Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (12 page)

On his knees before her perfect
body, Tanner gently caressed her skin, up to her breasts, taking handfuls.
Jules had one hand holding tight to the covers. The other was flat against his
stomach. She crept down until her fingertips found and began to explore his
thickness.

The touch her fingers as they
wrapped around him made Tanner thrust.

“
Damn,
darling,
”
he whispered.
“
Stroke me. All the way.
”

Jules
’
hand came up his erection, all the way to the tip. She squeezed tighter,
released a little, and then moved back down. It was insanely slow, and it was
torturing Tanner. Jules repeated the move again and again. Tanner lowered
himself down, his chest pressing to hers, wanting her to feel his warmth,
comfort, and strength. He kissed her again and the feeling that shot through
him made it feel as though it were the first time.

Jules
’
sweet hand continued to pump at Tanner, moving with greater speed, scaling him
root to tip. Tanner had one hand on the floor for balance and he let his other
hand explore between her legs. She had her legs wide open for him, two of his
fingers sinking deep into her body. Jules arched her back and let out a long
groan.

“
Darling,
I can
’
t wait any longer,
”
Tanner said.
“
Be ready for me.
”

Tanner took his fingers from her
body and reached to the side for his jeans. He grabbed them, found the condom
and sheathed himself. Her knees were slightly bent, legs open, not afraid to
show Tanner all of her beauty as she waited for him.

Tanner touched the insides of her
legs, just below her knees.

“
There
are no rules with you,
”
Tanner said.

“
Do
you say that to everyone?
”
Jules asked with a grin.

“
Trust
me, I don
’
t usually say
anything
…”

Tanner moved his hands down Jules
’
legs. His thumbs grazed her
soft folds and she jumped. His hands hurried up her body and Tanner came
forward. As he touched her, pressing forward, her body welcomed him. Her
tightness gave way slowly, Tanner trying to enter Jules without hurting her.
She began clawing at his back, her eyes staring at him with almost a look of
disbelief.

“
Yes,
”
she said.
“
Please, yes.
”

“
Beg
me,
”
Tanner growled as he
thrust harder.

“
Tanner,
yes!
”
Jules cried out.

Tanner slid a hand behind her head
and held a handful of her hair. With one more thrust, he was finally all the
way inside her sweet body. They were together. Tanner pulled back and thrust
harder, feeling Jules clinging to him. He kissed her, enjoying the eagerness of
her mouth as he enjoyed the tightness of her body.

He pushed up away from her body so
he could admire the site under him. Her breasts bounced and her stomach
fluttered with each shaky breath. He held onto her hips and thrust as hard and
as often as he wanted. Each time he came forward, Jules let out another cry.
Another moan. Another groan.

As Tanner sped up, Jules started to
arch her back. She offered herself in such a beautiful way. Tanner caressed one
of her breasts as his thumb flicked at her nipple. Tanner moved his other hand
around to Jules
’
ass and
lifted her. He thrust harder, faster, his body
’
s
needs overtaking anything else around him. Jules lowered her back to the floor
and then started to crunch forward. Her hands were interlocked around his neck,
pulling at him. She was desperate for his mouth and Tanner gave it to her.

When her nails dug in the back of
his neck, Tanner hissed.

“
Oh,
shit,
”
Jules said, her lips
still touching Tanner
’
s.
“
I
’
m
…
Tanner, I
’
m coming
…”

“
Make
me feel it, darling,
”
he
said.

Tanner could already feel it. The
sudden rush of heat and need, matched by the sweet moans Jules offered, her
lips against Tanner
’
s,
brought upon a force Tanner never knew existed. His heart started to pound like
it never had before. It went beyond the connection of their bodies together.

Jules continued to climax. And then
as fast as the rush came, it ended. A pleasure-filled smile crept across her
face.

But Tanner wasn
’
t done yet.

He pulled from Jules
’
body and rolled her on top of
him. Jules let out a cry as Tanner made the move.

“
Make
me come,
”
Tanner said.
“
Show me what your sweet body can
do.
”

Tanner reached down and held
himself. Jules lifted herself up and came down, hard. The unexpected move
almost made him come right then. He grabbed onto her hips and she leaned
forward to hold onto his shoulders. Her breasts were in his face as they began
to dance with her motion.

She knew just what he liked without
him even telling her.

When her mouth came down to his,
she took control of the kiss. He forced her down to him more so that he could
feel her warm body against his as he came. He could feel the rush working
through his body.

Tanner began to match Jules
’
speed, thrusting up as she came
down. Jules kept her mouth close but didn
’
t
kiss Tanner. The taste of her seductive breath was good enough for now.

Jules started to rock faster,
easing her hips left to right as she did so. That was all he could take. Tanner
put a hand to the back of Jules
’
neck and pulled her mouth to his. His tongue took the lead. His other hand was
at the small of her back, making sure their bodies were tight as he started to
come. Jules moaned as Tanner came. When Tanner felt the tightness of Jules
’
body again, he realized she was
at another climax.

“
Good
hell,
”
he managed to growl.
“
You
’
re fucking amazing.
”

“
You
are,
”
Jules said.

