Love Notes (Rocked by Love #1) (6 page)

He didn't look happy.

She didn't feel happy.

Maybe coming on the tour
had been a mistake.

A full Saturday off, with no show
that night, meant a clean break from the band. Jayne spent the entire day alone
away from the hotel. She turned off her phone and went to the beach, a museum,
out to dinner, and to a movie. Darkness had fallen by the time she returned to
the hotel.

Music came from Zander's
room. Avoiding him for three days had made the situation incredibly awkward.
She crept through her room, lights off, intent on silence. Stumbling over a
pair of shoes, she dropped her purse with a thud and fell on the bed.
Damn
it.

Silence reigned. Followed
by a knock on the interior door. Her fingers tangled in her necklace. She was
the one who'd caused the awkwardness. She couldn't avoid him forever. Throat
dry, she flipped the lock and pulled the door open.

He wasn't wearing a
shirt. Sculpted muscles defined his arms, chest, and stomach. She wouldn't
allow her gaze to dip lower, and focused on his face and the scowl darkening
his features. He rested his hand on the frame. "Where were you?"

Of all the things she'd
expected him to say, that hadn't been one. "Excuse me?"

"You've been gone
for hours. No one knew where you were."

"I told Irisa this
morning that I was going off the grid today."

His eyes narrowed and his
gaze traveled over her from head to toe and back again. "It's not safe for
you to be off the grid and out this late alone… Unless you weren't alone."

"Of course I was. I
don't know anyone in this city."

"The Riptide and
your buddy Slade are in town to play the Fleet."

 "What does that
have to do with anything? I haven't spoken to Slade since we all went to
dinner."

"Torres was here
earlier to pick up Irisa. When I couldn't find you, I assumed you were out with
Slade."

"Well, I wasn't. I
took off today because needed a break from everything in the tour."

The dark look on his face
deepened. "You've been distant with me since we arrived at the hotel. I
wondered if you were pulling away from me because you were starting something
with him."

"That's
ridiculous."

He shifted his stance.
Broad shoulders filled out the doorway, showcasing his strength. "Is it?
Then tell me why every time I try to get you alone, you shrink away or come up
with an excuse?"

"Because that kiss
was a mistake. We shouldn't have done it. We work together. I've seen this a
thousand times and it never works out. I don't want to be a groupie
fling." She dragged a hand through her hair. The intensity of her body's
responses to him scared her. The risks of falling for him were too big to be
outweighed. "And even if I did, you overwhelm me. I have a job to do, and
between you and some other people, I already have enough distractions to make
my job difficult."

His brows rose and one
hand came up to rub the back of his neck. His lips formed a line. The flare of
anger faded, but she glimpsed the bewildered hurt seconds before a mask devoid
of feelings slipped in place. "I didn't realize I was causing you so many
problems. I won't bother you anymore unless it's about the shows."

He stepped back into his
room, then eased his door closed. The doorknob dug into her palm. Jayne
released her grip. Anger and frustration coursed through her. She'd hurt him,
and that hadn't been her intention.

Something slammed in his
room. She strained to listen. Rustling, and then the sound of another door
closing. She hurried to the door leading to the hall and looked through the
peephole. Zander strode past, dressed in workout gear.

What the hell was he
doing? Was this because of her? She had to fix it. She scrambled to tug on her
shoes, then grabbed her keycard and phone and left the room. At the end of the
hall, the elevator doors closed. He hadn't seen her, but she needed to find
him.

She needed to apologize.

He hadn't meant to push her. Furious
with himself, Zander strode through the lobby. She'd looked too damn good,
standing framed in the doorway, with the bed behind her, begging to be rumpled.
All day long, he'd waited to talk to her. For days, he'd ached to touch her.
He'd thought they were on the same page after that kiss.

Apparently not.

Her actions of the past
few days had confused him—mixed signals and awkward conversations. Tonight, her
words had cut more than he wanted to let on. He'd never forced a woman, and had
never, to the best of his knowledge, made one want to hide.

Going for a run at night
in an unfamiliar city wasn't the smartest thing he could do, but no way could
he stay in that room, not with her only a few feet away, and not with the disappointment
and frustration swirling in his blood.

The night clerk smiled at
him from behind the desk. "Sir, can I help you?"

He shook his head.
"Can't sleep. Going for a run."

"Our exercise room
is equipped with everything you might need."

Not everything… Still, it
would be safer. "Thanks."

The elevator pinged and
he turned at the sound of heels clicking over the floor.

Jayne paused a few feet
away. She gripped her necklace in her hand. "Where are you going?"

"I could ask you the
same thing." He moved toward her, away from the clerk's prying ears.
"Go back upstairs. Get some sleep."

"I can't sleep. I've
hurt you and I didn't mean to and I'm sorry. This whole thing turned out
wrong."

What had—their upstairs
conversation? The avoidance? He needed clarification but she looked like she
was about to cry. She walked past him, toward the hotel's entrance.

"Jayne."

But she didn't stop. The
doors glided open and she disappeared through them. Muttering a curse, he moved
toward the door.

"Sir, is everything
all right?"

He ignored the clerk's
question and strode onto the street. Jayne's hair swayed in the breeze. He took
off after her. "Hold up."

Spotlighted under a
street lamp, she turned, still worrying the delicate gold chain with her
fingers.

"Where are you
going?" He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I don't know. I
need to walk."

"Fine." He fell
in step beside her.

She stopped. "What
are you doing?"

"This isn't pushing
myself on you. It's late. You're crazy if you think I'm letting you walk by
yourself at night."

