AuthorHouse™ UK Ltd.
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403 USA
www.authorhouse.co.uk
Phone: 0800.197.4150
© 2014 K. L. Shandwick. All rights reserved.
First Edition
Cover Design by Russell Cleary
Edited by J.Sims www.editing4indies.com
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
The author has asserted their moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written
consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or
cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A disclaimer: This book has explicit references to sexual
situations and is intended for adult readers aged 18+.
This book is a work of fiction, Names, places, characters, band names and incidents are
the product of the author’s imagination or names are used within the fictitious setting.
Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead. Band names or locales are entirely
coincidental.
Published by AuthorHouse 07/07/2014
ISBN: 978-1-4969-8576-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4969-8574-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4969-8575-0 (e)
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Shutterstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Shutterstock.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Contents
Chapter 1 – Speared
Chapter 2 – Checking Out
Chapter 3 – Sexual Tension
Chapter 4 – Exploring
Chapter 5 – One Time
Chapter 6 – Proposition
Chapter 7 – Breakfast
Chapter 8 – Tugging Heart Strings
Chapter 9 – Persistence
Chapter 10 – First Performance
Chapter 11 – Ice Cream
Chapter 12 – Holding Back
Chapter 13 – Apadravya
Chapter 14 – Home
Chapter 15 – Projections
Chapter 16 – Heart On Fire
Chapter 17 – Storm Doors
Chapter 18 – Slow Down
Chapter 19 – Friends
Chapter 20 – Douche
Chapter 21 – Movies
Chapter 22 – Firestone Live
Chapter 23 – Life Sucks
Chapter 24 – Tension
Chapter 25 – Car Ride
Chapter 26 – Dancing
Chapter 27 – Where We Started
Chapter 28 – Running Out
Chapter 29 – Over The Pond
Chapter 30 – Belgravia
Chapter 31 – British Pub
Chapter 32 – Meeting Friends
Chapter 33 – Cream Cheese
Chapter 34 – Best Year Ever
Chapter 35 – Dudes In Suits
Chapter 36 – Responsibility
Chapter 37 – Making Up
Chapter 38 – Rock Chick
Chapter 39 – Hall Of Fame
Chapter 40 – Starlets
Chapter 41 – Bangle
Chapter 42 – Dancing With A Difference
Chapter 43 – Shaking
Chapter 44 – Truck Stop
Chapter 45 – On The Verge
Chapter 46 – Stop and Stare
Chapter 47 – I am Alfie Black
Chapter 48 – Sliding Doors
Chapter 49 – Keys
Chapter 50 – Goodbye
Chapter 51 – Overthinking
Chapter 52 – Picture That
Chapter 53 – Girl Who Has It All
Chapter 54 – New Year
Chapter 55– Excited
Chapter 56 – Nerves
Chapter 57 – Polite
Chapter 58 – Normal
Chapter 59 – Clumps
Chapter 60 – Electrics For Dummies
Chapter 61 – Meeting
Chapter 62 – Cutting A Deal
Chapter 63 – Music Fame And Love
Dedication
Chapter 1 – Speared
The muffled clunk when I closed the trunk of my car was the only sound in the perfect quiet of the campus car lot. My car rocked gently on the back axel, the suspension squeaking a little before settling again. Balancing my guitar against my leg, I slung my bag over my shoulder, clutching the strap just under my arm, and hit the key fob to unlock the car doors. I’d been using the studio during the night to lay down a track.
Looking up at the sky, it was an incredible azure blue and not a cloud in sight. The sun had only been up for a couple of hours, but it was already a stifling ninety degrees in the shade. Pulling a bottle of water out of my bag, I drank greedily from it, but this was disrupted by a high pitched screeching noise of rubber on the tarmac. Jeez.
My head whipped around in the direction of the noise, and I glanced over at the offending culprit who had disturbed my mellow mood. A smirk played on my lips that I couldn’t fight. A tiny Chrysler PT Cruiser swung into the parking space and screeched to a halt. I shook my head in disbelief at the crazy stunt, and ‘Daisy Duke of Hazard County’ flashed across my mind.
Snickering, I just knew it had to be a girl parking that car with so little regard for the tread on the tires. Girls just didn’t think about things like that. My attention was still on the little black car when the female occupant getting out of it caught my eye and confirmed my suspicions about the driver.
Flinging the door open so forcefully it creaked on its hinges, the girl began to slide out of the driver’s seat. It was the way she got out of the car that held my attention initially. She pivoted in her seat, two feet meeting the ground in front of her, and her body undulated as she pushed herself to a standing position.
Admiring her long, pale, shapely legs my attention was now fully on her as opposed to her behavior. She had sexy legs that were long for her height. They had some definition in the calves, as well, but not too much for them not to be feminine. Drawing my eyes up the length of her body, my brain made a quick appraisal, taking in curves, hair, fashion sense, and posture.
