Love Notes (Rocked by Love #1)

by Susan Scott Shelley

The band and some crew members rounded the corner, gear in hand. Sure enough, Luke had the scarf slung around his neck like a gym towel.

  "Where did you find it?"

  "In my microphone kit."

  How did he miss checking there?

  Zander met her gaze and his frown deepened and then lessened. "I'm sorry you missed the show."

  "Not as sorry as I am." Did he look at someone else when he sang her song? Had he been thinking of her at all?

  The car they'd hired to transport them arrived. She climbed in beside Irisa and shook her head against the sting of tears building behind her eyes. Blinking fast, nails biting into her palms, she managed to keep her emotions in check.

  Brendan leaned over the seat. "Who wants to grab dinner? There's an Italian restaurant a few blocks from the hotel."

  A chorus of agreements echoed from the band.

  Irisa shook her head. "No thanks. I have some calls to make."

  "Not me, either." Jayne glanced down at her shirt. It clung to skin that felt sticky and sweaty. She needed a shower and a big glass of red wine. Maybe two. Room service was in her future.

  Zander inclined his head. "Maybe I'll stay in, too. We can grab food at the hotel's bar."

  "No, please, go ahead with the guys. I think I'll take a nap. I had quite a bit of exercise today." He'd wrangled the room adjoining hers. If he stayed, she wouldn't be able to break down. She needed a few minutes to herself.

  The car dropped Irisa and her off first. After bidding good night to her friend, she rushed to her room. Tears burned prisms into her vision. She swiped her cheeks and transferred some of the mascara onto her fingers. She left her clothes in a heap on the bathroom floor and turned on the shower. Steam rose, a white mist in the room. The last time he'd played the song, she'd recorded it. She left the bathroom door ajar and set up her phone right outside, with the volume on the highest setting. With Zander's song on continual repeat, she stepped inside the stall, soothed by the pounding water and a good cry.

  Zander strode down the hall to his room. Jayne's comment about the nap and the exercise had confused him. Exercise? She'd looked upset when she'd returned to the radio station, and that look remained until they dropped her off at the hotel. When the car dropped off the guys at the restaurant, he'd begged off and requested a return to the hotel. He should have insisted on staying with her. He needed to see her.

  Music came from her room. He eased his interior door open and raised his hand to knock on hers. Then paused as the melody registered.

  His song.

  He gave the door a light tap.

  No response.

  A louder tap.

  No response.

  Had she gone out and left the music on?

  He tried her door. It wasn't locked. He slipped into the room. His music blared from her phone. The sound of the shower running drew his attention to the bathroom. Loud sobs echoed from the partially open door.

  Alarmed, he pushed it open. "Jayne?"

  A shriek pierced the air, loud enough to make him wince. The water turned off. "Zander? Oh my God. Don't ever sneak up on me again."

  "Are you okay?" He didn't like that wobbly thread in her voice.

  "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at dinner." Her hand reached past the curtain. She groped for a towel. He handed it to her and tried not to think about the inches of exposed skin just a few feet away.

  "I didn't want to be with the guys. I wanted to be with you."

  The curtain moved back, revealing Jayne wrapped in a fluffy white towel.

  His mouth went dry. She looked like something straight out of the fantasies he'd been thinking up since they'd met. But those red-rimmed eyes hadn't been part of any fantasy. He'd gut himself rather than make her cry. He reached for her, his hands around her shoulders. "What happened?"

  "I…" She clutched the top of the towel where it tucked in at her breasts. "It's silly. I was just letting out my frustration over today. I really wanted to be there to hear your song, but Luke sent me on this errand to find his scarf—a wild goose chase for nothing. The cab was taking forever, so I jogged back to the hotel—"

  "Wait. You jogged eight blocks?"

  "Yeah. Then I found out that he had the scarf the whole time, then I ran back half of the way, hoping I'd get back in time to hear the song, but I arrived too late. And you never ask me for anything, but you wanted me there. I let me down and I let you down."

