Lovestruck (Rock Goddess Reverse Harem Book 1) Read online

  I flash back to the last night I saw Nick, the weekend after I broke up with Hunter. It’s not easy to find a quiet corner to talk in a night club, but it is when you’re the owner. I hadn’t really had talking in mind, and he hadn’t either. We’d been flirting for the last year, and he’d told me the second I ditched Hunter, I’d need to worry about more than just dirty suggestions. He didn’t hesitate to make good on that promise. A kiss that came perilously close to becoming something more was interrupted by the sound of the fire alarm going off. He’d cursed as we broke apart. Then he smiled as we left the room.

  “Typical, I guess,” he murmured. “Come on, I’ll get you to the fire exit and then I need to make sure my staff are following the procedures properly.” He quickly pressed his lips to mine before I joined the queue of people exiting. “To be continued,” he called after me. “That’s a promise, Eden.”

  The moment the cool air hit me I wondered what I’d thought I was doing. Nick didn’t deserve to be a rebound, but that’s exactly what was going to happen if I went back inside once the building was cleared for re-entry. I texted Sky that I was leaving. She was there with Cain anyway.

  Nick had texted me a couple of times after that, trying to make a date. I’d let him down gently, telling him I wasn’t ready. He’d asked what my plans were once he found out I was taking a break from making music. I’d told him I was probably leaving L.A. I’d thought that was the last I’d hear from him. I cut my phone off and left town. Escape was all that I could think about.

  Thinking about Nick now, I hope this is our ‘to be continued’, but it’s all going to come down to one thing. Acceptance.

  Logan’s hurtful words burned through me. I’m not a slut and I won’t jump into bed with a man I don’t love. I never had, and I never would. No matter how handsome or charming he might be.

  More than that, I won’t sleep with a man who doesn’t agree to my conditions now. I can’t risk letting what happened with Logan happen with anyone else. This is heartache enough. I won’t put myself through that again for anything.

  I walk down the corridor to the bar and enter as Sky puts down her glass. She beams at me. “Ready?”

  “I think so.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  * * *

  NICK

  I sit in my office, watching the CCTV footage of the front of the building, wondering when they’ll show. If, I remind myself. When it comes to Eden and Skyler, there are no guarantees. One of the things I like about them, usually. Tonight, my nerves are a little frayed. Eden’s going to ask why I bought this place. She’s going to wonder what the hell I’m doing here. One little kiss and I’m chasing her across the country to some ass-end-of-nowhere town? She probably thinks I’m an idiot. Hell, she’s probably got a replacement for Hunter already. Some equally brooding and vain muscle-bound jerk-off lugging around a trailer full of emotional baggage.

  I sigh and top up my whiskey. I’m turning into a cliché. The alcoholic barman. Drinking to forget the hot blonde who left him high and dry. Pathetic, really. I shrug and take another gulp. Maybe they won’t show up. I should put the bottle away. Capping it, I open my desk drawer and stuff it back in there. I pop a couple of mints in my mouth. I should just leave. They’re not coming.

  Movement on the screen catches my eye as I stand up. No fucking way. A smile spreads my lips out as I head to the doors. They actually came. I open the door and lean out.

  “Hey, L.A. girls. What are you doing out in this neck of the woods?”

  Skyler rolls her eyes at me. I can see her bodyguard a few steps behind. Good. She brought Cain. I’ll get the chance to be alone with Eden. My gaze moves to her and I can’t help the beats my heart skips just looking at her. Those soft, full, lips. That perfect hourglass figure. I smile and shake my head as she gets to the door and stops wiggling those hips so beautifully.

  Sighing, I look her over. “You haven’t changed one bit.”

  “I could say the same about you,” she tells me, “but I don’t even know where to start.”

  I shrug and move to hold the door open for her. “Why don’t we start with some drinks and a mini-tour?”

  She nods as she enters, and I check out her ass in the tight skirt of her LBD. Damn. She really hasn’t changed. I really hope her lack of an escort means she hasn’t been claimed by another meat-headed prick. A lot can happen in a couple of months. Especially to a woman as gorgeous as Eden.

