RUTHLESS: The Complete Rockstar Romance Series Boxed Set

by Vivian Lux

  And it had been too fucking much for me to take. I had to get out of that restaurant before I said or did something that we both would regret.

  "Jaxson, I'm serious here. Give it a rest." Casper's hand was on mine. I hadn't even noticed that mine was on the bottle.

  I shook my head to clear it. "Fine. Let's take a break. I need to dance anyway. Clear my head."

  Harlow and Laney-Lana jumped up immediately. "Finally!" Harlow whooped and draped herself across Casper's back. He grinned and carried her piggyback down the steps to the crowded dance floor.

  Laney-Lana sashayed up to me, smoothing her hands down her hips, subtly pulling her already plunging neckline down even lower. "You ready?" she purred.

  "Lead the way, sweetheart," I told her.

  She took off ahead of me, wiggling her hips to the beat. I hung back and tried like hell to appreciate her luscious curves, but something was all wrong. She was built for show, all overflowing tits and overripe ass--which was usually something I appreciated in a woman--but tonight, it felt like too much. Too in my face. She was ripe to the point of rotten, and did absolutely nothing for me.

  What the fuck?

  I followed behind her and tried to screw my head back on straight. If nothing else, she was ready and willing. Probably a fan who couldn't believe that her friend was dating Jaxson Blue's guitarist. My name was all I needed to make this a sure thing.

  And yet all I wanted to do was drink and forget who I was for a night.

  The beat shifted as soon as I hit the floor, the unsteady rise of the two songs mixed together making me feel off kilter. Several whoops rose up from the crowd and the energy suddenly became frenetic. The pounding four-four beat took over my heart rate even as my heart plunged down into my stomach.

  My own voice--distorted and remixed into nasal oblivion--but my voice just the same.

  Not that song. Not tonight.

  "Oh my God, I love this song!" Laney-Lana shrieked, grabbing me and yanking me into the fray. "I can't believe I'm dancing with Mr. Cocky himself!"

  Her lips were right up against my ear, but I could barely hear her over the music. The DJ had remixed it completely, sampling only a fraction of the refrain. The worst fraction.

  "I'm just a lil bit... lil bit... lil bit... cocky...

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit..."

  Lana-Laney shimmed low, grinding her ass into my crotch. I stood there like a stone, letting her take over as I lost myself.

  "Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Cocky!"

  She swirled around and flung her arms around my neck, undulating wildly.

  "Lil Bit

  Lil Bit..."

  It echoed in my head. Her eyes. Her lips. The only thing I could think of. It could be her, but it's not, but it could be.

  Lil Bit.

  Her hands slid down my chest.

  Lil Bit

  (I am so drunk)

  Lil Bit

  Her hands went even lower.

  Lil Bit

  (I'm losing it here)

  Her fingers closed around my cock.

  It wasn't Lil Bit touching me

  "Get the fuck off me!"

  Laney-Lana's shocked face barely registered as I made for the door. My mind was blank of everything but the refrain in my head.

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit

  Lil Bit.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Liliana

  "I think you'll see, Baron Chevreaux, that your apologies are quite useless to me."

  "Is that so, my lady?" The baron's eyes darkened dangerously and suddenly Georgia's stays seemed laced too tight. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. "Then perhaps the time has come to dispense with words?"

  The baron's hand moved, quick as a flash, clasping the back of her neck tightly, possessively. This was no idle tumble with the stable boy. Jasper's tentative, fumbling touch hadn't marked her skin the way the baron's was now. Each fingertip seared her with inescapable heat, burning away the weak protests that died before they formed on her lips. And all the while the baron watched her with a hunger in his eyes that was both frightening and delicious.

  "Ah." His soft laughter thrilled through her, setting off an ache in her nethers. "My lady is more willing than her words would admit."

  "You are an arrogant, cold-hearted bastard."

  "You are correct."

