Read Seal All Exits (Tangled Web #3) Online
Authors: Jade C. Jamison
Seal All Exits (Tangled Web #3)
Seal All Exits
(Tangled Web #3)
Jade C. Jamison
Seal All Exits
Heather Morrow has been fighting demons all her life, but the past two years have likely been her darkest. So when her friend Katie invites her to a reunion of sorts, Heather jumps at the chance, because Katie, one of the most down-to-earth people Heather has ever called friend, is the only person she has ever felt like herself around, and Heather realizes that she needs an ally to help her out of the shadows.
Kiefer Steele, vocalist for Shock Treatment, has been battling some demons of his own. He’s been a nothing most of his life, but world-famous guitarist J. C. Gibson took him from his beach-combing, weed-smoking ways and helped him make something of himself…except life on the road has taken its toll. The only ray of hope in his life has been his continuing online friendship with Heather. The two met in person once, backstage at a concert, and their friendship has grown stronger.
They haven’t seen each other in three years, though, and both have changed immensely.
When they discover each other’s darkest secrets, will their friendship—and budding romance—survive, or are they destined to spend their lives apart…and alone?
Heather stopped walking, so Kiefer slowed and turned to face her. “Um...I have a proposal for you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She drew in a deep breath and looked in his eyes, but he could tell it was hard for her. “I, uh...I don’t want or need a relationship. But I’m so glad you’re my friend.”
Kiefer smiled. “Ditto.”
“So...just so we can get it out of our systems...why don’t we, uh, explore our attraction, but...when we leave here, things go back to the way they were.” Kiefer drew in a long, slow breath. Was she saying what he thought she was? “That sound okay?”
Honestly,
no
, it sounded like a copout. He thought some of telling her that, but he wanted her. He wanted her to continue to be a part of his life and he also wanted to step it up a notch after what they had experienced last night. This might be his only chance to convince her that a more intense relationship could be a good thing. So he nodded. “Yeah.”
BOOKS BY JADE C. JAMISON
Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed
(Companion novel to the Tangled Web series)
Substitute Boyfriend
Finger Bang
Quickies: Sexy Short Stories and Other Stuff
Old House
Then Kiss Me
MADversary
Worst Mother
Fabric of Night
Stating His Case
TANGLED WEB SERIES
1 Tangled Web: A Steamy Heavy Metal Novella
2 Everything But
3 Seal All Exits
BULLET SERIES
1 Bullet: An Epic Rock Star Novel
2 Rock Bottom
3 Feverish
4 Fully Automatic
5 Slash and Burn
NICKI SOSEBEE SERIES
1 Got the Life
2 Dead
3 No Place to Hide
4 Right Now
5 One More Time
6 Lost
7 Innocent Bystander
8 Blind
9 Fake
WISHES SERIES
1 Be Careful What You Wish For
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Jade C. Jamison
Cover image © Jade C. Jamison
All rights reserved.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. Characters and names of real persons who appear in the book are used fictitiously.
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for Sierra M., my new PA who has already made my life loads easier,
and Heather M., a friend and one of my first readers, a woman who has been waiting very patiently for this book!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
HEATHER MORROW WALKED into the crowded bar with only one thing in mind. She needed just one strong drink, something to take the edge off. Her best friend Katie Logan had invited her a few months ago to visit, and now the time had come. Katie was now living with her long-time best friend Johnny Church, better known as heavy metal guitarist J. C. Gibson, and they had bought a cabin in the mountains high above Katie’s hometown of Winchester. Heather was looking forward to seeing the friend she hadn’t seen in almost a year, but that wasn’t why she was nervous as hell.
No…Katie had told her last minute that they were going to have quite a few guests, not just Heather. One of them was none other than Kiefer Steele, the vocalist for Johnny’s band, Shock Treatment.
Ordinarily, something like that wouldn’t have freaked Heather out. She was the epitome of a
people person
and could talk to almost anyone about anything. She’d been told more than once that she had a calming effect on others. However, this particular gentleman had gotten cozy with her a little over two years ago, and Heather had developed a bit of a crush on him. She knew she wasn’t his type and had simply continued to admire him from afar.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. They’d kept up a bit of a friendship through email—well, more than
a bit
. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d captured his fancy, but she knew that he would find the real her quite disappointing. The one and only time they’d met in person, for instance, Heather was fairly certain he’d been high as a kite. She knew that could be the only reason he’d focused in on her instead of the big-breasted Barbie-doll blondes who had been roaming the room that night. He’d laughed at all her jokes, hung on all her words…he was the perfect guy.
