The Rocker Who Wants Me (The Rocker 7)

By the time the last chord was played on our last song for rehearsal, I was ready to throw a few punches of my own. Damn the two of them. Neither one of them could pull their heads out of their asses to see that they were bringing the reputation of our band down along with their friendship.

Wroth and Liam stood on the side of the stage while I glared after Devlin who stormed off in one direction while Zander did the same in the opposite direction. Jaw clenched, I turned to face the remaining two members of our band. “What the fuck happened last night?”

Liam, who now sported a walking boot over his cast since his last doctor’s visit the week before, shrugged. “Dev took Natalie to some club last night. Zander ended up being there. Apparently Z was drunk as fuck and ended up spilling the beans that no one else seemed to know anything about.” When I just raised a brow at him, Liam shrugged again. “Dev and Z made a bet at the beginning of the tour. First one to bag Nat was considered the winner.”

“Oh fuck,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “Oh. Fucking. Fuck.” This wasn’t good. As in the Stevenson brothers vengeances, not good. Natalie might not have become a part of Drake and Shane’s life until just a few years ago, but that didn’t mean shit. When they heard about this, there would be no place Devlin and Zander could hide from the two Demons.

Wroth grimaced. “Apparently as soon as the words left Z’s mouth, Devlin started throwing punches. Nat didn’t have a choice but to call Emmie, then pay for the damages that they caused from the fight. Did you see Dev’s eye?”

“Or the way Z is holding his ribs when he walks?” Liam shook his shaggy head. “Pretty sure Dev cracked a few of his ribs from the way Z’s walking.”

The sound of heels clacking on cement had us turning our heads to find Natalie walking toward us. The dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her skin, and the bloodshot blue-gray eyes that seemed to be a Stevenson trademark told their own story. I tried to catch her gaze, but she quickly averted her eyes.

Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together in front of her. “I would…” She cleared her throat and started again. “I would appreciate it if none of you mentioned the reasons for last night’s fight to any of the Demon’s Wings guys. Emmie knows, but I’ve asked her not to share the details. My brothers really don’t need to know…” She clenched her jaw and turned away. “Just please, for me, don’t say anything to them.”

As she walked away, her shoulders hunched, the three of us muttered curses under our breath. I waited until she was out of sight before turning to Wroth and Liam. “What the fuck were they thinking? We don’t do this kind of shit anymore.”

Wroth grunted. “Obviously neither one of them got that memo, bro. So, what are we gonna do about it?”

“Emmie will be here tonight. Let’s follow her lead,” Liam offered, and I had to agree that it was the best plan of action.

Liam went to find Linc to do his physical therapy while Wroth went to find Marissa who was helping Harris with his homeschool work in our dressing room. When my cell vibrated with a text message, I pulled it free and groaned out loud at the sight of the picture of Dallas blowing me a kiss. I sent her a message telling her to take her time before saving the picture as my wallpaper so that I could see that gorgeous face blowing kisses at me every time I looked at my phone.

I could have gone back to the hotel, because there was plenty of time before we took the stage at nine, but I knew that if I went back Dallas wouldn’t get any time to herself to relax. She deserved to have some time just for herself. Instead, I pulled up my emails and started going through some of the work I’d put off the day before.

I had some things that needed my attention from America’s Rocker. I’d agreed to sign on for another two seasons if my changes were implemented. Cole Steel wasn’t coming back, but thankfully Drake had agreed to at least another season. The show was a huge success, which had surprised me, because I thought it would be a flop after the first few seasons with the way the producers tended to run everything. I would admit that there had been some amazing talent that had been able to get recognized because of it, last season’s winner being the best of them all.

Obviously, someone was going to have to replace Cole for the next season. The producers were already throwing out names and having sit downs. Two names topped their list though, and I was sure that when Emmie found out who was on that short list she was going to flip her lid. Honestly, the producers better be glad that they got Drake to sign an air tight contract or they would have had to replace him should Tommy Kirkman get the job. Thankfully, Drake and I had some say in who took the third judge’s position and they would be getting a ‘fuck no’ from us.

No way did I want to work with Layla’s father. I’d written him off the same night the fucker had had four of his personal bodyguards jump Jesse. I’d been drunk as hell that night, and gotten my own ass handed to me when I’d jumped in to help Shane help Jesse.

It took more than an hour to deal with my emails, and by the time I put my phone away Dallas was walking through the back doors. She had a smile on her face, so I was sure she hadn’t yet heard about the cluster fuck that had happened the night before or that her friend was basically a shattered shell of herself today. I didn’t want to be the one to wipe that smile off her beautiful face, but I didn’t want her to be blindsided by the news coming from someone else.

Before I could open my mouth, she threw herself into my arms and kissed all rational thoughts from my head. I wrapped my arms around her as she climbed my body, wrapping those long, silky legs around my waist. Her hands thrust into my hair, deepening the kiss and forcing me to back her against the closest wall. Her kiss was full of a wildness that stole my sanity in the blink of an eye.

Breathing hard, she pulled back a long time later. “I missed you,” she whispered before brushing another kiss over my lips.

“Ah, baby, I missed you too.” I skimmed my nose down her neck, inhaling the subtle yet intoxicating scent of her body wash. “Did you enjoy your breakfast in bed?”

“It was perfect. Thanks for that, babe.”

Reluctantly I stepped back and she unwrapped her legs from around my waist. I was rock hard, but would have to suffer for the moment. “I need to tell you something.”

Her eyes lost some of their brightness. “What’s wrong?”