Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) (7 page)

No surprise that
Derringer noted her uneasiness. He was observant like that.

“
I’m very serious.” Tab angled her body just enough that she could see Sam. “They created this scandal, and the band’s going to cash in on it. They will give the fans what they want. Sam owes you all for getting her ungrateful ass out of her legal issues.”

“She doesn’t owe us a thing,” Keys said.

Tab ignored him. “Time to step up and pay the pied-piper, Sam.”

“
No.” Sam mouthed the word, and Tab kept talking.

“
You three”—Tab pointed at Jase, Derringer and Keys—“are going to go along with the farce.”

“
No, no.
No
.” Sam’s fingers curled into tight fists, and she pivoted to face them. Features ashen, her bottom lip trembled. Given Sam’s tendency for violence, Tab should take better care guarding her back.

“
It’s not up for debate.” Tab’s defiant expression dared Sam to test her.

“
Agreed.” Sam marched forward like a military General. “I ain’t putting Heath through that or misleading the fans.”

“
Heath can speak for himself thank you very much.” The girls disregarded him.

“
I can’t buy publicity like this. The fans are eating it up. If you didn’t want to be in the limelight, you shouldn’t have gotten caught in a sex-store almost kissing the elusive lead singer of Hot Wired. Don’t!” Tab slashed her hand through the air when both he and Sam would’ve argued. “I don’t give a goddamn what your excuse is for being there or almost locking lips. Fang has a ‘fuck em and leave em’ style of charm. Tell me the last time he showed interest in a woman beyond the fucking? Oh, I remember…
never
.” She didn’t wait for any of them to answer her sarcastic question. Although he couldn’t object to the accuracy of Tab’s description, Heath cringed at how shallow he sounded. “Think about it, Sam, you’ve bagged the unattainable. You’re living the impossible dream by catching the most sought after, rocker bachelor.”

“That’s ridiculous,
I’m not exotic or elusive or whatever bullshit you just called me,” Heath protested, and they disregarded him again. “I don’t need romance, but I do require pussy.”

He
flinched at his crassness. He sounded like a jackass.

Sam pointed at him.
“See… Proof I’m
not
living the fans’ fantasy-dream. The reality is I hate my life! I hate the press, I hate tagging along with the band like a useless fifth wheel, and most of all I hate not having dreams and aspirations of my own.”

She broke his heart with her honesty.

“It’s about perceptions. What matters is that fans
think
you have
their
fantasy, and they can live through you.”

“
I’ll bet you’ve done nothing to convince them this is all a misunderstanding.”

“
Do I look like a rumor killer?” Tab shot Keys a brief glance. “Don’t answer that. Since the news went live just over an hour ago, Sam, Tweeters has almost been crippled with tweets and FaceMe is run over too.” Tab scolded Sam by pointing at her. “Girlfriend,
that
means the hundred people on the planet that haven’t heard of Hot Wired will now be in the know, and Hot Wired will become a household name.” Sam shook her head, but Tab wouldn’t give up and shoved her cell in front of her face. “Look at the tweets! They’re blowing up my phone. Hallelujah! I can’t buy marketing this cheap. Shake that head at me one more time, and I’m going to pull your hair out.”

Sam didn’t even flinch at Tab’s threat. “You force this
, and I will escalate my criminal activities.”

Tab mocked her with a wide-eyed
, appalled manifestation. “You mean it can get worse than grand theft auto?”

Keys laughed
, and Derr punched him on the shoulder.

“
What you want us to do is unethical.” Sam paced back to the window.

“
That’s dramatic and technically untrue.”

“
Why don’t you just ask me to whore myself out for them. We both know that’s what this is about…
money
!”

“
Honey,” Tabs voice turned sugary sweet. “We all whore ourselves out in some way or another for money.”

With a huff, Sam
confronted them. “What do the guys think?”

Sam
might’ve asked the question, but both women looked at the four of them expectantly.

Keys cleared his throat.
“At the moment I’m turned on by you two going at it.”

Sam
marched to Tab, snatched her phone out of her grasp and lobbed it at Keys’ head. Tab squealed at the disrespectful use of her cell. Keys caught the object with a laugh and tossed the device back to their agent.

