Lola“I–what is going on here?” Pausing in the doorway, I took in the view in front of me. When Dion had told me to get into something comfortable whilst he sorted dinner, I had expected him to rustle something up from the freezer. I didn’t expect this.My eyes fell on him. He was perched on the window seat, his perfectly cut jaw seeming extra sharp in the light of dozens of candles.“Dion?” I tried to take it all in and failed. “What's going on?”The smile that lit up his face eclipsed the candles. Hell, it could have eclipsed the sun. And it was all I could see. “Food.” He gestured to a plate of what looked like cheeses and bread between him and the other end of the window seat. “Date night, remember.” He winked, a goofy, almost childlike look sweeping across his face. It was short–lived, as he finally seemed to look at me properly. Whistling between his teeth, he stood, holding out a hand for me to come to him. When he had told me to get into something more comfortable, I had tak
Lola“So?” Elodie smiled across the table at me. Two mugs of cream topped hot chocolate sat between us. We could’ve had hot chocolate at home, but she had wanted to grab some last–minute things for Christmas. I had to admit that it was good to get out of the apartment for a while. Not that I would ever complain about the two weeks I had spent almost totally alone with Dion. I'd never lived with a man before, but he made it easy. There were no arguments, but I had a sneaky suspicion that was because we couldn't keep our hands off each other. My body ached in ways I didn't think possible, and I loved it. “So, you and Dion?” She raised a dark eyebrow. “You guys getting on, I take it?”I smiled, a knowing little smile. Getting on was an understatement. Catching my look, her grin grew. “I'll take that as a yes.” Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she smiled and I beamed at her from across the table. “It's been amazing.”“You mean the sex?”I blushed, casting my eyes around the packed co
Dion“That was fucking...” Tearing the headphones from my ears to dangle around my neck, I beamed a wide smile around at the others, who answered it with nods of agreement. I didn't need to finish the sentence because we all felt it.That was good. Really, fucking good.The best take we had done yet, and we had only been in the studio for a few hours. Sometimes it just happened like that. Everything just clicked into place.And that's what had just happened. Yes, the song was good. The lyrics were some of the best I'd ever written and coupled with the music they had crafted, it felt polished, ready to go. Perfect. If any such thing ever existed in our world.Maybe perfect wasn't the right word, but it felt good.If the other songs we were laying down went as well as this one had, then we would record our next album in record time. Not that I was under any illusion that all of them would go as smoothly. “What do you think, Erik?”Erik, as always, was hanging around. Sometimes I didn'
LolaThe sound of my top button popping was unusually loud, and I sucked in a breath and with it my stomach as Dion's finger splayed over my skin.“Stop sucking it in, Lola.” Smiling down at me, it was impossible not to see the naughty glint in his eyes. I loved that glint. “Never.” To prove my point, I sucked in my stomach harder. “I can be stubborn when I want to. Like this thing about security.”Dion's eyes flashed. “You're having security, Lola,” he growled out, the sound sending shockwaves through my bones as his lips vibrated against the skin under my ear. “That's nonnegotiable.”“Fine, then I want Rake.”“His name isn't Rake.”“Don't care. If I have to be followed around by anyone, then it's him.” I jumped as something cold touched just under my belly button. “What are you doing?” “You seem to be rather hot–headed today, Lola.” Dion's voice was all fake innocence in stark contrast to the devilish light in his eyes as he brought his face close to mine. Our noses were almost to
DionThere was something oddly comforting about stepping through the front door of my top floor apartment and knowing she would be there. Waiting for me. She always greeted me with soft hellos and easy smiles, even if I woke her up, which was most of the time. Erik had been keeping us later and later, pushing us to finish the album so we would have some time off between Christmas and the new year. I hated missing time with Lola, even if it was just a few days, but I knew it would be worth it in the long run. It would mean we got some real, quality time together. And I couldn't wait for that. Lola made my place into a home. Usually, it was somewhere I hated coming back to. Too white, too empty, too naked of all life that I did everything in my power to avoid it. Which was strange because it was exactly what I had always wanted. A penthouse, looking out over the city. Here I was king. A man at the pinnacle of his career. Or so I had thought. Until the first night I'd moved in and the