  "Honey." He pulled her into his chest and wrapping her in his arms. He'd wanted her at the session more than anything, but his lingering disappointment disappeared when he saw how upset she was. "It's all right."

  "No. It's not. I've never inspired a song before. I'm sad I didn't get to hear its debut."

  "You didn't miss it. Since you weren't there, I didn't play it. We did another song instead."

  "I didn't miss it?" Her head tilted back to maintain eye contact with him. Her smiled bloomed.

  From the outer room, his song silenced and then began again. He lifted his finger and brushed it along her jaw line. "I guess you like my song."

  "It was my favorite before I knew I inspired it."

  "Why?"

  "There's something about the melody."

  "It gets to you."

  "It makes me feel."

  "I like making you feel." His other hand tangled in her hair. "I like you."

  "I like you, too." A smile touched her lips. "Could you sing it to me now?"

  "I think that's fair. It's your song. You should be the first one to hear it." He drew her close, wrapping his arm around her back. He swayed with her until the song began again. His heart beat hard and a little too fast. Whispering the lyrics close to her ear, he watched the way her hair moved with his breath and how goosebumps dotted her skin.

  She shivered and leaned into him. Her arms came around him, holding tight. He sang the words about hearts yearning to be whole and finding the missing pieces. He moved them in a slow circle, watching their reflection in the mirror and the rightness of their bodies twined together.

  He ended the song by pressing a kiss onto her neck. And held his breath as he waited for her opinion.

  She arched into him, then her lips brushed his cheek. "That was beautiful. I loved it."

  Her words eased the tension in his neck. He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. Then lowered his lips to hers.

  Delicate arms shifted around his torso and she returned the kiss.

  Desperate to touch, his hands roamed up her sides. He cupped and teased her breasts through the terry cloth, earning a gasp from her lips, and then a moan when he skimmed a finger under the fabric.

  "Zander." She wrapped her leg around his, drawing them together.

  He paused with his hand over the towel's closure. "Do you want me to stop?"

  She lifted her hand to his. "You better not."

  With slow movements, he pulled the towel loose and it fell to the floor like a pile of snow.

  "You're perfect." Both hands stroked along her skin, exploring the flares and dips. Soft skin, delicate bones, and sexy curves.

  "You're wearing too many clothes." Her hands tugged at his shirt. He ripped it over his head. She grazed her nails along his arms, over his shoulders and down his torso. When her hands paused on his jeans, he looked into eyes darkened with desire. With a smile, Jayne drew his zipper down in a slow tease. His hold on her hips tightened. She nipped his lips and pushed his jeans and boxers to the floor. He sucked in a breath as she took him in her hand.

  Resisting the urge to thrust, he deepened the kiss and traced patterns over her abdomen and down to her center. Jayne's head dropped against his chest while his fingers played and glided inside. She gasped and clutched him tighter. Biting his lip against the magic and friction she created with her hands, he increased the pressure and pace of his teasing until she was coming apart in his hands.

  With a groan, Zander lifted his head. "Bed?"

  "Now."

  He paused to grab a c
ondom from his wallet, then backed her against the mattress, following her down onto crisp white sheets.

  Zander rolled on protection and maneuvered between her legs. Jayne lay spread out before him. Goddamn, he was lucky. His mouth followed the path his hands had previously taken. Lips skimming over her skin, pausing to lick and suck and nibble, he worked until she moaned and gripped his hair tight in her hands.

  Breathless, she smiled. "I need you."

  "Me too." Bracing himself over her, he leaned in for a kiss, then slide home. Hot, slick, tight, perfect.

  Her hands squeezed into his hips. He locked her gaze to his and began to move. Faster and faster until her breath came in pants and her release constricted and eased, constricted and eased in excruciating pleasure around his shaft. Staggering pressure built and built and built, and then he gave in with a roar and followed her over.