They kissed until Tanner had to
roll to his side, pulling from Jules
’
body. He didn't let go of her though. He brushed the hair out of her face and
ran his fingers down her cheek. Tanner reached for the covers and tucked them
both in... something he had never cared to do before.

But tonight he kept a hand on
Jules. Stroking her face, her hair, her shoulder. He watched her fall asleep
and waited until she was out cold before making another move. He reached for
the beers he had grabbed from the fridge. Twisting one of the caps off, he looked
around the room. He held the bottle up and gave a nod to the night.

To the naked woman in his bed. A
woman whose name he didn
’
t
know. And to the naked woman next to him on the floor. He couldn't get more
rockstar like than this. But nothing scared him more either. Because as Tanner
sat up, drinking alone, he couldn
’
t
stop looking at Jules. And he couldn
’
t
stop thinking about what he
’
d
say to her in the morning to make sure she knew he wanted her there again. And
again.
And again.

“
No
more rules,
”
he whispered.

The shell around Tanner's heart had
been cracked.

(12)

When Jules woke up she looked
around and realized where she was. She had slept with a rockstar, on his floor,
because his one night stand from the night before hadn't left. Jules sat up and
noticed that the bed was empty now. She laughed to herself as she pictured the
woman's expression when she saw Jules with Tanner asleep, naked, on the floor.
She closed her eyes in disbelief of what had happened.

As Jules opened her eyes again, she
felt the heavy after effects of the drinks she had downed at the club. The
pounding inside her forehead made it very clear that she would be suffering the
rest of the day.

Slowly, Jules rolled to her side.
Tanner was on his back, sleeping. His slightly scruffy jaw was so sexy. Jules
wanted to touch it. Lick it. Crawl on top of him and start up again. The covers
were down near his stomach.

Jules bit her bottom lip as she
felt herself getting turned on again already.

As Jules started to reach for
Tanner, she thought about what he had said.
About rules.
He said that
his rules were going to be broken for her, but she still stopped herself. She
couldn
’
t touch Tanner
again. She couldn
’
t climb
on top of him again. It would end up causing trouble. Tanner was a rockstar and
was better off just being who he was meant to be. The guy with a woman in his
bed and a woman on his floor. As their backup singer, the last thing Jules
needed to do was compromise the biggest opportunity of her life. The chance to
tour with the band. Actually make money singing. Open doors to meet people that
could guide her career.

Jules sat up and found her clothes.
She collected them and left the bedroom. In the dark hallway she dressed
herself, feeling as though she was doing something wrong.

Once dressed, Jules searched for
her bag so she could make a phone call for a ride before Tanner woke up. As she
reached into the bag, she heard a noise behind her and jumped.

“
Whoa,
hey,
”
Jules said.

The woman froze and looked at
Jules.
“
Leaving?
”

“
Yeah.
Aren
’
t you?
”

“
No.
I
’
m good right here.
”

Jules was quickly uncomfortable.
Her phone beeped.

“
Could
you answer that? It
’
s been
going off like crazy. Kind of annoying.
”

Jules looked at her phone. Tara had
sent her a dozen texts already this morning. She grinned as she thought about
the story she could tell Tara. She text Tara back to tell her that she was
alive and well, and that she would be home soon.

Jules thought about waking Tanner
up to let him know the woman was still there, and that she had no intention of
leaving, but she didn't want to come across as jealous. So Jules left Tanner's
apartment. When she got outside, she searched for a cab company online that she
could call. Tara would have come picked her up, for sure, but Jules was
actually enjoying the experience of the so-called
walk of shame
. And why
shouldn't she? She just left the apartment of the guitarist of Gone by Autumn.
If that wasn
’
t the hottest
thing in the world, Jules didn
’
t
know what was then.

The second she walked into her door,
Tara was waiting with two cups of coffee. The smell was intoxicating and Jules
dove for the mug. Her head was pounding, and her stomach spinning. The coffee
helped, but not nearly enough.

“
You
need to start talking,
”
Tara said.
“
I never thought
in my wildest dreams you
’
d disappear
for the night. So I
know
there has to be some juicy details.
”

“
Oh,
there definitely is,
”
Jules
said.

They sat down at the table and Tara
was smiling ear to ear.
“
Hot
Suit take good care of you?
”

“
Hardly,
”
Jules said.
“
Hot Suit got his ass kicked by
Hot Guitarist.
”

“
What?
”
Tara shouted.

Jules giggled and started to blush.
“
I can
’
t believe I
’
m going to say this.
”

She detailed the events of the
night. How Rob -
Hot Suit
- had stepped way over the line and how Tanner
showed up out of nowhere to beat him up in a bathroom and left him there for
security to clean up. Then how Tanner took her to his place and that they had
to sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor, because...

