Lead Me On

by Lexxie Couper

  “And you think this makes it okay to rush my brother out of rehab?” Brittle distaste cut her question. “You think your lifestyle makes all the shit excusable?” She swung her stare to Eugene, leant across the table and snared his fingers with hers. “Gene, please stay until your time is up. Let the doctors help you. I’m beseeching you. I can’t keep seeing you die like this. You’re an amazing singer, and Zombie Grill is a great band. You just need to clean up, get another job for a while—away from the rock world—and regroup. That’s all. I’ll help you do that. I just—”

  Her voice cracked. She stopped, pulled away, closed her eyes and swallowed.

  “Ly, you’re embarrassing me.”

  Lily’s answering sigh was short. She opened her eyes and nodded at her brother. Beside Eugene, Jax gave Samuel another frown.

  Samuel’s gut clenched. This wasn’t what either of them were expecting. They didn’t have to put up with this. They really didn’t. And yet he couldn’t stand up and leave.

  Not because he desperately wanted to hear Eugene sing again—he did, the guy had the most unique, amazing voice—but because he didn’t want to walk away from Lily Pearce yet. Not until he figured out what it was about her he found so…so…

  “I’m sorry, Gene.” She turned her gaze on Jax, affording Samuel the chance to study her profile. She had a high forehead, turned-up nose and full lips. There was a smattering of freckles on her high cheekbones. Her neck was long. She truly was beautiful, but in the most untraditional sense. Like a child had somehow become trapped in a woman’s form—as if she hadn’t yet grown into her age. “I apologize for my outburst.”

  Jax nodded, his smile warm. Friendly. Samuel couldn’t help but notice she didn’t apologize to him. “No worries,” Jax said. “I get you’re concerned about your brother. I’ve got two of them, and holy crap, I worry about them all the freaking time. One of them is a high school teacher. How’s that for a dangerous job? The other trains police dogs. Seriously, I spend each day wondering if they’ve had their hands bitten off—both of them. These high school kids today are wild.”

  The most incredible thing happened. Lily laughed. Really laughed.

  Samuel sat in his seat, the rich sound seeping into his being and playing hell with his senses. Fuck, it was a beautiful sound. He wanted to be responsible for her making such a sound. Wanted to hear her do it again as she looked at him, her full, lush lips stretched wide in a smile.

  At this very moment in time, he wanted that more than hearing her brother sing.

  More than finding a replacement for Nick.

  More than anything, in fact.

  Damn.

  How the fuck was he going to do that?

  The prickling weight on the side of her face told Lily the guitarist was looking at her. She fought the urge to shift on her seat. To glare at him. Rock legend. Pfft.“We don’t lead the same life as normal people.” Huh. What a freaking ego. It was clear Samuel Gibson was a classic example of the world she hated so much. The kind of guy who thought just because he could play a guitar, prance about on a stage and looked hot in tight black leather the rules didn’t apply. The kind who thought they could sleep with whomever they wanted, just because their shoulders were broad, their muscles sculpted and they could hold a tune.

  Well, this whomever wasn’t swallowing it. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him see how much she wanted to yell at him to leave her brother alone.

  He may be gorgeous and sexy and have an accent to drive her to distraction, to make her fantasize about him saying her name over and over again while he slipped his hands under her shirt and smoothed his palms up to her breast and—

  Wait, what was she thinking?

  She scrunched up her face and bit back a curse. Where was her brain?

  Crossing her arms over her breasts, she wriggled deeper into the visiting room’s hard plastic seat and corralled her deluded libido.

  She may find him sexually attractive, but she didn’t like him. Not at all. The sooner she was out of his company, the better.

  The sooner she didn’t have to listen to that subtle Australian accent…feel those mesmerizing blue eyes peering all over her…breathe in his expensive cologne…look at his incredibly well-built—

  Red heat flooded Lily’s cheeks as the realization she was gawking at his arms, his torso, his chest, slammed into her.

  She jerked her eyes away. But not before her gaze collided with his.

  His lips twitched.

  I don’t like you, Samuel Gibson, she thought, pivoting on her seat to present him with her stiff back as she tuned into what Eugene and the other musician, Jax something-or-other, were talking about.