“
I think it’s the type of publicity to jumpstart Hot Wired straight into a kickass concert tour.” Derringer scraped his nails across his jeans. “The vid proves you guys have chemistry, and I have faith you can pull it off.”

A
smug smile curled the corners of Tab’s lips. “Have I ever told you how much I love your practical side, Derringer?”

“
You’re crazy,” Sam shot back. “We don’t have chemistry that way. He’s like my brother.”

Heath
contemplated her. She was protesting this gig a little too loudly. What about pretending to be his girlfriend bothered her so much?

“
You asked for my opinion. There it is.” Their bass guitarist looked Sam straight in the eye. “For the record, brothers don’t get that much in your face unless they’re taunting you. That was no taunt.”

To hide his grin, Heath palmed his mouth but caught Jase’s frown. Sam’s
breathing jackknifed into overdrive at the comment, and she shot Heath a rapid-fire glance. Once she caught his notice, she looked away just as quickly.

“
Jase?” Tab stared at their drummer.

“
My vote goes with whatever Sam decides.”

The dyed blonde threw her hand
s in the air, her affront at Jase’s stance obvious. “Political bullshit.”

“She’s my baby sister. What’d you expect?”

“For the record, that’s a
no
, Tab.” Sam gave their agent a victorious grin. “Two votes against one.”

“
I vote for it.” Keys launched his arm upward into the air like they were in school.

“
Two to two.” Tab mocked with a grin of her own. “That leaves the deciding vote with Fang.”

Heath would have little problem pretending Sam was his girlfriend.
After she showed her interest toward him in the store—because he knew real attraction when he saw it and didn’t believe that crap about only flirting with him—he kept wondering why they couldn’t give a relationship a go. Dangerous thoughts, but they wouldn’t vacate his brain.

What he couldn
’t determine was the purpose behind the advocated charade. “What’s the endgame, Tab?”

“
Money.” The woman made a face that called him all kinds of a fool if he thought there was any other endgame. “I’m always about the money.”

“
What’s Sam’s particular role in this smokescreen?” Sam wouldn’t look him in the eye, and that frustrated Heath.

“
Girlfriend duties—of course. She’ll become part of Hot Wired’s entertainment. I want her starting the night interacting with the fans and the band, engaging everyone, giving them the false sense they’re your buddies. That’s an exceptional talent of hers, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Interviews are important, and something she’ll
have
to put effort into or those bottom-feeders will know the romance is fake.” Yeah, Sam was good at making people feel comfortable. But that was one-on-one. When it came to the reporters, they were an issue for her. They pushed her buttons with a simple ‘hello’ and a flash of their insincere smiles. This suggestion had her smack-dab in the middle of the press limelight.

With a nod, Heath stood.
“I want a word with Sam alone before I make a decision.”

Before anyone could object, h
e caught her arm and noted her surprise as he led her out of the room.

A panic attack contended for control of her cognitive abilities. Air became her enemy and resisted entering her lungs fast enough so Sam gulped oxygen through her mouth.

Still didn’t help.

What have I gotten myself into? What have I gotten Heath into?

Scandals could be dealt with, a littl
e lie here and a mistruth there. What Tab proposed not only incited band drama but also aided and abetted a host of other tribulations. One wrong move with Tab’s suggestion and relationships ended. Starting with Heath and Jase’s.

I caused this by flirting with Heath.
This was so much worse than the bullshit trouble she got herself into with the law. This affected her family and possibly their careers.

Pinpoints of blackness dotted her vision.

“I need to sit.”
And put my head between my legs so I can clear my mounting dread.

“I got ya, brat
.” Heath wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to a chair in the billiards room.

As she went into position with her head between her legs, Heath’s footsteps retreated. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, she realized her newest more imminent quandary…
she was alone with Heath. Excitement buzzed across her senses and her ears began to tingle.

The tingling’s from lack of oxygen you imbecile, not because you’re isolated with him.

With her jumbled emotions all over the chart, clear thinking was a thing of the past. He wouldn’t touch her. They both realized their folly from earlier, and it wasn’t like he genuinely wanted to kiss her anyway. He’d said as much in the vehicle. He’d been led on by her flirtations. Heath was used to engaging women who hit on him, he’d just been reacting to her the way he did all women.

“Drink this.”

