The Rock Star's Girls

by Tasha Taylor

  “I’ve just had an hysterical call from Jennifer, if you must know. It seems that she called your mobile and some woman answered.”

  “What woman?” he asked slowly, watching as a slight blush appeared on Leah’s cheeks as she studied a magazine.

  “How do I know? Jennifer didn’t get her name, just that she was an old friend of yours. Is it someone I know? Is that who you’re staying with?” Justin was hounding him, and Nathan did not like that.

  “It’s got absolutely nothing to do with you, Justin, where I am and who I am staying with. Now, before you get on your high horse, I am on holiday, and that means I am not working, and that means that I don’t want to speak to you until I get back. So now, I am going to turn this damn thing off, and leave it in the car. If I need to get in touch, I will. Thanks for calling. Bye!”

  With resolute poke of his finger, he turned the phone off and put it down on the table.

  “I take it that was Justin. He’s still with you then?” Leah raised blue eyes to meet his.

  “Yes, although I really wish he wasn’t sometimes.”

  “How is the little weasel?”

  “You’ve never liked him, have you?” Nathan narrowed his eyes at her.

  Leah shrugged. “I have plenty of reasons not to, Nathan. So what did he want, anyway?”

  “Just to tell me that people have been trying to get hold of me.”

  “Who?”

  “Jennifer?” Nathan posed it as a question, raising one eyebrow as he perched on the edge off the coffee table, his knees touching hers as she sat on the edge of the sofa.

  “Oh yeah,” Leah said. “I guess I forgot to tell you she phoned while you were out.”

  “You forgot?”

  “She didn’t leave a message, so I figured she’d phone back if it was important.”

  “She phoned Justin instead, apparently almost hysterical.” Nathan leaned towards her. “What did you say to her?”

  “Nothing much.”

  “Leah?” He leaned dangerously close to her, and her mouth produced a delightfully mischievous grin.

  “I didn’t say much at all. Just that you were otherwise engaged, making dinner.”

  “And?” he prompted, grinning himself, watching her closely.

  “And she said you two were close friends, so I told her how long we had known each other, and I think she was a little upset.”

  “You little cow,” Nathan was laughing now, and Leah’s grin grew larger.

  “Well, she shouldn’t be phoning! You’re on holiday!”

  “Are you sure it was nothing proprietary?” Nathan slid his buttocks to the edge of the table so that one of his legs was between Leah’s thighs, and placed one warm hand on her arm. He could feel the heat from her skin through her thin jumper, and felt something shift inside him, deep down.

  “Only when it comes to Pippa,” Leah murmured.

  There was definitely something in the air between them, Nathan saw her face soften, once more feeling as she did in the gift shop. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she placed her hands on his thighs. He tensed at her touch, but relaxed under her palms, her fingertips tracing the contours of his muscles. She was touching him because she wanted to, he hadn’t started this and he really didn’t want to finish it.

  What he really wanted to do was run his fingers lightly across her throat and her collar bone to hidden depths of her cleavage, lightly touching the inner curves of her breasts, hoping she’d hold him tight, her grabbing his jeans, pulling herself closer to him.

  Nathan gently brushed a strand of hair back from her face, all the while looking at her eyes, her lips. His fingers brushed her cheek, the lobe of her ear, her throat and then her lips, parting them, exposing the soft flesh of the inner side.

  His fingers were soon replaced by his own lips, already parted, eager to touch hers. She let him taste her, her tongue move gently with his, exploring, and all the while, he drank in her feel, her smell, her taste, like liquid refreshment that he had been without for so long.

  Nathan held her waist, his touch moving to her hips, tracing tiny circles with his thumbs. He felt her shiver, shifting restlessly under his hand, reaching for his thighs with her own hands, fingertips flexing against his jeans. Leah moaned softly and Nathan felt a surge of power, he was doing this to her. She remembered how it had been and he wanted to make her feel even more.

