can come in to you. Or, you know what? We can just stay right here on the phone. It's up to you."

  "Here's good," I said in a small voice. I felt like my feet had been nailed to the floor.

  "Then we'll do it your way," Low said. "As long as you're listening, I don't care."

  "I am."

  "Then I want you to hear this. I'm sorry."

  The tears that had been threatening started to fall. I squeezed my eyes shut. "It's not your fault."

  "It is."

  "Not totally."

  "But mostly?"

  I smiled through my tears. "Okay. Mostly."

  I could hear the relieved grin in his voice. "I was careless. I never wanted to be in the fucking s
potlight like this. I got all pissed off and resentful when I should have been dealing with it like a grown-up. All I ever wanted was to make sure I never hurt you, but I did. By being careless."

  "What happened?" I asked, in a strangled, whispered sob.

  "I got hacked and they stole all the pictures off my phone. Apparently, I made it super easy by not locking down my Wi-Fi, though my manager said even that might not have really stopped them."

  "Shit, did they steal anything else?"

  "You mean like bank shit and my social security number?" he laughed. "No, they only got what was important to me. Those pictures of you."

  "Oh," I said. I looked down at my toes. "So what happens now?"

  "Well, I have an idea about that, actually, but, um, there are a couple of kids playing across the street and I feel a bit like a giant pervert just sitting in the car here."

  I laughed. "You can come in."

  I heard his door slam both through the receiver and outside my front window and the sound of his rushing footsteps running up my walk made my heart squeeze tightly in my chest.

  I threw open the door just as he was raising his fist to pound on it. "Oh," he said, startled.

  The sight of him like this, all undone, his hair messy and falling in his face, his eyes deeply shadowed with worry, tugged at my heart even more. I opened the door and resisted the urge to cup his face in my hands and kiss those worry lines until his forehead was smooth.

  "Are you going to let me in?" he wondered. He sounded unsure.

  I smiled and stepped aside. He grinned his thanks and then shoved his hands into his pockets. I hated that he didn't feel like he was allowed to kiss me hello.

  "You said you had an idea of how to fix this," I reminded him. "What is that?"

  He took a deep breath. "It's a good idea," he began.

  "The fact that you're trying to convince me at the outset isn't doing much for my confidence."

  "Fair enough. I just want you to keep an open mind. I mean...it's nothing you haven't, um, done before. It's just...doing it differently."

  "You're being deliberately mysterious."

  "I'm sorry." He stood up straighter. "Zoe, I want you to be in the next campaign with me."

  My mind sputtered out like a stalled car. "Campaign?" I said dully, like the word was completely foreign to me.

  "The fucking perfume is so damn popular that they want to expand the line. That was what was in that paperwork I told you I was signing. They want to do an expanded campaign, men's line and women's line. And I told them I wouldn't sign unless you were the face of the women's line."

  The bottom dropped out of my stomach. Shock met excitement and exploded into disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

  Low shook his head and even before he said it I knew he was telling the truth. "I'm absolutely not. And you'll get paid a buttload of money, let me assure you."

  The disbelief was solidifying. "But I'm not a model."

  He shrugged. "Neither am I! But here we are."

  "Why they heck would you even think I wanted this?"

  "Because you like it when people look at you?"

  "When you look at me, Low. Not people."

  He closed his eyes for a moment as if to center himself, and then opened them again, and fuck that amber color was going to be my undoing. "I know. But that ship has sailed. Everyone is looking at you right now." His voice trembled slightly as he begged me with his eyes. "Zoe, this is your chance to take what just happened and turn it into an opportunity. Don't lie back and let the bastards on the Internet define who you are for you. Fucking show them what a smart, fierce, savvy girl you actually are. Take it from me, I fucked up my moment by refusing to take it. I was too caught up in what I thought I was to realize what I'd actually become."

  He spread his hands. "Okay, sure, fine then. I'm a fucking model now, as well as a drummer and a brother and a friend." Then he lunged forward, grabbing me by the hand and squeezing. "You keep telling me this isn't real, but baby what else is it? This is your life, no matter how unbelievable it's gotten. I love you and I'm not going to let you make the same mistake I did," he said. "You need to take this."

  "Wait, what did you say?"

  He grinned. "You need to take this?"

  I smacked him in the arm. He felt so damn good under my hands. "No, before that, asshole."

  His grin widened. "I love you. Didn't you know that?"

  I blinked and realized that I did.

  But then his easy grin fell away. "There's no escaping it. You are in the public eye now. It's time to seize it. These pictures are exactly the kind of free press we need to grab ahold of, Zoe. Your face is recognizable now, so you're the perfect spokesperson for the fragrance. We're in this together now. I'm even naming the fragrances for us, one for you, one for me."

