Face the Music (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (9 page)

Purple. Of course she’d wear purple…

They looked skimpy and lacy. As sexy as they were on the floor Asher wanted to see what they looked on her Jocelyn. The places they hugged, covered -
didn’t cover
.

That was the last straw for him. He’d given her fair warning.

“Okay, here’s your…”

Asher saw Jocelyn on her back, one hand at her side, the other hand on her belly. Sound asleep. He walked to the bed and stared down at her. Her hair on the pillow. Head slightly turned. Lips parted as she breathed. The best part was that she had a smile on her face. She was comfortable, peaceful.

And with that, Asher embarked on something completely new. He put one glass on the nightstand and drank the other in one big drink. He was going to let Jocelyn just sleep. He leaned down and caught himself an inch from kissing her cheek.

What the hell are you doing, man?

Asher froze and started to pull back. Jocelyn’s hand shot up and grabbed his arm.

“Come next to me,” she whispered. “I’m cold.”

Cold?

There were three blankets on the damn bed.

But Asher couldn’t refuse. It was like this woman had cracked his skull and was trying to embed herself in his mind. Slowly, Asher climbed onto the bed and got next to Jocelyn. He put an arm around her and pulled, making sure she was close. And warm.

Jocelyn let out a sigh. “Thank you, Asher. For everything tonight.”

Asher swallowed hard, sucking back everything he wanted to do to Jocelyn’s beautiful body right now. The way that t-shirt covered her body was enticing. Yet he could see her ample breasts pushing against the shirt. The sight of her smooth legs sticking out from the t-shirt, knowing that there was literally nothing on under that shirt.

“No problem,” Asher whispered. “I… you should just get some sleep. Okay, love?”

“Okay,” Jocelyn whispered. “It’s cute when you say
love
.”

 “Thanks,” Asher said.

Jocelyn adjusted her head to the pillow. Asher got another whiff of her shampoo. Nothing like smoke, booze, cheap sprays, and all that other crap Asher was used to. No way. Right now, sleeping next to him, this was a woman. A real woman. A good woman. A woman who deserved a good, real man.

Asher stared down at her. He touched her cheek and gritted his teeth.

Asher knew he was a man. But he was also a rockstar. Not some knight in shining armor. He wore a guitar and wrote songs. That sometimes saved people, but not in the way Asher saved Jocelyn tonight. All he walked to know now was that she would never get hurt again.

(8)

Asher woke up with his eyes trying to focus on the ceiling in his bedroom. He put his hands behind his head and stretched his legs. This would be the point when the lucky visitor who was allowed to stay over would touch his chest, make a comment, and maybe enjoy one last round of fun before walking out of his life for good.

But there was nothing.

Nobody touching him. Kissing him. Flirting with him.

Asher turned his head and saw that that bed was empty. He reached across the bed and touched the pillow, squeezing it with his hand. His first reaction was to dive from the bed and find her. Find Jocelyn and make sure she was safe. Try to tell her that what he’d done for her wasn’t part of his normal routine.

But what the hell difference would that make?

Asher inched toward the end of the bed and looked over. The clothes were gone. No shirt, no bra, no jeans, no shoes. No purple panties. And the damn bedroom door was shut. The only thing left of Jocelyn was the glass on the nightstand. The drink she wanted but never tasted. Still full - even a little more full looking now because the ice had melted overnight.

Normally, this wasn’t all that of a bad thing. Not many women would just get up and get out before Asher waking. This was usually the part where Asher would hit the pillow again for more sleep or order some breakfast and bask in the glory of being alone and living the rockstar life.

Not this morning though.

He fell back on the bed and looked at his hands. His left hand throbbed a little. It always did this in the morning. Like the muscles and tendons in his hand became super tight when he slept. But to his surprise, once his hand got flexing, it felt pretty good. He could wiggle his fingers and even crackle a couple knuckles. As he did that, he noticed his right hand. His middle knuckle looking fat and bloody. From punching that asshole.

Asher turned his head and sucked in a breath. He was angry… but he was jealous. Jealous because a guy like that might have another shot at Jocelyn. If that’s where she ran to. Or she’d definitely see him. She said he was part of her company.

Asher groaned and turned, pulling the covers over his head.

