The Rock Star Next Door, a Modern Fairytale (35 page)

What was Lex going to think when he found out her
mother is mentally unbalanced?

Too l
ate, Jessie. He
knows if his mother got a call from Marcie.

Jessie blinked back tears as she exited the shower. She quickly
dried off and
dressed.
She
was embarrassed about being rushed to the ER
due to a frickin’
panic attack. A
nd over what
--
another
one of
Mom’s
emotional tirades?
Jack was right. It was time to pull the plug on tha
t relationship. Time to kick that
dragon out of the castle. She was going to change the phone number to the beach house; today. It w
as unlisted for security
, but then she went and gave it out to her parents when she’d announced her engagement.

Stupid Jessie
! Looking for something that was never there; love and acceptance. Jack was right. She was dreaming if she thought the family would come out and be all happy and hugg
y
over her nuptials
. Hell, she was
dreaming if she believed there could ever be a happily ever
after with any man in this life
.

Lex kept pushing her to fit int
o his plans
. He kept insisting they get married, quickly. She didn’
t feel right about it
and he wouldn’
t listen to her
.
It was li
ke a modern day fairytale. Was he
cursed by a witch and if he didn’t have a wife by the end of
the
summer he’d
turn into a troll or something?

The more she thought of it, the more agitated Jessie became about the situation.

As she slipped the
lace camisole top over her head
and pulled it down
, Jessie noticed
the black and blue mark on her arm from the IV. Cute, real cute. Her
inner
elbow had a huge blossom of purple. She looked like a victim of domestic violence. If she went out in public, she’
d have to wear a jacket
so the press didn’t start speculating
about how her arm became bruised and by whom, as was their habit.

“Ok
ay, Jessie. Hot sex with the
rock
god next door cleared your head. Now use it. Stop tripping ov
er your heart and be logical
.”
She
said aloud
as she started detangling her wet hair. Lex
wanted it now;
he wanted it
on his terms
. She wasn’t ready. And this business with her par
ents only made everything
worse
.
She felt r
ushed, backed in
to the corner, expected to appease
another person’s emotional needs at the expense of her own.

She couldn’
t take any
more
pressure--from
anyone
.

Maybe it was time t
o step back, slow down
and
let things cool
between them
.

Yeah. Time to take
back
control.
Control freak and proud
. She saluted her reflection as she remembered Jack’s unwarranted adv
ice about controlling every aspect
in her life. Maybe t
hat was the whole deal, why she felt
uncomfortable with the marriage gig.
Lex was making
the rules in this relationship and
pushing her to conform to his needs.

Well, she had her ow
n needs
and her own plans.

“
It’
s
my l
ife
. . .” Jessie
started singing the Bon Jovi
classic, feeling
empower
ed
as she shouted the lyrics at her reflection
.
“
My heart
is like an open highway.
L
ike Fra
nkie said
’
I did it my way.
’ . . .
”
She dropped the brush and segued into a session of
ai
r guitar
, singing
and rocking as if
she were
live
onstage
as
she imagined the
heavy metal
guitar riffs
in her head
.
“
You better stand tall when they
’re
call
ing
you out, don’t bend, don’t break-- don’t back down . . .
IT’S-MY-LIFE
. . .
”

The doorbel
l rang as Jessie played to her audience of one in the
bathroom
mirror
. She heard the intercom bee
p in the bedroom. S
he slipped through the bathroom door t
o
press
the intercom on the wall near her bed
.
“Yeah?”

“Mr. Wonderful is here to see you.” Sherry’s voice transferred through the
old intercom
speakers. “Looks worried. Should I let him in or tell him
you’re
not home?”

Jessie frowned.
“
Worried
?”
She didn’t know why Lex should be worried.

“Yeah. Has a huge bouquet
. Red Roses. A
t least a d
ozen
if not more.”

“Tell him I’ll be down in
five minutes.”

“Aw, Kid, you’re too easy
.
” Sherry scolded and
then whispered in a barely audible tone, “You gotta let ‘em sweat a little. Keeps ‘em on their toes.”

“Just let h
im in, Sherry.” She bit her lip
and returned to the bathroom to study her appearance. A lace tank top
complimented the
curve of
her breasts. The emerald belly ring glistened provocatively from abo
ve her hip hugging jeans. Her hair was still a tangled mess. She quickly finished combing it out so she didn’t look as if she’d just left the concert hall
.