  Nathan’s fingertips brushed the outside of her left breast, and she arched towards him, her head thrown back. He gently held the back of her neck, wanting to see her face, wanting her to know what she was doing to him. She lowered her head, her fingers still moving gently on his thighs, ever nearer to his warm throbbing center, causing him to gasp quietly as he moved to press his lips to hers once more.

  Then they heard the thump of Pippa coming down the stairs, and looked at each other, and Leah seemed unable to move, her eyes widened and her grip tightening on his thighs. Nathan planted one more sensual, liquid kiss on her lips before their daughter entered the room, and he stood to pick her up and swing her round, giving Leah a moment to try and compose herself into something resembling a mother once more.

  ***

  Leah smiled as she watched Nathan playing with Pippa, remembering with heat in her belly the way they had kissed, but then her smile began to fade as she met his eyes. Gone was any of the passion that had been there just seconds before, all she could see was the metal grey she had encountered when they first met at the club.

  Nathan was not interested in her at all, because Pippa was around and for a bizarre moment, Leah felt a raging envy of her daughter. Fine, she thought to herself, if that’s the way you want to play it, then that’s fine! With a face like thunder, she left the room unnoticed and went up to bathroom to clean the devastation left by Pippa.

  As she scrubbed the bath with vigor, she schemed in her mind. If that was all he saw her as, then he was going to have the shock of his life. If Nathan Llewellyn could switch on and off his passion like that, then she could do it too. If Nathan Llewellyn saw her as a little distraction while Pippa was not around, then she could do the same. Bastard!

  Finishing, she threw the sponge into the corner of the bath, sat back on her heels, and exhaled deeply. Who are you kidding? You wanted him, no matter how much you try and convince yourself otherwise. You wanted him to kiss you, to touch you, probably more if Pippa hadn’t have come along. Just because you haven’t had a man touch you like that for years, it doesn’t mean to say that you have to fall into bed with the first one that comes along, even if it does happen to be your ex-fiancé, and one of the best looking men in the world.

  She stood up, angry with herself. She was turning into one of his little groupies just like Jennifer. When she had first met Nathan, his looks were not the most important thing to her. She had fallen in love with his gentleness, his kindness, and most of all, because he looked after her and made her feel safe.

  Now, she was her own person, she didn’t need anyone to look after her, least of all Nathan Llewellyn. Damn him! Deciding that she needed some time on her own, she firmly locked the bathroom door and started to run a bath.

  Only, when she was fully immersed in the hot bubble filled bath, did she start to relax. Letting her mind wander aimlessly, feeling the pressure she had been under for what felt like an eternity, disperse with the bubbles as they began to pop.

  Things might be okay, as long as she did not think any further ahead than the next day. Peaceful, Leah did not even hear the whispering outside the bathroom door, when Nathan had decided to put Pippa to bed. They decided not to disturb her, instead Nathan helped Leah write a note, which they slipped unnoticed under the bathroom door.

  When the water had finally lost every vestige of heat, Leah reluctantly got out of the bath, and let the water go. Locating a fresh towel and wrapping herself in it, she gathered up her clothes, and found the note on the floor. In Pippa’s messy scrawl, it said:

  “Dear Mummy, Daddy said I should go to bed. I am
in bed, and you are in the bath. Daddy is waiting for you downstairs. Goodnight, love Pippa xxx.”

  With a smile, Leah left the bathroom, and got changed into an old, but comfortable grey tracksuit and went downstairs. The kitchen was dark, she could see through the door, and upon hearing music from the lounge, she opened the door.

  Nathan looked up from his perusal of a pile of CD’s next to him on the sofa. His eyes ran the length of her, before he spoke.

  “Hey gorgeous.”

  Leah blinked hard, unsure of what she heard. Wrinkling her nose, she perched on the arm of the sofa, “What in this old thing? Your taste has gone downhill.”

  “I don’t think so. Besides, you’ve always looked good in whatever you’ve worn.”

  “Yeah, like that outfit I wore to my 18th? That was hideous.” She was referring to an impulse buy from a trendy designer boutique in London, a monstrous creation of shiny red PVC, skin tight, in which she could hardly move, let alone dance or even have a lot to drink because it was a nightmare trying to lift the dress up to go to the toilet.

