LIMITLESS: A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance: Book 2: Jace & Alex

by Kaylene Winter

  Truthfully, Zoey was a reminder of Alex and any thought about her made my heart feel like it had been stabbed. I knew that I’d fucked up, treating her the way I did. While it killed me to pull away, it was best for both of us if I let her go before things went too much further. I knew that I couldn’t expect her to change her stance on having kids. If she had been conflicted about having my baby, there was no chance she’d stick around for a baby I’d fathered with a different woman.

  I couldn’t blame her.

  My emotions were further on edge when, after we landed, I saw that I’d missed half a dozen texts. One was from Alex, simply asking if I was okay. The rest were from Jessica demanding that we set a date for the paternity test or else. Her threats were a complete distraction. Which meant that Alex’s text got lost in the shuffle. It wasn’t like I was going to answer in the affirmative. Because I was not okay.

  Not by a long shot.

  There was no time to deal with either of them anyway, when we arrived, we went directly to a PR meeting in our manager’s office.

  While trying to listen to our publicists’ idiotic strategy for Zoey, I finally responded to Jessica and ended up in the middle of a text war. Distracted by two very different but intense situations, I decided to ignore my own problems. As Zoey got more and more upset, I was about to intervene when Ty jumped in and gave them a piece of his mind. This gave me an opening to back him up, take over and get the fuck out of there.

  Once I shared my plan and Zoey and Ty were on board, we were able to leave. As we navigated the labyrinth of hallways to avoid the paparazzi, Zoey reached out and grabbed my arm. “You’re amazing, Jace. Thank you.”

  I tried to play it off, but I was shocked that she was being nice to me. Which meant that Alex hadn’t said anything to her. Relieved, I distracted myself for a few hours getting her new Instagram page set up. When I finally made it to my own room, my resolve to stay away from Alex nearly vanished. I missed her so much. Still, I convinced myself not to call or text.

  The next morning, I reconsidered. Or, if I was honest, I finally caved and texted her right before we started our day of press.

  Jace: Poppy u there?

  Poppy: Y.

  Jace: hi

  Poppy: Hi – r u still mad at me?

  Jace: I’m not mad at you I’m so fuckin sad.

  Poppy: U don’t have to be sad, I love you so much

  Jace: I love you more than you know.

  Poppy: I miss you so much. I hate being without you.

  Jace: I’m not handling things well.

  Poppy: Ur going thru a lot at once.

  Jace: …

  Jace: …

  Poppy: How r things in NYC?

  Jace: goin thru the motions

  Poppy: Ok – BTW I’m rejecting the breakup.

  Jace: What?

  Poppy: Y

  Jace: ok

  Poppy: We are not broken up.

  Jace: …

  Jace: I love you.

  Poppy: I love you too.

  Jace: I’m sorry.

  Poppy: It’s ok.

  Jace: FT after the show?

  Poppy: Only if you’re naked.

  Jace: (thumbs up emoji)

  Poppy (eggplant cherry emoji)

  Jace: You made me lol.

  Poppy: good

  Relieved that Alex would stick by me after my epic melt-down settled me down a bit and allowed me to focus. Unfortunately, Ty’s indiscretion with Sienna gave me an entirely new situation to handle. Anger overtook me. I yelled at him. It was like I couldn’t control my feelings at all.

  I knew I was triggered and probably projecting my own Cassie situation on Ty, but it felt like there was no way to manage my rage and it scared me.

  I focused on the fact that soon I’d be FaceTiming with Alex, and it calmed me down. I made it through the movie premiere and just needed to get through the performance and get back to the hotel.

  From the time I tapped out the beat to Rise we put on a show to end all shows. Everyone was on fire. Playing live made everything we did worth it, there was no feeling like it. I actually had fun and forgot my problems for a couple of hours.

  Wishing Alex was on the side stage with Zoey, I glanced at the petite dynamo and my hackles went up when I saw Sienna slink in next to her.

  I knew shit was going down.