A glass half-full of liquor sparkled in her peripheral. She shook her head. Was he kidding? She was a lightweight when it came to spirits. The last thing she needed was liquid courage to come onto him again and stronger this time. She’d have him naked, and on his back on the pool table servicing her in no time.

He shifted and knelt in front of her. Cupping her chin in his palm he tilted her head back. Their eyes
linked.

I can’t do what Tab wants
. Pretending to be Heath’s girlfriend was too much to ask. And it was cruel pushing what she desired most into her arms under fabricated pretenses, but denied her from really having.

“Drink,” he
pressed the glass into her hand.

“
You’re contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”

The pad of his thumb slid across her lower lip. Abruptly he released her chin and stood.
“Won’t be the first time.”

Heath put some space between them,
leaned against the pool table, and anchored his hands on the edge.

He
’d changed into a gray, tight-fitting T-shirt and Alabama sweat pants. Sexy in his own right, he oozed sex appeal when dressed like the country boy she’d grown up with. Without thought, she tipped the cocktail back and drained the contents. Fire burned her throat and into her belly.

“
Do you want to date me?”

The air in her lungs turned to concrete. More than he could conceive, but not because Tab suggested they date. Taking her time, she gauged her response. So many teased her tongue, but she
must tread carefully without giving away too much of her true feelings.

She
exhaled and set the glass on the floor beside the chair. “You like Tab’s idea?”

“
I think Derr is correct. It could fuel the band’s upcoming tour.”

“
That’s cheating, Heath.” She stared at her feet. “You know I want Hot Wired to succeed as much as all y’all.”

“
Sam, if you’re adamant against this, I’ll say no. I won’t force you to do something you don’t want. You know how fast a band can fall from the top, regardless of what you decide, our success or failure is not on your shoulders.” They’d witnessed the rise and crash of a dozen different bands since Hot Wired’s inception. “I’ve pimped out the band for so long, utilizing any opportunity that comes our way to market….” He shrugged. “I guess that makes me a man-whore because I want that next dollar as much as Tab does.”

Like they needed the finances. Hot Wired outsold every band on the market.
That was today. All it took was one bad album and they could lose fan base.

“
What’s the worst that could happen, Sam?”

I could fall harder in love with you
. Bad news for her unstable position in life and worse news for his relationship with her brother. Half of Fang’s charm was the female fans’ inability to catch his heart. He showed interest in nothing more than one-nighters and had never been seen with the same woman twice. Was this fabrication really that instrumental to the female fans’ daydreams?

She held no plans for her future, but she knew she
couldn’t continue to live off her brother’s kindness. Even if she agreed to aid them and their farce was discovered, nothing could damage her already frayed reputation.

As if he read her mind, Heath said,
“If they find out the truth, Tab will create some way to make them laugh it off. You’ll be with us on tour anyway. If we don’t play this through, the fans will speculate the entire tour anyway.”

She despised his level-headedness because there was nothing reasonable about her feelings toward him.
“Speculation supplies y’all with the marketing you need without the lies.”

“
Not to the extent that a romance you and I bring to the gig will.” He motioned for her to come closer, and before she thought her actions through, she pushed out of the chair and obeyed. “We could have fun with it. Have pretend fights and pretend makeups.”

“
All in front of the camera.” She resented the fact Heath wanted to be with her for the sake of publicity.

“
People are gonna talk either way. Let us decide what they’re going to report. Us.
We
decide.” He motioned between them.

“
And Tab.” Tab decided everything. The woman excelled at her job, but she’d sell her soul if it’d increase the band’s finances. So why’d this feel more like they were selling
her
soul instead of Tab’s?

“
No.
We
decide. Not Tab. She has zero say in how we behave as a couple. It’s the only way this pretense will work convincingly.”

She chewed on her bottom lip.
Dangerous deal
, her rationale forewarned. Even so, she wanted to do this if for no other reason than to pretend Heath was hers for a short time. She discovered Tab was right. Perceptions were important, and this was a chance for
her
to believe even for a brief moment that she belonged to Fang.

There was also the issue of the scandal-seeking reporters. They’d paint the story however they chose if she didn’t give them the news.
She could either pretend to be his girlfriend or fend off crazed reports denying a romance. None would believe her regardless of what she claimed. “You won’t be able to screw groupies. I’d never allow that.”

He
fiddled with the pink streak in her hair. “I wouldn’t disrespect you that way.”