  “I happen to think that was one of the sexiest things you’ve ever worn.” Nathan grinned. “Have you still got it?”

  Leah laughed. “It’s probably upstairs somewhere. I don’t like throwing things away.”

  “Tell me about it. I can remember having to fight to find space to put everything away when we had that apartment. It’s a habit I picked up when you went. I haven’t had a good clear out in years.”

  Leah felt uncomfortable at the mention of her leaving, and shifted in her seat.

  “Why don’t you come and sit here?” he patted the seat next to him.

  Leah looked at him for a long moment. What was she doing? She couldn’t get inside his head, she couldn’t read his feelings, not like she used to do, so instead she offered to show him Pippa’s baby pictures.

  They spent an enjoyable hour looking at six years’ worth of photos, and then Nathan asked, “Where are the rest of them? Your family?”

  Leah shook her head. “I put them away upstairs in the loft when we moved in. The ones of my family hurt too much to have around.”

  “And the ones of us?” The question hung in the air.

  “When Pippa started to be a fan of yours, I thought it would be a lot easier if she didn’t see them, so she wouldn’t ask questions.”

  “Is that the same reason why you never told her who her father was?” There was an edge to Nathan voice.

  “That’s different” She stood up, and looked at him. “She knows now, and you know about her, isn’t that enough?”

  “I don’t know if it is. How do I know that, when I have to go back to London, that you’re not going to do another runner?”

  “I’m not going to leave my job and my home, if that’s what you mean. I’ve made a life for myself here, Nathan, and nothing is going to change that “

  “What if I was to ask you to come down and live with me in London?”

  “You’re mad!” Leah exclaimed. “What the hell would I want to go back to London for? And what do you mean, live with you? There’s no longer any us, so don’t think that I come as part of the deal. I am not leaving Newcastle, and neither is Pippa. If you need to, you can stay here when you want to see her, but that doesn’t mean anything is ever going to happen between us.”

  “What about earlier?” He asked quietly.

  “What about earlier? It was just a kiss. If you must know, you’re the closest I have been to a man since I left London. I have been alone for seven years, by choice, then there you are all of a sudden, and I guess old memories die-hard. A kiss, Nathan, no more, and if you think you’re going to get anything else out of me apart from Pippa, then you had better leave this house right now.”

  Nathan stared at her, and then, to her amazement, he stood up, picked up his mobile phone and coat and walked out the door.

  Chapter Seven

  Thursday was a dismal day in more ways than one. Pippa had awoken Leah in the small hours, screaming her head off because a giant polar bear was coming to eat her, and the only way to stop Pip’s heebeegeebee's was for Leah to take her back into her own bed. This was not a productive move because for a little thing Pippa took up as much room as any adult, if not two, and writhed and wriggled so much that Leah had found it easier to sleep in the spare room.

  Waking up at first light, Pippa had hounded Leah out of bed, demanding to know where Nathan was, what had she done to him, and was he ever coming back? Outside, it was pouring with rain, the sky dark and grey, matching the thunderous expression on Pippa’s face on the way to school, muttering under her breath because Leah had tried to explain that Nathan was not staying because they were not married.

  “But mummies and daddies sleep in the same bed!” The little girl was adamant.

  “Only if they are married, love, and Nathan and I are not married,” Leah reiterated patiently.

  Pippa looked at her mum, determined to have the last word, her hands clenched tightly as she tried to think of something to say. There was silence as Leah drew the car to a halt, and turned in her seat to face Pippa.

  “Now, do you remember what we talked about the other day, Pip? About your dad being a secret?”

  Pippa nodded sullenly, glaring at her mother.

  “Don’t be like that, sweetie!” Leah reached out to touch her daughter’s cheek. “You’ve been such a good girl the last few days; let’s not ruin it now, eh?”

  Pippa opened the door, and Leah began to think that for the first time ever, she was going to walk into school without saying goodbye to her.