  She kissed his chest and he nuzzled in her hair while he waited for his heartbeat to level. Then he rolled onto his back and tucked her against his side. Jayne snuggled closer and linked their hands together.

  He kissed her forehead. "Can I stay?"

  "You better. And be ready for an encore."

  The blare of the bedside phone's ringer jolted her awake. Jayne sat up, squinting in the darkened room.

  "Ignore it." Zander's arm snagged around her waist. He pulled her down to his side.

  "I shouldn't." But he was so inviting. She settled against his chest.

  The ringing stopped.

  "See?" His teeth nipped at her chin. Strong hands cupped her breasts and then his rough fingers tweaked her nipples.

  His arousal strained against her hip. She trailed her fingers trailed down his stomach and closed her fingers around him. He groaned and thrust into her hand.

  Her cell phone rang.

  Zander pulled away. "Who's calling you at one o'clock in the morning?"

  He picked up her phone from the bedside table. Luke's name lit across the display. "Why the hell is he calling you?"

  She grabbed it and put the call on speaker. "Hey Luke, is everything okay?"

  "I want a bottle of Jack. Room service doesn't have any."

  What the hell? Was he serious? Did he have any idea what time it was?

  Shock and annoyance flashed across Zander's features.

  She plucked at the sheet. "I'll see if I can find some for you tomorrow."

  "I want it now." Cold, hard, and unfriendly, he snarled the words.

  Heat burned through her veins. Why did everything have to be difficult with him? Beside her, Zander shook his head, his eyes narrowed, and his hands formed fists on the bedsheets. Her own anger escalated. Tea and lozenges for performances, she could understand. Even getting the scarf so as to not disappoint a fan. But she drew the line at late-night alcohol. "Then you can call a cab if you want to go out and get it."

  "We've been over this. That's not how this works. You're the tour manager. You go out and get it."

  She rubbed her temples and reminded herself to be professional when all she wanted to do was reach through the phone and smack him. "Just order something else for now. If you still want it tomorrow, I'll get it for you then."

  "You wouldn't want me to tell Irisa that you're not doing your job, would you?"

  Zander snatched the phone from her hand. "Listen, asshole. No one would expect her to do this. She's not going out and getting it for you. If you want it so bad, do it on your own."

  Luke's voice boomed out of the speaker, "What the hell are you doing with her?"

  "Never mind. Be at the breakfast bar at nine. We're having a band meeting."

  "Where are you? Are you sleeping with her?"

  "I'm hanging up now. And if you call Jayne again, you'll be dealing with me." He ended the call. Then turned off her phone.

  She shifted, pulling the sheet higher over her breasts. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

  Muscles rigid, Zander set the phone on the nightstand. "How long has this been going on?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, how many times has he asked you to do things?"

  "It's part of my job—"

  "No." His hand rested on her calf. "Late night liquor runs are not part of your job. He said you've been over this with him before. What else has he asked you to do?"

  She swallowed. His question was asked in evenly spaced words, and she felt the anger behind them. "Well, you know about the scarf fiasco from today. He's also sent me on errands for throat lozenges, specialty tea, and once when he needed his portable steamer. And on Monday he wanted Guinness-flavored ice cream. I had to go to three different pubs before I found it."

  "And these errands are the reasons you haven't been around back stage or at the hotel when I've come looking for you?"

  "I go when he asks me to go. It's always for things he's forgotten to add to the list, or needs last-minute."

  "Final question: Is he always this rude to you?"

  She blinked. Zander's thunderous expression promised murder, making her hesitate. But there was no point in lying. "Always."

  "Fuck. That's it." He rose off the bed and grabbed his jeans.

  "Where are you going?"

  "Luke and I are having a talk now. I'm not waiting until morning." But the look in his eyes suggested he'd be talking with his fists.

  "No. Please." She jumped up and grabbed his arm. "I don't want fighting."

  "No one in my band acts like this. He's never acted like this before. I want to know why he's being such a dick to you."