  “Do you know where that is?”

  Whatever Jax had asked, Eugene nodded. “Yeah, it’s in the Mission District. Zombie Grill rehearsed there a few times. Dodgy neighborhood. Awesome acoustics.”

  Jax grinned. “Best in San Francisco. I suspect once we get the rest of the guys here, we could hear you do your thing by midday. I’ve got a standing arrangement with the owner so there’s no stress getting the space.”

  Eugene tossed her a smile, and her heart twisted at the sheer jubilance shining in his eyes. “Excellent.”

  Jax shoved his hand into his back pocket and withdrew a cell phone. Lily wanted to chuckle at the iPhone’s protective case—an image of The Wiggles in all their skivvy finery. “I’ll call Timmo now. Give us a sec.”

  He put the phone to his ear and began talking.

  “So.” Eugene turned to the man Lily was determined to ignore. “Are you going to stay in San Francisco until next Saturday?”

  “Think so.” Samuel Gibson’s deep voice teased Lily’s tenuous calm. “It’s been a while since I was here. Figure I might do the whole tourist thing while we’re waiting for you to be ready.”

  Eugene tossed her a wide smile. “You should. Lily knows all the exciting places. Comes with being a paramedic. She’d love to show you them, wouldn’t you, Ly?”

  Lily’s stomach rolled. Hot blood rushed through her ears. Her lips prickled. She fixed her twin with a level gaze, holding her shoulders straight. She knew exactly what he was doing. This was retaliation for not reading the book he’d given her on Jaxon Campbell for her birthday.

  “You’d do that, wouldn’t you, Ly?” he said, a smirk twitching the corners of his mouth. “I know for a fact you’ve got the next week off. And it would be a perfect opportunity for you to discover not every rock musician in the world is a fuck-up like me.”

  Sharp pain stabbed at Lily’s infuriation. Damn it, he was playing the guilt card on her well and truly. Using her own attitude against her. Painting himself with self-deprecating contempt to illustrate he was well aware of her low opinion.

  When he was out of rehab she was going to kill him. As a paramedic, she knew every way possible to make it look like an accident.

  “Ly?” His smirk played more with his lips. “C’mon, seven days of entertaining Samuel Gibson and Jaxon Campbell? There are thousands of women—millions—who would kill for the opportunity.”

  The pricking heat on her profile intensified. Gibson was still looking at her, silent. Silent. Didn’t the guy have a voice? Other plans? Surely he wasn’t going to just let her brother organize his free time? The guy was freaking famous. Didn’t he have minders or an entourage or…or—

  “Make that just Strings.” Jax’s statement made Lily startle. The musician thumped one heel onto the table before crossing his ankles and leaning back in his seat. “I’m not hanging around unfortunately. Gotta sort out some stuff with my agent back in New York. Don’t tell anyone, but Sorkin has optioned my autobiography and is talking about casting Colin Farrell as me. I’m not sure the guy can pull off an Aussie accent, and he’s nowhere near as sexy as I am, but hey, who is?”

  Eugene laughed.

  Lily couldn’t. Not when her brain was painting lavish, vivid image after image in her mind of her and Gibson alone together. Doing things she would never d
o with a guy she didn’t like.

  Her belly clenched. Her sex constricted. Her pulse pounded. She really was going to kill Eugene after this. Slowly, painfully with lots of begging for mercy from—

  “What do you think, Samuel?” Her brother turned to the silent man on Lily’s left, a hopeful smile on his face. He looked young again, despite the yellow eyes and sallow skin. Like the Gene she remembered from a lifetime ago. The one who used to sing to her during thunderstorms to take away her fear. The one who used to sing songs about the jocks and cheerleaders at school until she collapsed in fits of giggles on the ground. “Would you like to spend the next seven days with my sister? She’s actually really nice, although you wouldn’t know it with the way she’s behaving at the moment.”

  Lily’s throat squeezed tight. Her blood roared in her ears.

  Please say no, please say no, please say—

  “I can’t…” Gibson murmured beside her, “…think of anything I’d rather be doing.”