  “Pippa?” Leah called and leaned over the passenger side to try and catch her daughter’s hand, barely brushing her fingertips.

  Pippa snatched her hand away, and reeled round, her face red and angry. “Then you got to marry him!” she almost shouted, and ran into the playground, leaving Leah open mouthed with surprise.

  She was dumbfounded all the way to work, until she told Joe what had happened and he burst out laughing, the rumbles echoing around her office.

  “It’s not funny, Joe! It’s bad enough that I have to put up with Nathan’s presence because he’s Pippa’s father, but to expect me to marry him! Well!”

  The morning soon flew by as Leah fell back into a working rhythm, and as she took a taxi to meet Louise at the bar for lunch, the sun was starting to come out.

  “Hello love!” Louise greeted her with a warm hug. “How are you?” She held the younger woman at arm’s length. “You look like you’ve lost weight. Aren’t you eating properly? Or are you worried about your appearance now that hunky boyfriend of yours is back on the scene?” Louise grinned.

  “Do you mind? I’ve got you passing Nathan off as my boyfriend and Pippa trying to marry us off so that we can sleep in the same bed.”

  Louise laughed as they walked inside.

  “I don’t know whether I’m coming or going these last few days, Lou. Between the pair of them, they have me climbing the walls.”

  “Let’s get you a drink and then you can tell me all about it!” Lou pointed Leah to the table, while she went and sorted the drinks out.

  Sitting down, Leah remembered Nathan walking out the door last night. To her complete and utter surprise she hadn’t expected him to leave. Did that mean that he was too disgusted to even think about being with her like that, or that it was exactly what he had expected? With a sigh, she took the cappuccino that Louise offered her, and took a sip.

  “So how is it going with you two then? Seems Pippa really likes him.” Louise looked at Leah over the rim of her cup. Leah frowned slightly.

  “It’s going as well as someone not seeing the father of her child for nearly seven years, and finding her life completely out of control.”

  “You, out of control? That’s not like you.”

  “I know!” Leah exclaimed. “He waltzes back into my life and expects me to drop everything just for him. The nerve of the man.” Leah paused to take a sip of her coffee, but
warming to her subject, and grateful to have someone different to talk to, having chased herself around in circles the last few days, tying her in knots, she continued. “I don’t know what he wants from me, Lou, I honestly don’t. Sometimes I think he’s here just for Pippa, he’s so natural with her, and I think he’s starting to love her. But then, the next minute, he’s either looking at me as though he’d like to batter me or he wants to drag me into bed!”

  Leah paused to think of that particular scenario, a tiny smile playing at the corner of her mouth, and then flushed guiltily as she caught Louise looking at her with a knowing smile.

  “What?” she mumbled, trying to hide her red face in her coffee cup.

  “You don’t seem too upset with that last option. Could it be that you are even slightly still in love with him?”

  “No! I’m not a child anymore, I’m over having little schoolgirl crushes, thank you very much!”

  “Oh come on!” Louise laughed. “You can’t tell me that you don’t find Nathan even the slightest bit attractive! I wouldn’t believe you anyway. If I was a few years younger and hadn’t met my Joe, I would be straight in bed with that young man, mark my words!”

  Leah tried to suppress her smile, but it didn’t work. “Of course I find him attractive, but he’s so much in love with himself, he doesn’t need any more help!”

  “Rubbish. He has to have some kind of attitude when he’s performing, but when you meet him in the flesh, he is very down to earth. And what flesh.” Louise ran her tongue over her lips.

  “You are wicked,” Leah laughed delightedly.

  “May I ask what’s so funny?” a male voice asked, and both women turned to see Joe, followed by Nathan, approaching them.

  “Just girls’ stuff, darling,” Louise kissed Joe. “Hello Nathan. How are you?”

  “Hi. I’m fine, yourself?” Nathan smiled, folding his tall frame into the chair next to Leah. “Hey,” he mumbled to her briefly.

  “Pretty good. What are you doing here, anyway?” Louise asked

  “I phoned the hotel to see if Nathan was at a loose end, and here we are,” her husband replied.