Wrong Side of the Tracks: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “Omigod!” she cried, pulling her head back just enough to look up at him. “I can’t believe you’re here! It’s been too long!”

  His large hands spanned her waist as he smiled down at her fondly. “That it has, bomboncita,” he returned in a soft, gentle voice. The smile on his face might have held warmth, but the effect of it sent a chill across my back. I felt like an interloper watching this woman and Marco together; it was obvious they were important to each other. And as I stood in a room, surrounded by celebrities, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to flee.

  “How about you let up so the rest of us can welcome him, sweetness?”

  I jerked my head around at the sound of the deep, raspy voice, and I watched in amazement as Killian Everett, bass player for one of the best rock bands in the whole flipping world, walked over and dislodged the blonde from Marco, tucking her firmly under his arm. A little of the tension melted from my shoulders at the realization that the beautiful woman was obviously with Killian Everett.

  The gorgeous bassist lifted his hand to give my man a fist bump.

  Wait… my man?

  Oh hell, I was in so much trouble.

  “Guys, I want you to meet someone,” Marco said, grabbing hold of my waist and pulling my back to his front, wrapping his arm around my middle and holding me to him in an intimate embrace.

  A flush hit my cheeks as he said, “This is my girl, Gypsy,” making my belly melt. “Gypsy, that’s Killian and his wife, Gina.” He pointed to the bass player and the blonde he’d been holding on to. “Then you have Declan and Tatum.” I gave a nervous grin at the lead singer and the stunning redhead on his lap. “That’s Garrett over there, sucking face with his wife, Gwen.” The Viking-looking drummer lifted his head and shot us a cheeky smirk as he pulled the brunette in his arms even closer. Then Marco pointed toward the lead guitarist. “And that’s Mace and Lyla.”

  “And I’m Corrine,” the woman camped out on a large leather sofa declared, waving at me. “I’m the best of the bunch and married to the mountain who just walked you guys in here.”

  So this was Ian’s wife. Wow. I wasn’t sure how such a tiny slip of a thing could give a man his size the hell he’d spoken of a few minutes ago, but good for her.

  “I gave her a bit of a scare earlier,” Ian said as he moved farther into the room, sitting down beside his wife and pulling her against him. “She said I look like the kind of dude who’d use my enemy’s bones as a toothpick.”

  The room broke into a cacophony of hoots and laughter, and I gave the giant the best glare I could muster while trying to fight my grin at the same time. “Well? Am I wrong?”

  “No!” Corrine hooted. “That’s the perfect description!” She turned to the room at large and loudly announced, “I officially like this chick.”

  “So how did you guys meet?” Gina asked, her shrewd eyes watching me closely.

  My chest swelled and Marco’s arm clenched. The need to flee might have dissipated, but I was still a bundle of nervous energy thanks to who I was surrounded by. It wasn’t just that the room was full of rock and roll gods. It was that these people obviously meant something to Marco. I never tried to be anything more than I was, however, I was known to be somewhat... abrupt. And I found myself worrying about that, because I wanted these people to like me.

  No, that wasn’t right. I needed them to like me.

  It mattered to me that I got the approval of the people in Marco’s life. I could win people over, I knew that. That was why I was so close with my girls. Tempie, Eden, Nona, and Rory loved me almost as much as I loved them. But I had a sneaking suspicion that this Gina woman was going to make me work for it.

  I didn’t know what kind of past she and Marco had—I had no clue about his past at all, really—but it was obvious she was protective of him. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. A part of me loved that he had someone who cared about him so much. But the other part of me was being eaten up by jealousy.

  “Oh, um…,” I started, but before I could formulate an answer, Marco jumped in.

  “Mutual friends,” he answered. “One of her girls is engaged to my buddy Linc. We run in the same circles.”

  “That’s nice.” She offered me a genuine smile, but she was still guarded. “And Gypsy, what do you do for a living?”

