Changing the Key: A Detrimental Rock Star Romance (Book 1) Read online

  Reaching toward my bag on the nightstand for a condom, I barely had it on before I pulled her back onto me in one hard thrust. We both groaned as I bottomed out inside of her. I tried to hold back, to set a slow pace, but the feel of her core muscles squeezing my cock had my body demanding more. The pace increased until I jackhammered into her from behind. I couldn’t ease the overwhelming need to claim her. My hands fisted into the flesh at her hips, determined to keep her as near as possible with each withdrawal. Knowing that I wasn’t going to last much longer, I reached one hand around to make sure she came again with me. Furiously pumping into her, I felt my balls tighten alerting me that I was ready to blow.

  “Come with me,” I growled, circling and pressing her clit in rhythm with my movements.

  “Almost there,” she panted, her hand coming up to join mine.

  Letting her take over there, I eased back to watch her ass bounce in front of me. Feeling my control about to snap, I needed to get her as close to the edge as I was, and fast. Spreading a hand at the base of her spine, I slid my thumb between her cheeks. Making sure it was slick and ready, I began circling the tight hole there. I waited for her reaction, and when she urged me on with a subtle shift backward, I slowly, methodically worked my thumb in. The tight heat there had me increasing the speed of my dick drilling into her. A low groan tore through me at the sight of my thumb gliding in and out of her tight ass.

  “Yes, Jax” she cried, between clenched teeth. “Don’t. Stop.”

  Two seconds later, she detonated, screaming her pleasure into the mattress. Feeling her tighten around my cock and my thumb, my limited restraint shattered. My back bowed as wave after wave of my release shot out. I was able to wrap one arm around her before I collapsed on top of her. With my hips continuing to rock, I rode out each ripple of that seismic orgasm.

  As soon as I was coherent enough to realize I was probably crushing her, I kissed her shoulder and eased out. Rolling sideways, I sprawled across the bed to catch my breath.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” There was no response, and with her facing away from me, I worried that I had taken things too far. Shifting back towards her, I caressed the length of her spine. “You okay, baby?”

  She turned her head, greeting me with an enormous smile consuming her face. “I could not possibly be any better,” she said, leaning in to kiss me. “Wait, do I smell pancakes?”

  Chapter 15

  Anna

  The hairdryer drowned out everything but my thoughts as I began to dread the evening ahead. Jaxon had automatically assumed that I would join the band at the party later, which would be held at the home of a well-known west coast record executive. What he didn’t know was that I was frantically looking for any excuse to get out of it.

  The idea of attending a party with rich celebrities and other wealthy, socially elite guests filled me with dread. Every insecurity that I had worked hard to overcome was rearing its ugly head. It wasn’t rational, but I felt like they would all take one look at me and automatically see the poor kid from the trailer park who didn’t belong. Worse than that, I didn’t want to be an embarrassment for Jaxon.

  Oblivious to my thoughts, he brought me a cup of tea just as I shut off the hairdryer. Setting his cup of coffee on the vanity, he reached for my towel.

  “What have you got hiding under here?” he teased, yanking the fabric free.

  “Nothing’s changed since you saw me five minutes ago,” I laughed, not bothering to stop the towel as it fell to the floor.

  “Still perfection,” he agreed, sliding his hands down my waist and around to grip my ass.

  Tilting his head down, his mouth covered mine. His tongue carried the flavor of coffee, and I was beginning to acquire a taste for it just from kissing him.

  “Damn, I’ll never get enough of you,” he whispered just before he claimed my lips again. Then as if coming out of a trance, he stood straight up and looked me in the eyes. “I need to let you get dressed. Callie will be meeting you in the lobby soon.”

  I groaned, burying my head in his chest. Since the band would be stuck in a photoshoot for the afternoon, I had reluctantly agreed to spend the day shopping with Callie. We had become friends over the past few weeks, and I looked forward to spending time with her. However, I had agreed to dress shopping late last night, when I wasn’t thinking clearly. In the light of day, reality had crashed in, making me reconsider everything.