“
There
was a woman in his bed?
”
Tara asked, her jaw almost hitting the table.
“
And
you went with it
…”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Jules said.
“
I was sort of drunk, I guess. I
just felt so spontaneous. There is just something about Tanner. I wanted it. I
wanted him. I didn't care who was watching.
”

“
That
is the hottest story I
’
ve
ever heard,
”
Tara said.
“
You screwed a rockstar while some
groupie slept in his bed. Right next to you! You
’
re
crazy, Jules. One show with Gone by Autumn and you think you
’
re a rockstar.
”

“
I
’
m not a rockstar,
”
Jules said.
“
Something just came over me and
I took advantage of it.
”

“
Wait
a second,
”
Tara said.
“
Why the hell aren
’
t you still there?
”

“
He
kind of hinted at what he wanted,
”
Jules said.
“
He
’
s not a next morning kind of
guy. Which is fine. We have to work together and I don
’
t want it to be weird. So I got up, got dressed,
and left.
”

“
What
about the other woman?
”

“
She
was in his kitchen.
”

“
Ohmyfreakinggosh,
”
Tara said.
“
I can
’
t even picture this. What happened?
”

“
Nothing.
I left. I don
’
t know who
she is. Or what her deal is.
”

“
Is
it his girlfriend or something?
”

“
I
…
don
’
t know
…”

Jules suddenly felt stupid. She
hadn
’
t thought about that
before. Could Tanner have a girlfriend? Maybe they had an agreement and Tanner
was able to have other women. Was it another one of his rules?

It shouldn
’
t have bothered Jules, but a surge of jealousy turned
into anger.

“
I
need more coffee,
”
Jules
said.

She rose from the table and went to
the kitchen. The apartment was too small for her to escape.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Tara asked.

“
I
don
’
t know. I didn
’
t think about the girlfriend
thing. Not sure if it makes sense or not."

“
Look
at you. You
’
re jealous
right now. You thought it was some groupie in his bed. And you wanted to be the
better groupie.
”

“
Stop
it,
”
Jules said.
“
It
’
s
not like that. No. I
’
m not
going to let that ruin anything. It doesn
’
t
matter. We were together and now I
’
m
home. I
’
ll see him next
time I have to be with the band.
”

Jules sat back down. Her coffee was
black this time. She hoped it would kick the hangover that was killing her
entire body faster.

Faster... like Tanner thrusting
at her.

 
“
I
’
m speechless,
”
Tara said.
“
And I never stop talking. I
thought you were with Hot Suit.
”

“
No.
That guy was a creep. I was in big trouble for a few minutes.
”

“
Until
Tanner showed up. How crazy is that?
”

“
It
’
s done now,
”
Jules said.

“
You
’
re so hungover. I love it. I
love seeing you have fun. I mean, not that you
’
re
not fun, but you know what I mean. I'd rather see you hurting like this than
just sitting around your room and worrying about life
…”

“
Tara,
it
’
s okay,
”
Jules said.
“
I
’
m
in shock myself. But I have to be professional. I don't want to blow this
opportunity.

“
Blow...
,
”
Tara giggled.

Jules slapped Tara's arm.

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

Tara sipped her coffee. Her eyes
wouldn
’
t leave Jules. Then
a grin crept across her face.

“
What?
”
Jules asked.

“
I
’
m sorry, I have to know. How was
it?
”

Jules felt the her face burning
again, hotter than the coffee in her mug.

“
It
was
…
I never
…
I mean
…”

“
Come
on, tell me,
”
Tara begged.

“
I
’
m not giving you details,
”
Jules said.
“
But it was mind blowing. That
’
s where I
’
m leaving it. Completely mind blowing. Like nothing
I ever had before in my life. The way he touched me. Kissed me. And not just my
mouth either.
”
Jules winked
and Tara's jaw dropped.

“
Okay,
stop,
”
Tara said.
“
You
’
re turning me on.
”

“
That
’
s weird.
”

“
I
know. Well, not that my night comes close to yours, but I have a band now.
”

“
Really?
”

“
Yeah.
We are meeting up today for practice. Trying to get things going.
”

“
Well,
that
’
s good news. Hey, if
it works and you need help getting a gig, I know a few people.
”
Jules grinned.

“
Look
at you, you bitch. Backup singer by day, groupie by night. You
are
a
rockstar.
”

“
Stop
saying that,
”
Jules said.
She stood from the table.
“
I
’
m going to take a shower. My
head is killing me.
”

“
Good
luck. I
’
ll be sitting here
fantasizing about you and the guitarist.
”

“
Still
weird,
”
Jules called out as
she walked down the hall.

She went into her room and fell
onto her bed. Her head was still throbbing, but the smile that came across her
face couldn
’
t be stopped,
no matter how badly the hangover was kicking her butt.

She replayed the entire night in
her mind. From the first drink with Tara to the last taste of Tanner
’
s sexy kiss. She refused to
believe that the other woman was Tanner
’
s
girlfriend.

Whatever.

Jules closed her eyes and rubbed
her forehead. She took a few deep breaths and let out a long sigh. It was
ridiculous to get jealous right now over Tanner and another woman. Jules needed
composure. She needed to focus on practicing all the Gone by Autumn songs she
could so that she was ready for whatever shows the band wanted her for.

But no matter how hard she tried to
focus, she couldn't stop picturing Tanner's body.

Just a
celebrity
crush, Jules. That
’
s
all. Just a crush.