by Anna Zaires, Pepper Winters, Skye Warren, Lynda Chance, Pam Godwin, Amber Lin
Even though she’d failed. He was her serpent, luring her out of the garden, but she wasn’t mad. She didn’t want to stay locked up anymore. Eden was just a pretty prison when you got down to it.
His fingers sped up, moving with her hips. His voice was low in her ear. “If I sat next to you during service, I’d slip my hand under your skirt and touch you right there, in front of everyone.”
She moaned, clutching his arm.
“Shh. You have to be quiet. You can’t let them know what I’m doing to you.”
His words spun the picture. She shuddered, imagining a packed chapel and staid sermon. And right beside her—Lock. Or Keaton. Her personal weakness and unlikely salvation.
His fingers plunged inside her, thumb relentless on her clit, and she shattered. She broke apart, crying his name—Keaton. She rocked against his hand and dug her nails into his back and used him just as much as he used her. He anchored her in the storm. He whipped her with wind and breathless pleasure. He was inside and out and all around her, slicking the air with salt and sex.
The climax stole her breath and gave it back in gasps and soft whimpers. He soothed her when her body jumped, petting her until the orgasm had passed, leaving her wrung out and slumped against the wall. His kiss against her forehead felt like a benediction, but his damp fingers pressing into her mouth made it even sweeter.
“Suck,” he murmured, but she was already licking his fingers clean, turning the tables so that lust fired in his eyes. The bulge pressing against her hip proved he hadn’t finished yet. And wouldn’t finish—not until they’d figured this out.
That old contract was null and void. The new negotiations…well, she had a few tricks in her bag. Like tugging his head down so he could taste her on her tongue. Like nipping his lips so he groaned and humped her urgently.
She smiled. “Forever is a very long time.”
“Hailey, you are not—”
“Boring. I know.” She straightened her clothes, grateful for the dark nook he kept her in. He was always taking care of her, even when he didn’t want her to know it. “But what if I’m the one who gets bored?”
A slow grin spread over his face. “Is that a challenge?”
She shrugged. “All those parties and groupies. There’s a whole world to explore.”
His hand cupped between her legs, over the fabric. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. But no one sees this except for me.”
“Never?” she said, thinking of his command at the concert. That had been fun.
“Unless I order you to,” he amended.
Her wicked smile matched his. “Can I get that in writing?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Epilogue
Lock pushed through the crowd, ignoring his red-faced agent’s shouts about photo ops and fan-club obligations, and raced for the rear exit. Let the other guys helm the PR machine for the night. Only one obligation mattered.
He was a mess after a full set and two encores, but they’d booked the chapel for midnight. No time for a shower or a change of clothes. He peeled his shirt off and used it to wipe his face, smearing eyeliner and sweat.
Two burly men with security vests propped open the door. The crowd outside sprang to life with shouts and camera flashes. A young woman burst through the throng, yanking her top down to expose a Sharpie pen tucked between generous cleavage. “Mark me, please.”
The only woman he wanted to mark was waiting in the back of the limo parked a few feet away. The bodyguard by his side shouldered between them. “No autographs, ma’am.”
He used her momentary meltdown to make a dash for the limo. For Hailey.
As soon as the door shut behind him, he relaxed and let the stage persona slip. Lock has left the building. Keaton Shaw melted into his woman’s warm embrace, the brush of her lips, the sweet scent of her presence, totally oblivious to their audience.
“Not in front of the baby!” Chloe said, covering the sleeping infant’s eyes and making an exaggerated O with her mouth. Tim, decked out in a powder-blue tuxedo, smirked and shook his head.
“Good show?” Hailey asked.
“Not the same without you in the wings.”
“We had important business to attend to tonight. And sister stuff.”
“Um, and sister stuff isn’t important business?” Chloe teased. The baby let out a tiny squeak, and Keaton prayed it wouldn’t start bawling.
“Of course it is. And mommy stuff.” Hailey cooed, leaning over to peek at the little scream machine gurgling on Chloe’s lap. At three months that kid could hold his own with a thrash metal band. And he was kind of cute when he started blowing those little bubbles at the corners of his mouth. Keaton decided he should get him an agent. Probably one less vicious than his own.
“And wardrobe. I better get big brownie points for this,” Tim added, tugging at the hot-pink cummerbund wrapped around his waist.
“If by points you mean trifle, then yes.” Chloe patted Tim’s belly and turned back to them. “Are you guys ready? I’m ready. I can’t thank you enough for doing this. Especially after we eloped on you last year.”
Hailey squeezed Keaton’s knee and grinned. “The timing worked out perfectly. The tour stop and Tim’s break from Youth Nation.”
Keaton snorted. Tim was a good guy, but ribbing him was too much fun to resist. “Church camp.”
“Nondenominational youth outreach program,” Tim corrected.
“Yes, you mold them and I warp them. I’m keeping you in business, buddy.”