But Heather knew he was way out of her league. Oh, yes. She was the exact opposite of what a guy like Kiefer the rock star would be looking for. She knew that. She’d just graduated with her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing last May and had been teaching online classes for a lowly community college since. Frankly, it was a waste of her degree, but she wanted to teach and she needed experience…and writing credits. That was what the prestigious universities always looked for—publication. So she’d bide her time, getting her poetry published and teaching creative writing (and other writing classes the college forced her to teach) until she could get the job she really wanted.
But a guy like Kiefer…he wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about her terminal degree, nor would he care to read any of her flash fiction.
Or maybe he would. But that kind of thinking was dangerous.
So she was going to have to cool her heels before she got to Katie’s. She needed to get that kind of stupid thinking out of her head.
She’d sunk back into a dark place lately too, and she needed to hide it. She needed to put on a happy face. Just one drink—that was all she’d need to get her head in the game.
The bar was busy…and quite dark. It was a big place but it had a lot of people. That was good, actually. Lots of people would allow her to just kind of blend into the woodwork. She walked to the bar and slid up on one of two empty barstools. She ordered a whiskey sour and checked her phone for messages while she waited.
She and Katie hadn’t seen each other in a while, and she knew her friend was going to be shocked. Heather had refused to do the Facebook thing, especially since she was going to be a full-fledged college instructor. She wanted to appear professional, and she thought Facebook and other social media would just undermine that attempt, so two years ago, she’d deleted her account and hadn’t looked back.
But Katie was in for a huge surprise. Heather had been seeing her therapist regularly again for the better part of a year because some old demons had started to surface. She’d also lost a lot of weight. She’d been close to two hundred and fifty pounds when they’d been roommates and now she was less than one twenty. She hadn’t been this thin since high school and she was teetering next to a dangerous precipice. She still felt big on the outside and even
looked
big to her mind’s eye, and she knew she had to battle herself daily.
She’d downed half her drink when she sensed someone sitting next to her on the barstool. She looked over as the guy ordered a drink from the bartender. He had chin-length light brown hair and big arms…not body-builder big, but she could tell this guy pumped iron once in a while. And the tattoos…nice. After he ordered his drink, he looked over at her and smiled. Oh, God. That smile made her weak in the knees. He had a sweet goatee on his chin, and—if she wasn’t mistaken—he had light green eyes, but it was too dark to tell. His smile, though…wow.
Heather mentally slapped herself. She was
not
going there. No. She was going to have a nice relaxing week with her friend whom she’d missed terribly. There would be no naughtiness. She smiled back and then turned her attention back to her phone. But she could feel those eyes on her. It made her hot. God…what was a guy like
that
doing checking her out?
But…she knew why. She knew she looked better now than she had in the rest of her adult life. Inside, though, she felt insecure and unworthy. Still, it didn’t dismiss her desire.
And there was that compulsion…it made her
want
to be as fucking dirty as possible.
“You from around here?”
She looked back at him then. She couldn’t ignore him if he was talking to her…not that she wanted to. “No.” Hmm…she wondered why he was asking. Probably because he’d never seen her here before. She was definitely sensing an interested vibe. He looked kind of familiar…those eyes. There was no way she knew this guy. Inside, she cringed a little, though, because she’d never been good with faces. What if she
did
know him?
No. No way. She’d never been to Winchester before.
He nodded and took a swig of his drink. “What’s your name?”
She couldn’t help the slow smile that spread over her face. She knew it was seductive. “Do we really want to go there—I mean…considering you’ll never see me again?”
He raised his eyebrows, a smile growing on his face as well. “Why? What do you have in mind?”
Holy crap. Could he sense Heather’s dark side? She’d tried so hard to be good, but…there was that part of her that just couldn’t resist. It was strong—stronger than her resolve. She took a huge gulp of her drink and then looked at him again. God…his eyes were smoldering. “I’m open to a lot of things.”
He let out a breath and said, “Do you know who I am?”
She grinned, again remembering how familiar he looked. She almost panicked but took another swig of her drink, hoping it would help her think rationally. “No. Remember? I said I’m not from around here.”
He chuckled and finished his drink. “Well…I’d like to get to know you better.”
“Not much chance of that happening, considering I’m leaving here when my drink’s done.”
He smirked, taking her in, and it made a shiver run up her spine. “Could I persuade you to stay just a little longer?”
“What do you have in mind?”
He stood. “Why don’t you come with me?” He held out his hand.
She looked at that hand…and the arm attached to it, fully tattooed, just adding to the mysterious, sexy nature about this guy. She knew she shouldn’t, but she felt helpless to resist. He was calling to her…but he felt like more than her usual temptation. There was something about him, something she couldn’t put her finger on, and she wanted to go wherever he wanted to take her. She didn’t know him and yet she trusted him enough to take his hand and slide off her barstool. So she took the last swig of her drink and grabbed her purse.