This is not my problem, man. Not at all. I have to get up, get food, and play guitar.

Asher tried to chase away the thoughts of Jocelyn by imagining himself playing a guitar solo. He ran through his personal catalog of Gone by Autumn solos, trying to figure out which one would be easiest to play right now. Damn, he wanted to just walk into the practice loft, get up on stage, and…

The bedroom door clicked and opened.

Asher rolled to his back and sat up a little. His eyes took a few seconds to make sure what he saw was right.

Jocelyn was standing there with two mugs of coffee wearing nothing but the black t-shirt she had on last night. Asher’s mind started going crazy, wanting to know if she had put her bra and panties on or if she was completely naked under the shirt. Her hair was a little messy but in the sexiest way possible. There was no damn good reason or right for a woman to wake up and look this naturally pretty. And if that wasn’t enough, as Asher’s eyes appreciated the way her breasts pushed at the t-shirt, the way her legs looked with the shirt covering down to just above her knees, there was her feet. Of all damn things, her feet. Her cute and small toes, painted a purple color that damn near matched her panties.

You wild thing…

Asher smiled. “Thought you left.”

“Am I not welcome anymore? I made coffee.”

“I can see that.”

Jocelyn hand a mug to Asher and he threw the covers off him a little and patted the bed. Jocelyn sat and Asher had to grip his coffee mug with both hands to keep from touching her. He also needed to keep the covers over his lower half. Not just because it was morning, but the combination of that and Jocelyn driving him mad. In other words, he was hard as a rock and there was no calming it right now.

“How did you sleep?” Asher asked.

Jocelyn looked back at him. Those eyes tore right through him again. It felt like a million paper cuts at once to his heart, but it was good. It was cool. It was sexy.

“Actually, really good,” she said. “Whatever you gave me to drink… maybe I should buy a bottle of it.”

“Or you could just sleep here every night,” Asher said.

Did you just say that, man? What the…

Jocelyn blushed a little. “Yeah. That would work. That would make… you know, things…”

Asher nodded. He understood it. Part of it killed him to know what the situation really was with that other guy. And one thing Asher didn’t do was hold back. He sipped his coffee and then licked his lips.

“Good,” he said. “Very good.”

“Thanks. I know how to make coffee.”

“And design clothes, right?”

“Yeah, that too.” Jocelyn looked down in her coffee.

“Hey, are you hanging for some breakfast?”

“I don’t know if I should,” Jocelyn said. “I should go to work at some point this morning.”

“Wait, is it still morning?”

Jocelyn laughed. “Yeah. Not even ten yet.”

“Holy shit,” Asher said. “I didn’t know ten in the morning was a real thing.”

“Well, it is.”

Asher drank more coffee. He thumbed the rim of the mug and then reached out and put it on the nightstand. He forced himself to sit all the way. Jocelyn slightly turned and faced him. She was damn radiant. Worth so much to him, and it didn’t make sense why.

“I can’t hold back,” Asher said. “It’s not my thing.”

“Okay.”

“You were terrified last night. I get why. I’m not going to fight you about that. I promise. But I have to know something.”

“Which is…?”

“The guy. The asshole.”

“Chad,” Jocelyn whispered.

Just whispering his name made her face cover up with fear.

“Yeah, him. You really didn’t explain what you two are. I mean, what I saw was heavy stuff. But then you tell you’re in business together…”

“We’re not in business,” Jocelyn said. “He’s part of my company.”

“A part you like?”

Jocelyn looked down. “The company is growing.”

“Okay,” Asher said. “I know it’s none of my damn business, but are you two… together?”

Jocelyn looked up at Asher. “Why?”

“Don’t get defensive, love. I’m just curious. We were a minute away last night…”

“Until I stopped it,” Jocelyn said. “Remember that part?”

“Yeah,” Asher said. “I remember. Trust me, I remember.”

“There you go then.”

“That didn’t give me an answer.”

“So you have a heart now?” Jocelyn asked. “You care about my feelings? About all the women that come here?”

Asher was taken back for a second. He slowly nodded. “Okay then. I’m sorry I asked, Jocelyn. The last thing I want to do is upset you, okay? I promise. I’m just… I’m nervous for you. I don’t want you to leave here and just be gone.”

