by L. V. Lewis
Yet, our love is gone…
Once a girl named Heart had my heart,
But, now she’s been eclipsed by Sky...
I won’t think of this as our last embrace,
Because in my dreams, I’ll still see your face,
But, I’m too selfish to let you go,
More than you know, you willed me to live,
Now our love is gone…
Once a girl named Heart had my heart
But now she’s been eclipsed by Sky
I know you’re smiling from above,
Because I’m once again in love,
This girl who puts me above all in her life,
Someday I’ll make her my wife,
So, we’ll say our final goodbye…
Once a girl named Heart had my heart,
But, now she’s been eclipsed by Sky,
Once a girl named Heart had my heart,
But now she’s been eclipsed by Sky…
Sky rushes into my arms and kisses me passionately in front of seventy-five thousand screaming fans. I kiss her back, and then I pick her up and carry her off the stage as the lights go down. The fans chant, “Savage and Sky! Sky and Savage!” as we exit the stage, but we ignore it all—and everyone until we’re alone in her dressing room.
Her back is against the door exactly the way it was the first time we kissed. That’s when I notice the tears streaming down her beautiful face.
“Hey…Shhh,” I say in an attempt to soothe her.
“That was so beautiful,” she says through the tears. “Is this the first song you’ve written since you retired?”
I nod. “It’s the first time I’ve wanted to write a song since Kim died. Sky, your love has revived my passion for music and helped me to see possibilities I never considered before.”
She sniffles and scrunches up her tiny, red nose. “Such as?”
“I may not be able to physically perform on a consistent basis, but I can certainly write for you, for other musicians, and still do albums in the studio.”
“And manage me,” she says happily.
I chuckle. “Hey, I thought this management gig was a temporary assignment?”
She tightens her arms around my waist, squeezing me. “Well, it doesn’t have to be, does it? Besides, what are you going to do? Stay in LA while I’m gallivanting all over creation—months and months on end?”
I pretend to think about that one for a moment, but I don’t really have to. I would follow this woman anywhere. Even to the ends of the earth. “When do I officially start?”
“Eight weeks ago,” she says, grabbing my face in her hands, she pulls my mouth down to cover hers.
I bury my hands in her hair, feeling her body pressed against mine as I give myself over to the warmth and sweet ferocity of her kiss. I match it with a hunger of my own that is all-consuming. A need that only grows and refuses to wane the more I’m with her.
She grins at me when we come up for air in a way that makes my heart melt. “Ready to face the media?” she asks.
“Yeah, but just so we’re on the same page, what are we going to tell them about us?”
“That we met two months ago in LA, when you came to work for me as my P.A. and… we fell in love. The End.”
“That sounds like an awesome fairy tale.”
“It also sounds like a great title for a song. Let’s collaborate.”
“Okay, but first, let’s go finish up these interviews so we can get back to our hotel. Hint. Hint.”
“To collaborate, right?”
I laugh, take her hand, and we brace ourselves for the onslaught of the media one final time before we go home.
I have a feeling I’m going to be collaborating with this pop artist for a very long time to come.
Continue reading for a sneak peek at Redemption, Book 2 of The Rock Legends Series
Savage
The Rock Legends Series, Book 1
(A Rockstar Romance)
By
L.V. Lewis
One
BRODY
I could lie in bed like this forever and never get bored. Waking up next to the woman I love is a high point of my day. Sky is still sleeping next to me, her dark hair fanning out on the pillow, and I refuse to wake her up before I have to. She only had a few weeks off after her European tour, and this is the last free day before we start touring in North America.
She fits perfectly against me as if she is made for me. Dancing and a daily exercise routine keeps her body toned in ways that arouse me even when I’m not thinking about sex. The past few weeks, soaking up the California sunshine, has given her fair skin the beginning of a great tan, and some of her natural red hair is streaking through the dye she maintains for her ‘Skylar’ persona.
Sky looks even younger in slumber than she did when I first met her, the muted Asian features she inherited from her father showing through when she isn’t wearing the full face of makeup her fans recognize. I’m tempted to steal her away for myself—away from her demanding career and loyal fans. If I were even a little bit more selfish, I’d do just that. But I know I can’t. Sky lives for her music and her fans. She will finish her tour no matter what. Her passion is just one of the things I love about her. It’s also a reminder of who I used to be.
Before the lavish parties, drinking, and drugs, there was always the music. That was who I was as Savage Saban. The music was at the core of my identity.
But who am I now? There is no more hiding. My life as Brody Kent disappears each day that the media and fans learn about me being outted as Savage Saban, the contemporary music legend who’d been hiding in plain sight on Skylar’s European Tour. I don’t regret it.
When I sang for Sky, it reminded me of the life I left behind, the high points mostly. I was in the moment and had to show her how much she meant to me.
Ever since then, the press and gossip rags have been persistent.
The demons of my past slip further away with each day I hold Sky in my arms and every time she tells me she loves me.