  “Would you be upset if I didn’t want to go to the party?” I asked, feeling naked in a way that had nothing to do with my lack of clothes.

  “I guess it would depend on the reason,” Jaxon said supportively.

  “There’s a few, actually.” I released him to go in search of clean clothes, needing the barrier they provided. His heated eyes watched my every move as I slid into my matching bra and panties followed by my nicest jeans and a flowing blouse. Once I was covered, I sat on the edge of the bed while Jaxon waited patiently for me to continue.

  “I can’t fix it if I don’t know what the problem is,” he said, coming to kneel in front of me. His hands rubbed up and down my thighs in a comforting gesture.

  “I don’t belong here,” I admitted quietly. I stared at the pattern on the carpet before Jaxon’s hands cupped my face and gently forced my eyes to meet his.

  “You belong with me, wherever I go. Don’t ever doubt that.” The seriousness of his tone left no doubts that he meant every word.

  Still, he’d never experienced the humiliation that came from people pointing and whispering because they know your most shameful secrets. Yes, the tabloids had printed horrible things about him and strangers believed the lies being sold. But his friends and family stood by him. Those closest to him hadn’t turned their backs on him or treated him differently because of it.

  I had been able to leave a lot of that hurt behind after high school, though some would always be a part of me. It had been a driving force behind completing college and making a better life for myself. When people looked at me, I wanted them to see me for what I’d become, not what I’d overcome. Needless to say, I was still a work I progress.

  Jaxon gathered me in his arms and moved us to sit in the armchair by the window. With me in his lap, he urged me on. “Tell me why you feel like you don’t belong. Is it because of the way you grew up?”

  “Yes, but there’s more.” I hated feeling so insecure. It shouldn’t matter if his opinion of me changed since I was already leaving in a few weeks. Still, I would be risking the time we had left, which was something I didn’t take lightly. “I want to tell you. I’m just afraid that you might look at me differently and decide you don’t want to be with me anymore once you find out.”

  “Baby, I can’t imagine anything you could say that would make me want to be with you any less. Just get it out.” Ever calm and reassuring, his support made me feel like I didn’t have to hide my past like a dark, shameful secret.

  Needing to see his reaction, to truly know what he was feeling, I leaned back and looked him in the eyes. “When I was seventeen, I was arrested and spent thirty days in a juvenile detention center.”

  Jaxon went completely still, his eyes burning with a swirl of emotions. I saw anger and sorrow, but I could handle those. Hell, I felt those. Visibly swallowing, he simply nodded for me to continue. “What happened?”

  “Mama took me shopping just before my seventeenth birthday. She wanted to get me something special. The man she’d been seeing had money, probably dirty money but I didn’t question it. We went to the jewelry counter in a department store, where she asked to see a tray of diamond earrings. She was excited and rambling to the saleswoman about needing to find the perfect pair. Looking back, I know she was high on something. She kept grabbing at different items, mixing them all up, asking all kinds of questions, and then accidentally tipped the whole tray over onto the ground. I was mortified, apologizing profusely as we both kneeled to pick them up. The sales lady was all flustered as she reorganized the pile of earrings. Mama mad
e some excuse about not finding what she was looking for just as the lady noticed a pair was missing. Security was called and took us to the back office. They asked to search my purse, and I had nothing to hide, so I let them. They recovered the missing earrings and called the police.”

  “She fucking set you up.” No questions asked, he defended me. And my heart nearly burst.

  “Yes,” I said, feeling my lip quiver as I tried to rein in my emotions. So many people had let me down after I’d been arrested, but this man believed in me without hesitation. “Because of Mama’s record, the judge was especially hard on me. He said he wanted me to learn my lesson and scare me straight at an early age. Instead of community service or probation since it was my first offense, he locked me up.”

  “Damn,” Jaxon whispered. “That must have been awful for you.”

