Reckless Rock Star (Cocky Hero Club)

by Victoria Ashley

  His breath hitting my skin has goose bumps forming across my entire body as he moves up to whisper into my ear again. “She knows how I treat my women, Nat. I fucking worship them. I’m gentle outside the bedroom, but wild and rough in it. You’re going to have to fake that at some point.”

  “What!?” I shake my head and get ready to push out of his lap, but he cups my face, forcing me to look at him. I can feel Alana’s harsh glare on us, but I’m too caught up in the fact that he expects me to fake having sex with him before this trip is over to care. “What the hell, Madden?” I whisper-yell. “I never agreed to that. No. Absolutely not.”

  “All you have to do is scream a little… okay a lot, and maybe knock a few things off the dresser and tables.” He laughs in my ear, most likely to calm my angry breathing even though I’m trying my best to hide my need to strangle him from his friends. “Relax, Nat. I won’t touch you. I’ll even let you slap me a few times if it makes you feel better. It’ll be fun. I promise.”

  “And it’ll also be fun to use my stun gun on you,” I say stiffly, forcing a smile for show. “And yes, I brought it.”

  “Turn the music up!” Jake yells as one of RISK’s songs comes on. “I still can’t believe this shit. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you on the radio.”

  Madden stiffens from below me as his friends begin belting out the lyrics to Without You. I take the opportunity to scoot down his lap a little so that I’m no longer sitting on his dick.

  With each lyric Alana’s face turns redder with anger. I just now realize the song must’ve been written about her. It’s about a girl cheating on him and then dumping him for some guy that she doesn’t even end up with. He’s torn up inside, drinking his nights away, until he tells himself that he’s better off without her.

  I’ve heard this song a hundred times but never once thought about the possibility of it being about him and his ex. I hate how bad she wronged him.

  “I’m better off without you…” Seth is in the middle of singing but stops to slap the flaming marshmallow off of his shoulder that Alana flings at him. “What the hell? Did you not see that shit was still on fire?”

  “No, I saw.” She gives him the middle finger and tilts her cup back until there’s nothing left. “I’m just sick of you assholes singing that song every time it comes on the radio, when clearly the entire world knows it’s about me. I made a mistake, now can we all just move the hell on from it?”

  “Oh, come on, Alana,” his friend Riley says after turning the music down with a small remote. “You laughed the last time we sang it. Stop being so pissy all of a sudden.”

  She stands up and tosses her cup into the fire. Her gaze lands on me, and the way she’s looking me over as if I’m not good enough to replace her has me wanting to bitch slap her. “Last year Madden didn’t bring some random chick to try and piss me off either, when clearly we still belong together, so excuse me for being a little pissy. I didn’t expect anyone else to suddenly join in on our annual trip at the last minute.”

  “Dammit, Alana. Stop calling her that shit,” Madden says, his voice taut. “Nat and I are together, and if you can’t fucking handle it then that’s too bad. I don’t feel sorry for you. I haven’t responded to any of your texts or given you a single reason to believe we’re getting back together this year. If you can’t deal with her being here, then leave. Either way, stop being a bitch to her.”

  “I’m good,” she says, finally pulling her eyes from me. “I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re faking it. I’ve got six days—well, five since this shitty one is almost over—to figure you out, Madden.” She pulls her hair up into a ponytail before speaking again. “I’m going to sleep, but tomorrow is a new day; just remember that.”

  Everyone watches as she stomps toward the cabin. “Sorry, guys. I’ll be back.” Jess stands up and follows Alana.

  “I need a drink,” Madden says, before lifting me out of his lap. “Want another one?”

  I nod and tilt back the rest of what’s left in my cup before handing it to him. “Make it a double.”

  I don’t know why her words have me so worked up, but they do. Who is she to say I’m just some random chick? I may not actually be dating the brother I’m here with, but a random chick is something I’ve never been. And who is she to give Madden a hard time when she’s the one who screwed him over?

  It takes a good ten minutes for Madden to return with our drinks, and when he does, he’s extremely tense, as if fighting hard to hide his emotions. I don’t know if his ex said something to him inside, but I do know that if anyone pays attention to Madden right now, he’s going to give away that he’s not over her, and if we want this to work everyone needs to believe that he is.

  Standing, I grab my drink from him and nod toward the side of the cabin. “I think I left a few things in your truck. Mind walking with me?”

  His jaw tightens as he tilts his drink back, before nodding and following me. Once we’re alone, he opens the tailgate of his truck and hops up, then reaches for my hand to help me up. “Fuck,” he breathes. “It’s so much harder to act like I don’t give a shit in person. As much as I hate what she did to me, I can’t erase everything else. I need this shit to work, Nat. I can’t leave here until it does.”

  I shift so that I’m facing him. I hate seeing him in pain. We’re only a couple hours in and I’m already wondering just how he’s going to make it through the rest of the trip. “You need to try. At least for the weekend.” I take a sip of my drink, eyeing him over the rim as he watches me. “I know it’s not going to be easy, so let’s do this for a while to clear your head. We’re not even here.”

  “Do what?” he questions with a small smile. “Sit here, drink, and pretend we’re not here?”