Everything with Sky feels as natural as breathing. She is the fresh sky to my cloudy mess of a dark thunderstorm. Only she can release me. Being with her makes me feel like I can take in the air around me again without choking on it, without having it tear at my lungs, and leaving an open scar for the world to see.
As if knowing I’m thinking about her, she stirs next to me.
I run my finger up her arm, and she sighs. I can’t stop myself from kissing her. Sky’s lips make me think of exotic fruit when I kiss her, so soft and sweet that I can’t help but crave more of her.
She doesn’t need much tempting before she’s kissing me back and entangling her fingers in my unruly, long blond hair, which I usually pull up in a band to keep it out of my face. In bed is one of the few times I wear it down, and her hands always find the loose strands to get lost in.
I groan as her naked breasts brush against my chest. As much as I want to continue my erotic exploration, I also know the day that waits for us. It takes all my effort to pull away from her.
“You can’t wake me up like that and expect me to stop,” she says with a wicked grin on her lips.
“I couldn’t help it,” I say. “You were too delicious to resist, but we have to get up. You have an early press meeting this morning to discuss the tour.”
“Don’t you mean we have a press meeting? I thought you were doing it with me.”
“Yeah about that—it may be better if they don’t interview me again. This is your tour, Sky. I’m just playing one set with you.”
“You’re still a big part of it, Brody. Yes, you’re my manager now, but people still love Savage Saban. Those videos fans posted online of you singing for me have gone viral, and the tour has sold out since then. It makes sense that you’d be by my side for it.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. If I do this press conference with you, it’ll take all the attention off your tour and turn it into an interrogation of me. I know
it.” We’ve been lucky so far. People are focusing on my moment of singing for Sky. All they want is our love story, but I know that can shift in a heartbeat. Whenever I do an interview with Sky, I know it only takes one reporter to ask a question that’ll send all of them searching for gossip like dogs for a bone.
She shrugs and smiles. “I wouldn’t mind sharing the spotlight. Like some people say, all press is good press.”
I laugh as I pull her close to me. “Could you tell my old rocker self that? He was on the side of bad press plenty of times.” My smile fades as I remember some of the depressing headlines that sold to readers ready to believe anything about their idols. The worst ones came after Kim’s overdose and subsequent death.
The press was all too ready to hijack my life after she died. I couldn’t go anywhere without them following me. I had to disappear and find a rehabilitation center in the middle of nowhere before they gave up looking for me. It helped that Savage Saban wasn’t my real name and only my closest friends knew that. I can’t bring that craziness into Sky’s career, no matter how much she loves me.
“Hey,” she says, rubbing my cheek. I’m sure she feels the stubble that lingers there. “Where’d you go?”
“Just thinking. I’ll sit this one out if that’s okay with you.”
“If you think that’s best, I don’t mind. You are my manager for a reason.” She kisses me with more determination this time and makes it even harder for me to let her go.
“That feels like you’re trying to get sexual favors from your manager,” I teased.
“Even if you were my set designer, I’d still claim sexual favors.”
“Good thing I’m easy then.” I nuzzle her neck and plant more kisses on her before we’re forced to get out of bed by the annoying alarm I set the night before on my phone.
Sky showers while I go over her itinerary for the tour and check in to make sure everything’s on schedule. Tomorrow night is the first show of the tour in Seattle. I double and triple check with each location and hotel. Sky’s entrusted me with so much, and I’ll be damned if I let my woman down.
Still there’s an unsettling feeling nagging me. It’s not the responsibility. I know my shit when it comes to the music business. From negotiations to making sure the staff knows what they need to do so nothing goes wrong, I’m on top of it all.
Then it hits me. I’m happy. The last time I felt something similar was when The Savages were at their Zenith. When Kim was by my side. I rode the wave until it crashed down on me and sent Kim to an early grave.
With Sky, I finally have a woman who knows my messy past in its entirety and is still with me despite it. What’s stopping another crash from spiraling into the new good in my life? My personal priority now is Sky, and her career comes a close second to that. I refuse to allow my shit to derail what she’s built in the industry.
I shake the ominous feeling off. It’s nothing. I attribute it to anxiousness from the endless tasks that need to be done, but I don’t mind the busywork. It keeps me focused.
Malik, Sky’s most trusted security chief and surrogate uncle, meets us in the hallway as we leave the hotel suite. He is an imposing figure, in both muscle and height, but he has become a friend since I’ve been with Sky. He is one of the few people I trust to always make sure Sky is safe on all fronts.
He dips his head toward us. “Morning Sky, Brody.”
I give him an appreciative nod in return.
“Morning, Malik,” Sky says. “Everything ready downstairs?”
“All the news outlets are here and ready for you,” Malik says. “Sure you’re up for this and what they may ask this time?”
He doesn’t have to look my way for all of us to know what he means. Seems like I’m not the only one worried about the media bringing up more than our relationship. They can be kind when they want to be. They also know how to dig the knife deeper in the wound, too. It’s just some of the territory that comes with being famous.
Sky takes my hand. “We’re ready.”
A small smile appears on Malik’s face but it disappears just as quickly. As the man who puts his body between Sky and any overzealous fans or would-be attackers, he’s got the intimidation look down to perfection.
