Beautiful Rose (Beautiful Rose 1)

by,

I’m scared to move on, but I need to try,

Love lost and found, you’ve stolen my heart,

How can something so powerful break me apart,

“That was amazing,” Rose whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. “Wow.”

“Thanks. Writing songs helps me put things into perspective,” I smiled. “Maybe one day you’ll sing with me?” I raised my eyebrows, excepting another brush off. If I was anything, it was determined for the world to hear her voice.

“Maybe,” she said lightly. I laughed. Judging by her expression, you’d think I’d just asked her to jump out of a thirty story building with me. She blushed. “I’m not like you. I hate people looking at me.”

“Trust me, Rose. When you sing, people would stop and listen. I mean really listen. Sure, people would be staring at you but they’d be thinking exactly what I think; where the hell has this astonishing, extraordinary beauty been hiding herself?”

She snorted and covered her face. “Please, stop!” she groaned. “Just thinking about it makes me sick.” I inched closer to her, until I stood in front of her. Nudging her knees apart, I bent down until we were eye level. I reached over, my hand tracing the outline of her jaw. She looked up at me, her brown eyes wide. I saw confusion and fear…and anticipation.

She wanted this as much as I did.

My hand grasped the back of her neck, my lips crushing against hers in a deep kiss. Our tongues clashed, both desperate to explore each other. This girl made me feel alive. She ignited something so deep inside me that had been buried for so long I wasn’t even sure it existed. My cock hardened as my mind explored the many things I wanted to do to her, most of which involved shredding those clothes from her body, and exploring every inch of her.

“This is what you do to me Rose, so don’t ever think you’re not special.” My voice came out in a low growl. I stood up, with her gazing up at me, shocked, bewildered. I reached down and tucked her hair behind her ears. “One day I’m going to get you on that stage, Rose. Because there is nothing sexier in this world than your voice.”

#

Mr Jefferies purred madly as he rubbed against my thigh. I grinned, tickling him behind the ear where I knew he enjoyed it most. He stepped over onto me and circled around in my lap, before curling up.

With him happy, I went back to working on my latest song. My notebook had slowly begun to fill with music, some finished and some not. There was always something to inspire my writing. Early on, all of my work had been reflective of heartbreak and loss. It still was, but to a lesser extent.

My music showed the path I'd taken to heal myself after losing Belle. I was by no means over her—I didn't think I ever would be—but I could think about her now without the sorrow I'd felt when it was all still so raw.

My latest song was about trying to move on, but I wasn’t getting anywhere with it. Which was kind of how I was feeling about Rose. I wasn't stupid. I knew I felt something, especially after today. I just wasn't sure whether I was ready to move on from Belle.

That in itself sounded ridiculous to me, because I'd been with Harmony for over a year. But there was a difference in giving yourself to someone physically letting yourself be completely vulnerable emotionally. If anyone had taught me that, it was Belle.

God, Rose.

I'd managed to avoid what I was feeling for almost three years.

Why now? And why her?

And why did I feel so fucking guilty about it? I was doing my best to push her from my head, but even thinking about another girl in the same way I did about Belle made me feel sick. The last few weeks made me realize that I still had plenty of shit I needed to work out.

Chapter Fifteen

Rose

After four weeks I was finally beginning to feel at home. The apartment was small, but it had a nice feel about it. Marina was away for the week so I had the place to myself again. Even though we hadn’t spent much time together, we got along really well. Sometimes, when you meet someone, you just know you're going to click.

But then again, I’d thought the same thing about Jack.

I pushed him out of my mind—for now at least. Today was about me, and enjoying the day at home.

I walked through the living room and into the kitchen and headed straight for the cupboards, already knowing what to expect. Sure enough, they were still bare, apart from three granola bars. What, had I thought the grocery fairies might’ve stocked up overnight? No such luck. I was going to have to shop, and then start my “Me” day.

I grabbed my keys and my phone. Just as I picked it up, it rang.

"Hi Darce," I said, walking out the door.