Lola“Well, that was a fucking disaster, wasn't it?” My brother's voice was gruff as he slowed into London traffic. Even on Christmas day, you could expect traffic. I didn't answer him. With my eyes closed, I let the cool glass of the window soothe my sweaty skin.“Not that I'm surprised. She was never going to welcome me with open arms, was she and then–?”I cranked open an eye. He had been on a rant for the last few hours. An almost non stop tirade about how unwelcome he felt in his childhood home. It wasn't like I was even really surprised and he shouldn't have been either. “I'm sorry I got sick.” I closed my eyes again, my stomach rolling with every turn of the tyres. All I wanted was to lie down and sleep, to block out everything that had happened and start again tomorrow. “I'm not on about you getting Lola sick.” Louis sounded exasperated. “I'm on about her.” I knew he was talking about our mother .“And that asshole she married. Telling you should leave before you got everyo
Dion“I fucked up Elodie.” Cradling my face in my hands, I groaned. “I fucked up so bad.”She didn't tell me that I hadn't. Elodie wasn't the kind of girl to sugar coat shit for my benefit. Next to her, Jax laughed. “Which fucking part, brother?”“Not helping Jax.” Peeking out between my fingers, I saw her elbow him roughly. “It was a simple enough question: is he talking about the drinking or inviting Isla?” Jax paused. “What the fuck were you thinking there, Dion? Inviting her without warning Lola or are you talking about the fact that you didn't even realise Lola had left until today?” He paused to take a breath. “All of it, but mostly the Lola thing.” Blearily, I locked eyes with him. “Is she ok?” I'd asked that several times since they had come around. And each and every time they had changed the subject. Like it wasn't punishment enough waking up face down on the sofa and realising she wasn’t in our bed. Lola had disappeared at some point in the night. “She's fine,” Elodie
Lola“Lola’s pregnant.”Groaning, I threw a glare at Celia. Curled up on her threadbare sofa, I would have thrown something more than a glance at her if I had been home, but this was her place and I didn't want to accidentally break something that meant something to her. Not that she wouldn't deserve it. She ‘d opened her mouth as soon as she had let Elodie in. Elodie froze in the open doorway, hovering between the snow covered outside and the warmth of inside and I shivered. Mostly from the cold, but not entirely. The way Elodie was looking at me made me uneasy.“Celia.” Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my chin upon them and stared at my best friend. “Will you come in or go out?” Celia shivered. “You're letting out all the warm air and–” The door slammed as Elodie stepped forward. Shrugging off her coat, she continued to stare at me like I was an alien creature.“You’re pregnant?” she finally said.“Yes.” Celia got there first, and I threw another death glare at her.“No
Louis“Did you just call me a silly ass?”“Is that what you got from that?” Celia muttered. Her hands were still on my chest as she shook her head. Her cheeks flamed as she took a step back. My arms went around her instantly, pulling her back to me. “Yep.” I tightened my grip. “Not sure I heard the other part properly. Because I was pretty sure you said-”“I love you.”Something happened in my chest. It was something I had never felt before. Warmth spread through me and for a moment it was as if my heart seemed to stop beating. For a split second, I thought I might have just had some sort of heart attack, and then it gave one loud thudding beat.“You love me?” I wanted to check that I had heard her right. Celia didn’t say anything at first. But the pink that tinted her cheeks deepened to a blazing red. She turned her face away from me. I didn’t want her to do that. I never wanted her to look away from me. “That’s what I said.” Her face was growing redder and redder. It made me smi
CeliaAfter wiping my sweaty palms down my thighs, I raised my hand to knock. The door opened before my knuckles could make contact.“Hey, I saw you on the camera.” Erik's smile was as charming as I had ever seen it. He looked tanned and happy. “Come on in.” He opened the door wide. Stepping through, I glanced around. I’d been to his city pad so many times, fetching and carrying things for him, that it should have felt as familiar to me as my own home.Except it didn’t, not this time. This time it felt different. “Drink?” He carried on grinning at me. “I have white cooling. That's your favourite, isn't it?” He led the way through the spacious open-plan living room. And sure enough, a bottle of wine was cooling on the table by the window. He went over to it with hesitation, pouring me a glass before I could say a word.“Thanks.” My eyes swept across the view of the city below us and then fell on the table set for two. “But shouldn't you have waited until…?” I motioned to the table.
