Taut Strings: A Rock Star Romance (River Valley Rebels)

by Gabrielle Sands

  “Your sister was looking at you with stars in her eyes. Same with your old band. You blew everyone away, Ade,” Cole said with a sigh. “What a fucking show.”

  “They loved the new material,” Ezra added, his face melting into a satisfied grin.

  Abel pulled up a chair to sit to my left and reached for my hand. His gaze found mine. “Ade?”

  I knew what he was asking. I took a moment to absorb the surreal nature of this moment—me wiping tears off my face backstage while being surrounded by Bleeding Moonlight after having just played a show with them. These four incredible men who all wanted me, in more ways than one, who’d captured my heart and mind, and who’d made me remember things I never should have allowed myself to forget. I may have gotten here by chance, by a stroke of luck, but now it was up to me to decide how my life would play out.

  “Have you made your decision?” Abel asked.

  I squeezed the singer’s hand. “Yes.”

  The next couple of hours were a blur as my friends and family met us backstage and heard the news.

  Molly was ecstatic and squealed loud enough to leave my ears ringing. “Oh my God! I have the coolest sister ever. Ade, you’re going to have to take me on tour at least once.”

  Cole swung his arm around her shoulders. “Been there, done that, ended up with a pregnant sister. Would not recommend.”

  Molly gave him an appalled look while I laughed, despite taking his advice to heart. If Molly wanted to go on tour, I was going to run a background check on every single other band.

  Liam, Elly, and Mason all came up to offer their warm congratulations and wish me the best of luck. They seemed genuinely excited for me, and I was happy to learn that Mason had found a guitarist and a bassist to play with at Northeastern.

  Frankie and Jimmy stopped to say goodbye and tell me how much they’d enjoyed the show. Bleeding Moonlight had bought out the bar for the night so they could get the evening off work to see me play.

  My heart swelled with pure happiness, the kind I hadn’t felt in years. Being surrounded by all these people that cared for me and wanted the best for me was like being enveloped by a soft, warm cloud.

  I turned to Ezra, who stood beside me. “Tonight may have been the best night of my life. Thank you.”

  His expression softened at the palpable emotion in my voice. “This is only the beginning,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. “What do you say we get the guys and get out of here to celebrate properly?”

  I burrowed my face into the side of his neck, smiling against his skin. “Where should we go?”

  We drove in the dark for about thirty minutes before parking in a clearing at the foot of a forested area just outside the town. Leo waited in the car, while Ezra led me toward a narrow path between the trees, using his phone as a flashlight. The guys followed behind us, Cole cracking jokes that threw us into fits of laughter.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “You’ll see in a moment,” Ezra said with a smile.

  Then the trees parted, and we were on a small beach with a dock leading into the water.

  A lake?

  I had never been here before. The moon’s reflection glittered on the surface, lighting up the space above the water in a hazy glow while soft waves lapped at the narrow beach. The crickets filled the air with a high-pitched trill.

  “This is where we first came up with the name for the band,” Ezra explained. “We were here on a night just like this, and Cole had said the moonlight looked like it was bleeding across the lake. I loved that description, and that’s how we became Bleeding Moonlight.”

  I whipped around to look at Cole and caught him flashing me a grin. “I have my moments,” he said with a shrug.

  Ezra motioned for me to sit down on the sand beside him, but as soon as I hit the ground, Silas lifted me into his lap. I leaned back into the guitarist’s warmth, comfortable in his powerful arms. Abel plunked down in front of me and dropped his head on my thighs, and Cole lounged on the sand just to my left.

  We were a puzzle that fit perfectly together.

  Silas brushed my hair off my shoulder and gave it a soft kiss, while I combed Abel’s blond strands with my hands.

  “What are we going to do now?” I asked, feeling tiredness creeping into my bones after the emotional day.

  “Right now?” Silas murmured into my ear.

  My lips curled. “Tomorrow. Next week. Next month.”

  “We’ll make music, and we’ll make love,” the guitarist responded.

  Abel twisted to look at us from my lap, his green eyes shining. “It’s the same thing, isn’t it?”

  It was for the five of us. Music had brought us together, and in its boundlessness, we’d found that love had no limits, either.

  Together, we’d pave our own path.

  Together, we were infinite.

  Epilogue

  ADELINE

  The clock ticked on the wall of my living room, one of the few pieces still left to pack in the dozens of boxes scattered throughout the house. I glanced at it when we returned from a quick lunch. “What time are they going to be here again?”

  Cole came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Five pm, darling. Staring at the clock won’t make it tick any faster.”

  “Abel and Ezra are going to purr like kittens when they find out how badly you’ve missed them these past few days,” Silas said, walking by us and flicking my chin. “Their egos really don’t need the extra encouragement.”

  “I just hope everything worked out okay in LA,” I muttered, nibbling on my bottom lip. “The two of them had a lot to handle in just over a week. I can’t imagine how they managed to find a house for all of us and sort everything out with the label in such a short time.”