  Lily closed her eyes.

  Shit.

  “Excellent.” Eugene slapped his hands together. “This is awesome.”

  Jax’s laugh—full of mirth and devilry—opened Lily’s eyes. He grinned at her. “Your brother’s got balls, Ms. Pearce. I’ll say that for him.”

  She threw Eugene a quick glare, determined not to look at Samuel Gibson at all. “Balls,” she muttered. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  Her twin beamed at her.

  Jax rose to his feet. Movement on her left told her Gibson had done the same.

  Eugene jolted to his.

  Lily kept her ass on her seat. Damned if she was going to stand.

  “Are you going?” Disappointment laced Eugene’s question.

  Jax nodded. Lily noticed he flicked Gibson a quick glance. “I’m going to get back to New York. But first I’ll help this broody bastard find somewhere to stay for the next several days.”

  “He could stay with—”

  “Don’t even think about it, Gene.” Lily cut her brother’s offer short before he tempted fate once too often.

  The low, deep chuckle beside her told her Gibson found it all very humorous. She crossed her legs and ground her teeth.

  “Don’t stress it, Eugene.” Gibson’s smooth voice stroked over her exasperation. Damn it, why did she have to react so much to his accent? “I’ll get a suite at the Hilton.”

  There was a pause. Long enough for Lily to want to fidget. He was looking at her again. She could feel his gaze on her. In fact, everyone was looking at her. She hated it.

  “But if it’s okay with your sister, I’d love to start the day with breakfast? If she knows somewhere…touristy.”

  Lily closed her eyes, scrunched up her face and counted to ten.

  She had two options. She could tell Gibson—and her brother—to stick their plans up their asses, thereby running the risk of sending Eugene into further decline because she’d messed up his chance at superstardom, or she could play tourist guide for a rock star.

  A rock star she didn’t want to be around.

  Having said that, spending time with Samuel Gibson would allow her to see just how reformed he was. He wouldn’t be able to hide any kind of addiction or craziness from her—not when she knew so very painfully well what to look for. If she spent time showing him around her hometown she could gauge how clean he was, how separated he was from the lifestyle she was petrified would be the end of her brother.

  It would give her a chance to see if he could be trusted. If Eugene was in safe hands.

  There really was only one viable choice.

  Opening her eyes, she lifted her stare to Samuel Gibson and found him studying her, an unreadable expression on his ridiculously handsome face. “Touristy breakfast I can do.”

  A slow smile tugged at his lips. “Excellent. I shall let Brutal know to be ready at seven.”

  “Brutal?”

  His smile stretched wider, showing teeth white and straight and perfect. Perfect. Damn it, was there any part of the guy not perfect?

  Yes, he’s a rock star. That makes him—

  “My bodyguard. Don’t worry, he’s very discreet. You won’t even know he’s there.”

  Lily couldn’t stop her low groan. “Oh God.”

  Jax laughed. “Lily Pearce,” he said with another grin, “it’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you. Look forward to spending time with you again come next week.” He reached out and shook Eugene’s hand. “Get out of here pronto, Eugene. And rest your voice.”

  Eugene nodded. “I will.” Sheer elation glowed in his face, as if someone had plugged him into a power supply and was now using him as a lighthouse. “I won’t disappoint you guys, I promise.”

  Jax’s eyes narrowed, his gaze flicked to Gibson once more, and then, before another word could be said by anyone, both the musicians were walking away.

  “You guys were awesome, by the way,” Jax called to the staff standing watch on the other side of the room. “Very…there.”

  Eugene laughed.

  Lily slumped in her seat, folded her arms on the table and pressed her forehead against her wrists.

  “That,” her brother’s voice sounded above her head, “was awesome.” He whooped. Loudly. Whacked her on the back of her shoulder with a solid thud and whooped again. “Holy fuck, Ly, how awesome was that?”

  Lily didn’t raise her head from her arms. “Awesome,” she echoed on a muffled grunt.

  Hands grabbed at her shoulders and shook her. “Fuck, Ly, be happy for me, please?”

  Biting back a curse, she lifted her head a fraction and frowned up at her twin.

