AIDENLong, dark hair. Mesmerizingly dark eyes. Pouty pink lips. A soft jaw. Eyelashes longer than a doll’s.And a really great fucking pair of tits.This was my new PA? And I was expected not to fuck her. Good job, Chloe. Good damn job.I approached her, this Elena, and stopped in front of her. Her eyes climbed up my body until they met mine, and she held my gaze steadily. No wavering, no lip quivering, no blushing. If it wasn’t for the way her tongue was flicking against her bottom lip, I’d say she couldn’t give a shit she was standing in front of me.“Elena,” I said slowly, trying her name out. It rolled off my tongue perfectly. “Hey.”“Hello,” she replied demurely, holding my gaze for a second longer.Demure. Shit. I didn’t do demure. But then again, I couldn’t do her, so what does it matter?“You think you can keep up with a rocker’s lifestyle?”“I’ll give it my best shot.”My lips tugged to the side. “I’m sure you will, darlin’. Are you used to showin’ girls out of hotel rooms?”
“That, too. No—she’s quiet, don’t you think? I just tried bein’ a nice little boss and she fucked me off.”“That’s because you’re a jackass,” Bray said. “Watch and learn.” He turned his attention from me to Elena and tapped her arm.Slowly, she faced him with a hesitant smile. “Yes?”“Where’d you go to college?” Bray dove right in. “Sorry,” he added when she blinked harshly. “Just wanted to know more about you. That’s all.” He followed his words with a charming smile, and she relaxed.“Oh, I’m sorry. It caught me off guard.” She straightened in her chair. “I studied at Oxford and am preparing for school.”Conor choked on his beer. “No way. What the fuck are you doin’ here sortin’ our shit out for?”“Bad Dadda!” Milka gasped, pointing her finger at Conor. “Bad!”Elena’s smile widened, just a little. “I needed a change of scenery.”Dirty little liar.“All the boys in Los Angelkes too clean cut for you, darlin’?” I asked across the table.“Actually,” she responded calmly, folding her nap
“When you wake up tomorrow there’ll be a phone and credit card in reception waitin’ for you, and you will take it. And, Elena?” I cupped her jaw and forced her eyes upward. They crashed into mine, blazing with annoyance, and I tilted my face toward hers, enjoying the hitch in her breath. “For someone concerned about my manners, you have a serious lack of them. When I talk to you, you fuckin’ look at me. Understand?”Wordlessly, she stepped back, and I let my hand fall. She nodded once, quickly, and yanked on the door handle. She disappeared inside the room in a split second, leaving me standing in the middle of the hall, staring at the closed white door.Wondering why the fuck her annoyed gaze was riddled with fear.The Stadium was in darkness except for the stage. Silence filled the stands, but the first few rows and stage were, again, a different story. Final practices were always fucking crazy, because there was always something that needed changing before tomorrow’s sound check.Li
ELENAHis eyes blazed at my words. And I knew that, inadvertently, I just challenged him. I also knew guys like Aiden James would take a challenge and follow it through. It was their fire, and I just handed him the fuel to ignite it.“That right, darlin’?” he spoke slowly, each word drawn out into a stomach-fluttering drawl.“Our relationship is strictly professional,” I reminded him, looping my thumbs through the belt loops on my shorts. “I’d prefer it to stay that way.”“We’re gonna be buttin’ heads somethin’ crazy, then.” His eyes were still fully on me, and I swear they were holding me captive. The power of his stare sent a hard shiver down my spine.“The only things we’ll be butting is schedules.” I grabbed my water bottle and sandwich packet. I needed to do something with my hands because they were trembling, and it was obvious. At least to me. “Good-bye, Mr. James.”I took a step forward and he stood, towering over me by several inches. I drew in a sharp breath and kept my eyes
Was I really this weak with Martin?Am I really so afraid and run-down that knocking on a door was fear-inducing?Dammit all to hell.I slapped my hands against my cheeks hard. “Pull yourself together, Elena!” I whispered.“Talkin’ to yourself is the first sign of insanity,” a voice behind me said.I turned and looked at Bray. Or was it Titus? Dammit, they looked so alike. I dropped my eyes to his left arm. A pocket-watch tattoo peeked out from beneath the sleeve of his tight-fitting shirt. Bray.“Then I’m probably already halfway there.” My lips twitched.“Did you just work out who I am by my tattoo?” He pointed to his inner bicep.My cheeks heated. “Um. Yes.”Bray’s lips formed a wide grin, and his eyes glimmered with amusement. “Smart. It’s kinda awkward when a girl can’t tell you apart from your twin.”My face got even warmer at his insinuation. “I didn’t want to be rude and ask, but I guess that was kind of rude anyway.”“It was cute.” He winked. “For the record, I’m the better lo
AIDEN She was a pretty fuckin’ firecracker all wrapped up with a demure little bow. One minute she was wiping her sweaty, trembling hands on her legs, and the next she was staring me down and twisting my balls so tightly with her words that they had turned blue from blood loss. And, sweet fucking Jesus, where the hell did it come from? Shoulda leaned over the damn seat and kissed her when she dared me to. To hell with being her boss. To hell with Chloe’s damn stupid-ass rules. To hell with Elena’s sassy little smart mouth. Next time she so much as glances at me with a hint of her sass, I’m gonna kiss it right out of her. It ain’t my fault she’s got pretty, pouty pink lips just begging for it. She went from shy to confident faster than a damn yo-yo spins on its string. And I didn’t understand it. Or her. A single fucking bit. I shouldn’t want to, but I did. From the point of view of her employer. If she was gonna be all bipolaresque on our asses we should know. I rolled my shoul
My fingers teased the guitar strings endlessly. The music flew through my veins, a rush and comfort. An exhilaration and a soother. A total contradiction, but one that made sense nonetheless.Song after song it went, one after another, beat after chord, chord after lyric, lyric after scream, scream after blackout.We set our instruments down softly and walked back into the wings. Elena was standing in mine, clasping a bottle of water. I closed my fingers around the neck of the bottle, my pinkie barely an inch from hers, and pause.“You did good,” she said softly, swallowing before she looked up and met my eyes.I stared into her dark eyes, the color of dark chocolate, of a black coffee after a night of no sleep, and I replied, “I know.”I took the bottle from her, unscrewed the cap, and tipped it up, walking past her. I didn’t need my cute-as-fuck assistant getting into my head tonight.No, I needed some fangirling, groupie-ass bitch to bend over for me so I could relieve this stress.
ELENANote to self: next time Aiden calls you to his room, make sure he has pants on before you go.I didn’t know what annoyed me more, the fact he wanted me to get rid of that girl like she was a bag of trash or that he didn’t put his pants on before he called me.Worst thing was that I didn’t exactly hate that he wasn’t wearing pants.Maybe that was why I was annoyed. Why I still freakin’ was. He pulled an asshole move, something totally disrespectful to the girl and to me, and I was still marginally attracted to him.Marginally. Just a tiny bit. Because, you know, it’s easy to find someone that looks, like, that incredibly attractive. With the selection of tattoos snaking up his arms and onto his chest, not to mention his lean, defined physique, he was like a . . . I don’t know. A walking wet dream.I covered my eyes with my hand. Boss, Elena. No men, Elena. Find yourself before an orgasm, Elena.“Okay,” I whispered to myself. Sheesh—here we go again with the talking to myself. May