  “They were highly motivated to get it done so they could come back to you,” Cole said, tightening his hold on me. “Silas,” he called out to the guitarist who’d begun taping up a box across the room. “I feel like we didn’t make a point to enjoy this time as much as we should have.” His pressed a light kiss to my temple. “This is the last time we’ll have you to ourselves in God knows how long. Between packing up this house and wrapping things up at the studio, we haven’t spent enough quality time together.”

  The last two weeks had been hectic, starting the day after the show at the Barnyard. Suddenly, there’d been a million decisions to make and things to do, and then Ezra and Abel had left with Barney to deal with things in LA, and I was still wrapping my head around my life changing overnight. The news about me joining the band hadn’t leaked yet. Bleeding Moonlight’s label was insisting we get my contract in order before going to the press. In a few hours, Ezra would be returning with the documents, and then all I had to do was sign it, and it would be official.

  “You’ve seen me every single day,” I pointed out, craning my neck to look back at him.

  “You know that’s not what he means,” Silas piped in, drawing my attention. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously, and my core clenched on instinct.

  “You’ve slept here every night,” I shot back, trying to discreetly rub my thighs together. I knew if they saw, they’d pounce on me immediately. “That’s not enough for you?”

  “Never,” Cole said behind me. I could hear the grin in his voice. His finger landed on my chin, and he turned my face until our lips met in a kiss that threatened to make me forget all about packing. “Good thing we have a few more hours left,” he purred, pulling away. “I have some compelling ideas on how we can make the time go by faster.”

  I laughed lightly, twisting in his arms. “We need to finish here first. Good thing you’re highly motivated.”

  He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Damn you for using my words against me.”

  I left them in the living room and walked to the kitchen where a pile of bowls and plates were still waiting to be wrapped. Rays of sunshine splayed across the surface of the kitchen island, and through the open window, birds chirped, calling to ea
ch other before flitting away.

  I got to work, tearing off pieces of coarse brown paper and wrapping it around the ceramics. Tonight, I’d be leaving this house forever. It had gone on the market last week, with the help of the real estate agent that had sold Silas his condo. I thought I’d be relieved to be rid of it, but now, in the remaining hours, a creeping nostalgia settled in my bones. I’d been raised here. Each room contained memories of my parents, of Molly, of a life that seemed so different from the one I had now. I’d cried, laughed, grieved, and loved in this house. And soon, another family would be doing the same.

  I placed my hands on the counter and closed my eyes. I was saying so many goodbyes so quickly. In a few days, I’d be boarding a plane and moving to LA with the guys. Despite growing up in River Valley, I’ve never felt particularly fond of the town until now. That’s how it went, didn’t it? We took familiar things for granted until we were on the verge of losing them. Their beauty emerged suddenly, as if it were something new, but really, it was there all along. I thought back to the lights at the Tulson Estate gardens, the Crooked Stool in the early afternoons before it opened, Annie’s omeletes and red vinyl booths, Gravehurst Park’s solemn splendor during sunset…

  A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist.

  “Cole, we can’t keep getting distracted,” I murmured. “The movers will be here in just a few hours.”

  “Don’t worry, he’s moving the boxes to the garage right now.”

  I whipped around, startled. “Abel.”

  The singer smiled at me, his eyes dancing over my face. Hair pulled back in a low bun, two-day-old scruff, and barely noticeable bags under his eyes. He looked tired, but his expression radiated warmth as he tugged me closer.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for another few hours.”

  “We wrapped up early and switched to an earlier flight. We didn’t want Silas and Cole getting too used to being alone with you,” he said with a smirk. “So Cole’s been distracting you, huh? I bet I can do a much better job than him.”

  He kissed me, his tongue sneaking past my lips and triggering a wave of lust. His hands moved to my ass, squeezing and pulling until my hips were flush with his. I felt his erection against my thigh, my thoughts hurried out of my head, and a greedy, needy moan escaped my throat.

  When he broke the kiss, he wore a cocky grin. “Told you.”

  “Huh?” I was so dazed I couldn’t remember what he had said earlier.

  Abel laughed, shaking his head. “I’ve missed you. Ezra and I have been going crazy on our own.” He brought my knuckles up to his lips and kissed them one by one.

  I watched as he dragged his full lips across my skin. “I missed you, too. I’m so glad you’re back.”

  “Is that why you seemed sad when I first saw you in here?”

  “Don’t be so full of yourself.” I pushed lightly at his chin with my knuckles. “I was just reminiscing, I guess.”

  His expression turned serious. “Change is hard, isn’t it?”

  “A little.” I shrugged, giving him a soft smile. “But I’m excited to start my new life.”

  “You have the four of us to help you through it,” he said, his eyes softening.

  “I’m counting on it.” I gave his ass a playful whack before sneaking my hand up his shirt. “Speaking of, where’s Ezra?”