“You don’t warp them; you give them an outlet for their pain.”
“Don’t get all deep on me now, Pastor Tim. There’s time for that at the ceremony later.”
“Don’t call him that,” Chloe and Hailey said in unison, giggling.
“Not yet, anyway. But, soon,” Chloe added.
The limo stopped, and the driver lowered the privacy window. “Sir, we’ve arrived.”
His heart raced the way it did before he stepped onstage. His palms tingled. Hailey threaded her fingers with his and squeezed. A warm calm spread through his chest. He’d made a lot of poor choices in his life, but this wasn’t one of them. “I feel a little silly, shirtless and filthy, while you guys are glammed up.”
Tim leaned forward. “I got you covered. There’s tux rental inside.”
“Absolutely not!” Hailey shrieked. “I want you exactly like this. Think of the pictures.”
And he did. Her all in white—from the princess dress down to the fishnets—and him, half-naked and exposed. His heart ached with the sweetness of it.
“Oh, I almost forgot. For luck.” Hailey tucked a scrap of blue satin into his pocket, her eyes flashing mischief. Were those panties? He checked. They were.
He hauled her into his lap, laughing, rucking up her dress, digging his fingers into the netting on her thighs. “Baby, I don’t need luck—I don’t need anything—as long as I have you.”
The End
Thank you!
Thank you for reading Three Nights with a Rockstar. We hope you enjoyed the ride. We appreciate anything you do to help spread the word about the Bandmates series, including recommending it to a friend who loves sexy rock star romance or leaving a review.
If you’d like to know about new releases, sign up for Amber’s newsletter or Shari’s newsletter or both! The next book in the series, One Kiss with a Rock Star, is available now. Turn the page to read an excerpt…
One Kiss with a Rock Star
Half-Life bassist Krist Mellas is caught in a PR nightmare after his dirty sex video blew up online. His agent has the solution: a fake engagement with sultry pop princess Madeline Fox. Krist can’t think of anything worse than a charade with the bubblegum bombshell…except losing the band.
Madeline knows better than anyone what it means to live a lie in the spotlight. She’s determined to help Krist without ever letting him find out what it costs her—or about her girlhood crush on him. But after a smoking hot bac
k alley encounter with him leaves her breathless, she can’t deny she wants the snarling bad-boy rocker.
In a world of glitter and diamonds where the kisses are fake but the climaxes are real, their facades start to crack. And the publicity storm may shatter them both.
WARNING: This book contains a scorching threesome, a dirty talking pop princess, and a surly rocker who hits all the right notes.
Excerpt from One Kiss with a Rock Star
Watch the wings.
He couldn’t miss them. She was naked but for feathers and glitter. Untouchable. Two grips ushered her along the catwalk and affixed her harness to a rig in the rafters. Krist was only a few feet off the ground on his platform, but he still felt unsteady. She was so high.
An assistant counted down, and the director shouted, “Action!”
The army of dancers below writhed to the thumping bass line of the guide track, feet pounding the floor, but Krist only had eyes for Madeline. She lifted her arms above her head like the ballerina in a little girl’s jewelry box, stepped off the ledge, and twirled down, singing.
“I break my own wings.”
The power in her vocals, the edge behind the lyric, knocked him more off balance. He’d expected her to lip sync. He’d expected her to fucking suck.
“I am falling. I am falling. Lift me up.”
All the dancers below lifted their hands in unison and swayed like the collective force of their will would boost her higher. Cheesy pop bullshit, but something about it worked. He didn’t want to admit it, but she had…something. She could fucking sing.
Her descent slowed. If he stretched, he could just reach her perfectly manicured toe. Almost time.
His whole body tensed as a camera swung in his direction. He grimaced and gripped the railing when the platform beneath him, mounted on what looked like a cherry-picker truck, shifted closer to Madeline. The cameraman gave him a thumbs-up. He must look sufficiently demonic.
Now. He reached for her, grabbing her by the waist, the only part of her body unadorned, and pulled her close. One breath and he was overcome by her scent. Spicy cotton candy. Unexpected and strangely perfect. A second breath and he prepared to do his damned job, to mash his lips against hers and fling her back to her adoring throng. It was only skin. It didn’t mean anything.
Her eyes flashed mischief. Hi, she mouthed and hooked her legs around his hips.
He froze. The producer hadn’t mentioned grinding in the rundown earlier. She shimmied against him, and his traitorous cock responded. Do the job you came to do.
Before he could, she bent her head and stole the kiss he’d been hired to deliver. He couldn’t help but gasp, and then her tongue, warm and electric, invaded his mouth. Chai.
Could an angel corrupt a devil?
“I am falling. I am falling.” The guide track looped in the background, distorted by Auto-Tune, hardly recognizable as the sultry voice he’d just heard.