  Marco’s arm stiffened at that. “I brought my girl here to give her a good night, babe,” he said in a low, ominous voice that made me shiver, “not subject her to a round of twenty questions.”

  Gina looked at him intently. “I’m just trying to get to know her.”

  “No,” he grumbled, “you’re interrogating her. You’ve got a kind heart, so you aren’t being nasty about it, but it’s obvious that’s what you’re doing.”

  I wrapped my fingers around Marco’s forearm and pressed in. “It’s okay,” I whispered, turning to look at him over my shoulder. “I don’t mind answering her questions.”

  His gaze hit mine, his brow furrowed. “You don’t have to.”

  “She’s your friend.” Shifting my focus back around to Gina, I lifted my chin high and gave it to her straight. “I’m a stripper.”

  Marco went rigid behind me, and the entire room fell into complete silence.

  “Well, I strip at night,” I explained further. “During the day I work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store. I know they aren’t the most glamorous jobs in the world, but my parents were worthless pieces of shit who were good for nothing but popping out a bunch of kids. Because of that, I had to drop out of school to get any job that might bring money in so I could take care of my siblings. And to spare you from having to ask, I have five. Three brothers and two sisters,” I added flippantly. “Anyway, no education or experience made getting a well-paying, respectable job kind of hard, so now I’m doing whatever I can to keep a roof over their heads so they don’t have to worry about anything other than going to school, getting good grades, and, god willing, going to college.”

  I could see by their expressions that they were trying to wrap their heads around everything I’d just dumped on them.

  Seconds later, Corrine broke the silence by stating, “All right. I know I said it before, but it bears repeating. I like this chick.”

  While I appreciated that more than she could know, I kept my focus trained on Gina, waiting for a reaction. But when all she did was stand there, flabbergasted, I carried on, softening my voice so she’d know I wasn’t offended. “I get what you’re doing, and I totally dig that you care enough about Marco to grill me. My friends are the same way. So if you have any more questions, fire away. I’ll give it to you as honestly as I can.”

  That guard of hers finally dropped, and relief flooded me as acceptance and sympathy filled her gaze. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through,” she said quietly, and I could have sworn she was about to cry.

  “It’s life,” I answered, shrugging casually, even though I was feeling as raw as an exposed nerve at that moment. “I’m okay with my lot. My brothers and sisters are a handful, but they’re pretty freaking awesome.”

  Her chest shook as she pulled in a breath. “I swear, I didn’t mean anything by—”

  “I know,” I said quickly, waving her off. All the animosity I might have felt toward this woman drifted away at the sight of her sincerity. “And we’re cool. Shoe was on the other foot, I’d have probably done the exact same.”

  Corrine spoke again. “Well, that’s just great. She’s got killer long legs, all that hair, a heart of gold, and she can swing around a pole in sky-high stripper heels?” She threw her arms up in frustration. “The rest of us mere mortal women don’t stand a damn chance.”

  And just like that, the tension was broken.

  * * *

  Marco

  The small showdown hadn’t lasted long and had fortunately ended without consequence, but it had put me on edge. Gypsy and the rest of the girls were across the room, laughing and chatting like nothing had happened. They’d accepted h
er and pulled her into the fold just like I knew they would, because they were good people. But I hadn’t been able to shake myself loose.

  “Will you relax?” Mace clapped me on the shoulder, forcing my attention from where Gypsy was standing, too far away from me for my liking. “You’re watching your girl like you’re afraid their gonna tear her to shreds.”

  “Just keepin’ an eye out,” I muttered sullenly.

  “She’s good, man,” Declan insisted. “You know the girls’ll take care of her.”

  I’d seen the look on Gina’s face, the determination in her eyes to dig into Gypsy and find out if she was worthy. I appreciated the reasons behind the action, but I didn’t like how she’d put Gypsy on the spot.

  My girl was tough. Tougher than most. But I’d felt the way she tensed, as if she was bracing against the onslaught of emotion that little speech caused, and it pissed me the fuck off.