My dick twitched in my jeans like I’d never seen a pretty girl before, but there was something about her. When I tried to pinpoint what it was I couldn’t put my finger on it, but hell, to me, she looked the epitome of everything feminine.
Although she was very slender, she was curvy, not too tall, and the way she moved just getting out of the car said a lot about her. She was poised, elegant. Brunette, long dark curls, definitely the kind of girl I was attracted to. There was no doubt about that. The way I was gawping was something alien to me, it felt bazaar. Sure I liked looking at pretty girls the same as the next man, but this wasn’t so much of a wandering eye. Mine were definitely transfixed on her.
Damn! She had the whitest, palest skin I’d seen in like…well…forever. My eyes were already ticking over her again as I began to take in the rest of her body more
slowly as my dick twitched and grew harder in my pants. I realized I was objectifying her, and my teeth were grazing over my bottom lip. An instant attraction had formed, and I hadn’t even seen her face.
“Fuck.” The word fell out of my mouth in a hissed whisper. Still staring at her, I exhaled loudly then after a few seconds I realized I had taken another breath but had been holding it. Exhaling this time, it sounded on par with gas escaping from a tire as I fell against the hot metal of my car door and stared transfixed…taking in the sight of her. Moving my guitar case I placed it upright in front of my feet and held the top near my hips.
From where I was standing, I could only see the back of her. She was stretched out leaning into the backseat of her car as if she were reaching over for something. One leg rose cutely as she extended her reach further. The top half of her body had all but disappeared inside, but oh man, the view was still fucking incredible.
The curve of her ass looked deliciously defined in her white crop pants that looked like they had been sprayed on. They completely hugged the contours of her slender thighs and accentuated the globes of her little ass to perfection. Her thick hair reached down to her waist and hung in long dark brown curls.
She straightened upright and flicked her hair behind her shoulders, her off-the-shoulder top exposing more lily-white skin, and her black bra strap peeked out. The combination of the colors she wore; the tight pants, the jade green top, her hair and her skin made her look so eye catching from a distance. She was the type of person who turned heads, women as well as men, and damn if she didn’t get a whole lot more sexy when she pulled out a guitar case.
She juggled with her guitar before pulling her bag strap over her shoulder, while cramming the papers inside, and slammed the door closed with the sole of her foot. She was feisty and cute at the same time when she did that, but she was wrecking that car the way she was handling it.
She looked as if she was struggling with something in her bag for a few moments before she pulled out a piece of paper and began to study it. Her other hand consciously smoothed down her t-shirt as she turned directly into my view.
“Fuck.” I had a feeling the front of her would match the back, but when I saw her face the effect she had on me was animalistic. I can categorically say, hand on heart, I had never seen anyone more beautiful or innocent looking in my whole life. She was a fucking walking contradiction if ever I saw one. A rack built for sin and long legs that I knew would look even better wrapped around my waist or over my shoulders. If that wasn’t enough there was that gorgeous face with those fabulous big blue sparkling eyes of hers that I could get lost in. All that said, it was even sexier that she had a vulnerable look about her. And she was a fucking musician as well. Damn.
She began walking toward me slowly, looking down at what I guessed was a map. Her eyes dropped and referred to the paper then her head was turning left and right, her body pivoting a little in each direction, as if she were trying to recognize landmarks.
Oblivious that I was watching her, she continued to scope but I was stuck, completely enchanted by her, mesmerized…riveted to my spot. My dick felt like a rod of iron straining against the fly of my jeans, and I was glad my guitar case was handy and strategically placed, otherwise I would have had to sit down somewhere until it was more under control.
Swallowing audibly, I held my breath as she strolled past me still engrossed in her paperwork. Like a magnet, as soon as she crossed my path, I pushed myself off of the car by my hips and began to walk along behind her, enjoying the way her ass wiggled from side to side in her pants with each step. The only fly in the ointment was the pain I felt, the ache in my dick was killing me.
Her hair was incredible, silky soft-looking curls that shone in the sunshine. She obviously took great care of it and took great care of herself. She had a tight body. The way her hair swished back and forth gently when she walked made me want to reach out and stroke my palm down it, just to feel if it was as soft and silky as it looked.
Appearance-wise, she was so different from all the other girls around her. Her dark hair and pale, milky skin was a very unusual look for the ‘sunshine state.’ The tone of her skin alone made her seem more interesting…different.
She stopped suddenly and began to pivot on the balls of her feet. For a moment I thought she had realized I was following behind her. My guilt made me look away, pretending to fix something on my guitar case. When I snuck a glance in her direction again, she was walking with purpose- she’d found what she was looking for.