It was too much. The wet heat, her teeth grazing his bottom lip, and the way she rocked against his crotch. It hurt to touch her, just like the devil was supposed to react. He pushed, but she only held on tighter, digging her heels into his ass, twisting his hair in her fingers. Sparks of pleasure-pain skittered under his skin. She’d chosen him.
He didn’t want to want her. Wanting was a one-way ticket to disappointment.
She raked her fingers down his back, teasing the sliver of skin between his shirt and belt, and pressed her mouth to his ear. He shivered.
“Work with me.” She nipped him.
He could work. And if his body responded? Well, it was only biology. The hard-on straining against his zipper was as manufactured and packaged as the Dream Angel in his arms.
He lost himself in the pull and sway, forgot the crowd of people, the camera, the job. Forgot everything but the taste of her, the feel of her tight muscles under his palms, the tickle of feathers floating free.
He kissed her back, violent and hard, reclaiming what she’d taken: his choice. Her body softened, melted around him. She moaned, giving in, an unexpected surrender. He hadn’t missed the power she wielded over the whole production, a queen bee to her hive. But here she was gasping and shuddering in his arms, the rapid pulse against his chest like wings beating against glass. He ran his tongue along hers, savoring the honey and spice.
A sound came from the sides, an urgent whisper. They wanted him to stop. He even felt her lurch away, tugged by mechanical means, but he held tighter. They’d have to tear her away. They’d have to hurt her to do it. For one brief moment, he wasn’t letting go. Skin to skin, mouth to mouth. Heat to heat, and they’d both flown too close to the sun.
The music stopped.
He pulled back, breaking the kiss, but not the connection burning between them. “Why me?”
She blinked, hazy with lust. “Because you’re the demon.”
That’s my motivation. “No, why did you want me for this set. I know you did.”
He needed her to say it out loud. Because you owe me. Then he could be done. Then this could be filed away as one more task completed, one more favor repaid. Then he could ignore the sweet ache he felt at the thought of letting her go.
Want to read more? One Kiss with a Rock Star is available now.
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Visit halflifebooks.com for band extras and behind-the-scenes access to Lock, Krist and Moe from Half-Life. And you can join our Facebook group, Backstage with Amber & Shari, for exclusive teasers, giveaways, and mancandy!
Playlist
1. Naïve by The Kooks
2. Demons by Imagine Dragons
3. Miserable by Lit
4. I Hope You Suffer by AFI
5. The Mother We Share by CHVRCHES
6. Strip Me by Natasha Beddingfield
7. Devil In Me by Kate Voegele
8. Sail by AWOLNATION
9. Vinegar & Salt by Hooverphonic
10. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Emm Gryner
11. Can’t Help Falling in Love by Ingrid Michaelson
12. I Just Wanna Run by The Downtown Fiction
13. Blow It All Away by Sia
14. Fade Into You by Mazzy Star
15. Whirring by The Joy Formidable
Also by Amber Lin
How to Say Goodbye
Lost Girls Series
Giving It Up
Selling Out
Tempting Fate
Bandmates Series
Three Nights with a Rock Star
One Kiss with a Rock Star
Second Chance with a Rock Star
Dearling, Texas
Chance of Rain
Making Her Melt
Historical Romance
Letters at Christmas
Falling for the Pirate
Betraying Mercy
Other books by Shari Slade
Copeland College Series
The Opposite of Nothing
Finding Always
The Bandmates Series
Three Nights with a Rock Star
One Kiss with a Rock Star
Second Chance with a Rock Star
Anthologies
Summer Rain
About the Authors
Amber Lin writes edgy romance with damaged hearts, redemptive love, and a steamy ever after. Her debut novel, Giving It Up, received The Romance Review’s Top Pick, Night Owl Top Pick, and 5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies. RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars, calling it “truly extraordinary.” Since then, she has gone on to write erotic, contemporary, and historical romances.
To stay up to date with upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter.
Shari Slade is a snarky optimist. A would-be academic with big dreams and very little means. When she isn’t toiling away in the non-profit sector, she’s writing gritty stories about identity and people who make terrible choices in the name of love (or lust). Somehow, it all works out in the end. If she had a patronus it would be a platypus.
Sign up for her newsletter to stay u
p-to-date on all the latest releases, happenings, and events.
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to Del Dryden, Lea Shafer, and Sharon Muha for the boot polish and elbow grease. We appreciate your help making this book shine.
A Beautiful Prison
Jenika Snow
Published by Jenika Snow
Copyright © 2014 by Jenika Snow
First E-book Publication: March 2014
Edited by Kasi Alexander
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.
WARNING: This is a Dark Erotic story. This is not a traditional love story. This book is fiction and contains material readers may find offensive. There is very disturbing content, graphic sex, violence, and strong language, but does end with a HEA.
Dedication
Here are to new endeavors, whatever they may be.
I want to say thank you to Vella Day and Olivia Jaymes for answering my questions as I try my hand at this new adventure! And thank you to my editor Kasi Alexander for being so incredibly awesome!