Face the Music (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (7 page)

He went through a set of gates that always reminded him of cemetery gates and went up a long and private road. The townhouse development was quiet and peaceful. Definitely ironic for someone like Asher to live in, but Sam told him it was a good investment. In a few years when the band would want to move to a beach or something, Asher could sell the townhouse for a good chunk of change. Not that he, or any of the other band members, needed more money. They were well off and could retire now if they wanted to. It was so crazy to think about.

Asher parked the car and turned it off. He turned and looked at Jocelyn. “Why don’t you come inside and have a drink or something. Catch your breath and collect your thoughts. Then I’ll take you anywhere you need to go.”

Jocelyn looked at him. The pale light from the streetlights flooded the car. Asher saw Jocelyn’s eyes glaze over as she fought back tears.

“You don’t have to…”

“Just come with me, love. I’m not sending you off like this. I’m not going to sleep unless I know you’re okay.”

Jocelyn flickered a smile.

Asher exited the car and walked around to Jocelyn's door. He opened it and she stepped out slowly. She followed him to the door and hesitated as he held the front door open for her.

"You are safe her, Jocelyn. Please, do not worry."

She nodded and walked inside past him. He couldn't help but inhale her subtle perfume.

 Once inside, he hurried to the bar area that was filled with several kinds of bottles - some expensive, some not - and grabbed two glasses. He turned and saw Jocelyn standing at the door that went out to the balcony. He walked over to the door, creeping up behind Jocelyn.

He put his hand out and grabbed the handle, flicking the lock.

Jocelyn gasped and let out a small yell.

“Sorry,” Asher said, noting again just how jumpy she was. “Go outside. Best part of this place. I love standing out here.”

Asher slid the door open and Jocelyn put her hand to his wrist. She looked at him, her bottom lip quivering.

“Is your hand okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” Asher said. “I must have cut myself on one of his damn teeth.”

Jocelyn smiled again. “Okay.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Asher asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it right now. Is that wrong?”

“Not at all.”

They stepped outside and Asher shut the door behind him. He hadn't been on the balcony since that reporter was over for a night of fun.

Jocelyn grabbed the railing and looked out to the darkness.

“You know, that guy is a total asshole,” Asher said. “And I can’t stop thinking about it. From the second I saw you the other night. It just…”

Jocelyn looked down. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Okay. Well, we have time. I don’t usually sleep unless the sun’s about to come up. So I have hours to kill, and a stocked bar in there. Can I get you a drink?”

“Yeah,” Jocelyn said. “That would be great.”

“Anything special?”

“No. Whatever works.”

Asher laughed. “Whatever works?”

“Whatever makes tonight… well, whatever erases
part
of tonight."

That was all Asher needed to hear. He went back inside, to the bar, and stood there for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Normally this would be a complete no-brainer. Drink, make out, get into bed, and see you as you leave the next morning. But Jocelyn was completely different. She wouldn’t have been the first
taken
woman in Asher’s bed (if that’s where she ended up) but considering what brought her here…

Asher poured two drinks and balanced them in his left hand as he opened the door. His hand started to shake. When he looked out, he caught Jocelyn wiping the sides of her eyes.

“Here you go,” he said, his eyes dancing up and down the back of her body.

He wanted to watch her slither out of those jeans.

She’s beautiful…

Jocelyn took the drink and in a matter of a few big gulps, the glass was empty. Without missing a beat, she grabbed Asher's drink from his hand and downed that one too.

She set both glasses down and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I never drink like this.”

“No apology necessary,” Asher said. “Tell me about yourself. I mean, you already sort of know who I am.”

“I listened to all your songs the other night,” Jocelyn said. “After I went home.”

Asher grinned. He turned and leaned against the railing. “Really?”

Jocelyn blushed. She fought a smile. “Yeah. I felt like an idiot meeting you and not realizing who you were.”

Asher nodded. “Thanks. Hope you enjoyed the music.”

“It’s good,” Jocelyn said. “Really good. I used to like music. A lot. It was always kind of fun to annoy my father, you know? I'd pick the loudest bands or the darkest rockstars. Just to get to him.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. Life?”