Louis“Dance with me, Louis.”Blearily, I lifted my eyes to meet Elodie’s. She was holding out her hand like she expected me to take it. I’d already danced with my sister out of duty, but I didn't want to dance with anyone else. Least of all Elodie who always had the uncanny ability to tell you exactly what you were thinking and feeling, even if you were avoiding it.Shaking my head, I went back to brooding. It was a new thing for me. Usually, I left the brooding to Jax or Dion. “Come on, Louis.” Reaching down, she wrapped her small hand around mine and pulled me to my feet. I swayed for a second. “It's a wedding, after all. Your sister's wedding. We should all be having fun.” She led me forward onto the dance floor. There were already some people dancing, but the space was relatively empty. It wouldn't be for long, though. Not with the way people were drinking. “I am having fun,” I grumbled.Laughing, she placed her hand on my shoulders. I let her lead. I didn't want to dance. Not
Celia“Are you even going to look at that?”With my fingers still buried in the fur of the cat on my lap, I lifted my eyes to Mia, who was curled up on the chair opposite me. “Celia?” she prompted when I didn't answer.“No. It’s probably Erik again.” I didn't need to check my phone to know it would be him. He had been blowing up my phone all day. Of course. Today was Lola and Dion's wedding. Things would have gone wrong, some emergency or something Erik had forgotten. Things that I wouldn't have overlooked. “You seriously mean to go through with this, don’t you? Quit your job?”I nodded.“Girl, you're crazy. The band is your life. Working with them is your dream and you're just going to throw it away?” Mia shook her head. Reaching across to grab my wine glass, I grimaced as the cat dug its claws in at the sudden movement. “Looks that way.”“What are you going to do for money?”“Absolutely no idea.” Shrugging, I poured myself another glass of wine. “Do you think maybe you should ha
Louis“You and Celia?”Whirling around, I came face to face with my sister. There was no hello. Not even a howdy. Just her shocked face as she stomped towards me. Running my hand through my hair, I looked down at my own bare feet. “Hello to you as well, little sister,” I mumbled.“Hi.” She hugged me quickly before holding me out at arm's length. “Now answer the question.”“What question?” I knew exactly what question, but I didn't want to answer it. Ever since I had woken up yesterday and Erik had told me she had gone, I had given up thinking about the band's blonde assistant. What good would it do?She was gone. It wasn’t like I could go after her. Not when my sister was about to get married. I needed to be here. With family. Not chasing after a girl who shared my bed but was in love with someone else. What we had: the fun, the sex, had been real. But that's all it had been: fun, sex. And that was all over now.“You and Celia?”I shrugged. She shrieked, drawing a quizzical look f
CeliaIt didn't feel fake anymore. It felt real.Real and new and exciting. And it had absolutely nothing to do with sex. Louis didn't act like this around women he’d had sex with. He was a ‘love them and leave them’ kind of guy, but he wasn't that way around me. Not that I thought for a second that he was in love with me, and I was pretty sure I wasn't falling in love with him. We were just having fun. Maybe this was exactly what I needed. Proof that other men out there found me attractive. Proof that I didn't need Erik. Except…part of me still wanted Erik. A small dwindling part, but it was there, buried deep. Which was all kinds of wrong, seeing as I was sharing my bed with someone else. And not just any someone else, either. Louis Michaelson was a panty-wetting god and somehow he had chosen me to spend time with.It was hard to wrap my head around.But it was true. The last few days had been a glorious mix of lingering looks and wild, passionate sex. The kind of holiday romanc
LouisGiving the sleeping form of Celia one last lingering look, I slipped out of the room and headed towards the beach. It wasn’t even dawn, but I needed to clear my head. What had happened between us last night had been incredible. Better than I had ever expected, but the intimacy… I ground my teeth together. The intimacy hadn't been what I was expecting. Not the sex itself, but what came afterwards. Holding Celia, talking to her until the small hours. That had all been new.New and scary as hell.And I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I liked her.For the first time in my man-whore life, I liked a woman, probably more than I should do. I sure as hell liked her more than she liked me, and I didn't even know when it had first happened. It had kind of just snuck up on me. Maybe because Celia had always been there. Hovering in the background. A familiar smiling face. A beautiful smiling face who was in love with someone else. I had known that when I had taken her to bed, so wh
CeliaWhy was I doing this? This was a terrible idea.A truly awful one.But I knew the answer. The reason I was doing this, taking this step with someone I worked with, was taking his shirt off and kneeling between my legs.Louis was the reason I was crossing the line. Not because of the hard washboard abs covered in tattoos that met my gaze, but because of who he was. There was a connection there. One that I wanted to explore a little. God, I was confused.I liked Louis. I really did, and I couldn’t deny the sexual chemistry between us. But-“Eyes open and on me, Celia.”My eyes snapped open. I hadn’t even realised I had closed them. Staring at him, I felt my mouth fall open. He stood there naked and, even though it wasn’t the first time I had seen him without clothes on, it felt like I was truly seeing him for the first time. Letting my eyes wander down his body, my lips parted further. He was exquisite. And not just because of the art that adorned him, either. There was a beaut
Louis“Celia?” I knew I had heard her right because it wasn't like her words could be construed as anything else. Not many things sounded like ‘I want you to take me to bed’. But I wanted to make sure. “Did you seriously just ask me that?” In answer, she curled herself into my chest. “You heard what I said, Louis. I know you did. I can see it in your eyes. Do I really need to repeat myself?”I wrapped my arms around her, holding her even closer. “Yeah, you kind of do.”Tilting her head up, her eyes sparkled with the moon shining over her. It would have been a romantic moment if she hadn't been asking me to fuck her. “I want you to take me to bed.” She said each word slowly, like I was an idiot and that's exactly what I felt like.A damn idiot. Because I didn't know what was happening. What had changed in Celia's world so much that she was now into me for real?“Celia…” My lips pursed as I blew out a breath.“Or here. I've not done it on the beach before. ““Damn it, Celia.” Stepping