Love Notes (Rocked by Love #1) (9 page)

Breathless, she smiled.
"I need you."

"Me too."
Bracing himself over her, he leaned in for a kiss, then slide home. Hot, slick,
tight, perfect.

Her hands squeezed into
his hips. He locked her gaze to his and began to move. Faster and faster until
her breath came in pants and her release constricted and eased, constricted and
eased in excruciating pleasure around his shaft. Staggering pressure built and
built and built, and then he gave in with a roar and followed her over.

She kissed his chest and
he nuzzled in her hair while he waited for his heartbeat to level. Then he
rolled onto his back and tucked her against his side. Jayne snuggled closer and
linked their hands together.

He kissed her forehead.
"Can I stay?"

"You better. And be
ready for an encore."

The
blare of the bedside phone's ringer jolted her awake. Jayne sat up, squinting
in the darkened room.

"Ignore it."
Zander's arm snagged around her waist. He pulled her down to his side.

"I shouldn't."
But he was so inviting. She settled against his chest.

The ringing stopped.

"See?" His
teeth nipped at her chin. Strong hands cupped her breasts and then his rough
fingers tweaked her nipples.

His arousal strained
against her hip. She trailed her fingers trailed down his stomach and closed
her fingers around him. He groaned and thrust into her hand.

Her cell phone rang.

Zander pulled away.
"Who's calling you at one o'clock in the morning?"

He picked up her phone
from the bedside table. Luke's name lit across the display. "Why the hell
is he calling you?"

She grabbed it and put
the call on speaker. "Hey Luke, is everything okay?"

"I want a bottle of
Jack. Room service doesn't have any."

What the hell? Was he
serious? Did he have any idea what time it was?

Shock and annoyance
flashed across Zander's features.

She plucked at the sheet.
"I'll see if I can find some for you tomorrow."

"I want it
now." Cold, hard, and unfriendly, he snarled the words.

Heat burned through her
veins. Why did everything have to be difficult with him? Beside her, Zander
shook his head, his eyes narrowed, and his hands formed fists on the bedsheets.
Her own anger escalated. Tea and lozenges for performances, she could
understand. Even getting the scarf so as to not disappoint a fan. But she drew
the line at late-night alcohol. "Then you can call a cab if you want to go
out and get it."

"We've been over
this. That's not how this works. You're the tour manager. You go out and get
it."

She rubbed her temples
and reminded herself to be professional when all she wanted to do was reach
through the phone and smack him. "Just order something else for now. If
you still want it tomorrow, I'll get it for you then."

"You wouldn't want
me to tell Irisa that you're not doing your job, would you?"

Zander snatched the phone
from her hand. "Listen, asshole. No one would expect her to do this. She's
not going out and getting it for you. If you want it so bad, do it on your
own."

Luke's voice boomed out
of the speaker, "What the hell are you doing with her?"

"Never mind. Be at
the breakfast bar at nine. We're having a band meeting."

"Where are you? Are
you sleeping with her?"

"I'm hanging up now.
And if you call Jayne again, you'll be dealing with me." He ended the
call. Then turned off her phone.

She shifted, pulling the
sheet higher over her breasts. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

Muscles rigid, Zander set
the phone on the nightstand. "How long has this been going on?"

"What do you
mean?"

"I mean, how many
times has he asked you to do things?"

"It's part of my
job—"

"No." His hand
rested on her calf. "Late night liquor runs are not part of your job. He
said you've been over this with him before. What else has he asked you to
do?"

She swallowed. His
question was asked in evenly spaced words, and she felt the anger behind them.
"Well, you know about the scarf fiasco from today. He's also sent me on
errands for throat lozenges, specialty tea, and once when he needed his
portable steamer. And on Monday he wanted Guinness-flavored ice cream. I had to
go to three different pubs before I found it."

"And these errands
are the reasons you haven't been around back stage or at the hotel when I've
come looking for you?"

"I go when he asks
me to go. It's always for things he's forgotten to add to the list, or needs
last-minute."

"Final question: Is
he always this rude to you?"

She blinked. Zander's
thunderous expression promised murder, making her hesitate. But there was no
point in lying. "Always."

"Fuck. That's
it." He rose off the bed and grabbed his jeans.

"Where are you
going?"