As far as what ensued and how she’d feel afterward? Well, she didn’t plan to be in this burg for more than a week. She’d probably never see him again. Who cared what he thought after?
He led her through the crowd, his hand warm and firm against hers. She got a couple of looks and, while her mind wanted to believe it was because of her, she knew better. She knew it was because of the hot guy holding onto her hand.
They walked past a stage in the bar, then down a small hallway that led to a backstage area that was rather large. As if he knew what he was doing, the gorgeous stranger turned a doorknob, but it didn’t budge. Unfazed, he walked farther down the hall and opened the next door. There was no resistance this time.
He felt around for a light switch and flipped it on. After the darkness of the bar, the light seemed too bright and she blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes. The room was dingy but there was a long table and a couple of chairs in the center and no window. After leading Heather all the way in the room, he closed the door behind her but still hadn’t released her hand. He smiled. Wow. His teeth were disarming—perfect and sparkly. Oh, who was she kidding? He was hot all over. She really loved the tattoos on his hands—distinct designs, nothing she’d ever seen before…but she moved her eyes back up to his face.
He moved close to her but didn’t touch her, save not letting go of her hand. “So what have I gotta do to get you to tell me your name?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not telling.”
“I could do lots to you to make you tell.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you could.” She lowered her voice. “How about you just call me Angelica?”
Angelica?!
What the hell was she thinking? What a stupid name. Not really…but stupid for
her
. Well, she’d never been very good at thinking on the fly. That was Katie’s bag. And Katie would have a cow if she knew what Heather was doing right this second.
He got closer, this time letting go of her hand and placing his on her cheek while he brought his body close to hers.
Oh.
His hand felt hot against the tender flesh of her face, and she knew now there was no denying the desire buried deep within her. She felt the tempo of her breathing increase as her eyes scanned his. He seemed so sincere. She wasn’t used to that look in a man’s eyes. “Angelica, huh? So you’re like an angel.” Suddenly, her breath stopped. She wasn’t able to pull air any further down her lungs, because this man had her imagination in his grasp. His face got even closer to hers and he said, “God…it feels like I
know
you.”
At this point, if something about him hadn’t been grabbing her by her heart and loins and captivating her attention, the fact that he kept thinking he’d met her before would have started to make her question him…or herself. She’d always been bad with faces, and what if she really
did
know this guy? But before she could ponder anymore, his lips touched hers. And that was it. If—
if
—she’d been trying at all to resist him before, just the warm brush of his tongue on her lips would have ended that notion. She felt her hands touch his chest involuntarily. Well, maybe not so involuntarily. She wanted him; she just questioned herself. She hadn’t done this kind of thing in a while. It had been inevitable, though—that she knew. She’d been spiraling downward again and it was bound to happen at some point.
But then his tongue ventured into her mouth and all questions were answered. Hell, yes, she was going to do it. She couldn’t resist him. Not one bit. He was cute…
and
hot, and she couldn’t say no.
Wouldn’t say no.
Her hands clutched his t-shirt so she could pull him the rest of the way into her body. It was then that he consumed her mouth and she felt like she was going to burn up from the heat between them. He slid his hand back through her hair so that his fingers gripped the back of her neck. He wasn’t too rough, but it reminded her that he had her pinned against the door.
Her focus was on his tongue, though, and his mouth. She liked his taste and wanted to savor it. Part of her wanted to run her hand down his chest to cup his package in it, but she had scared a guy or two off in the past with too much aggression too soon. So she slowly pulled air in through her nose while their tongues danced in her mouth.
But then he kissed her chin and moved down her neck, so she tilted her head back. She couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She forced her hands to relax and let go of his t-shirt, and then she slid them around his body to his back. Even though he was wearing a t-shirt, it excited her to feel his body underneath. The anticipation…that was her favorite part of sex. The buildup. The climb to the top. Oh, yes, she loved climax too, but nothing beat the journey there.
She slid her hands over his jeans and cupped his ass in her hands. She squeezed, yes, but she used the leverage to push him into her. She wanted to feel his erection grinding into her. Ah, yes, there it was. This guy wasn’t tall, but he was taller than Heather, and so his hard on wasn’t hitting the spot where she needed it. She wanted to feel him lower, in between her legs, but she knew that would have to wait. For now, it was simply nice to feel the sensation of his cock digging into her, no matter where it was. That told her he was just as ready as she was.
His lips on her neck felt amazing. It made her flesh prickle and tingle and cause everything on her body to be on high alert. Every nerve waited for his touch and the feeling was maddening.