  It had been. Every minute of every one of those thirty days had been degrading. I’d done my time and gotten the hell out of there with a promise to myself that I would never be back.

  “Afterwards, the few friends I had all abandoned me. Even my boyfriend wanted nothing to do with me. Since my birthday is in June and I didn’t miss any school, I hoped that nobody else would find out. But teenagers are vicious, and word spread pretty quickly. Suddenly, the nice kids avoided me like the plague and the delinquents wanted to induct me into their ranks. Even a lot of my teachers treated me differently. I became a total outcast.”

  Arms wrapped around me tightly, holding all of my broken pieces together again. I felt a lone tear well up and trail down my cheek. I hadn’t cried in years, having gone numb to everything. Now the emotions this man stirred in me were overpowering.

  “I fucking, hate that you went through that and won’t even try to pretend I know how you felt. However, I can promise you that I don’t see any of that when I look at you.”

  “But it was, the first time you saw me,” I reminded him.

  “Fuuuuuuck,” he whispered. His entire body collapsed, like the wind going out of a sail, and his head bent to rest on my chest. His voice was filled with raw pain. “I basically accused you of stealing Pops’ wallet. I am so sorry, baby.” Raising his forehead to rest against mine, I saw the regret in his eyes before they closed. “That had nothing to do with you. It was all on me and my baggage.”

  “I know you didn’t mean it, but it still hurt,” I said, rubbing my hand over his heart.

  “God, I don’t deserve you.”

  “You deserve the world.”

  “So do you.” Sitting upright, he palmed my face. “Please come to the party and let me prove it to you. They’re just people. Some will be nicer than others while some are faking it to get closer to whatever perceived status they’re reaching for. And a few are just determined to make everyone as miserable as they are. It’s not much different than high school when you think about it,” he laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. “I want you there with me. I won’t leave your side and promise that nobody will dare to disrespect you in any way. And we can leave whenever you want to.”

  The fact that he still wanted me with him, along with his willingness to compromise in every possible way, had me willing to agree. “There’s still another problem.” It was a bit embarrassing but shouldn’t be a complete surprise to him. “I’m broke and can’t afford to buy the kind of dress that I would need to wear to this party.”

  “You got paid two days ago, baby. What the fuck did you blow all of your money on?”

  Instantly pissed, I moved off of his lap to stand. Hands on my hips, I glared. “I didn’t blow my money on anything. Some of us have a limited income and bills to pay and debts we owe. I had to get caught up on my rent, and the electric bill was due along with my cell phone bill. Plus, I had to pay off my tuition balance so that I can get credit for the classes I’m currently taking. I didn’t know we would be jetting off to California or I would have waited to pay back my roommate. But I needed to get that squared away so I can finally pay you back and not have that hanging between us.”

  Jaxon sighed and rubbed his face. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Again.” He pulled me back into his lap, and I went, reluctantly. “Why do you put up with me?” The sexy smirk on his face did me in, and I couldn’t stay mad at him.

  Because I love you. The thought shocked me into pressing my mouth to his before the words had a chance to escape. “Because you have a magic cock,” I said instead, making him laugh while squashing my initial response. I couldn’t love him. It was too much, too fast. And it was terrifying. This was temporary and casual so no one would get hurt. I repeated that in my head while we continued to make out.

  “Was that our first fight?” Jaxon asked, almost hopeful.

  “I think that was more of a misunderstanding.” He looked so genuinely disappointed that I couldn’t help but laugh. “You wanted to fight?”

  “I wanted the make-up sex that comes after a fight.” His hands started their way up my shirt just as a text alert sounded on his phone. “Cock blocked by my sister,” he groaned, reading the message. “She’ll be in the lobby in five minutes.”

  Lifting me off of him, he adjusted the obvious erection in his pants while I stood, unsure how to proceed. Nothing had changed in regards to my financial situation. Until I felt a credit card being placed in my hand.