“Let’s do it,” Malik says. He takes the lead and another one of his men joins us in the elevator as we go to face the sharks.
Sky is a pro as she faces nonstop questions from the press representatives. I don’t know why I was so fucking nervous. It’s just another thing to add to the list of reasons why I love this woman.
It helps that the line of questioning stays on the tour and her music. She’s direct when she needs to be and coy when they least expect it. If she’d been The Savages’ press spokeswoman back in the day, the journalists wouldn’t have known what hit them.
I bristle when one woman holds her hand up. I recognize her from a prominent music magazine in LA. Her people don’t cover Skylar Samuelson’s kind of music. It’s hardcore rock all the way from classics to indie.
Knowing this begins to fill me with dread. What could she possibly ask Sky?
“Loni from Grunge Nation,” the woman says. “Is it true Savage Saban is your new manager?”
Of course she asks a question that sets off a firestorm of others.
Sky gives her the smile she’s perfected for the public. Only I notice the tiny shift in her body, the one that shows the small tension in her shoulders.
“That’s true,” Sky says. “A damn good one at that, but he’s Brody to me.”
“Isn’t that a little odd?” Loni asks. “Dating your manager?”
Sky leans over the press table. “You work for a music magazine, Loni. You should know in this business nothing’s ever odd. Next question about the tour.”
I take a breath, happy she’s able to redirect the topic. I should have known she’d be able to handle herself.
“Does that mean you fired your mother?” another reporter asks.
“It means we have creative differences. That’s all,” Sky says.
“Isn’t such a drastic change like that risky before the domestic leg of your tour?” a guy in a blazer over a plain t-shirt asks.
“Not when she has my full support,” a voice in the back of the room says.
Everyone turns to the voice as Skylar’s mother stands up.
The woman wears heavy eye makeup and equally dramatic lipstick, a bright leather jacket fits her like she found the most exotic animal in the world and had it shot for her pleasure to wear it, and a gaudy string of pearls are wrapped around her neck. There is no doubt about it. She’s dressed to be noticed.
“Mrs. Samuelson?” Loni asks. “Does this mean you and your daughter still work together?”
Her mother smiles. “My daughter and I may have had a few disagreements in the past, but she’s still my daughter, and I stand by her choices as an artist.”
“Even her rumored performance with Savage Saban on her North American tour?” another reporter asks.
She looks over at her daughter and smiles. “Of course. I think having Savage Saban perform with Sky is a brilliant idea.”
“I don’t like this,” Malik says as he moves up to me. “Wish I could snatch her out of here.”
I nod. “You’re not the only one. I just hope Mama Samuelson doesn’t cause more trouble for Sky.”
“Knowing her mother, that’s more likely than not.”
All I can do is watch as the press scene unfolds and hope the woman cares enough for her daughter not to embarrass her in a room full of cameras ready to capture everything on film.
Two
SKY
My mother always chooses the worst times to make an appearance. This time isn’t any different from the others.
Malik and Brody dismiss the press as I face her. I can tell how much they want to help, but I have to talk to her on my own.
“I thought I fired you, mother,” I tell her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“What a c
old way to greet me,” she says. Her voice takes on that offended tone I’ve gotten used to over the years. She plays all innocent until she’s ready to strike back like a cobra.
I don’t buy her act. I know her too well. “Why are you here?” I ask again. I have no time for her games. Not after the little media stunt she just pulled.
“I may not be your manager anymore, but I’m still your mother. I care about you and your career, despite what you may think of me.”
“Then what was that in the press room? Why would you try to ruin my interview?”
“From the looks of it, I saved it,” she says. “Your boyfriend was hiding and left you to face questions about him all alone.” Her emphasis on boyfriend still shows her distaste for Brody, even if she tries to hide it.
“He didn’t want to be interviewed,” I say.
“That’s ridiculous,” she says. “He’s a famous rock star. They live for the spotlight.”
“Brody’s not like that. Maybe he used to be, but he doesn’t want public attention.”
“Is that what he told you?” She laughs. “Be careful, daughter, or he’ll outshine you before you know it. They’ll be shouting Savage Saban’s name and forget all about Skylar.”
“That’s not going to happen. Brody only agreed to play one song on the tour. He doesn’t want the life he had with The Savages. All of that’s in his past.”
“I’m glad you know him so well then. If he’s not the attention-seeker I’ve made him out to be, maybe he should do more than one song with you.”
I study her face, analyzing the words that just came out of her mouth. Was this the same woman who hated Brody and thought he was only after my money? She’d been so wrong about him. Brody still draws an obscene amount of royalties from The Savages hits. My mother has to know that, given her penchant for keeping her ear to the pulse of the industry, as it were. Now she’s advocating for Savage Saban to perform with me?
“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not bringing you back as my manager.”
“I’m not here to beg for my position back like some lowly dog,” she says, acting insulted. “I simply want to make sure you understand your little rocker may be an asset on this tour. He has a built-in fan base, so having him sing more than one song may be beneficial.”