Rock Star Returns: Carlie's Story (Access All Areas 2)

"Well, actually, you could." I managed a wan smile.

"Other than that, I have nothing but words to convince you."

I should've put it all out there then. He had more than words. He had his actions. It wasn't fair to expect this all-or-nothing reaction from me. I wanted to be with him but it'd take time, a lot of time, before I'd be comfortable with him. Second chances don't come that easily and they don't come without work.

Even though I knew that had to be said, I bit my lip and looked into Holden's eyes. Instead of talking, I pulled him to me and kissed him with a violent passion that surprised even me. My mouth would be bruised but I needed the reassurance of his body. Talking could wait. I had to have him. He responded with the same roughness, kissing me so deep that it felt like we'd crawl into each other's skins.

He backed me against the wall and grabbed my arms, holding them over my head as his body ground against mine. His hard cock rubbed against my leg until I arched my back towards him, wanting him inside me.

"Carlie? Are you busy?"

Fucking Drew. Could the bar not survive five minutes without me? A quick fuck in the storeroom, that's all I wanted. Hard and fast against the wall.

"Ignore him," Holden whispered, sliding his hand under my skirt.

As his fingers crept into my panties, I suppressed a sigh.

"Be there in a minute," I called. The bar could wait.

Chapter 22

r /> I'D TAKEN THE DAY OFF work because I could do that. We laid in bed, Holden’s arms wrapped around me and my head resting on his chest.

"A whole day to ourselves, what are we going to do with it?" Holden asked. "Do you still love rollercoasters? I saw some posters for a carnival, we could hit that up."

I loved that he remembered shit like that. Shit that I'd even forgotten myself. It'd been years since I'd gone on rides. Suddenly, the memories flooded back.

Going to the carnival with Holden as friends, and him slipping his hand into mine for the first time. I’d tried to hide my smile from him but I’d shone brighter than any of those carnival lights. I’d squeezed his hand tight and we’d both turned to each other at the same time and knew from that moment on, it’d be impossible for us to be just friends.

"Are you sure about the carnival? I seemed to recall someone who was scared shitless and ended hurling his guts up."

Holden laughed. Fully laughed, convulsing even.

"Hell yeah, that was some ride. We can stick to the tamer stuff. That'll be fine."

"Screw you, Holden. You stick to the kiddie rides. I'm going hard. It's no fun otherwise." I punched him for good measure.

I could handle the rides, even the ones that have you flipping around in the air, defying gravity, but there was one ride that scared the shit out of me and had my stomach churning all over the place — and that was this love ride Holden had me on.

All this sunshine and rainbows and being together like we fit, that was scary as hell.

"You could make a picnic for us," Holden said.

"I'm not a picnic-making kind of girl, you know that. I'm more the scoffing down junk food until my stomach can handle no more kind. I'm going to eat every fried thing I can lay my hands on and then follow it up with sugary junk. That's my plan."

Holden poked my belly.

“You don’t look like you eat too much junk food.”

“Yeah, because I train hard. I burn a million calories a day.” To be honest, I didn’t eat junk food much but, if I had the chance, I sure would.

"It's okay for you. I'm in the public eye. My fans will kill you when I pack on a zillion kilograms and can't fit on stage."

"Yeah? Well, that's too bad for you. You can have a salad and watch me scoff myself stupid."

I smiled to myself as I picked out my outfit. I put on a cherry patterned sundress with a halter neck and flared skirt. I’d bought it ages ago, thinking it was really cute but it wasn’t really appropriate to wear to work and I’d only been to the bar and the gym for the last year. It wasn't healthy to be stuck in the bar all day and night but then it had improved my Galaga game out of sight.

Until Holden ruined that.