  “I saw that,” Skyler tells me as she pokes me in the chest with one of her pointed nails. Caught me looking, so what. She moves past, and Cain shoots me a wry smile as he follows her in. He might as well have a leash around his neck. She snaps her fingers and he comes. I’m guessing sometimes literally, going by their secret hook-ups. Lets just hope they’re in the mood for one of those tonight. It’ll make it so much easier to get time alone with Eden.

  I close the door and lock it behind us. This strikes me as the kind of town you don’t need to lock your doors, but that’s for people a little on the gullible side. Knowing your town is safe and quiet is one thing. There’s always the threat of outsiders. Opportunists, drifters. People who prey on gullible nice towns folk who leave their doors unlocked. Safety is never a guarantee.

  I walk up the entrance stairs and find my guests at the top, taking a good look around. There’s a bar, and a large area to stand around up here. There are stairs down to a dance floor and a seating area with another bar. And there’s a cloakroom, my office, and a VIP room.

  “Are you in the mood for your usual, ladies?” The Unicorn Fuzz cocktail always makes a nice sweet starter. It’s also pretty damn strong.

  I head behind the bar and start lining up the ingredients.

  “We’ll start with that,” Skyler says, which tells me she’s in one of her experimental moods. She’s going to keep me on my toes tonight. “Get one for Cain too.”

  His eyes widen briefly, and she shrugs at him. Apparently, I’m not the only one being kept on my toes.

  “This town is boring, Cain. You’re not going to have to put up with much more than Logan being an asshole. Might as well enjoy yourself.”

  “Logan?” I raise an eyebrow at her as I start mixing the drinks. I pull a bottle of Bud out the freezer and uncap it before I get the candy floss for the cocktails. I put it down on the bar and nod to Cain.

  “Thanks,” he mutters as he takes it.

  Sky frowns at me. “Yeah, he just popped up unannounced and started being his usual asshole self.”

  She snatches the beer out of Cain’s hand and puts it down on the bar. “What did I tell you about beer?” He shrugs, and she sighs, like she’s a weary mother sick of having to tell her kid off for not doing as he’s told. “He’s having a cocktail with us.”

  He doesn’t look very happy about that, but my brain is too busy catching on her mention of Logan to notice. The guy has a serious thing for Eden, like he would take a bullet for her kind of serious. This can’t be good. I glance at her as I pour the drinks.

  “Too bad you didn’t bring him.” I watch Eden’s face for a sign, any sign. She doesn’t betray her feelings, her expression remains impassive. I’m not sure what to think. “I’m kind of in the mood for a fist fight.”

  Sky laughs. “If we’d brought him, you would have gotten one for that look you gave her when we came in.”

  Eden glares at her, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Eden can tell you all about it once you hit the power to the D.J. booth. I’m in the mood for dancing tonight.”

  “It’s nothing. He’s leaving. He wasn’t invited,” Eden says as I pass her a glass of the pinkish purple drink.

  It’s a relief, but I think I’d feel better if I knew all the details. I guess the night is young. It’s not even ten yet. Sky swipes her drink and Cain’s out of my hands and he just looks at his when she puts it in his hand.

  She sips hers and her eyes roll up in her head. “Oh my fucking God. I’ve missed th
ese.”

  “You’re very welcome.” I pick up the open bottle of beer and take a swig. “Can’t let good beer go to waste. Who wants the tour?”

  Skyler peers around and heads immediately towards the dance floor. Eden smiles helplessly at me.

  “I think we all know what Sky wants to do.” She stirs her drink with the straw and sips it slowly, before she follows her friend. Cain drops his straw on the counter and sinks the super sugary drink in one long swallow before he dumps the glass on the bar. I catch the grimace as he turns back to us.

  “Don’t ask,” he says, heading down.

  I shrug. “Wasn’t going to.”

  Skyler is already rooting around in the D.J. booth when I get to the dance floor. Eden is holding her half-finished drink. Sky stands up and squeals excitedly.