"I thought you were
upset with me."

"Doesn't mean I'm
going to let you run around out here alone."

"So you
are
upset, then." She pressed her lips together for a moment. "I think
you misunderstood what I said upstairs."

He shrugged as though it
didn't matter. "You want me to leave you alone, I'll leave you
alone."

She made a strangled
noise and turned away, then faced him again. "Zander. I don't want to
fight or give you mixed signals, but I'm really struggling with this thing
between us."

A small shard of hope
shed light onto his heart. "Talk to me."

"I never get
involved with a client. But then we kissed and I keep thinking about that kiss
and how much I want to do it again. But I wasn't hired to kiss you."

"I'll have to talk
to my sister about adding that into the job description."

She granted him a brief
smile. "It's more than that. I admire what you're doing for Dalton, and
how you are with your dog, and your sister, and your fans."

"So what's the
problem?"

"I don't do casual
hook-ups."

He suppressed a grin.
Good news to know. "Look, I don't do casual hook-ups either. I know rock
stars have a reputation, but I've been at this job for over ten years. What's
fun when you're twenty is stale when you're thirty."

Her head tilted and she
studied him for a long moment. "So, then you're saying…what? You want a
relationship?"

As long as he was
touring, he didn't think he had a chance at a strong, long-term relationship.
He'd spend years wanting what his parents had, a long-lasting marriage, but
felt like that wasn't in the cards for him because of his chosen career.
"I want to explore this thing between us."

"Mixing business
with pleasure is a bad idea." But she didn't sound nearly as certain about
that as she had before. Her body leaned into his space. She didn't touch him,
but damn it, he could smell her perfume and see her darkened gaze.

That kiss—that
chemistry—he couldn't deny the way Jayne made him feel. "I agree with you.
So business and relationships can't work, but I can't help that I'm so attracted
to you. We'll see each other nearly every day for the next two months. That's a
damn long time to be fighting our attraction. Fighting it will turn it into a
bigger distraction. Giving into it would be a good release. Would you be
willing to be in an exclusive relationship for the duration of the tour?"

She bit her lip.
"When it's over, we go our separate ways. No one gets hurt."

"Absolutely. I never
want to hurt you. I think we could both make each other feel really good."

With a shaky breath, she nodded.
"No one would know, right? Not even Irisa."

He banked his annoyance.
Hiding things wasn't his style, but her comfort meant more than anything.
"Of course not. I don't want to ruin your friendship with her."

Her hand closed over her
pendant again. She let it slip through her fingers. "Okay, then. I
agree."

Thank God she'd agreed to
give them a chance. "You said you kept thinking about kissing me again.
Are you still thinking about it?"

"Maybe." A shy
smile graced her lips.

"Good." Desire
thudded a low beat in his blood. He cupped her shoulders and backed her against
a palm tree, away from the direct light of the lamp post. Her hands rested on
his waist. He trailed his fingertips over her collarbone and up the sides of
her neck, and cupped her face in his hands. She strained toward him. Achingly
slow, he lowered his head, degree by degree, taking in how her eyes darkened
and fluttered closed, how her breathing slowed, and how her lips parted in
anticipation.

When his lips closed over
hers, the feel of her was even better than he'd remembered. So soft and so
sweet. He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks and dived in for another taste.
Jayne's hands glided up his torso and slipped to his back. She pressed him
closer. Soft curves molded to his body. Groaning, he clamped a hand to her hip
and slid his other hand to the back of her head. His fingers itched to shove
away the barriers separating them and discover every inch of her, but he
enjoyed the sweet torture they created.

A car drove past, its
headlights illuminating them for a moment before their surroundings fell back
to semi-darkness.

Jayne eased her mouth
away from his. "We shouldn't be doing this on the sidewalk."

"We can move it to
one of our rooms."

Her hand came up to rest
on his chest. "I'm not ready to rush into sex."

Locked together, he
couldn't hide his body's reaction to her, and from her words, she'd noticed.
"Who said anything about sex? I was talking about playing Scrabble."

"Zander." His
name came out part laugh, part groan.

Laughing, he nipped her
lip. "I want to get to know you. There's no pressure for anything
else." He released his hold. Leaving her curves and her heat was hard. Not
ready to lose contact, he reached for her hand. It curled into his, hesitant,
and then more secure in its grip.

"Let's walk on the
beach. We should have it to ourselves." He guided her around the large
building. The back of the hotel faced the beach. Floodlights kept the area
bright. They could walk in safety and he could hold her close while warm winds danced,
waves crashed, and stars winked across the darkened sky.

"Zander, Jayne. Wait
up." Brendan jogged out of the hotel with Landry close behind. Damn it, so
much for being alone with her.

Jayne stiffened and let
go of his hand. "Is Luke with you?"

Landry tossed a football
toward Zander. "He's in his room, being a grumpy ass. Want to play?"

He made the easy catch,
then lobbed it back. "Nah. We'll sit here and watch."

Jayne smiled at him and
lowered herself to the sand. He claimed the spot next to her, fingers resting
against hers, hidden from view by the cover of sand. The feel of her fingers
against his was as erotic as her lips and tongue had been. He traced patterns
across the back of her fingers, rubbing soft skin amid rough grains.

She sighed and flexed her
hand under his, then turned hers so palm met palm and her fingers could tease
him too.

Brendan and Landry
splashed through ankle-deep water. Diving catches, balls deliberately
overthrown, they reminded him of the old days, when everything was simpler with
the band.