Touch Me

by Christie Ridgway

  Finally, fear clawed.

  Was Rose gone? Had she been taken somewhere?

  Beating back the anxiety, he continued his approach, his foot cautious on the accelerator. Then, suddenly, the front door burst open. He was still a block away when he saw Rose tear through the entry and race into the street.

  Maylo limped after her, his right hand raised. Light from a streetlamp bounced off the blade of a knife.

  Payne’s blood burned like fire, then ice. He flipped off his headlights and pressed his foot to the gas.

  Rose was all out sprinting in his direction. Time stretched and slowed, reminding him of that endless flight in the Formula E car, when he’d sailed over the barrier for long, weightless moments.

  Now Maylo was gaining on his prey and time snapped back into place. Payne heavy-footed the accelerator, passing Rose and then with a turn of his wheel, knifing the car straight into Maylo’s path. The man didn’t have the chance to change direction and he slammed into the car with a solid thud, then bounced off.

  Payne had stopped his car and was out of his seat in an instant, vaulting over the hood to make sure the villain didn’t get away. His eye caught on the knife first—just out of Maylo’s reach—and he stomped his foot down on the blade just as the little fucker grabbed for the handle. “Not gonna happen,” Payne said, and kicked at the weapon to send it scurrying along the asphalt.

  Then he fisted the guy’s T-shirt, lifting him partway off the street before the cloth ripped and Maylo fell back, his skull bouncing on the pavement. The groan of pain was no deterrent. Payne hauled him up by the shoulders until the creep was swaying on his feet. Then he drew back his arm and punched the snake right in his ugly face.

  Maylo crumpled.

  Hands on his hips, Payne sucked air in and out, staring down at the guy, daring him to move. “Rose?” he called, not moving his gaze. “Rose?”

  When she didn’t reply, he glanced around. Had she just kept on running, Forrest Gumping her way to the next county? “Rose!”

  In the answering silence, he finally saw her, curled up in the gutter fifty yards away, unmoving.

  His heart lurched. Then he was running, adrenaline pouring into his blood, but it was like a nightmare in which the target kept getting farther away with each step. The finish line eluding him for the first time no matter what his speed. No matter how badly he wanted, needed to win.

  Rose heard her name. She lifted her hand to bat away the intrusion. Male fingers caught hers. “Sweetheart. Baby. Open your eyes,” a voice implored.

  Payne’s voice.

  “That’s right,” he continued. “Wake up. Stay with me.”

  Blinking, she tried to sit up, but he put his hand on her shoulder. “Lie still, love.”

  “What happened?” The streetlight above her was shining directly in her eyes. She squinted. “It’s too much.”

  Payne shifted, blocking some of the brightness. “Is that better?”

  “Better.” In the distance she heard sirens. Knowledge rushed in. “The yard. Maylo.” Anxiety tightened her throat. “Payne—”

  “Maylo’s down.”

  “He has a knife!”

  “Shh, love.” Payne squeezed her hand. “Not anywhere on him anymore.”

  Then the sirens sounded closer and the noise was like relentless screams in her head. She shut her eyes to block them out and then darkness completely closed around her.

  Payne sat in the waiting area off the emergency room, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Rock Royalty continued to stream through the doors, but he didn’t look up.

  He heard Reed greeting Ren. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” his friend said to his brother. “I hate hospitals.”

  A body dropped into the chair beside his. A hard hand clapped his back. “It’s not serious, right?” Reed said.

  “Yes, it’s fucking serious,” Payne muttered. “The love of my life was chased down the street by a guy with a knife.”

  The atmosphere surrounding his tribe suddenly shifted. Ren cleared his throat. “Uh…the love of your life?”

  “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this,” Reed said, glee in his voice.

  Payne straightened, shot the man a glare. “It’s not funny. I’ve never been so miserable in my life.”

  Reed grinned at Ren and stretched his long legs in front of him. “It’s love all right.”

