Rock Me (New Adult Romance) (7 page)

There was a moment of hesitation before I
heard faint scuffling. The door slowly cracked open and Liam peered out at me.
His chestnut hair was wild and his scruff was more homeless than dashing. He
was dressed only in a pair of black boxers. I felt a million things at
once—relief that he was in one piece, concern that he might be going
nutty, adoration (I guess my heart was a tough one to break), and anger,
definitely anger.

“Where the heck have you been?” I started
off.

He scratched his head. “Look Shay, I’ve
been on this writing kick lately. I’ve been meaning to reply to you but once I
get into these creative bents it just sort of takes over my life.”

I pushed past him. I didn’t come all the
way there for him to feed me some mumbo jumbo.

The room was littered with crumpled
pieces of paper that were covered in maniacal scribbles. Pencils, pads, and
take out wrappers were strewn everywhere. Liam stood in the middle of this
chaos scratching his head confusedly.

I wanted to berate him for his stupid
excuse. After all, how flipping long does it take to send a three-word text
message such as
I am OK
? Or better yet,
I am OK, please come over, I
miss you, love you forever, Liam
.

But the last thing I wanted to do was
come off as fresh out of high school. I had to try a more mature approach.
“Liam, I’ve been very worried about you. I wish you would have called me.” I
said through gritted teeth.

He looked genuinely embarrassed. “Yeah
Shay, I really can’t apologize enough. The guys brought me back here after my
hospital check-up and all of a sudden I had this crazy urge to start writing. I
haven’t left since.”

I gaped at him. “You haven’t left this
room in a
week
?”

He shook his head sheepishly. I frowned
and picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper next to me on the bed. It
said:
So far away / But always back where I began / You beat me right into
the ground / Was the reason that I ran.

I
picked up other pieces of paper; the lyrics were just as raw and hurting. I looked
up at him. He seemed drained. ‘What’s eating you, Liam?” I asked softly. “Why
did you have to run?”

He
shrugged his shoulders and began gathering up the papers. “It’s nothing. I’ve
just been inside too long, that’s all.”

I
slid up to him and put my hand on his strong forearm. He was so tall and brawny
but the look in his eyes was little-boy-lost.

“Liam,”
I begged.

“Listen
Shay,” he said finally, his deep voice cracking slightly. “There are some
things about me that I don’t talk about with anyone. Not my band mates, not my
best buds, no one. I do that not because I want to shut people out but because
I want to work towards a future, not give fuel to my past, you know? Some
things are just so painful they don’t lend to discussing, they lend to
forgetting.”

“So
if you’ve forgotten these things, then why are you shut up in this room?” I
said softly. I stared up into his face; his eyes were red from lack of sleep.
“What was it that triggered this, Liam? I respect you’re hurting and believe
me, I don’t want you to hurt more. But I also want to understand you because I
hope if I do, even a little, I can help you.”

Liam
took a deep breath and pushed back his scraggly hair. “I don’t much like being
pushed around,” he said finally, so low that I had to lean in to hear him. “I’m
a tough guy. Damn, I pump iron every day when I got the time. But I have a sort
of reaction to guys getting physical with me. Don’t happen that much anymore
but when it does…” He exhaled. “Used to be I’d drink. Now I got my stuff
straight, I write through it. Takes a while, but it works.”

We
stood there together a moment, my hand still on his arm, both of us digesting
what he’d just said. Questions swirled in my head: why did being pushed force
him into hiding? How much did he used to drink? But Liam’s face stopped me from
asking. He looked spent.

“Why
don’t we sit a moment?” I said gently. We went to the chaise lounge. I went to
sit next to him but he pulled me onto his lap. He snuck his arm around me, I
rested my head on his shoulders and we breathed together for some minutes,
enjoying just being close.

When
I felt more settled I lifted my head. “I know this is hard, but I still wish
you’d have told me sooner. I really just want to help, Liam.”

His
gold-flecked eyes studied mine. “I know you do. And boy do I appreciate that.
But you gotta know that I didn’t want to drag you into my muck. You’re here to
have a rocking summer, not to hear some dude get all tortured.”

My
heart broke a little to think he was trying to spare me his pain. But I was just
as sad that he didn’t get how into him I was, and that included the
not-so-great bits.

“I
don’t think you understand,” I said. I reached for his rough, calloused hands.
“Like you said after the photo shoot, I’m not just in this for the flash. I
want to get to know the real Liam Carter, even if it takes time, and even if
it’s not all good. That’s the kind of girl I am.”

Liam
played with my fingers, his other arm still firmly around my waist. “You’re one
amazing girl, Shayla, that’s who you are. And I am one damn lucky guy. If you
promise not to run, I’ll promise to do my best to be more real with you. Might
take some time, but you have my word.”

I
smiled slowly. “You want to shake on that?” I whispered, my heart skipping with
joy.

“How
about we kiss on it instead?” His eyes regained a bit of that old gleam as he
leaned forward and planted a blazing kiss on my lips.

I
breathed him in as we pressed our lips together again and again. I’d been so
certain that I’d never taste him again that my head was all but reeling with
the feeling. He began to kiss me harder, stroking his tongue against mine and
biting me on the lip. I was literally breathless as he brought his mouth down
on mine again and again, devouring me with kisses.

He
then moved his assault to my sensitive neck where he began lightly biting and
sucking. I knew he was going to leave marks but in the moment I just didn’t
care. I just wanted that soft tongue to caress me again and again. I moaned as
he moved down the front of my V-neck, gently biting the soft skin at the top of
my breasts.

Before
I knew it, he picked me up and set me down on the bed with a thump, tearing off
his clothes, and then pulling off mine. He settled his naked body alongside me,
letting me feel every inch of his powerful, muscular, and oh-so-manly body.