  “I’m going to sing with Nick Blackthorne’s band, Lily,” he crowed, his happiness rivaling the sun in its intensity. “I’m going to fucking sing with Nick Blackthorne’s band.” He straightened, staring at the space above her head. He scraped his hair back from his face with his hands, fingers splayed. “Holy fuck, I’m going to sing with Nick Blackthorne’s band!”

  Lily’s stomach churned. She understood why he was so excited, she really did. And she knew she should be as well. But all she could do was picture him on a stage with thousands of screaming women throwing their panties at him as Samuel Gibson stepped up beside him and offered him something nefarious…even as the guitarist dropped her a wink and handed her a breakfast burrito.

  Lily swallowed.

  God help her, had she really thought only a few moments ago there couldn’t be anything worse than finding her brother unconscious with a drumstick sticking out of his anus?

  Had she?

  Chapter Three

  Well, he’d said touristy.

  Samuel cast a look around the crowded thoroughfare at Pier 39. The place was packed with Japanese tourists photographing anything and everything, harried parents trying to control excited children and backpackers decked out in that very distinct attire that screamed loud and clear they were travelling around the world on nothing but a smile, expensive walking sandals and one change of underwear.

  This really wasn’t what he’d expected when he’d climbed into the limo Brutal had arranged for his stay. He’d thought Eugene Pearce’s sister may have taken him somewhere like Art’s Cafe or Dottie’s True Blue Cafe. But she’d surprised him by bringing him here.

  Above the noise of the tourists rose the constant cry and wails of the sea lions chilling out on the pier’s wharf behind the shops, attractions and eateries.

  Samuel had to give it to Lily, you couldn’t get much more touristy than this.

  He looked at the breakfast burrito she’d wordlessly handed him after purchasing it from one of the food outlets.

  He’d never experienced a breakfast burrito before. Sure, he’d spent quite a lot of time in the States since Nick’s career had taken off, but it didn’t matter where in the world he was, breakfast always consisted of pretty much the same thing. Vegemite on toast, black coffee and half a grapefruit.

  Even though he still considered Australia his home, he owned propert
y all over the world and spent most of his time in the apartment in New York, the loft in London or the beach bungalow in Madrid. A breakfast burrito didn’t feature in any of those places.

  He lifted the paper-wrapped thing dripping grease to his nose and took a cautious sniff.

  “I’m not trying to poison you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Lily’s droll statement tickled his senses. He raised his head from the delicacy in his hand to find her regarding him with a caustic expression. She held her own burrito, the lump in her right cheek telling him she’d already taken a bite.

  “But if this is not what you had in mind,” she continued, peeling some of the greasy paper away from the burrito before bringing it up to her mouth, “I don’t mind if you and your discreet bag of beef over there go find something else to eat.”

  Samuel turned and looked at Brutal, standing a few feet away. His bodyguard stood out like a sore thumb. Perhaps it was the fluorescent yellow sweat pants, the two-sizes-too-small Marilyn Monroe T-shirt stretched over his enormous shoulders and torso. Perhaps it was the tribal tattoo covering one side of his face, now half-hidden by the white-frame mirror Ray-Bans. Perhaps it was the way he snarled at everyone who even looked as if they were going to approach Samuel.

  Brutal and Lily had hit it off straight away. She’d taken one look at him and snorted, an expression that said of course on her face. Brutal had run a suspicious look over her, from head to toe and back to head again, his pecs doing that funny little jumping thing they always did when Brutal was trying to intimidate someone. Neither had said a word to each other.

  Swinging his gaze back to Lily, Samuel raised the burrito in his hand to his mouth and took a massive bite. “Nice try, Lily,” he said around a mouthful of egg, bacon, cheese and some kind of spicy sauce. “But you’re stuck with us.” He chewed voraciously and then pulled an expression of stunned surprised. “Hey, this doesn’t taste half-bad.”

  Lily rolled her eyes and turned away, dropping her burrito in a rubbish bin as she walked towards a shop that declared it had the biggest collection of left-handed items anywhere in the world. She’d been in his company for close to an hour now and he’d yet seen her smile.