  After irrationally lashing out at Ty and Zoey and being rightfully yelled at, I followed Ty into the VIP tent. When we arrived for the meet-and-greet, I took one look around and got the fuck out of there. I couldn’t do it. With so much looming over me, I wanted Ty to finally step up and handle his own shit.

  I already had too much on my plate.

  Luckily, the car got me back to my hotel quickly. Immediately after closing my door to the suite, I crawled under the soft, fluffy comforter and called Alex. When she answered, we switched to FaceTime, and my heart thudded when her beautiful face filled my screen. In an instant, all my cares melted away.

  Or so I thought.

  “Hey,” I said softly, and before I could stop it tears welled up in my eyes.

  “Oh, Jace.” Alex was in her bedroom, the lamp on the nightstand illuminating her golden, honey hair.

  “Poppy.” I could barely get her nickname out before I full out started crying. Hard.

  “Jace! Jace!” I could hear Alex yelling. “Please pick up the phone, I need to see that you’re okay.”

  “I’m a fucking mess,” I blubbered, and I could see from the tiny picture on the screen that I looked slightly crazy. “Let me call you back after I pull myself together.”

  “No!” she admonished and then her voice turned soothing. “You don’t need to hide anything from me. Especially your feelings.”

  “Everything is spinning out of control.” My voice was a little more stable now. “I don’t have it in me to deal with Ty and Zoey stuff anymore and there’s a whole new issue.”

  “What happened?” She settled back against the light-yellow pillows that we had slept on together for the past few months.

  By the time I’d filled her in on the day’s events, I’d stopped bawling like a child. My breathing was normal, and I’d settled back into my own hotel bed. Just having her with me made such a difference, I didn’t ever want to be without her. The thought of how close we came to breaking up made me nearly well up again. Then I remembered what we were facing with my paternity situation.

  I was so fucked.

  I knew my emotions were all over the map and I didn’t want to play Alex like a yo-yo, but I felt completely unable to think clearly. “You must be crazy to want to be with me, Poppy. You’re going to run screaming at some point if I don’t get my shit together.”

  “You are in the middle of what might be the biggest personal crisis you’ve ever had, Jace.” Alex’s calm voice soothed me. “Wherever your emotions take you, it’s all fine. I will be here for you, no matter what.”

  “I love you.” I looked right at her through the screen. “I really, really love you.”

  Her entire expression softened, and she looked like she was about to cry.

  “I love you.” She brought the phone close up so her face filled the screen and puckered up her soft, pink lips.

  I kissed her back through the screen. “I’ll be back home tomorrow evening. Can you meet me at my condo?”

  “Yes, because I can’t wait to be skin-on-skin with you.”

  “You have no idea.” I pointed to the coverlet, which had begun to tent when she gave me the screen kiss.

  “Can I see?” She lifted her T-shirt and threw it on the ground, circling a tight, brown nipple with her finger.

  My cock immediately became hard enough to cut diamonds. Slowly, I pulled the fluffy comforter down to reveal my shaft flush against my stomach. Looking down, I gripped myself and stroked from root to tip and began jacking myself so she could see me.

  “Why haven’t we ever done this before?” Alex was breathless as she slipped her scrap of underwear off.


  “Don’t think. Just touch yourself, Poppy. Let me see your pussy.” I rubbed the precum all over my crown and began jacking faster.

  I could hear a distinct buzz and Alex positioned her bullet vibrator against her clit Her hips gyrated against the toy. Watching her pleasure herself put me over the top, electricity zapped along the base of my spine and, before I knew what was happening, I was spurting all over my hand, stomach, and comforter. Alex was moaning through her own orgasm, moisture glistening along her thighs as she came.

  Alex purred as she pulled the covers up around her. “You’re my Viking sex god.”

  “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.” I got out of bed to grab a towel from the bathroom to wipe up with.

  “Me either.” Alex was falling asleep, even though it was later in NYC, she had been doing physical labor all day at the rescue.

  “Good night. Love you.” I kissed the phone.

  “Love you too.” She kissed back.

  Unfortunately, the next morning all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 24

  ALEX

  I woke up early the next morning, feeling like my life was back on track. Definitely not perfect, but at least Jace had come to his senses. The thought of being without him had nearly spun me into a deep depression, and only the fact that I had so much work to do around the barn kept me somewhat sane. My heart melted when I checked my texts and found one from my gorgeous drummer.