  “No teasing,” Cilla said, leaning across her fiancé to pat Payne’s knee. “You know how much we all like Rose. That’s wonderful.”

  Cami came rushing through the doors of the emergency room. Spotting them, she slowed a little. “What do we have?” she said. “I heard that twit Maylo cornered Rose in the back office of the yard.”

  “He saw her go in,” Cilla supplied, “and followed.”

  Cami nodded. “Lucy had told him about the safe in the office, right?”

  “Yeah.” Walsh joined the discussion. “She’s torn up about that—as is Honey.”

  “There was no money in there,” Payne said, disgusted. “Rose got hurt for nothing.”

  “It’s a cut on the head?” Cami asked. “Maylo got her with the knife?”

  “Maylo got what was coming to him.”

  Payne shot to his feet as Lily and her husband approached. They’d gone into the treatment area where Rose had been delivered by the ambulance.

  “You saw her? You talked to her?” he demanded. She’d come around again after the paramedics arrived and told the police some of her story, but then she’d been whisked away. “Is she all right?”

  “Yep. And she’s going to be fine.”

  Payne put a hand on Reed’s shoulder to steady himself. “When can I see her?” he asked.

  “They’ll bring her out soon,” Lily said. “But she’s very tired.”

  “Adrenaline crash.” Payne knew the exhaustion well.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Cami asked. “Does she remember everything?”

  “I think so.” Lily leaned against her husband. “This Maylo guy was hanging around the yard, saw her enter the building, and followed right behind. He demanded she open the safe and then demanded she call Payne when she said she didn’t know the combination.”

  “How’d she end up on the street?” Payne asked. That part he didn’t know.

  “Whether he was high or just plain stupid, he apparently didn’t consider her much of a threat. She—”

  “Used her awesome self-defense skills,” a new voice put in.

  They all turned to see Rose being wheeled out in a chair pushed by a guy in green scrubs. Payne found he couldn’t move, he could only drink in the preciousness of her—from the bandage at her hairline to her dirty jeans and scuffed shoes.

  Cami grinned. “From those classes you’re taking? Did you flip him over your shoulder?”

  “I kicked him in the nuts,” Rose admitted, with a sheepish smile. “I was taught that self-defense move in something like first grade.”

  Payne’s sister applauded anyway. “Then how’d you hurt your head?”

  “On my great escape I tripped over something—possibly my own feet—and fell. My skull met the curb.” Her gaze shifted to Payne. “You saved me.”

  “You saved you.” A shudder ran through him as he remembered seeing her curled on the ground. “But I lost a life in the time it took to make sure you were still breathing.”

  “Sorry.” She made a face. “I don’t think you have any lives left to spare.”

  And then he couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer. “There’s probably a better time,” he said, walking toward her then squatting down in front of her. “There’s probably a better place.”

  Her gray eyes were wide but there were shadows beneath them that he hated.

  “There’s probably better company too,” Reed called out. “But please don’t let that stop you.”

  Without looking away from Rose’s face, he shot the other man the finger. Then he winced. “There’s probably a better way than that to b
egin this conversation too.”

  She looked puzzled. “Payne?”

  He gathered her hands in his, then rested his forehead on her knuckles. “This might be reckless of me, but I can’t risk losing another moment without you.”

  Feet shuffled around him and he looked up. “We’re going, big brother,” Cami said.

  He glanced around at them, at his sister and brother and the rest of the tribe that had sat in this same hospital waiting for word on his injuries. Injuries from a dangerous sport he’d used to fill his days that he’d expected to be forever empty of this big, powerful thing he was feeling now. He’d been trying to escape the idea that he’d never have a woman to call his own. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

  He looked back at Rose as the rest of the people he loved gathered around him. His fingers squeezed hers. “I’m in love with you,” he told her. “I think I’ve been in love with you since that day you pressed the most innocent of kisses on me.”