In a real life scenario, she suspected he would be faithful, but this was a fake relationship
, and he wasn’t accustomed to restraining his sexual urges when he located a groupie he fancied.

“
We got a deal, Sam? You agree to fake-date me?” A twisted grin hit his lips. Good gawd, the man was sexy as sin.

“
Yeah, but with the understanding I can break it off at any time. As dramatic as I want to play it.”

“
Agreed. I live for the drama.” He captured her upper-arms and pulled her against him. Surprised by their sudden contact, she plastered her palms on his chest to steady herself. “Kiss me, Sam.” She shook her head and would’ve pushed away, but he clamped his hand on her lower back and used his other to cradle her chin. Their gazes fastened. “Wouldn’t you prefer our first kiss to be in private rather than in front of a hundred-thousand fans?”

“
They won’t expect to see that.” She sounded breathless, and she tried to swallow past the sudden dryness in her mouth. Kiss Heath? In her dreams! With a hidden agenda to get the first one over in private—how mortifying! She had some pride.

His thumb slid along her bottom lip.
“They will. You know they will.”

Heath
held her eyes and lowered his head, giving her time to protest. She couldn’t look away, not even when he brushed his mouth across hers in a whispery touch, preparing her for more. His palm slid along her jaw and filtered through her hair to imprison the back of her neck. As he tousled her hair, his eyes dilated, expanding to the point that only a splinter of grey remained visible. He angled her head back and settled his mouth firm against hers.

A kiss to the corners, a nip to her bottom lip,
a stern lick. Heath made love to her mouth, enticing her into submission. Against her flesh, he whispered, “Open up, Sam.” The hand on her spine pulled her into the firm foundation of his spread thighs.

Sam whimpered, but complied…
and lost herself in Heath. The grip in her hair tightened, and his tongue entered, executing a slow lap against hers. Her knees shook, and she would’ve buckled if she hadn’t wrapped her fingers in the cotton of his shirt.

He
angled her head at a slant and intensified the kiss, plunging deep to play and then retreating, coaxing her to follow his cadence. His hand shifted from her spine to her butt-cheek. He squeezed, using the roundness to draw her snug against his crotch.

He is aroused
. She could’ve purred her delight.

But his lust could be attributed to a willing female and not because of
her
in particular. She’d seen him embrace other women in the same manner. All of them had been groupies. Easy women. After spending her teenage years watching females degrade themselves for a shot at getting one of the Hot Wired guys in their bed, Sam had sworn she’d never be easy for any man.

Not even Heath
.

She turned her head aside, disengaging the kiss that left her shaky and in need of that dildo she
’d failed to purchase.

Heath ran his lips along her neck
, and her breath stuttered in her lungs, wrestling for normality. “I knew you’d be my crack if I ever kissed you.”

“
I—” Sam inhaled sharply when he sucked on the spot behind her ear. What a sensitive location! “I can’t do casual sex with you, Heath.”

H
e tensed, his digits digging into her bottom. A moment later he exhaled and loosened his hold, but he retained his grasp on her.

“
I know, brat, I know.” The palm clutching her ass relocated to her spine, and the other kneaded the back of her neck. “I won’t ask for sex from you.”

She nodded,
oddly disappointed despite her stance.

“
Jase would kill me if I did.”

She
flinched. Contrary to her position, she wouldn’t stand for her brother being in the way of any relationship—even the fake ones. “Jase has zero say in who I sleep with and who I don’t.”

Heath honed in on her mouth.
“Yeah.” That look devoured her the same way his kiss had. She knew that stare. He wanted her. She’d seen the expression on his face before, but never focused on her. “You think we can pull kisses like that off in front of fans?”

It
’ll be easier in public
.
Safer too and no chance of Heath seducing me.

“
Of course.” She shrugged and extracted from his hold. “No problem. Easy-peasy.” Putting some distance between them she spied the bar and considered swigging another drought of hard liquor. What she had already consumed had her head spinning a little. Or maybe that was caused by her taste of Heath. Sam ran her nails along the bar top as she concentrated on him. “No insult intended, but that kiss was what I imagine kissing Jase would be like.” She made a mock shudder of horror, praying she managed to pull off the pretense since she sucked at lying. “Just a kiss between… siblings. Nothing more, right?”