  My fingers raced across the keys. It was far too late and I was far too jetlagged to be wasting sleep like this, but as I seethed on the ride home from dinner, hating Jax with every ounce of my being, a knotty piece of dialogue finally unraveled itself. I had to race upstairs to my room to get it all down.

  Goddamn Jax. He was inspiring, I had to give him that.

  "I've desired you from the moment I saw you," the baron pressed his lips against the pulse in her neck, and Georgia fretted that he would find it racing like the beat of a hummingbird's wings. She placed her hand against his hard, warm chest, and found the throb of his heart beating nearly as rapidly. For a moment she reveled in her power. He wanted her just as much, and she had nothing to fear...

  Until his lips devoured hers.

  Her pride dissolved immediately, and Georgia found herself helpless against the onslaught of his mouth on hers. With a sharp stab of his tongue, he pried her lips open and began a slow, aching exploration of her mouth. Her breath quickened as she realized she was now forever marked. He was claiming her as his and she would never be the same.

  He pulled back with a growl and cupped her chin in his hand. His eyes, bluer than an October sky, darkened as they bored into her. "I am not a man that sits idly by and waits for opportunity. I see what I want, and I must immediately possess it. And Georgia, I mean to have you."

  She moaned futilely into his mouth as he pressed her against the wall. Georgia was trapped between the cool of the marble and the warmth of his desire. "All of you. Now."

  As the baron's hand plunged underneath Lady Cunningham's skirts, I squirmed in my seat. This was going to be good. Epic, even. My thoughts focused down with crystal clarity as I wrote what Georgia wanted--fuck, what I wanted the baron to do to her.

  Sex scenes. Sometimes I just left them for later, putting a placeholder--SEX GOES HERE--in my text and coming back when I was in the mood.

  But tonight, dammit, I was in the mood. The words were just flowing.

  "Tell me what you need, Georgia," the baron rasped.

  Lady Cunningham's pale body writhed. The sensations were too intense, too forbidden and yet...

  "More!" she cried in a voice so shatteringly loud that it was bound to send the servants running to the room. But she didn't care. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Baron Chevreaux's bruising kisses and the swell of his manhood pressing against her. What this meant for her marriage, for her future, didn't matter to her now. There were no more barriers between them, no more chances to back down now. Georgia knew she was lost and she reveled in it. "I need more!"

  He pressed against her entrance and with one, smooth thrust...

  BANG!

  "What the fuck!" I yelped, remembering a second too late that it was way past the hour that normal people were asleep. I looked at my screen guiltily, like I had been caught with my hands in between my legs, and I was immediately pissed. That loud noise sounded just like something heavy hit the wall just outside of my doorway.

  I nearly tore the door off its hinges. "What was that?" I demanded.

  He turned slowly, blinking like he was having trouble focusing. His eyes were hooded sleepily and his blue hair was an electric disarray. He looked completely drunk and completely fuckable and a million thoughts raced through my head at once.

  Oh, shit, it's Jax.

  Oh, shit, I'm in my purple cloud pajamas.

  Holy shit, he looks hot.

  Holy shit... he looks pissed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jax

  Punching a wall hurts like h
ell, usually. I know, I've done it before. But this time, the expected pain never came--and that's when I knew how drunk I was.

  That made it doubly dangerous that Lil Bit was now standing in front of me, looking rumpled and breathless and sexy as hell.

  "What was that?" she grumped. Her mouth was twisted in a disapproving sneer but her eyes... fuck, those wide brown eyes were shining unnaturally bright.

  She looks horny, Jax.

  She looks hard-up.

  She wants it.

  Fucking shut up!

  "What was what?" I snarled at her, meaner than I meant to be, but fuck, she needed to get out of here with her sexy, rumpled hair before I got ahold of it in my hands. The music from the club still pounded in my head. That repeated fucking refrain the only thought that I could muster.

  "That bang, dipshit. It sounded like you punched the fucking wall."

  "Oh yeah? Must be because I punched the fucking wall." I propped myself up against her doorway and leaned my hand against it, knuckle side down. Nope, still no pain. That could be good or terribly bad. "Why are you being such a tight-ass?"