"Luke and I are
having a talk
now
. I'm not waiting until morning." But the look in
his eyes suggested he'd be talking with his fists.

"No. Please."
She jumped up and grabbed his arm. "I don't want fighting."

"No one in my band
acts like this.
He's
never acted like this before. I want to know why
he's being such a dick to you."

"Not everyone has to
like me."

"But he damn well
can treat you better. You're not his slave."

She needed to calm him
down. This couldn't turn into another bar fight. She stepped in front of him,
blocking the door. "It's one in the morning. You can't go pounding on his
door or pounding on his head at this hour. They'll call the cops."

"I don't care."

"I do." Her
mind spun. Heat glittered in his gaze. She grabbed his hand and guided it to
her breast. "I'd rather have you here with me than in a jail cell."

His eyes roamed her body,
his gaze became hungry and heated.

"We should pick up
where we left off." She reached out and toyed with the light sprinkling of
hair on his chest.

"I'm way too keyed
up right now." His hands formed fists at his sides. "I can't touch
you. I won't be gentle."

"Who says I want
gentle?" She stepped closer then licked his chest.

"Jayne." He
murmured her name. Fingers skated up her spine and cupped her shoulder. "
I
want gentle. I wanted to show you this is more than just sex for me."

Her heart melted. She
turned her head and pressed a kiss into his palm. "You showed me that
earlier. I know you care. You wrote me that song, remember?"

He'd sang his song to her
in whispered tones as though he'd been telling her a secret, confessing his
feelings, as though she was the only woman in the world he'd intended to hear
it. Whether that was true or not, she needed to show him how important he'd
become to her.

He drew her to him,
cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. "I do
care."

Her hands slipped around
his waist and rested on his back. The curves of her body lined against the
planes of his like they were made for each other. "Good, then stick around
and show me."

Zander smiled against her
lips. "All right. But I'm still ripping his head off first-thing in the
morning."

The delay would only be a
delay. She couldn't stop Zander from searching out Luke in the morning. But
hopefully by then, tempers would have cooled.

Zander woke to sunlight streaming in
the windows and Jayne in his arms. He stroked a hand over the curve of her
waist and she laughed, shifting her body against his. He smiled and ran his
fingers over that spot again. "Ticklish?"

"I know better than
to answer that question." She kissed his jaw.

The alarm clock blared.
He reached over and turned it off. "I have to head downstairs."

"I don't want any
tension. He probably won't ask me to run crazy errands anymore." Sitting
up, she grabbed his arm. Tension tightened her voice and her muscles stiffened.
"I really don't want this to get worse."

He wrapped his arms
around her and kissed her temple. "It's not going to get worse. I'm
talking to him."

"Okay, but please
don't say anything to Irisa. She has a lot going on right now. I know something
happened with her and Dom and I don't want to give her anything new to worry
about."

"All right. She
doesn't have to know." Dom had made his sister cry. And for that, he
needed to be held accountable. For now, he could leave his sister out of the
situation. "Wait here for me. I don't think this will take long."

"Talking only. No
fighting."

"I will do my best
not to punch him but I can't make any promises."

He dressed and then
headed downstairs. Landry and Brendan waited by the breakfast bar. He grabbed a
cup of coffee. A few minutes later, Luke arrived.

Landry yawned. "Why
are we having a meeting?"

Luke glared at Zander.
"What the hell were you doing in Jayne's room? Are you sleeping with
her?"

"Dude, really?"
Landry shook his head. "You know it's not smart to fuck someone who's with
the band."

Shit. "That's not
the point of this discussion."

"Maybe it should
be." Luke leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"Hell no. Don't turn
this around. Jayne's not your slave. If you forget to ask her to pick you up
something when you give her the list, then you're out of luck. You wouldn't
have asked my sister to run around making all these special trips for you, so
you're not forcing Jayne to do them anymore either."

"What were you
asking her to do?" Brendan glanced back and forth between them like he was
watching a tennis match.

Luke raised his brow.
"I don't see how throat lozenges are a big deal."

"One AM requests for
liquor are. Demands for fucking ice cream are."

"You asked her to do
that?" Brendan leaned closer. "What's wrong with you?"

Luke scowled. "It's
not that big a deal."