“What does life have to do with it?”

“I… other things came up.”

“So you ditched music for other things?” Asher asked.

“I grew up.”

“So I’m not a grown up?”

“I didn’t say that, Asher.”

“I’m just trying to figure you out.”

“I took on an image, okay?”

“What image?”

“Business. And stuff.”

“And stuff,” Asher said. “You don’t seem to be happy with that.”

“I am. I mean, it’s fun.”

“What do you do?”

Jocelyn picked at her thumb. She bit her lip.

She’s nervous. Why?

“Hey,” Asher said. “You can talk to me, love. I’m not going to judge you. I’m not going to…”
What do I say? Not hit you? Not hurt you?
“Just relax, okay? Try to.”

“Yeah. Sure. I design clothes and stuff. I mean, I own my own business.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s pretty awesome. You run your own company?”

“Well, Chad runs it. I started it. He handles the business side of everything.”

“That does not sound like a good vote of confidence.”

Jocelyn snickered. “Can I get another drink?”

“Of course. Stay put.”

Asher didn’t mind getting two more drinks. He needed a quick breather. Every muscle in his body was tense. Standing near a woman like Jocelyn was hard enough, but trying to get the image out of his mind of that asshole -
Chad
- smacking her was impossible. He wanted so badly to just wrap his arms around her and keep her safe.

He went back outside on the balcony and gave Jocelyn another drink. She drank it slower this time, but her eyes revealed that the first two were having an effect on her.

“Tell me more,” Asher said. “About your business.”

“I started it in college as part of a project. I designed a few things, and then I started working with local businesses and small retailers, and it took off from there. It is doing really well actually, but Chad wants to go big. That’s hard to do. Takes a lot of time, work, and money. That’s why we were at The Jack the other night and tonight. He was trying to get money out of someone.”

“Oh? That’s not something you’re into?”

“I don’t know. I like where I am.” Jocelyn shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, it all used to be fun. Designing. Getting opinions. Making the clothes, selling them. But lately it’s been… processed.” She looked at Asher. “You know what I mean?”

“Christ, do I get that,” Asher said. “We’ve fought that as a band for a while. It is so rare for bands to have creative control these days. We fought hard to keep that. But you have to fight for it. Especially when you love what you do.”

“You make it sound easy,” Jocelyn said. “My father is a businessman himself. So it’s hard. I don't really have anywhere to turn.”

“What would your father think if he knew about tonight?”

The question made Jocelyn look away. She sucked in a shaky breath and then finished off her entire drink in one big gulp.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Jocelyn said. “Can we go inside?”

“Anything you want,” Asher said.

Jocelyn turned to take a step and it looked like someone cut off her legs. Either she twisted her ankle, lost her balance, or the three drinks got the best of her in that second. Either way, she was going down and fast.

Asher lunged, catching Jocelyn in his arms. His hands were touching her,
touching that sweet body of hers
, and he fell back, crashing against the railing. He ignored the pain in both hands, only able to focus on the beautiful woman in his arms, looking up at him. Her left hand touched his shoulder. Those blue-green eyes were large and captivating.

“You okay?” Asher asked.

“I…”

“Let me help you inside,” he said.

Asher slid the door open, but before he could shut the door behind them, Jocelyn let out a small cry and grabbed his right hand.

“You’re bleeding again,” she said.

Asher looked down and sure enough, blood was running down his fingers. When he caught Jocelyn and bumped into the railing, he scraped his hand open again.
The hand he had used to punch that asshole in the face.

“I’m fine,” Asher said. “I’ll go wash up. Okay? Hey, make yourself at home right here. Whatever you need, let me know.”

Jocelyn didn’t let his wrist go. She just stared up at him. Asher stared down at her. There was honesty in her eyes. An honesty that was dying to pour out, but she was too afraid to let it. It pissed Asher off. No woman should live in fear of being honest.

The seconds collected and the temptation grew. Asher caught his lip starting to curl. He swallowed hard when Jocelyn bit her bottom lip. Her eyes somehow got wider, prettier.

Bite that lip again, love, and I’m going to fucking kiss it.

*

I want him to kiss me.