  “Gina was just doin’ what any friend would do,” Kill said in defense of his wife. “Take a breath. You know she didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Like it always was whenever we were in the same room together, the pull of Gypsy was too goddamn hard to ignore, and I looked back to her at the same time her gaze shifted to me. She graced me with that gorgeous smile I was quickly becoming addicted to, and suddenly I felt light again.

  Ian’s deep voice hit my ears and drew my attention back to the guys. “I suspected this girl meant something when you called about getting into the show, but you didn’t say it was this serious.”

  “Because it wasn’t at the time.” I cast a quick peek over my shoulder. “She’s… prickly.”

  He gave me a big toothy grin. “You always did like a challenge, bro.”

  He wasn’t wrong, but… “She’s more than just a challenge,” I confessed.

  He examined me closely, the wheels in his head turning. “I can see that.”

  “You’ve seen her up close, and you just heard part of her story. Tell me that’s not a woman you get serious about.”

  “I feel you,” Garrett chimed in. “But just saying, five brothers and sisters? That’s a lot, bro.”

  “They’re great kids,” I quickly defended. “They adore their big sister. The six of them are a package deal, and I’m absolutely fine with that.”

  “Then we’re happy for you,” Declan stated seriously. “And we’re glad we got a chance to meet her.”

  I was too, and I was looking forward to giving her a night she’d never forget.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gypsy

  I was riding a high I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to come down from. After a bit of a tense start, things between me and the women had gone off without a hitch. Once I’d proven myself, they were nothing but sweet and welcoming. The guys were hilarious, and the show had been incredible.

  Seeing as I’d never been to a concert before, I hadn’t known what to expect, but it turned out even better than I ever could have imagined.

  Marco and I watched the entire thing from the side of the stage with the the girls. I spent half the show dancing around and singing at the top of my lungs with my hands in the air, and the other half tucked closely against Marco’s chest. The entire night had been magical, and although I never wanted it to end, I was dead on my feet by the time the guys came off the stage.

  After I exchanged hugs and phone numbers with the wives, Marco had ushered me to his Cherokee and driven us back to the posh hotel.

  “Thank you so much,” I said as the elevator ascended to our floor.

  “For that?”

  I looked over at him with a soft, somewhat sleepy grin. “For everything,” I replied. “For the hotel, the concert. The whole night has been amazing. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me.”

  He shifted, stepping in front of me and moving close. He placed his forearms on the wall on either side of my head and leaned in, the heat from his body and the musky smell of his cologne enveloping me and making my head fuzzy.

  “Glad you liked it, girasol,” he said quietly, his lips brushing lightly over mine as he spoke. He was barely touching me and still managed to light a fire deep in my belly. “Means the world to me you had a good time.”

  My tongue peeked out and slowly dragged across my bottom lip as my gaze traveled down to his mouth. “One of the best nights of my life,” I replied, my voice coming out husky. It took no effort on his part to turn me on and drive me crazy. All he had to do was look at me and my heart leaped into my throat.

  I was just about to beg him to kiss me when he pulled away, causing an unpleasant chill to skate across my skin. In a haze of lust and need, I reached for him, only to be thwarted in my attempt to pull him back when he grabbed my hand and began to move. I’d been so lost to what he made me feel that I hadn’t even realized the elevator dinged and the doors had slid open to our floor.

  Marco pulled me forward, walking at such a fast clip I let out a surprised squeak and had to jog to keep up so I didn’t stumble on my heels.

  His face was like granite when we reached the door. He pulled the key card out of his pocket and shoved it into the slot. The light blinked red, so he tried again, forcing the plastic card in harder. The indicator blinked red again.

  “Come on, goddamn it,” he grunted, thrusting the card in so hard I feared he might snap it in half. When it blinked red for the third time, he let out a growl and took two steps back.