  He pressed a finger against my lips to silence my refusal, causing me to shake my head instead. “You have a problem. I have a solution. That’s all this is.”

  “But I already owe you money. I can’t keep adding to it,” I said as soon as his finger was gone.

  “Baby, you don’t owe me anything. Consider it a publicist’s bonus. Plus, the party is a business event, so the dress should be treated as a business expense.” He was so matter-of-fact as he explained his reasoning, but then grew somber. “Please. I need to know you’re taken care of. I don’t care if you go to the party exactly as you are right now, but I want you to get whatever you need to help you feel like you belong. Because you do.”

  In the end, I gave in. I had learned long ago that I got defensive when it came to money and the strings that came with it. So I tried to see the situation from his perspective. Everything he’d said made sense, and it wasn’t about me owing him anything, or him having some sort of power over me. He simply wanted to help and had the means to do so. He wanted to take care of me, which was a wonderful feeling. So I let him.

  With our feet soaking in small jetted basins, Callie and I leaned back in our massage chairs and smiled. It had been a successful trip to Cohort, a fashion boutique that was owned by Fallyn, the sister of someone in Borrowing Trouble. I hadn’t caught all of the details since I’d been a bundle of nerves during the ride there. The shop was normally closed on Sundays, but Fallyn had been happy to meet with us. Callie had also done her best to reassure me that it would not be the nasty Pretty Woman experience I’d been envisioning, but that’s all I’d had to base my expectations on.

  We had agreed that it was more important to support a small business, especially one tied to the music world, than to sport a designer label just for the sake of impressing the masses. Cohort was the perfect choice, offering an eclectic collection of vintage, ready-to-wear, and original designs along with all of the accessories. Fallyn greeted us with genuine warmth and friendliness that went beyond trying to make a sale. She also took the time to learn a bit about each of us before making suggestions, and her taste was impeccable.

  After Callie announced that I was in an exclusive relationship with her brother, Fallyn showed me a selection of elegantly sexy dresses. The very first one I tried on had been it for me, proving that Fallyn was a fashion wizard.

  Since she was trying to get the attention of a certain special someone, Callie went with something a bit more revealing. I had a feeling I knew who it was but had decided to wait until we were alone to broach the subject.

  A few hours of browsing dresses, shoes, and accessories had passed surprisingly fast, and I was surprised at just how enjoyable the whole experience h
ad been. Ironically, the most enjoyable part would have been a perfect movie montage. While Fallyn worked to complete a few minor alterations to our dresses, we took turns modeling the most extravagant, racy, posh, and outrageous clothes we could find. In exchange for our antics, Fallyn asked that we snap pictures of ourselves so she could use them on her website to showcase the items. It was the most carefree fun I could remember having, and I’d laughed so hard that my sides still hurt.

  Now, we were in the hotel spa getting the royal treatment, another first for me. Jaxon had messaged Callie when the photoshoot ran long and insisted that we treat ourselves while we waited. I yielded to Callie’s expertise and, so far, was enjoying every minute of being pampered.

  “So, who are you are trying to entice with that cleavage-baring dress you bought?” I asked, trying not to overthink what looked like a cheese grater coming towards my feet. Callie looked unsure of how much she wanted to tell me. “Is it Derek?”

  “Derek? What makes you say that?” She didn’t deny it and wore a guilty expression.

  “You spend a lot of time together and I just sensed something there.”

  She stayed quiet for a minute, making me wonder if I had offended her in some way. “Please don’t say anything. Especially not to Derek or my brother.”

  “Hey, whatever you tell me stays between us. But why the secrecy?”

  Her long-suffering sigh spoke volumes. “It’s such a cliché. I’ve had a crush on Derek for years. Unfortunately, he treats me like a kid sister. I’m trying to get him to see me as a grown woman, but I don’t think he feels anything for me other than friendship. Or he isn’t willing to risk his friendship with Jaxon, even though I don’t think my brother would have a problem with us being together. Derek is a good guy and would never disrespect me.”