  I looked up at him, feeling myself yielding. "What's yours called?"

  He grinned. "Careless."

  I burst out laughing. "And what about mine?"

  He kissed me for a long, long time before he told me. "Fearless."

  Chapter 36

  Low

  The way she looked in that white robe with her hair tumbling down her back... Fuck, I'd say she was an angel but no angel had every looked that fucking sexy.

  She clutched the robe tighter around her shoulders. "Goddamn it is freezing in here!" she complained. "My teeth are going to start chattering!"

  I laughed. "You wouldn't make it one day in a Buffalo winter."

  "Nor do I plan on having to."

  "Oh come on, you don't want to come see my hometown?"

  "You chose to live in California for a reason. I'm assuming warmth was a major factor."

  "It was," I mused. Then I grinned and gave a playful tug to her robe. "Come on, stop hiding. It'll be warm under the lights."

  Zoe looked up at me, trying and failing to hide how nervous she was. I put my hand on the small of her back and led her under the lights.

  A simple black leather chaise was in the center of the set. Long, filmy white sheets of fabric billowed across the set, suspended midair by rods that hung high above us.

  It looked like a very expensive piece of heaven. And I was entering with a sexy-ass angel by my side.

  There was no one else here. All of the stagehands and light riggers and crafts services people had been corralled into a warehouse next to this one. I had asked for a closed set for the actual shoot. In fact, I had insisted on it.

  "So what do I do?" Zoe wondered. She absentmindedly let her robe drop to the floor, and I had to flex every muscle in my body to keep all the blood from rushing to my dick.

  "Hot damn, let me look at you. Turn around."

  Zoe bit her lip, but obliged me, giving a long gorgeous eyeful of her supple, soft body. Her usually straightened hair had been coaxed by the hair-dresser into soft waves and her eyes had this smudgy, smoky look that made them appear ten times their normal size. She was clad in this skimpy little bralette set that barely contained her ample curves and the effect was one of undone glamor. Like she was just waking up after a night of fucking and looking at me, hoping we could fit in one more fuck before we started the day.

  "Goddamn you look good," I breathed.

  She smiled her happy smile. "I'm more excited than I thought. How much money am I making again?"

  I told her the number and she exhaled softly. "The first thing I'm going to do with that," she declared, "Is get a respite worker for Mom and Greg. So they're not stuck at home all the time while I'm at your place."

  Fuck, I loved this girl. "That'll be really nice for them."

  "They deserve it," she said, eyes shining eagerly. "So I want to give it to them. But that means I need to get these pictures taken. Where the hell is the photographer?"

  I touched her face, careful not to smudge her makeup. "Oh, he's here," I reassured her. "And don't worry. He's really good. He's going to show you how beautiful you are."

  I kissed her softly and then stepped behind the camera, ready to cap
ture the moment forever.

  THE END

  For you special bonus book, just turn the page! RANE, the first book that features the men of Ruthless is coming up next!

  Rane:

  A Rockstar Stepbrother Romance

  Vivian Lux

  Copyright 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  This book contains adult themes, explicit language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature audiences.

  NOTE: All characters in the book are 18+ years of age, non-blood related, and all sexual acts are consensual.

  About this book:

  Rane

  Everything was easy...until I met her.

  If at first you don't succeed, fuck it and move the hell on. I'm Rane Wilder and I'm not one to hold on to shit. Life as the guitarist in the biggest band on the planet is fun. Which is good.

  Because the second it stops being fun, I'm out.

  Being in the music video with Madeline Cole, that was fun too. Sure, the band had misgivings. Maddie's a crazy former child star who hit rock bottom hard, and is now trying to revitalize her career. She's a fiery redhead with big blue eyes and a bad reputation, but her mom is dating my dad, so I thought I'd do her a favor by giving her the work.

  That's when things get difficult.

  Because falling for Maddie is really easy. I can see the fire inside of her, and I love it that I'm the one who makes her burn.

  But being with her? That's hard as hell.

  Especially when our parents announce their engagement.

  I've fallen for a force of nature and she's about to become my stepsister.

  And for the first time in my life, I can't move on.

  Chapter One

  Rane

  Rehearsal was almost over and my brother had barely lifted his guitar. Frankly, it was pissing me off.

  I set my Gibson down on its stand and stalked over to where Keir was hunched over a borked old effects pedal. The piece of shit was at least forty years old, yet somehow, Keir thought it was necessary for "authentic sound."