  "Not everyone has to like me."

  "But he damn well can treat you better. You're not his slave."

  She needed to calm him down. This couldn't turn into another bar fight. She stepped in front of him, blocking the door. "It's one in the morning. You can't go pounding on his door or pounding on his head at this hour. They'll call the cops."

  "I don't care."

  "I do." Her mind spun. Heat glittered in his gaze. She grabbed his hand and guided it to her breast. "I'd rather have you here with me than in a jail cell."

  His eyes roamed her body, his gaze became hungry and heated.

  "We should pick up where we left off." She reached out and toyed with the light sprinkling of hair on his chest.

  "I'm way too keyed up right now." His hands formed fists at his sides. "I can't touch you. I won't be gentle."

  "Who says I want gentle?" She stepped closer then licked his chest.

  "Jayne." He murmured her name. Fingers skated up her spine and cupped her shoulder. "I want gentle. I wanted to show you this is more than just sex for me."

  Her heart melted. She turned her head and pressed a kiss into his palm. "You showed me that earlier. I know you care. You wrote me that song, remember?"

  He'd sang his song to her in whispered tones as though he'd been telling her a secret, confessing his feelings, as though she was the only woman in the world he'd intended to hear it. Whether that was true or not, she needed to show him how important he'd become to her.

  He drew her to him, cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. "I do care."

  Her hands slipped around his waist and rested on his back. The curves of her body lined against the planes of his like they were made for each other. "Good, then stick around and show me."

  Zander smiled against her lips. "All right. But I'm still ripping his head off first-thing in the morning."

  The delay would only be a delay. She couldn't stop Zander from searching out Luke in the morning. But hopefully by then, tempers would have cooled.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Zander woke to sunlight streaming in the windows and Jayne in his arms. He stroked a hand over the curve of her waist and she laughed, shifting her body against his. He smiled and ran his fingers over that spot again. "Ticklish?"

  "I know better than to answer that question." She kissed his jaw.

  The alarm clock blared. He reached over and turned it off. "I have to head downstairs."

  "I don't want any ten
sion. He probably won't ask me to run crazy errands anymore." Sitting up, she grabbed his arm. Tension tightened her voice and her muscles stiffened. "I really don't want this to get worse."

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. "It's not going to get worse. I'm talking to him."

  "Okay, but please don't say anything to Irisa. She has a lot going on right now. I know something happened with her and Dom and I don't want to give her anything new to worry about."

  "All right. She doesn't have to know." Dom had made his sister cry. And for that, he needed to be held accountable. For now, he could leave his sister out of the situation. "Wait here for me. I don't think this will take long."

  "Talking only. No fighting."

  "I will do my best not to punch him but I can't make any promises."

  He dressed and then headed downstairs. Landry and Brendan waited by the breakfast bar. He grabbed a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, Luke arrived.

  Landry yawned. "Why are we having a meeting?"

  Luke glared at Zander. "What the hell were you doing in Jayne's room? Are you sleeping with her?"

  "Dude, really?" Landry shook his head. "You know it's not smart to fuck someone who's with the band."

  Shit. "That's not the point of this discussion."

  "Maybe it should be." Luke leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

  "Hell no. Don't turn this around. Jayne's not your slave. If you forget to ask her to pick you up something when you give her the list, then you're out of luck. You wouldn't have asked my sister to run around making all these special trips for you, so you're not forcing Jayne to do them anymore either."

  "What were you asking her to do?" Brendan glanced back and forth between them like he was watching a tennis match.

  Luke raised his brow. "I don't see how throat lozenges are a big deal."

  "One AM requests for liquor are. Demands for fucking ice cream are."

  "You asked her to do that?" Brendan leaned closer. "What's wrong with you?"

  Luke scowled. "It's not that big a deal."

  Zander shoved Luke's shoulder. "Like hell it isn't. You're keeping her from doing her job. And you're making her job more difficult. Also, stop being an asshole when you speak to her."