  Her eyes blazed. "Better a tight-ass than an asshole."

  "You wound me, Bit." God I missed her. "Always with the insults."

  "You get your fair share in too. Like to set 'em to music too."

  I had no idea what she was going on about. "Not at all. You're the one with the mouth on her." Fuck, I was drunk. "I like your mouth better on me..."

  "Ew!" She swatted my arm.

  "That's right, touch me. You're dying to touch me aren't you?"

  "I'm not!"

  But she was breathless and her lips were parted and I knew she was lying. That only got me more riled up. "Then I'll help you. Here," I grabbed her small hand. "I'll make first contact so you don't have to."

  She pulled her hand back and folded her arms across her chest, like she wanted to keep her hands under control. Like she was afraid of what she'd do if she let go.

  "What the hell are you staring at?" she demanded.

  Damn, she caught me. What the hell was I doing again?

  I looked around wildly, trying to force my eyes to stop darting all over the place and come to rest somewhere.

  Unfortunately, I realized a second to late that they settled right on her tits.

  They were hidden under those ludicrous pajamas, but that somehow made them even more tantalizing. I knew exactly how they'd feel if I snaked my hand underneath her top right now. I wonder if she's wearing a bra? Probably not. I could just make out the tips of her nipples pointing through the fabric. Was she really turned on? Fuck, now I was hard.

  "Jaxson, people are trying to sleep."

  "You're not," I pointed out. "You look wide awake to me."

  She pressed her lips together and looked shifty for a second. Guilty. What was she doing that she'd be guilty about? "I was working," she said loftily.

  "Working, huh?" Caught you, Bit. "Writing? Were you writing one of your sexy books, Bit? Holy shit, you were. I bet you were writing a dirty scene right now and that's why you're all squirmy."

  "Fuck off, Jax."

  "What do you write about, Bit? You ever write about me?"

  "Oh my God, you are such a cocky bastard."

  "You do!" I crowed. Her blush gave it away. "What do you write about, Bit? Do you think about my body? What's your favorite part, hmm?" I reached down and grabbed her hand, expecting her to snatch it away and slap me. Hell, maybe I wanted her to slap me, derail this particular train of thought before I rode it all the way to the end.

  She didn't smack me though. She shushed me. "Keep it down. Do you want the whole house to hear?"

  "Mmm, maybe I do." I circled her wrist with my fingers and pulled her closer.

  "What are you doing?" she asked. No, more exhaled in a soft sigh.

  "Do you want me to stop?" I asked. She was pressed up against me now. She fit just under my chin, perfectly. My puzzle piece. Fuck, I forgot how incredible it was just to have her near me.

  "No," she wavered. "Yes. Maybe. It depends on what you're doing."

  "I'm doing this," I told her.

  Tipping her chin up, I let my lips brush hers. I barely fucking touched her, but it was the most electrifying kiss of my life. Lil Bit--my Lil Bit--was back where she belonged.

  I expected her to be angry, or even to hit me. Something to rile me back up again. Aggravate me so I stopped wanting to kiss her again and again, letting my lips wander down memory lane as I rememorized the curves of her body. Like I was ever able to forget them in the first place.

  "Jax..." She moaned my name into my mouth, and it was the sexiest sound I had ever heard in my life.

  "Fuck, Bit. I've missed you so much." Did I say that out loud? I was kissing her too hard to tell. I pressed her against the wall. I needed to feel her against me, under me. Sudden clarity popped into my head as I immediately sobered up. I couldn't afford to forget this.

  She wrapped her hands around my neck, her little fingers fluttering against my back, and I was gone completely. I was ready to rip her clothes off right here in the hallway and lift her tiny body right onto my cock. She was making these little sounds, tiny, mewing noises that were killing me.

  Then her whole body shuddered and she pulled back.

  "No." I was sure I said that out loud.

  She placed her hands on my chest. For a brief moment, I was hopeful.

  But then she gave me a small shove.