The expensive perfume Darrell had given her for her birthday sat on the crystal tray, unused as yet, though it had been months since she’d turned twenty-four. She lifted the glass plug, and an exotic, tantalizing essence wafted up to her nostrils. She dipped the elegant plug, and rubbed it on her neck, and the insides of her wrists.

Who are you kidding?  He’s thirty-
something, n
othing you do will make you seem
sophisticated in his eyes.

While she deliberated in front of the mirror, a knock sounde
d at her bedroom door.  “Oh, shit
.
” Jessie breathed, the moment of truth upon her. She wiped her palms on her jeans and went to answer the door.

The sight of Lex filling her d
oorway, Lex--in the flesh--
made her insides turn about. He was drop dead gorgeous, deliciously provocative in his dark attire, the leather
blazer
, the long, muscular thighs shrouded in tight black denim
, and that cautious smile
.

“Hi.” He breathed, seduction dripping from t
hose sensual lips. “I missed you. I do have showers at my place. You didn’t need to come here for that
.”

Jessie stood still, drinking in the s
ight of him,
swept away by his physical presence. This wasn’t goin
g to be
easy. Telling him to slow down was like trying to stop a cyclone. She grinned as the image of the cartoon Tasmanian devil came to mind.

He brought his hand back from behind his back, offering an enormous bouquet of red roses without comment.

“O
h
.”
It was all she could manage through the racing of her heart.

T
he second
bouquet she’d ever received from a man. And they
were from the same man. The first time he’d given her white roses.
Jessie closed her eyes and sniffed, embracing the scent of love.

“Please, forgive me, Jess.”

Jessie opened her eyes, remembering Sherry’s observation.
Nervous? Worried? The magnificent Lex? 
It was there, she realized, getting past his handsomeness, an uneasiness in his eyes, and an unsteadiness in his rich voice.

“For what?” She couldn’t imagine what he needed to ap
ologize for. She’d been a royal pain this p
ast week.

Lex stood with his arms spread, his hands resting on the doorjamb on either side of her. He looked down at his boots, then back up at her, as if struggling with whatever he felt he needed to apologize for. “This morning---I
didn’t mean for us to make love
---not like that
.
It seemed a little rough.
I’m sorry.
”

“Why?”
Jessie felt heat ris
ing in her face. “I asked you for it
rough
, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but, you
were upset. It was wrong of
me to take advantage of you at such an emotional time.
When
I came home
today
and you wer
e gone
, I sensed that you were shook up and that you needed a little space.”

Okay, this gut instinct stuff is starting to get to me
.
 
It’s downright spooky, all the more reason to put the brakes on this affair
.

“I’m more upset with myself for being such a pain
in the ass
these past days.” Jessie replied in an even tone, stee
ling herself to turn
down their relationship
a few decibels as
she turned away from his sultry regard. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.” She sniffed the roses again, feeling like a traitor for what she was about to say to the man she loved.

“Just come home with me,
Babe
.” He smiled. “It’ll be all right.”

Babe
.
How she hated that glib word tripping off the tongue of every guy who ever had a
bone
r
in his jeans. The annoyance she felt at the use of that hated endearment made it easier to be curt with him.

“Lex, I’ve been thinking, t
hings are pretty screwed up
for me right now. I’m not
ready for a serious relationship. I think
we need to slow it down a bit.
”

His exuberance melte
d into
disbelief. “You are
getting too worked up over those harassing calls, that’s all, just--”

“No
.
” Jessie held up her free hand firmly, and took a step back to prevent him from wrapping his arms about her. “Listen to me, Lex
.
Please?
You’ve been pushing me
.
You’re moving in too fast. It’s getting
scary.
I told you it was too much, too fast. Now,
my family is upset that I’m marrying so quickly. I need for us to step back, spend som
e time away from each other. T
ake a
breather
. There’s no need to rush off to the altar like Cinderella trying to make it home before the stroke of midnight, is there?”

His eyes hardened. “
I see
.” He said in a cold, tense voice that sliced through her
heart. “Pardon me for wanting you to marry me.”
He lowered his arms from the doorjamb, turned on
his heel and stalked down the hall.

Jessie followed him to the hall.
“Lex--wait--
all I’
m asking for is a little time
--”

“--and all I’m asking for is a little trust
.
” He muttered as he descended the iron stairs.
Each step he
took away from her
was punctuated by the iron echo
in the stairwell
his boots made until he reached the bottom.
“And I’m tired of asking, Jessie.”

Chapter Eighteen

“It’s over, just like that?” Steve queried as the three male members of
Heartless
stared
incredulously at Jessie.