  Poppy – I miss you. I’m counting down the minutes until I get on the plane back to you. I love you so much.

  I’d also been texting Zoey. She wasn’t handling the salacious article well and wanted to talk to me about something that was going on, but I didn’t have many details. All I had were short two-to three-word texts. What I gleaned was: 1. she thought someone had set her up; 2. Ronni Miller was in her hotel suite and she wasn’t happy about it and 3. she was pissed at Ty but more pissed at his publicist. Then nothing.

  Remembering that Jace and I were trying to distance ourselves from their drama, I didn’t engage other than to tell her that they would work it out. Instead, for the next few hours, I finished all my chores. I also worked with Gloria and felt very proud when she allowed me to saddle her up. She wasn’t ready to be ridden yet, but I was really building trust with my beautiful mare. Jen and Becca had gone into town to pick up some supplies and lunch, and as I was walking to the house from the barn, the work truck came barreling down the drive. Before Becca could put it in park, Jen jumped out and was running toward me with a look of utter panic. I stopped in my tracks.

  Oh God, not again. Don’t let it be Jace.

  Jen skidded to a stop in front of me and clung to me. “I’m so, so sorry,” she sobbed.

  I was frozen because I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I must have looked spooked out of my mind because Becca calmly strode over and gently pried Jen off of me. “Jen, stop. Alex clearly hasn’t heard the news.”

  “What the fuck is happening?” I shrieked, finding my voice. “What happened to Jace?”

  “Sweetie, no. It’s Zoey.” Tears streamed down Jen’s face. “It’s all over the news.”

  Screaming, I ran into the house to find my tablet. Becca followed and pulled up CNN on TV. Bawling uncontrollably, I watched the footage of Zoey running out of the hotel like a crazy person, paparazzi chasing her into the street. A big dude pulled her out of the way before she was hit by a taxi, but she was clearly unconscious. Gasping for air, Ty pushed people out of the way to get to her, and then cradled her limp body. My heart shattered when you could hear him wailing like she was dead.

  Then it really hit me. My best friend might be dead.

  I couldn’t reach Jace and it was maddening. I didn’t have any of the guys’ phone numbers, and I certainly didn’t have any of their management contact information. Helplessly, I watched as the locust media descended upon my best friend. It got worse. Ty was screaming and threatening to kill anyone who got near. When the ambulance finally got through and they loaded her in, the last shot was Ty’s face, which reflected total and utter devastation.

  Omigod, Zoey’s parents.

  Scrolling through my contacts, I found Olivia’s cell phone and called. She didn’t answer. I tried Jace. He didn’t answer. Back and forth I tried both numbers, fruitlessly. I’d never felt so scared or powerless in my life.

  Like zombies, Jen, Becca, and I watched the news coverage on an endless loop, hoping to get some word on Zoey’s condition. Jen also kept trying to reach Jace, but his phone went right to voicemail. I scrolled through the hundreds of articles about what was happening. We were rewarded with sensational stories about Zoey and her “sordid” past, Ty and some mystery woman, speculation, rumor. All of it bullshit.

  After a few hours, I was numb. I wished Jace would call, but I knew he was in the thick of it. Obviously, he wasn’t coming home tonight. I felt so alone, so immobilized. Trying to stay productive, I trudged out to the barn to feed my horses and clean the stalls, but I had absolutely no energy. My emotions and the stress of not knowing were morphing into exhaustion. I was heading back to the house and was saying goodnight to Jen and Becca when my phone pinged.

  Jace: Call me.

  I immediately dialed, and he answered as soon as we made a connection. “God, Poppy. We have a disaster.”

  I tried but couldn’t talk, I was sobbing and had lost the ability to breathe.

  Jen took the phone from me and put Jace on speaker. After she let him know that he was on speaker, he filled us all in at once. When I found out that Zoey hadn’t suffered any life-threatening injuries and Ty was flying her parents to New York, I was able to slightly relax. With everyone sufficiently updated, I grabbed the phone and took it off speaker before withdrawing to my bedroom.