Zander shoved Luke's
shoulder. "Like hell it isn't. You're keeping her from doing her job. And
you're making her job more difficult. Also, stop being an asshole when you
speak to her."

"Whatever, man. I'm
done." Luke turned and strode toward the lobby.

Zander followed him.
"We're not done. I don't know what your deal is, but you're going to be
nice to her. And while you're at it, get your memory checked. I've never known
someone to
forget
as many things as you have these past few weeks."

They gained the attention
of everyone in the lobby.

Luke flipped him off and
walked through the automatic doors.

Two hands on his shoulders
kept Zander from following. Brendan stood on his left and Landry on his right.

"Let him go."
Landry sipped his coffee. "So are you sleeping with Jayne?"

He grunted. So much for
secrecy. But maybe everyone knowing was better. "Got a problem with that?"

"Not as long as it
doesn't fuck up the tour. And she doesn't seem like the type for that to
happen."

"Where is she? I
don't like thinking she's been unhappy." Brendan scanned the room.

"Upstairs. I told
her I wanted to talk to you alone. I don't know why Luke's being such an
asshole."

"He's been that way
since we left New York."

"Yeah well, it's
going to stop now. I don't care what he says to me, but Jayne's working for us,
so he'd better figure out how to put on his professional face."

When the elevator opened,
he stepped inside. "I'm going to go see her."

Jayne had showered and
made the bed. He kissed her and handed over his coffee. "I thought we
could share."

"As long as it has
some sugar in it, I'll be good."

He waited until she'd
taken a sip. "Thing is, the guys know about us. Luke asked me what I was
doing in your room at one AM."

"Oh."

"Brendan and Landry
don't care."

"But Luke
does?"

"He walked out
during our meeting. But I laid into him. No more special requests. If it's not
on the list, it's not happening." He paused. "Actually, I'll be
taking a look at that list from now on to make sure there aren't any crazy
requests thrown in."

She nodded. "All
right."

He grasped her hand.
"Why did you run those errands for him? Why not come to me or to my sister
and tell us what was going on?"

"I've had musicians
ask for odd things before, so I didn't think it was too much of a big deal at
first. Then I thought that since the guys know to come to me for the requests,
that maybe Irisa did the extra errands for them too. Yes, he's been an asshole
to me, but I really thought things would get better. Or at least that he would
become more pleasant toward me. It's crossed my mind that maybe he's doing this
as a test. You know he wasn't happy when I was hired. Maybe he needs proof that
I can do anything he asks."

"I don't like that
thought at all. If I find out he was doing it to test you, I'll kick his
ass."

"He reminds me of a
stray."

"What?"

"Sometimes, when
he's sitting alone, he looks lonely. When he's with you guys, sometimes he's
fine and sometimes he's snappish, and when he's with me, he's in full-on
non-friendly. Just like a stray dog at the shelter."

"I told him to be
nicer. If he isn't, you need to tell me. You also need to tell me if he does
ask you to do anything else."

"I don't want to
create problems between you and your band mates."

"You're not the one
who created the problem. He is."

Equipment problems sound
and lighting issues plagued their shows for the next three nights. Jayne
handled the glitches like a pro. To make good on his threat, Zander kept close
watch on Luke and Jayne. Luke didn't talk to him unless it was necessary, and
didn't even look at Jayne. Playing on stage together was difficult. Every time
he looked at Luke, he wanted to throttle him. But coming back to the hotel and
sinking into Jayne's softness eased his tension.

That weekend, Mother's
Day presented a challenge. He'd been looking forward to flying home with Irisa
to spend the day with his mom, like they did every year. But with the
heightened tension, he was hesitant to leave Jayne alone in the same hotel as
Luke. Brendan solved his problem, volunteering to fill in as Jayne's shadow.

When he got back to his
parents' house after their annual
go-to-brunch-and-guilt-the-kids-into-wanting-kids
fun, he called Jayne.

"Hey." Her
voice softened.

"What are you up
to?"

"Brendan and I are
hanging out." She murmured for Brendan to say hello. A
hello
called
out in the background. "We went to lunch, and we're going to a movie
tonight. How's your visit with your mom?"

"Great. She doesn't
change." His mom had been on a you-need-to-get-married kick for years.
She'd said he needed someone to take care of him. Thank God his dad was sane.

"I wish mine
would." Her voice sounded wistful. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow
morning?"