  “Yeah.” I hold up my drink. “I mean, we’ll have to sip them if we want them to last, but I don’t mind just hanging here for a bit.”

  “All right. I can handle that.” He eyes me, taking a drink from his cup. “You still going to kick my ass for pulling you into my lap?” he questions moments later. “I have to warn you that I might like it.”

  I laugh and push his arm, the mood feeling lighter already now that we’re alone. “That wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “How about my brother?”

  “What about him?” He turns to face me as if waiting for an answer.

  “Does my brother like it when you’re rough?”

  “That’s none of your business.” I shake my head, not liking where this conversation is going. I brought him to his truck to help him relax, not to make me uncomfortable.

  “Oh, come on.” He jumps down to his feet and crosses his arms. The way he’s looking at me is making my pulse race just a little faster. “At least tell me if you like it rough. I should know these things.”

  “No, you shouldn’t.” I drop down to my feet, drink in hand and head toward the side of the cabin—the opposite side we came from. “A hot tub? Really?”

  “What’s wrong with a hot tub?” he says from beside me, almost scaring me. I hadn’t even noticed he was following so closely.

  I shrug and dip my fingers into the steaming water. It’s been years since I’ve been in one and the water feels incredible. “I’ve just never been to a cabin with a hot tub. Or a pool for that matter. This is different than I expected.”

  “Yeah, it didn’t always have these things.” He moves in behind me and splashes his fingers in the water. “Jake had the pool put in a few years ago and added the hot tub last year.”

  “That pool looks really expensive.” I point out.

  “It was.” He backs away, the night air suddenly feeling cooler now that he’s no longer pressed against me. “But Jake has done a lot for me over the years, so I wanted to do something nice for him. Plus, this place is like home.”

  Madden’s generosity has me tilting back my drink. I’ve only ever seen him as the reckless rock star either screwing some groupie or getting arrested for fighting. Being her
e with him is going to show me a whole new side of him. One I’m not sure I’ll expect.

  “Want to get in?” He reaches for his jacket and slips it off, before going for his shirt.

  Before he can get too far, I grab his arm, stopping him. “What? Are you going to strip down to your underwear and get in? I’m not doing that.”

  “That was the plan.”

  “I’m good.” I yank his shirt down so that it’s covering his tight abs—I hate how hard they are—before grabbing his cup and holding it out to him. “How about we don’t and say we did.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  “In what?” Jake—at least I think it’s Jake—comes from the shadows, a drink in hand. “You two going to join us or make out by the hot tub all night? Just let me know so Jess will stop asking for Natalie.”

  I clear my throat, my face growing hot over the idea of them thinking we’re making out. “We were just on our way back.”

  “Cool. Cool.” He slaps Madden’s back. “Let’s get this party started then.”

  The rest of the night has gone by smoothly since we’ve rejoined the gang, and I’m thankful that Alana hasn’t joined us again. I seriously don’t know how much more of her I could’ve taken tonight, or Madden for that matter. I’m not usually one to bite my tongue, but for Madden I held back with it being the first night here, because I’m still not sure what he expects from me when it comes to her.

  I don’t like her—not even a tiny bit—and after meeting her, I want him to stay away from her even more.

  She seems like a woman who’s used to getting what she wants, ruining whoever else in the process, but it’s not going to be Madden.

  Not again.

  She’s right about one thing, though… tomorrow is a new day. I’ll be refreshed and ready to play my part. At least, I hope.

  Everyone is laughing and having a good time, telling funny stories about prior trips to the cabin, and to be honest, I’m having a great time with everyone—Madden included.

  It does suck that I didn’t come here with Logan, but at the same time, I’m happy to be here with his friends, getting to know the people that are important to him.

  “All right.” Madden stands up and grabs my hand, pulling me up to my feet. “I think we’re going to call it a night.”

  “What?” His friend Walker looks down at his watch. “It’s only ten past two. I’m sure you have later nights after a concert. You can handle a few more hours.”

  Jess and Jake went to the cabin over twenty minutes ago, and I think Madden can sense that I’m ready to call it a night. The only time I’m up this late is when I have to pull a double at the hotel.

  “It’s okay,” I say, pulling my hand free from Madden’s. “I can find my way to bed. Stay and have fun.”

  He shakes his head and grabs my hand again. “Nah, I’m not letting you go to bed alone on your first night here. I’m ready for bed if you are.”

  “That’s so fucking cute, and lame,” Seth says, tossing his empty cup into the fire. “But I get it. If I had a girl, I’d be taking her to bed too, man.”

  “See you guys in the morning.”

  “Good night, everyone,” I say, as Madden begins pulling me away.

  Seth and Walker nod and Riley smiles and winks, before they turn the music back up and jump back into joking around with each other.

  My heart speeds up the moment we walk into the quietness of the cabin. Alana’s bedroom door is closed, but the fact that Madden and I are about to sleep in the same room feels extremely… wrong.

  I didn’t for one second think I’d be sharing a room with my boyfriend’s brother—his famous, manwhore of a brother, to make it even worse.

  “Your friends seem really great,” I say once we step into the small room and he closes the door behind us. “It just seems weird meeting them with you, instead of your brother.”