  “They have it!”

  I frown at the record in her hands. Some newer Emo band’s latest track. Skyler always did have terrible taste in music. Which seems weird considering the kind she makes is more mainstream.

  “I’m not so sure I want to hit the power.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Oh, just go take Eden on the tour. We’ll help ourselves to drinks and play some awesome music while you’re gone.”

  “You’ll do one of those things,” I mutter as I hit the switch and the booth lights up.

  Skyler has D.J. experience, so I’m not afraid she’ll fuck up the decks. Not that it’s an incredibly complicated set-up. Still, at least I know I don’t need to worry about that.

  “You up for the tour?” I ask Eden.

  She nods and passes Cain Sky’s drink as she passes. He stands close to the booth like a dog waiting for his master. I shake my head as I take Eden back up the stairs.

  She puts her drink down on the bar and I see it’s empty.

  “You want another?” I put the beer down. It’s not finished. For some reason that shit takes me way longer to drink than straight spirits.

  She shakes her head. “Not right now.”

  “Come see the VIP room.” I take her hand. She lets me, which is a pretty good start.

  There’s a half-circle sectioned off before the stairs that lead up to the glass boxed VIP room. It’s not a huge room, but there’s a massive L-shaped leather sofa group and some glass tables in front of it. I already laid out champagne and chocolates. In the hopes that she’d show.

  She walks in and steps out of her shoes. So far, so good. The carpet is super-plush. I see it in her expression she’s impressed as she digs her toes in.

  “Nice VIP room,” she tells me.

  “Glad you approve.” I would have offered to take her coat if she was wearing one. As it is, the sexy dress is all she has on, presumably other than underwear.

  She lets go of my hand to go look out over the dance floor below. I come stand beside her.

  “Is it soundproofed up here?” She asks because Sky is starting to dance like nobody’s watching and no music is filtering through.

  “I have speakers hooked up that can be set to the D.J. system, or to play something specific. They’re not switched on.”

  She steps back from the glass paneling and I smile at her.

  “It’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long.”

  She smiles back but there’s a faraway look in her eyes. “It’s good to see you too.”

  “But?” And there is one, she just doesn’t seem to want to bring it out.

  She bites on her lower lip.

  “Oh, there’s definitely something on your mind, Eden,” I tell her. “That sexy little lip bite says it all. What’s going on up there?” I stroke the loose tendrils of her hair back from her face, wondering how she’d react if I just kissed her. I’m not used to playing things so carefully, but I don’t want to scare her off when I’m not totally sure this is still something she wants.

  “I missed you too, but some things have changed for me.”

  I fucking knew it. She has a boyfriend already. Damn. “What changed?”

  “I wasn’t happy for such a long time. While I was with Hunter. And I know what you’re thinking. What everyone must be thinking. But it wasn’t all on him. I wasn’t being true to myself.”

  Shit. This sounds like a serious change. Is she actually into girls now? Because holy shit, the possibilities… But again, damn. I’m not going to get a chance with this woman.

  “Why did you come here, Nick?”

  An odd feeling comes over me as she touches my arm, her gaze fixed on mine. I wouldn’t have lied to her, but for some reason I’m not in the mood to joke around a little before I’m straight with her for once.

  “I had to see you again.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I fucking love you, Eden. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt this way about.” Oh, shit. Now it’s really out there. I can’t take it back. My heart starts to pound wildly.

  “I love you too, Nick. But things have changed for me. I’m not the same person I was.”

  “You love me?” I can’t help the grin. I realize I hadn’t known that and I kind of feel like an idiot. I’d suspected she might feel some semblance of the way I felt about her, but I’d never dreamed it would be on the same level. Never to the point of her telling me that she loves me.

  She smiles, but there’s a hint of sadness to that expression. “I do. Here’s the thing, Nick. I love someone else too, and I can’t go back to monogamy. It’s just not possible.”

  A spark of desire bursts through me. It’s a much kinkier problem than I’d expected her to blurt out, and the thought of it turns me on more than anything else.