  Jace’s voice was hoarse.

  “It’s okay.” My voice was small, weak.

  When Jace activated the FaceTime feature I started bawling even harder when I saw his exhausted face. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t call earlier, and now I won’t be home for a few days.”

  “I figured.” I curled up in a ball on my bed. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

  “Ty said she’s out of surgery and she’s okay, but they won’t let him in to see her. Her parents should be here any minute, but we are going to be doing damage control all night and probably for the next week.” Jace was distracted, he was in what looked like a PR war room. I could see their manager, Katherine pacing in the background.

  As much as I wanted to talk to him and dominate his time, he was needed where he was. I put on what I hoped was a brave smile and touched the screen. “I’ll let you get back to it, call me whenever you have a minute. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Okay, I—” Someone in the background was yelling his name and demanding that he read something.

  “Just go.” I air-kissed him. “Call me when you can.”

  The guy was still yelling and Jace’s face disappeared from the screen, and he screamed at them to shut the fuck up before addressing me. “I’m sorry, I do have to go. Our own goddamn publicists are behind a lot of this. It’s a mess. I’ll call you when I can.”

  Then the phone went dead.

  Chapter 25

  JACE

  After two solid days of utter and total bullshit, Katherine and I managed to contain the shitstorm surrounding Zoey’s accident and confiscate all copies of Ty’s sex tape with Sienna. Ty had been holding vigil at the hospital. Zane had brought him some fresh clothes and checked up on him. We were all anxiously waiting for news because Zoey’s parents had finally let Ty in to see her.

  Ty showed up at the hotel where we were finalizing the text of the settlement and release agreement that we planned on forcing Sienna and Andrew to sign. He was strangely calm when he read it.

  Then, he threw the paperwork on the coffee table. “Fuck this, I’m not signing shit until I see the video that bitch showed Zoey.”

  “Dude—” I had seen it, and it was something I wanted to unsee immediately.
It was triggering, and I was barely holding it together as it was.

  “Show me.” It was a demand, not a question.

  I pulled it up on my tablet and handed it to him.

  His expression didn’t change one iota while he watched. When it finished, he shut off the tablet and picked the settlement agreement back up. Pen in hand, he scribbled notes in the margins and handed it to Katherine. Meanwhile, I busied myself in drafting an “official statement” while Ty arranged a private charter to fly Zoey home with her parents after she was released from the hospital.

  When I finally remembered to check the time, nearly thirty-six hours had gone by since I’d spoken to Alex. I hadn’t noticed that Connor and Zane had joined us, they were reviewing the revised agreement and the statement. I could hear Katherine finalizing the details for the charter jet that would take all of us guys back home to Seattle in just over an hour. I stretched and decided to go to my hotel room to pack.

  Ty’s deep voice held me back. “Jace, hold up.”

  “I’m exhausted, it’s nearly three in the morning, Ty.”

  Ty stood at the window, almost holding court in the room. “It will only be a couple of minutes; I need to apologize to all of you and to Katherine.”

  “You don’t owe us anything, my brother.” Zane always defended Ty. Always.

  Connor sat stoically.

  Katherine slumped down in a side chair. “Ty, Jace, and I have been going for nearly two solid days with no sleep, if you want to say something, that’s fine, but please make it quick.”

  “Fine. Okay. I know this shit has been going on for eight years.” Ty shut his eyes and swallowed before regaining his composure. “So much of what happened in the last two days has been completely my fault—”

  “Dude—” Zane interrupted, trying to intervene.

  Ty held his hand up. “No, Zane. Connor. Jace. And, of course, Katherine. Hear me out. I’m not going to recap how we got here, I just want you to all know that I own my part in getting us here. For Zoey being hurt and in the hospital. For not taking accountability for myself and relying upon all of you to hold me up. For my addictions. I appreciate all you have done for me, but I’m ready and need to take it from here. Katherine, from this point forward anything having to do with me, Zoey, social media, and all of this horseshit with Sienna, I’m in charge.”