  “I’m sorry about Alana’s behavior earlier.” He looks up from making a bed on the floor, his jaw flexing. “I didn’t really think of the shit you’d have to deal with from her by me bringing you here. I should’ve apologized earlier when we were alone, but my head was too messed up. That’ll happen a lot here.”

  I toss him the extra pillow, before taking a seat on the bed. “Turn your head for a minute.” I peel my jeans off and hurriedly slip under the blanket as he turns away. “Okay, you can look now.”

  “So, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make this trip up to you once it’s over. Anything you ask for is yours.”

  “The only thing I want is for you not to get back with her. I knew how much she hurt you, but actually seeing her and being around her makes it much more real. I can handle her, trust me.”

  Without any warning, he yanks his shirt over his head and tosses it, before going for his jeans and stripping out of them.

  “Whoa.” I quickly turn away just as he’s kicking his jeans aside and adjusting himself in his black boxer briefs. “A little warning before you strip next time would be nice.”

  He laughs. “Don’t act like you haven’t seen me in my underwear before, Nat. In fact…” I turn around to see he’s now lying on the floor, placing his hands behind his head. “You were under the same blanket as me while I was in my underwear. I don’t recall you minding then.”

  I toss a decorative pillow at him and grunt. “That was an accident. Now go to sleep.”

  “If you say so.”

  “It was. Now shut up.”

  “Alrighty, then.”

  As much as I want to keep reminding him that it was in fact an accident, I’m so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open.

  I need some quiet time to think about what I’m going to do over the coming days to prove to his cheating ex that he’s finally unavailable.

  All I know is that I need to somehow do that without letting things go too far, but I have a feeling that she’s going to make that harder than I’d like.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Madden

  Once Natalie fell asleep, I spent most of the night staring up at the ceiling trying not to think of the years Alana and I spent in this very room back when we were together.

  I’m almost positive she chose the room next door instead of our old room on purpose, just to make me think about us and the good times we’ve spent here. It pisses me off because it worked.

  Things between us were flawless for so long. I believed she was the woman of my dreams; the one I would get down on one knee for when the time was right.

  The fact that she screwed that all up over some worthless dick still messes me up more than she’ll ever know. I can’t even count the number of cigarettes I smoked due to her before finally falling asleep early this morning.

  Not only that, but I’m almost positive I heard Alana creeping outside the door a few times, probably trying to decide whether or not she should brave poking her head inside to check on us.

  She knows damn well that none of these doors have locks on them. Jake’s dad removed them back when he and his sisters were kids and locked them one too many times, because he didn’t want them hiding out in the bedrooms instead of spending family time together.

  He still refuses to add locks, which is one of the reasons every single person here has accidentally seen each other naked at one time or another. Apparently, no one remembers to knock.

  If Alana decides to start snooping around, she’s going to discover the truth about Natalie and I not really being together, and then I’ll be screwed.

  She knows more than anyone how I like to sleep at night, and that’s naked and tangled up around my girl with her head on my chest.

  Sighing, I sit up and look over to see that Natalie is still sleeping, so I grab my pillow and blanket and place them back on the bed as quietly as possible.

  The last thing I need is for someone to open the door to see if we’re awake, only to find that my ass slept on the floor and not in the bed with my “girlfriend”.

  “Hey,” Natalie whispers as I’m in the middl
e of slipping into my jeans. “What time is it?”

  “Ten past eleven.” I turn around, and even though Natalie tries her best to hide it, I don’t miss her gaze roaming over my naked chest before she swallows and looks up to meet my eyes. My brother isn’t quite as cut as I am; not like he used to be when they first met, so it’s not surprising that she seems impressed with what she sees. “I like to wake up before everyone else and take a walk in the woods to relax.”

  “When will everyone be awake?” She sits up and stretches, before reaching to pull her hair into the messiest bun I’ve ever seen. She looks cute with the loose hair falling around her face. “I’ve been forcing sleep for the past two hours. I’m not used to sleeping in since Logan always has to be up early for work.”

  “Probably not for another hour. I’m always the first one up. I don’t sleep much.” I reach into my bag for a long-sleeved shirt and throw it on. “Come with me. We’ll be back by the time everyone should be waking up.”

  “An hour?” She shakes her head. “That’s a long time to be alone with you. I’m still feeling stabby from last night.”

  “Why is that?”

  She offers me a sarcastic smile. “Because I’m still trying to figure out if I should hurt you or not for placing your dirty lips all over my neck without a warning first.”

  “Oh yeah?” I laugh and cock a brow. “What makes my lips dirty?”

  “Oh, come on, Madden. The fact that you’ve used them on about a hundred women.”

  “Not true,” I correct her. “Alana was the first girl I kissed, and since our breakup, I’ve kissed one girl on stage and zero girls in the bedroom. I don’t like kissing unless it means something to me. That kiss on stage was to piss off some girl’s boyfriend for treating her like shit right in front of me. I regret doing it too.”

  She swallows and pauses for a moment, as if to think of a way to change the subject. “How well do you know your way around these woods? Are you going to get us lost?”