out here sulking, all sad and lonely, because she's thrown you out and you're trying to find a way you can crawl into her good graces again so she'll take you back?"
"Fuck no!" Jay roared. "Rock stars don't sulk and they don't crawl for uppity chicks, either."
Audra tried to hide her scepticism. "So why are you hiding out here?"
"I'm not hiding!" With what appeared to be considerable effort, he lowered his voice to a more normal volume. "I'm planning. Regrouping. Taking some much-needed time to consider my future. The next stage in my career."
Rock stars had to make career choices? She'd never really thought about it. They wrote and recorded albums, performed the songs at concerts, while millions of fans screamed their names, bought their music and obsessed over them. But the wrong choices could end his career just as surely as they could hers. And while she could always find another job somewhere else, cleaning hotel rooms or serving food, that wasn't an option for a rock star whose meteoric rise had turned into a freefall that could only end in a crash to Earth. Did he mean he had to decide on which country to tour next or what style of music to write for his next album? Sobriety descended on Audra like a cold shower. It wasn't his career future he was considering – it had to be the girl he denied having feelings for. Career angst didn't create chaos with your emotions the way love could. Jay wasn't just a rock star – he was a man, too.
"What are you going to do next?" she asked softly.
It seemed like his macho mask slipped away and she saw genuine fear in his eyes. "I don't fucking know."
Silence hung between them for a moment. In two strides, Audra crossed the room and hugged him. One minute she was safely, dispassionately ensconced on her own seat, the next she had her arms around a slab of miserable man-muscle and she didn't want to let go. She had no idea how to disentangle herself from the crazy situation, but she knew her wristband would record every word she said.
His arms encircled her far less awkwardly, though no less firmly. He emitted a muffled "thank you".
Then he lifted his head and his eyes met hers. His mouth was so close and still slightly open, as if preparing to kiss her. Audra's lips parted to take a shaky breath before she surrendered to her desire for Jay.
"You know what'd make me feel even better?" Jay began, looking hopeful. "If you got your tits out. Then we could – "
Thank God his rock star ego had broken the moment.
"No. I'm sorry, Mr Felix, but we can't." Audra took that as her cue to retreat a few steps before collapsing into her chair again, relieved to be on the other side of the coffee table from the mess of contradictions that was Jay Felix.
"Bugger." His pause was barely perceptible. "Want a beer, then?"
She nodded silently. Better to wrap her lips around a bottle than do anything dangerous with them.
FIFTEEN
Morning light stung Audra's eyes and she cursed. She must have fallen asleep with the blinds open. She forced her eyelids up and blinked away the bleariness. This wasn't her room. It looked like...Maxima.
Uncurling her stiffened limbs, she rose from the armchair that had cradled her all night, it seemed, as Jay's recounting of the all-too-familiar plots of those two romance novels had made her nod, then close her eyes, until finally...she guessed she'd drifted right off into la-la-land. Well, she could cross one thing off her bucket list that she'd never expected to achieve: she'd spent a night with a rock star. Jay Felix, no less. And hadn't she hugged him for a moment, too?
She ran her fingers through her hair, hoping to smooth it out enough so that no one would know where she'd spent the night. Though sneaking out of Maxima at this time in the morning would probably give her away, anyway.
Audra almost made it to the door before she met Jay carrying a covered tray.
"I ordered you breakfast!" He seemed really proud of himself and not put out at
"Fuck no!" Jay roared. "Rock stars don't sulk and they don't crawl for uppity chicks, either."
Audra tried to hide her scepticism. "So why are you hiding out here?"
"I'm not hiding!" With what appeared to be considerable effort, he lowered his voice to a more normal volume. "I'm planning. Regrouping. Taking some much-needed time to consider my future. The next stage in my career."
Rock stars had to make career choices? She'd never really thought about it. They wrote and recorded albums, performed the songs at concerts, while millions of fans screamed their names, bought their music and obsessed over them. But the wrong choices could end his career just as surely as they could hers. And while she could always find another job somewhere else, cleaning hotel rooms or serving food, that wasn't an option for a rock star whose meteoric rise had turned into a freefall that could only end in a crash to Earth. Did he mean he had to decide on which country to tour next or what style of music to write for his next album? Sobriety descended on Audra like a cold shower. It wasn't his career future he was considering – it had to be the girl he denied having feelings for. Career angst didn't create chaos with your emotions the way love could. Jay wasn't just a rock star – he was a man, too.
"What are you going to do next?" she asked softly.
It seemed like his macho mask slipped away and she saw genuine fear in his eyes. "I don't fucking know."
Silence hung between them for a moment. In two strides, Audra crossed the room and hugged him. One minute she was safely, dispassionately ensconced on her own seat, the next she had her arms around a slab of miserable man-muscle and she didn't want to let go. She had no idea how to disentangle herself from the crazy situation, but she knew her wristband would record every word she said.
His arms encircled her far less awkwardly, though no less firmly. He emitted a muffled "thank you".
Then he lifted his head and his eyes met hers. His mouth was so close and still slightly open, as if preparing to kiss her. Audra's lips parted to take a shaky breath before she surrendered to her desire for Jay.
"You know what'd make me feel even better?" Jay began, looking hopeful. "If you got your tits out. Then we could – "
Thank God his rock star ego had broken the moment.
"No. I'm sorry, Mr Felix, but we can't." Audra took that as her cue to retreat a few steps before collapsing into her chair again, relieved to be on the other side of the coffee table from the mess of contradictions that was Jay Felix.
"Bugger." His pause was barely perceptible. "Want a beer, then?"
She nodded silently. Better to wrap her lips around a bottle than do anything dangerous with them.
FIFTEEN
Morning light stung Audra's eyes and she cursed. She must have fallen asleep with the blinds open. She forced her eyelids up and blinked away the bleariness. This wasn't her room. It looked like...Maxima.
Uncurling her stiffened limbs, she rose from the armchair that had cradled her all night, it seemed, as Jay's recounting of the all-too-familiar plots of those two romance novels had made her nod, then close her eyes, until finally...she guessed she'd drifted right off into la-la-land. Well, she could cross one thing off her bucket list that she'd never expected to achieve: she'd spent a night with a rock star. Jay Felix, no less. And hadn't she hugged him for a moment, too?
She ran her fingers through her hair, hoping to smooth it out enough so that no one would know where she'd spent the night. Though sneaking out of Maxima at this time in the morning would probably give her away, anyway.
Audra almost made it to the door before she met Jay carrying a covered tray.
"I ordered you breakfast!" He seemed really proud of himself and not put out at
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