"Bright and early.
Keep that bed warm for me."

"If you get back
early enough, I might still be in it."

He grinned. "That
better be a promise." As good as it was to be home, he couldn't wait to
get back to see her.

The second week on the road had been
tough. She'd steered clear of Luke and he'd steered clear of her but the
tension between Luke and Zander was sky-high. Jayne was thrilled when the plane
touched down in L.A. on Sunday morning. The rest of the tour was divided into a
week at home, a week away, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Tonight, they had a
charity event to attend, hosted by Dom. The band was scheduled to play, and
Jayne had promised Irisa she'd be there for moral support.

She climbed into Zander's
car and leaned over the gear shift to give him a kiss. "Thanks for driving
me."

"Anytime."

 Kate called her when
they were halfway home. "Can you do me a favor? It's for Dalton."

"What's up?"
Hopefully it wouldn't be a request to meet Luke. She couldn't guarantee that
one. She put the call on speaker and grabbed a pen and paper from her purse.

"The apartment he
and his mom are moving into doesn't allow pets, and his dad refuses to keep the
dog because of how much he works. He only gets Dalton for two weekends a
month."

So sad. He loved that
dog. "So you want me to help Dalton take Patch to the shelter?"

"Well, I know you
were thinking of getting another dog…"

Damn it. She wasn't ready
yet. "Pepper hasn't been gone long. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Please? I could
hide him at my place for a little while, but I can't take him permanently. My
building has a one-pet-per-apartment rule."

"What kind of dog is
he?" Zander's gaze met hers for a moment before he returned his focus to
the road.

"Patch is half-Boxer
and half-Beagle."

"He's three years
old and really cute." Kate chimed in. "Mostly white with light brown
patches, and big brown eyes."

Dalton did love that dog…
Her resolve weakened. She looked over at Zander. Then put herself in Dalton's
place. She'd felt isolated, alone, and separated at his age. She could help
Dalton, and shelters didn't need more animals.

"Please." Kate
begged. "Dalton is so upset. He trusts you."

She couldn't say no.
"I'd have to meet the dog first to make sure it's a good fit."

"I knew I could
count on you."

After making plans to
meet with Kate and Dalton, she ended the call and glanced at Zander. He watched
her with a measured gaze. "You ready to take that on?"

"I can look at it
like a foster situation. Maybe they'll only live in that apartment for a year,
and maybe they'll move to a pet-friendly one after that."

"Or maybe you just
found yourself a new permanent dog."

She shrugged.
"Pepper wandered into my life at the right time. Maybe Patch is too."

He stared at the road for
a while. "Mind if I tag along? I've been texting with Dalton a little bit
and sending him how-to videos for playing my solo. It would be good to see him
again."

Two hours later, Jayne
and Zander arrived at a dog park near Zander's house. Dalton and Kate were
tossing a Frisbee to Patch.

The kid wore the Fury
t-shirt Zander had given him and the saddest expression Jayne had ever seen.
She crouched beside him and greeted the dog. Patch licked her hand and jumped
up on her. For a moment, sadness about Pepper overwhelmed her, but then Patch
barked and bathed her cheek in doggie kisses.

"Mom said she can't
wait for another apartment to open up. I don't know why my dad won't keep
him." Shaggy hair covered eyes she was sure were blinking back tears.

"When are you guys
moving?"

"In June."

She patted his shoulder.
"Well, you can come and visit him any time you want. He's still your dog.
I'm just dog-sitting for a while. You can take him back any time, I
promise."

"Okay." He blew
out a breath and sat on the ground and pulled the dog into his lap.

Jayne backed away, giving
him time alone. Tears hit the back of her eyes. She found the comfort of
Zander's strong chest and leaned into him.

He looked at Kate.
"I'm told the center gets all of its instruments from donations."

"That's true. That's
how the music teachers come to us too. It's all volunteer so we can offer the
kids the lessons for free."

"When I was starting
out, I couldn't even afford new guitar strings, but when things took off and we
became famous, everyone started giving us stuff for free. In the past, the band
has donated instruments to schools. We have a lot of things the center might be
able to use. Give me a chance to get through this tour and I'll see what I can
give you."

"Jayne, I really
like your friend." Kate grinned. "So, what's the verdict with
Patch?"