  A blush colored her face. “You didn’t think…you didn’t think you had it in you.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I had a lot of thoughts. All this time, I thought I couldn’t be faithful, I thought there wasn’t room in my heart for a woman. But it turns out there wasn’t room because you were already there, and I’ve been faithfully letting you claim that space for all this time.”

  “What if I hadn’t come back?”

  “I don’t know. I only know that you did. I only know that I found you once and I won’t lose you again.”

  One tear traced down her cheek. “Oh, Payne.”

  “Will you accept my promise? Believe me when I say I won’t need to break speed limits any longer because my final destination will be right by my side if I have you?”

  “I don’t know.” She smiled as another tear fell. “I kind of like it that you’re fast.”

  He laughed, and brought her hands to his mouth to kiss them. “Together we’ll figure out our perfect pace.”

  “I love you,” Rose whispered.

  The words fell into his heart that he now knew was as wide as the sky and as deep as the ocean. “I love you back.”

  As he leaned close to kiss her mouth, the orderly behind Rose spoke for the first time. “Is this a Hollywood thing?” he asked, a note of excitement in his voice. “Are we in a movie? Is this some kind of reality show? Who are you people?”

  “Lucky people,” Payne said, looking into Rose’s gray eyes as happiness overtook him, so much better than any shot of adrenaline, any second of thrill. “Lucky in love.”

  Rose reclined on a lounger by Payne’s pool, her eyes closed, wallowing in the warmth of the sun and in the goodness of her life. Suddenly, a pair of earbuds were tucked into her ears. A male voice narrated a few sentences before she opened her eyes to see her man standing over her, wearing a sly grin and a pair of boardshorts.

  They hung so low, she could see the padlock heart hanging from the end of the dragon-headed double helix tattoo. The beast’s fire could never keep her away. And despite that lock, the man had opened himself and discovered his true nature.

  He was a one-woman man.

  And her lover. Her very committed lover, as was declared by the very big rock on her engagement ring finger. Infidelity and abandonment were issues they’d discussed and put to rest.

  She listened to a little more of the story, then narrowed her eyes and popped one of the buds free. “I don’t think is a romance,” she said, her tone scolding.

  “It’s meant to be titillation,” he replied, mischief—or lust, or maybe both—in his eyes.

  “Titillation?” She tried suppressing her smile.

  “Yeah. The romance comes later, when we get dirty in the vegetable garden.” He sat beside her on the lounger and took her mouth in a thorough kiss. “I finally nailed the side gate shut,” he said against her lips.

  “Well if that’s the case…” She pushed the bud back in her ear, closed her eyes, and settled back to enjoy the dirty story. “Go away.”

  Payne nuzzled her neck then kissed her again. “Never ever ever.”

  The End

  Dear Reader:

  Payne and Rose are happily turning his bachelor pad into a house suited for a couple with a forever future together. Though Payne didn’t believe he could commit, it turned out it only took the right woman to (re)enter his life. This is the fourth book in my brand new Rock Royalty series and I’m finding these emotional and sexy stories a blast to write.

  Interested in sharing your thoughts with other readers? I hope you leave a review for the book.

  Can you guess which member of the Rock Royalty stars next? There’s nothing more delicious than a boss-secretary story (in this case boss-admin) and I can’t wait to see what happens to Walsh Hopkins when the usually amenable Honey Brooks decides to look up from her smart phone and start doing things her own way. Walsh thinks he’s got everything under control from the boardroom to the bedroom, but when he begins to see Honey in a new light, the world will turn wobbly under this rock prince’s feet. Look for My Eyes Have Seen You coming soon!

  To not miss out on its release and to get other information about upcoming books, sign up for my newsletter. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or visit my website.

  Below, find excerpts to other titles and links to buy books you may have missed.

  Enjoy!

  Christie Ridgway

  Excerpt: Light My Fire

  Rock Royalty #1

  Christie Ridgway

  © Christie Ridgway 2014

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Years ago, Rolling Stone magazine dubbed the nine collective children of the most famous band in the world “Rock Royalty.” Now all grown up, the princes and princesses are coming back to L.A.’s Laurel Canyon to discover if love can be found among the ruins of a childhood steeped in sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.