“Just be gone?”

“Yeah. Just be gone. I don’t want to not hear from you again. And I definitely don’t want to meet you like I did last night.”

“I don’t want to do this right now,” Jocelyn said. “Okay? Maybe I should get dressed and take off.”

Asher felt his heart twist. “Yeah, that’s fine. I understand. At the very least, can you write down your number for me? Or can I give you mine? Just in case you ever need something?”

“I’ll be fine, Asher,” Jocelyn said. “Really. I mean, I can’t thank you enough for what you did last night. I probably shouldn’t even have gone with you, to be honest. That was kind of overkill, you know? I had a great time. I mean, it was nice to just relax and enjoy life for a minute. I mean that. I’ll be front row at the next Gone by Autumn show, I promise. I’ll even wear a t-shirt that fits.”

“You can keep that shirt, love,” Asher said. “I can get another one.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll get dressed.”

Jocelyn started to stand. Asher caught his hand going forward but stopped himself. Instead of grabbing Jocelyn and pulled her back to the bed, he grabbed the sheets and ripped them off his body.

“Hey, I’m going to jump in the shower,” Asher said. “I might as well get my day going, too. Whatever you need, it’s here. If I get out and you’re gone, just know I had a good time.”

“Oh yeah? With a woman who wouldn’t give it up?”

“Yeah,” Asher said. “Amazing, right?”

Asher jumped up from the bed and stood next to Jocelyn. Her head fit perfectly at his chest. They were the perfect height for each other. Shutting his eyes, Asher shook his head to chase away the thoughts. They were all absurd.

“If you ever need anything,” Asher whispered.

He let his fingers touch Jocelyn’s fingers for a second. And then he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Just one more time.

Asher left the bedroom and made a line for the bathroom. He shut the door and felt his fingers touch the lock. He didn’t lock it. There was no need to do so. After turning on the water, Asher stripped naked and looked at himself in the mirror.

Rockstar, man, rockstar. You can’t get involved…

When Asher stepped into the water, the first he thought about was that Jocelyn was naked in his room. Completely freaking naked. He imagined her lifting that long t-shirt up and over her head. And then… standing there naked.

He was jealous of the pictures on the wall, the sheets on the bed. As though the objects had eyes and could see Jocelyn’s body.

Asher put his face into the water and let the warmth and the rushing sound chase his thoughts away. It was done. Over. And that was fine. He helped her the way he should have as a man. He offered to exchange numbers and help her again. What more could he do?

“Asher?”

Asher jumped back and made a fist. He bit into his right hand to keep from screaming. He didn’t want to scream even though he had just had the living hell scared out of him.

He pulled back the shower curtain a little and saw Jocelyn standing there. Wearing the same long black Gone by Autumn t-shirt from last night.

“Hey,” he said. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t know,” Jocelyn said.

“Okay…”

Asher’s mind searched for something else to say. Before he could find anything - right or wrong - Jocelyn had her hands at the bottom of the shirt. She gently lifted it, almost bringing herself into plain view for Asher. She then bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes. The shirt then came up and over her head.

Asher's senses went into overdrive. He couldn’t figure out what to look at first. His eyes settled on Jocelyn’s eyes, of all damn things. The way they sparkled and shined. Then the color of her cheeks, turning red at making such a bold move. Her hands gently fell to her sides as Asher’s eyes continued it’s descent down her precious body. The creamy texture of her breasts, her pinkish nipples leaving his tongue quivering to taste her. The cut of her body, that sweet and sensual hourglass shape, those subtle curves leaving his hands aching to hold her hips and love her body.

“I’m…”

“I figure I shouldn’t leave without a shower,” Jocelyn said.

That was more than enough for Asher to hear. He pulled the shower curtain back, unashamed of his own body and its reaction to the beautiful woman that was now slowly walking toward the shower. He noted the way Jocelyn’s eyes lit up when she saw him naked. It made him smile and throb even harder.

When she got close enough, Asher grabbed her by the wrist and pulled. “Get in here, love.”

Jocelyn stepped into water, instantly soaking her body and hair. She stood there, the water pounding against her head, dripping down her face. She blinked fast, chasing the water out of her eyes.