Shit, no. I can’t…

Jocelyn felt Asher pull away. She loosened her grip, not that she really had to. If Asher wanted to get away, he was far stronger than her. However, something inside Jocelyn told her that Asher would never use his strength against her. No. He would use his strength for her. To help her. To protect her.

When Asher turned, he hung his head and looked at his right hand. The second he was out of sight, Jocelyn let all the emotion rush to her. She had been outside on the balcony alone, twice, but each time she could still see Asher standing at his bar, making drinks.

The townhouse was lathered in a cool, rockstar kind of beauty. Dark colors, wood trim, the massive bar. It was definitely a bachelor pad. As she looked around, she just didn't get the feeling that he was the party animal, stoner, irresponsible person that she had read about the other night when she did excessive research into him. His quick actions with Chad hinted that he had a good heart. And a strength that made it known that he shouldn't be messed with.

Chad walked around thinking and acting as if he was untouchable and he sold it so well that Jocelyn started to believe that he possessed some kind of power over everyone else.

But not Asher.

The second Asher realized that Chad had hit her he made sure Chad paid for it.

Jocelyn closed her eyes and saw it happen again. Asher punching Chad in the face. Then kicking him. Yelling at him. Making Chad feel like the piece of garbage he was.

She opened her eyes, smiling, the room slowly spinning. She put her hands out to keep her balance. She knew she was a little drunk, but drunk was okay sometimes. Especially this kind of drunk. The kind that had her slowly heading toward the bathroom. Nervousness and excitement spread through her body like a raging fire.

The bathroom door was slightly open. To Jocelyn that meant Asher wasn’t concerned with privacy. He was a rockstar. She could tell by the way that he looked at her that he thought she was pretty. Or was the alcohol making her think that?

Regardless, Jocelyn had her hand on the door as her heart jumped in her throat. She pushed the door open. She heard the sound of rushing water and saw Asher with his head down. From her viewpoint, she could see the blood mixing in the water.

Asher turned the water off and reached for a towel. He wiped his hands and flexed both of them. He looked up in the mirror and, in the reflection, their eyes met. Jocelyn waited for Asher to smile, but he didn’t.

He slowly turned around and put his hands to the sink.

He looked so sexy standing there. His shirt was pulled up and rested on the top of his jeans. And for some damn reason, it turned Jocelyn on that he wasn’t wearing a belt.

Easier access… duh…

“Everything okay?” Asher asked.

She shook her thoughts away.

Jocelyn nodded. “Yeah. I, uh, feel like I’ve been a burden to you tonight.”

“Well, you have been,” Asher said and half grinned.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s okay though. I don’t mind the distraction.”

Jocelyn swallowed hard.
Distraction.
“I don’t think I really said thank you to you.”

“You did. A few times.”

“No, but like really meant it. Thank you, Asher. I… I was scared. I never get a chance to say that to anyone. But I guess I can say it now. To you. I was scared. He never… choked me… and…”

“Christ, love,” Asher said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid to even ask more about it. It’s going to make me want to kill him. I just wish I could ask why and get an answer.”

“Me too,” Jocelyn whispered. She blinked and touched her cheeks. She took a deep breath. “But this is about you now. I want to thank you for doing that. For stepping in and saving me. I don’t really believe anyone else would have done that.”

“Any guy that would have walked by a beautiful woman like you, who was in obvious trouble, is a complete moron. And I’d love to crack them in the face, too.”

“Beautiful?” Jocelyn asked. “You really…”

“Are you serious right now? Have you looked in the mirror lately? I can’t stop thinking about your damn eyes. I swear, Jocelyn, I could see them burning at me from the stage from where you were sitting tonight. I can't get over it.”

Jocelyn knew she was officially standing at the line. Asher wasn’t being vulnerable, but he was being sweet.
So sexy, so sweet
. She couldn’t remember the last time someone told her she was beautiful. Hell, she didn’t even want to remember. It wasn’t important. Right now was important. This moment. These seconds. The invisible line in front of her that would either have her leaving the bathroom and calling someone for a ride, or jumping into Asher's sexy arms and letting the night go wherever it needed to go.