  He sucked in a harsh breath when I pinched a nipple. “Ezra’s showering. The stewardess spilled coffee all over his clothes just as we were about to land.”

  “Let’s go see if he’s done.”

  Abel nodded, biting his lip as I stepped away and extracted my hand from under his clothes. Before I could drop it at my side, he gripped it and tangled our fingers together. It was like he couldn’t stand the thought of not touching me. I searched his gaze for a moment, looking for doubts and hesitations a part of me was still worried he’d feel, but I saw none.

  The night after the concert, the five of us had come back to his house and talked until the sun began to shine through the trees in his backyard. We’d agreed to take things slowly, one day at a time, while we figured out how we would work together. None of us had been in a relationship with four other people before. None of us knew we had this much love to give.

  Abel’s green eyes were clear, holding none of the pain I had gotten used to seeing inside of them. Now they shone with contentment and hope and unmistakable desire. In the days before he and Ezra left, I’d discovered that he liked to watch. He’d make love to me and then sit back on his couch and watch as the rest took their turns. I wondered then if one day he’d like to join us.

  I wondered if one day might be today.

  In the living room, Cole and Silas had taken out the last of the boxes, and when we came in, their attention quickly turned to us. Cole’s lips curved into a smirk at whatever he saw on our faces. “Finally.”

  “Is Ezra still showering?” I asked in a lowered voice.

  “All done.” The drummer emerged from the hallway with only a towel wrapped around his narrow hips. Drops of water peppered his chest, sliding down and catching on his nipples, moving along the lines of his abs, and disappearing into the reddish hair that peeked out of the towel.

  The divine sight of him wet, and the agony of being apart for a week and a half, propelled me forward. He opened his arms, catching me as I rushed into him with desperate haste, claiming my mouth with his and kissing me, kissing me, kissing me. I’d forgotten that Abel still held my hand in his, but he gave it a squeeze and then, I was swinging back into his hard chest and getting lost in a different man.

  A moment later, four hands became eight, and I was led to the bedroom where my old mattress lay bare on the ground. I didn’t care. I didn’t care that we were in a nearly empty house, that the movers might come early and find a lot more than they’d bargained for, that we hadn’t discussed the many logistics we needed to sort out. All I cared about was satisfying the need that was roaring inside—the need to burn together and become one.

  Ezra pulled off my shirt, and I tugged on his towel, letting it unravel and fall at his feet. He was already at half-mast, and I gripped him, wanting to feel the velvety skin under my palm. I began to move my hand, up and down, feeling him grow stiffer and larger with every drag. He moaned. “Fuck. Just like that.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others getting undressed, their shirts and pants puddling on the ground, buttons hitting the floor with sharp clanks. Someone made quick work of my shorts, helping me step out of them, and then Abel was there, dropping on his knees between Ezra and I and pressing his nose into the damp fabric covering my cunt.

  My breath hitched, and I leaned back into the massive body at my back—Silas. “Abel. Are you sure?” I asked. He was going to participate with us for the first time, and I needed him to be sure. “What if it’s just the time apart—”

  “I’m sure,” he growled against my clit before tilting his face up and looking at me directly in the eye. “So fucking sure. I’m done sitting on the sidelines. I’m all in, Adeline. All fucking in.”

  My heart felt like it was going to burst. Abel grinned at me, wrapped his fingers around the fabric of my underwear, and pulled it down. Cole appeared beside Ezra, threading his fingers through my hair and pressing my forehead to his. “Didn’t I tell you, darling? When we’re together, everything will work out just fine.”

  About an hour and eleven collective orgasms later, I thought Cole had really undersold it. Things weren’t just fine. Things were absolutely, undeniably, rapturously perfect.

  You made it to the end! Thank you for taking a chance on a new author and I hope you enjoyed my debut novel!

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  Bonus Scene

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  PRE-ORDER PRETTY WORDS

  Pretty Words in the second book in the River Valley Rebels series.

  Coming May 2021

  BLURB

  On the eve of my eighteenth birthday, I fell in love with a rock god.

  Light-haired, green-eyed, and carved to heavenly perfection. Oliver. He’s the guitarist of Ritual Disruption, and he writes songs that are as devastating as him.

  Who would have thought that I, Ivy Abbott, would capture his attention? On tour with my brother’s band, Bleeding Moonlight, I hear what they say about me. Boring, shy, straitlaced. Compared to my famous sibling, I’m nothing special.

  They’re wrong.

  After all, what’s more special than being chosen by a god?

  But where gods go, demons follow…

  Jamie’s shared the stage with Oliver for years, but they’re nothing alike. He’s dark where Oliver’s light. Jamie claims his bandmate is nothing but a fraud who wants to use me and toss me aside. I don’t believe him, no matter how much he insists he only wants to help me. Jamie is an addict who steals kisses and spreads dirty lies.