  World-weary band tour manager Ren Colson leaves his London business behind for a stay in Southern California, never expecting to wake up beside Cilla Maddox. Cilla Maddox—who in the years since their last meeting has turned sexy as hell. But she deserves more than a man hardened by long nights, dark roads, and too many faceless women.

  Cilla Maddox not once imagined she’d see the bad boy of her dreams again. But then he’s sharing her air, her home, her bed. Though he claims he has no heart, she wants it to be hers. Can she convince him that the flames that leap between them might signify forever?

  Chapter One

  The children of America's premier rock band learned early to sleep through anything. Late night jam sessions, liquor (and worse) -fueled arguments, raucous parties raging from dark to dawn that were peppered with wild laughter, breaking glass, and the squishy thud of fists against skin. At twenty-four, Cilla Maddox had not lost that skill, though she'd recently come to view it as something less than a gift.

  Still, she didn't stir from her curled position on the edge of the king-sized bed when a tall, broad figure entered the room in the middle of the night. No streetlights disturbed the darkness this deep in Laurel Canyon and the newcomer found the bed only by deduction. When, at his sixth cautious step, his shin met an immoveable object, he dropped the motorcycle boots and duffel bag he carried to the plush carpet and took a leap of faith by tipping his long body forward. Finding firm mattress and feathery pillow, he instantly fell into sleep.

  Hours later, Cilla came awake to the sound of birds tweeting and chirping their odes to another Southern California morning as they flitted through the shrubbery and tall eucalyptus trees that grew inside and outside the canyon compound where she'd grown up. Eyes closed, she breathed in the country-scented air, such a surprise when the famous Hollywood Boulevard and its twin in notoriety, the Sunset Strip, were less than a mile away. Flopping to her back, she stretched to her full five-feet, five inches. Then she pushed her arms overhead and swept them back down until her fingertips met—

  Something solid. Warm. Alive.

  On a gasp, her eyes flew open and her head whipp
ed right. She yanked her hand from a man's heavy shoulder to press it against her thrashing heart.

  As it continued to beat wildly against her ribs, she stared at her bedmate. Though his body was plastered to the mattress belly-down, his face was turned toward hers and it only took another instant to realize he was no stranger. But recognition didn't calm the overactive organ in her chest that continued sending blood sprinting through her body.

  She blinked, just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. They apparently had told the truth, she decided. After years of adolescent fantasies, she was actually sharing a bed with him. With Renford Colson.

  No mistake, it was her teenage fantasy man. His glossy black hair that tangled nearly to his shoulders. His days'-old stubble of beard that made his mouth look softer, fuller, more kissable if that was even possible. Those were his spiky lashes resting against his sharp-angled face.

  Yet...was he really here? To make herself believe it, she mouthed his name. Ren.

  As if he heard the silent syllable, his eyes flipped open.

  She started, their distinctive color—a silvered green, just like eucalyptus leaves—jolting her to the marrow.

  Dark brows met over his straight nose and she watched the drowsiness seep from him as his gaze sharpened. "Priss?"

  She frowned. He was the only one to call her that nickname and it had annoyed her since she was old enough to understand it telegraphed something about the way he viewed her. "Excessively proper," she remembered reading in the dictionary. "Prim."

  "Cilla." Her voice sounded morning-husky as she made the correction.

  One corner of his mouth kicked up. "Priscilla."

  Ugh. That was worse. To her mind, Priscilla was the name of some old-fashioned china doll that was deemed too nice to play with and so grew dusty on a high, forgotten closet shelf. As the youngest "princess" of rock royalty (an article in Rolling Stone had described the nine collective children of the Velvet Lemons in just such terms), she'd often been overlooked. Likely Ren hadn't given her a single thought in the nine years since she'd last seen him.