“I
want to start showing you how much I appreciate you right now,” he said roughly
in my ear, his erection nudging the soft parts between my legs. “Hold on,
because I’m not going to let you get up until you get a good sense of how much
I care.”

He
looked deeply into my eyes then. My body shuddered under his. “And Shay,
despite how I’ve acted, I care, I really do. We’re going to start with this for
now. But I promise you, I’m not going to let you down.”

* *
*

I
sat in Liam’s lap the next morning, feeding him bites of chocolate croissant.
Liam knew a French bakery where they were made fresh and he’d dashed out,
returning with a greasy brown paper bag full of them. He was officially my
hero. The chocolate was still soft and I was feeding Liam with my very sticky
fingers. It was all very decadent and not just because I was sitting on a
gorgeous man in skimpy boxer briefs.

He
took another bite before giving me a chocolatey kiss. I was still not tired of
him, even though we’d spent an entire day together in this room making love,
ordering take out, watching bad movies, and chatting about everything and
nothing. My heart started to sink when I realized that it couldn’t last
forever.

“You
have to work today?” I asked, dreading the answer.

He
grimaced. “I have a meeting with the guys and the label today. We’re going to
talk about recording a full length album.”

My
heart skipped a beat. “You’re recording an LP?” I gasped. “Congrats, that’s so
amazing!”

He
grinned and planted another quick kiss on my lips. “You bet. Label wants to
invest in us, says that things are looking good for the band.”

“I’m
so proud of you. Does that mean you’ll be in New York for a while longer?”

“Looks
like it.” He looked at me seriously, the grin slipping off his face. “I hope
you will be too.”

My
mind raced. I only had a couple more weeks in New York before I was supposed to
return to Minnesota. But I didn’t want to kill our perfect morning with this
less than great news. “I hope so too,” I said weakly.

He
looked at me funnily, before bundling me close. “Let’s not think about that
now. First I want to kiss you, shower with you, and then maybe make you dirty
all over again.”

I
smiled against his warm, broad chest. The thought of soaping up that muscular
body with my bare hands in the steamy shower was better than any fantasy I’d
ever had.

It
also helped that I was beginning to feel less shy with him. At first I’d felt
super shy to be, well, so
bare
in front of him, especially in the
shower.

But
Liam had been gentle with me, stroking my body with great care before soaping
me up from head to toe. I was a little ticklish so we both ended up in a
laughing fit, which seemed to break up the ice. Showers since had just a lot
easier and a lot sexier too. A shiver ran through my body. Liam tipped my chin
up to look at him and his eyes danced as if he was sharing the same thoughts.

Within
a couple hours and a lot of getting both dirty and clean Liam was off and I was
in a cab heading uptown for a date with Aimee. She’d been texting me
incessantly since I took off from Felicia’s apartment. She’d been going back
and forth between threats “Miss. Shayla I know you’ve gone to see him! Call me
NOW!” and pleas “So worried about you! I swear I am coming to find you in an
hour if you don’t call!”

Eventually
I texted to say that all was OK and that we’d reunite at our mani-pedi date the
next day. I knew she was dying to hear about my crazy adventure and I was dying
to tell her.

The
cab pulled up in front of a posh spa in Tribeca. Liam had met the owner at a
shoot and since she was eager for more business she’d agreed to a hefty
discount for our appointment.

Aimee
was waiting on the curb and after I paid the cabbie we rushed into each other’s
arms. I gushed over her cute outfit. Aimee already looked way New York with her
cute black and white striped curve-hugging dress and wedge sandals. It made me
proud to see her flaunting her gorgeous self.

The
salon was in a beautiful old stone building with high ceilings and floor to
ceiling windows. Everything, from the curtains to the sisal rugs, was in
soothing shades of brown. Aimee and I got settled in super comfy chairs where
we picked from a rainbow of swank Chanel polishes.

The
aestheticians got to work on our funky feet. We were handed iPads to pass the
time but Aimee and I were way more interested in catching up. I let Aimee
berate me for a few minutes about my sneaky exit before we both burst out
laughing. It was way too ridiculous that shy old me had actually gone
racing
out of the house to track down my rock star crush.

“Who
are you anyway?” she asked laughing. “Minnesota Shay wouldn’t even
talk
to a guy she liked.”

I
shook my head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I guess I really like this
guy.”

She
eyed me thoughtfully. “I’m really happy for you hon. Believe me, I’ve been
waiting a long time for a guy to come along and treat you right. But I gotta
know—have you told him about college?”

I
took a deep breath. I was enrolled in the marketing program at Minnesota State
University that fall. Aimee was enrolled too but in music industry studies and
we planned to scope out an apartment for two in Mankato as soon as we got back.
This had been our scheme since, well, since we’d met.

“I
haven’t told him yet,” I said finally. “Is that bad?”

Aimee
gave me her best
uh oh
look. “Oh Shay, you gotta tell him. If he’s
getting more invested in you he has a right to know. Has he said anything about
the fall?”

“Only
that he hopes I stay in New York. He’s going to be recording a full album here
with the guys.”

“And
you said…?”

“I
said I hoped so too,” I replied weakly. I wanted to vanish into my chair but
the pedicurist had a very strong hold on my ankle. I looked down at her as if
for assistance but she was too busy buffing my gnarly feet.

Aimee
looked at me bug-eyed. “Are you planning on staying?”

“No...”

“What
the hell Shay!” she burst out, causing both pedicurists to look up at us with
alarm. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Boy
trouble?” asked my aesthetician, a pretty blonde with a diamond nose stud.

“Shay’s
dating this rock star. But this chick still hasn’t told Mr. Love Struck she has
to go back to Minnesota.”