  Then she smiled this small, patronizing smile and fucking patted me on the chest.

  She patted me.

  "Let's be grown-ups here, Jax, okay?" she cooed in this false calm voice. "We've already done the whole horny teenager thing."

  "Horny teenager thing?" I stepped back from her. My head whipsawed between drunken anger and sober sorrow. "Is that what it was to you?"

  She sniffed, her little lips pressed into a thin line. "Clearly, that's exactly what it was."

  "Yeah?"

  "Yeah." She folded her arms across her chest again, her jaw tight.

  "I don't believe you."

  "Well, you should." Liliana shook her head. "We were kids, Jax. Puppy love and hormones. It didn't mean anything."

  All the breath went out of my lungs and I sagged against the far wall. Didn't mean anything?

  "Fuck you, it didn't mean anything," I muttered, staring at my shoes. For a moment everything was swimming, and I knew I would start crying like a bitch if I didn't pull myself together. I looked back up at her.

  She was staring at me with pity in her eyes. Fucking pity for me, Jaxson Blue.

  No one pities me.

  "It meant a lot to you, anyway," I said slowly. Her eyes widened--God, how could they get even wider?--as she listened to the cruel words that tumbled out of my mouth. "I taught you everything you know. It was cute, really, how eager you were to learn." I wanted to hurt her. I hated that I want to hurt her. But I needed to hand her some of the pain I was feeling. "Been nice really, ever since, not having to do all that hand-holding while I'm fucking a chick. Virgins are exhausting."

  She made a little noise, and for one second, I could have taken it back. But I didn't. I watched her turn her back on me and slam the door in my face.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Liliana

  Stop crying. Why are you surprised? He's cruel. He's evil. You already knew that, so why does it bother you so much?

  Berating myself wasn't helping me sleep, and neither was the crack of early morning light that was working its way up the far wall of my bedroom. Maybe I dozed a little in between bouts of recrimination, but I didn't sleep.

  When my stomach growled, I finally gave up on forcing myself to sleep and just lay there. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls and my eyes were puffy and swollen.

  And my cheeks were scratched from Jax's stubble and my lips still tingled from his kiss.

  I could leave. Go back home, put an entire continent between him and me once more. It was an enticing t
hought.

  Dammit, no. I'm not running away again. I have as much right to be here as he does, and he's not going to get to me.

  Fierce.

  I closed my eyes, feeling marginally more composed.

  I swore I never fell asleep. But I must have. Because when I opened my eyes, Jaxson was sitting at the edge of the bed, my laptop opened in his knees. "Mornin' Bit," he said.

  I sat bolt upright, yanking the covers up to my chest. "What the fuck, stalker! What are you doing here?"

  He stretched like a cat in a sunbeam and shot me a lazy grin. "Waiting for you to wake up." He gestured to the laptop. "You took forever and I got bored."

  My heart started hammering in terror before my lips could form the question. I gaped at him, watching his eyes dart back and forth across the screen, an amused, and frankly triumphant smile twisting his lips. "Are you seriously reading my book?" I demanded, trying to mask my horror with belligerence. "Oh my god, Invasion of privacy much?" I reached over, trying to snatch the laptop away while simultaneously clutching the blanket to my chest.

  He deftly swung the laptop just out of my reach and kept on reading. "You publish these books for everyone else to read, why can't I? Besides," he tapped the screen, "I see a few things in here that might constitute an invasion of my privacy, Bit."

  I blushed. He was reading the sex scene. "What are you talking about?" Though I well knew.

  He licked his lips. "Well that move sure sounds awfully familiar." He swiveled and looked me full in the face and twisted the laptop so I could see. "Right here? We did that, right?"

  I couldn't look at him. I couldn't look at the screen. Mortification was hitting me from every possible angle. "I guess we did, yeah. Why, you don't remember?"

  He pulled the laptop back. "No. I do." His eyes went far away for a moment. Then his lip quirked slightly. "Though I don't remember it going exactly like this. 'The center of her pleasure?' Why not just call it what it is?"