  “You’re with someone else?”

  She nods. “So, I need to know if you can deal with that.”

  I can’t help the slow grin that spreads. “Hell, yeah, I can deal with that.” I pause, and a thought occurs to me. “Wait. Tell me it’s not Logan.” I might be okay with this, but that guy never would be in a million years.

  “It’s not.” She shakes her head. “Are you staying in town?”

  “I am for now.” I planned to stay for the month to get the place running smoothly. “I’ll be here half of the time from next month on, a few days every week.”

  She nods, and her arms move around my neck.

  “Finally,” I say as I lower my lips to hers. She tastes just as sweet as she did the first time.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  * * *

  EDEN

  Nick lifts me over to the couch and climbs on top of me. His stubble burns my skin as his kiss turns passionate. His hand slides up my leg, under my skirt, to get to my ass. His fingers grab hungrily at me as his tongue invades my mouth. My body feels like it’s on fire. I’m burning up under his touch.

  He moves back, gasping, his gaze full of desire. “I haven’t been able to think about anything else but you, since you left L.A. I’ve dreamt about this, Eden. About having you in every conceivable way a man can have a woman. I want it all.”

  “Take it,” I beg him, running my hands down his chest to caress the bulge in his jeans. “All of it.”

  He moves back and pulls his clothes off. His toned body feels good and hard when he moves back over me. I reach out to stroke his shaft and my fingers don’t meet when I curl my hand around it. Realizing the thickness of his dick makes me shiver in anticipation. He’s going to stretch my wet pussy out with that thing. Not just my pussy, I remind myself. My back arches at the thought of what we’re about to do.

  He gazes down at me and guides my hand up and down his thick shaft. “I want to rip that dress right off of you. Tear it to shreds so you can’t ever leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Nick.” I love the thought of him tearing the material, but I sit up and peel the dress off so I don’t regret anything later. I wore underwear that has ribbons to untie to remove and thin black lace panels covering what needs covered. He moves down and sucks my nipples into rock solid points through the thin lace of the bra, one long languorous suck at a time. I can feel my pan
ties getting wetter with every passing second. He reaches down and pulls. The ribbons slacken at my hips and his second tug releases my panties from me entirely. He throws them to the ground.

  “Open your mouth,” he commands, his hand going around the back of my head.

  I open wide to take his dick into my mouth. The tip is already wet, and the salty taste sends my senses into overdrive. My pussy is practically pulsing to feel him inside. I choke his length down and start to move. His dick feels so good filling my mouth, I devour it hungrily. He moans and pulls me back, shaking his head.

  “You’re too good at that.” His voice is husky.

  “Please, fuck me, Nick.”

  “Turn around and stick your ass out, lean over the back of the couch.”

  I do as told and his hands grip my hips an instant later. The tip of his dick presses at the entrance to my soaking wet pussy and I almost lose it. It feels so big. He pushes in slowly, bit by bit. He starts to rock, and I’m almost seeing stars. Then his hand slips to my clit and the movement of his fingers combined with having him fill me makes me come so hard I scream his name out loud.

  He pulls my body up to stroke my breasts, his dick still firmly implanted in my contracting pussy. He kisses my neck and whispers in my ear, “Suck my fingers. Get them nice and wet.” He puts two fingers in my mouth, the fingers he used to stroke me to climax. I do as I’m told and suck them, wetting them with my saliva. He removes them and positions me back where I was. His dick moves out a little, but he’s still firmly inside me. When his fingers start to circle the pucker of my ass, I moan at the thought of what’s coming next. He pulls out and I gasp in anticipation.

  “I want to make sure I get you wet enough.” His fingers plunge into my pussy, then one finger is back at my ass, rubbing my juices into the hole before sliding inside. “Fuck. You’re so tight.”

  His dick presses at the entrance to my pussy and he starts to rock again. It feels so naughty to be fucked this way, while he fingers my ass, teasing it open enough to fit in two slick fingers. The sensation fires me up. I want his dick in there so badly, but I don’t want him to stop anything he’s doing.