By the time she rounded the corner, I realized she was going to the registration office. She had to be a new student, maybe transferred in from somewhere else. I knew I’d never seen her around before, hell, I’d remember someone like her. She was definitely from out of state, and my guess was Michigan with her pale skin. Didn’t look eighteen either. Maybe twenty-one in my estimation.
Why the hell was I following her? What did I think I was going to do? It seemed crazy to me that I was suddenly wandering around in a stupor over some pretty girl. Especially, one who had merely parked her car and walked past me. Yet, my mind was completely devoid of anything else I had to do—except that I had to watch her.
The conflict that went on between my head and my dick was mind blowing. Why I even followed her was a mystery to me. There wasn’t room for anyone else in my life. The burden of responsibility for taking care of Kara and Poppy were what should have been at the forefront of my mind. They were my priority, and I couldn’t allow anything to affect that, but the draw to know more about this girl was a ‘pull’ I really couldn’t ignore.
I thought, maybe if I just talked to her it would take her from fantasy status in my mind and into reality mode. She might have a whiny voice or some other shit that would make her human just like the rest of us.
Maybe she’d say something to piss me off then it would be all good, and I could just continue to tick along as I had been. My world as it stands was having the occasional lay and supporting my friends. Hell, maybe she wasn’t a student at all and was here visiting to play music with someone. That was a possibility.
Finding a spot just far enough away from the office on the path she needed to come back along, I sat down by a tree on the lawn and laid my shit down. From this vantage point I wouldn’t miss seeing her again, because wherever she was headed, the fork in the pathway was about twenty yards ahead—leading either back to the parking lot, or in the other direction, to the student dorms.
This was ridiculous, what the fuck was I doing, was the question that only sprung to mind after I had sat down. Conflict and delight fighting with each other for the upper hand, feelings that didn’t usually play a part in my daily living, making me feel like I was sixteen again. Crazy feelings for someone I’ve seen once and for all of five minutes, and here I was lusting after her like she was a fucking poster of a pop siren on my bedroom wall.
My thoughts were sprouting from nowhere, a jumbled up mess about striking up a conversation with her, and my alter ego was telling me to get the fuck up and stop being stupid about trying to stalk a girl who didn’t even know I existed.
Hell, what if I talked to her, and I liked her even more? What the fuck then? I needed to stop thinking with my dick. What if she was still the finest damn girl I’d ever laid eyes on? What the fuck did I do about that? Did I pursue her? Get with her? Hell, yeah, me, her, Kara, and Poppy—we’d play music and live like we’re part of a fucking hippy commune from the seventies. It wasn’t gonna happen.
Chiding myself for being so ridiculous, I pulled out my music journal and started to open my guitar case. There she was. My guitar—my woman. She had curves in all the right places, smooth to the touch and never talked back, wouldn’t fuck me over, and was happy to lie on her back whenever I wanted.
A smirk graced my lips, and I felt calm when she was in my hands, I was now in control. This was where I knew I dominated. When I started to strum, she purred and touched something deep in my chest that no one could
take away from me. Music wasn’t just in my soul. It was my soul. The pleasure I felt when I played was a real leveler. It took away pain like nothing else ever had. It made me feel like nothing else did, and it was a gift I thanked the stars for every single day.
Knowing I had a song to finish for the guys in my band this week, I tried to put some lyrics down on paper. It could be a great song, but there were a couple of humps where I just couldn’t find exactly the right line for the bridge. That perfect line, which would take it from being a good song to a masterpiece. Every line that I tried just didn’t seem to do the piece justice. I had a word block.
Becoming lost in the music and singing the lyrics, I was concentrating so hard to lay down the melody that I almost forgot why I was sitting there. Almost. A strange feeling came over me; a heightened awareness, like I was being watched. I flicked my eyes upward without moving my head and saw the same fabulous legs I’d been staring at from behind a half an hour ago. Except this time it was the front of her legs, and she was standing in front of me. My dick twitched with excitement, and my heartbeat grew faster in my chest.
Feeling kind of nervous that she was standing there staring at me, I didn’t look up at first. Which, was a stupid reaction really, because there must have been tens of thousands of people who had come to watch me sing over the years in the band. Being the lead singer in a band, I couldn’t afford to be nervous because I was the one who warmed the crowds up and got the fans going so that we could relax and make it the best gig possible.
Obviously, I wasn’t going to let her see me nervous, so I ignored her. I had her full attention, and then I had more of her come into my eyesight as she dropped to sit on the grass and made herself comfortable by leaning back on her bag. She was close up and kinda personal now, and oh- sweet- Jesus, she was stunning.
Watching her get comfortable made me want to stop what I was doing, but I figured the best way forward was to keep my cool. She was interested in what I was playing, so I needed to build on that. The line was a bitch, and I wasn’t going to impress her with the words I had, they just weren’t doing anything for me.
Love with Every Beat Page 1