  It took me a second to realized what he planned to do, and I moved quickly. “Whoa! Calm down.” I giggled as I stepped between him and the door, taking the key card from his hand before he had a chance to lift his booted foot and kick the door in. “I’ve never stayed in a hotel before, and this is a really nice one. I’d prefer we not get thrown out because you went all caveman.” Flipping the card around the correct way, I slipped it into the slot. The light instantly turned green, and the lock gave way with a mechanical click.

  Marco twisted the knob, shoved it open, and, with his grip on my hand, propelled me into the cushy suite.

  We crossed the threshold, and he immediately yanked my arm again until my back was pressed against the wall. “You know, you keep jerking me around like this, you’re gonna give me whiplash,” I stated, my voice breathy, my chest rising and falling like I’d just run a marathon. But the struggle to breathe had nothing to do with exertion and everything to do with the fiery passion that turned Marco’s eyes black as he stared down at me.

  “Fuck, you drive me crazy.” He hissed as if in pain, burying his face in my neck. His lips whispered across the sensitive skin, and a shiver broke out along my arms when his tongue came into play, peeking out to taste me.

  My eyes fell closed and my head dropped back, thumping against the wall as every inch of me strung tight at the featherlight touch. “The feeling’s mutual.” My words ended on a gasp when his teeth nipped at the cord of my neck. God, everything he did to me felt so. Damn. Good.

  The material of my skirt bunched up when Marco grabbed behind my right knee and lifted it, hooking my calf over his hip and lining his erection up with my center. He shifted his hips, pressing deep against me and ripping a ragged whimper from deep in my throat. “Can’t get enough of you,” he grunted as he pushed harder.

  “Mmm, Marco,” I groaned, lifting my hands and tangling them in his silky black hair. Using my hold, I forced his face from my neck, wanting—no, needing him to kiss me.

  Our tongues brushed together in a rhythmic dance that stoked the fire inside me. Everything about Marco was so consuming, so potent, that I could think of nothing else but getting more. More of his taste, his smell, his everything. When we were together, the rest of the world was shut out.

  He slid his hands up to my behind, giving it a squeeze before lifting my other foot off the ground. With no other choice, I locked my ankles behind his back and held on as he grinded against me, his hard cock prodding at my entrance through the layers of our clothing.

  He shifted, circling his hips and rubbing that steel length against my
clit. I broke the kiss on a gasp, pulling back to look at his gorgeous face as I began to move with him, increasing the friction. “God, don’t stop,” I panted, desperate for him.

  “Are you wet for me?” he asked against my lips, his voice like gravel.

  Was he kidding? I wasn’t just wet, I was soaked. And dangerously close to coming from nothing more than dry humping against the wall.

  “Answer me, Gypsy,” he demanded. “Are you wet right now?”

  “Yes,” I moaned. “So wet, Marco.”

  One of his hands came up, pulling the straps of my dress down my arms until my breasts were revealed. The cool air whipped across my nipples, pulling them into tight points. Marco ducked his head, biting down on one of the stiff peaks. I cried out as a bolt of heat traveled from my nipple to my sex, making it pulse.

  “Don’t come,” he commanded harshly, licking my nipple before shifting to give the other one the same attention. “You don’t come until I’m inside you. I want to feel it.”

  Jesus, I was about to go up in flames. My breasts had always been extremely sensitive, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to control my body for long if he kept going. “Then you need to stop doing that,” I said on a jagged whisper, clasping his hair tighter. “I don’t think I can hold back.”

  He lifted his head, his gaze glassy. “You ready for me, hermosa?”

  That was a new one I hadn’t heard from him before. “Hermosa?”

  “It means ‘beautiful.’ Now answer the question. Can you take me?”

  So that was what he’d been doing. I should have known he’d look after me in every way he possibly could. After years of being out of the game and then starting back up with a man of Marco’s size, every time we were together, he had to give me time to adjust to him.

  “Yes,” I breathed, desperation clawing at my skin as I sank my nails into his shoulders. “I need you inside me, Marco. Please.”