Dangerous Hearts: Rock Star Romance, 1 (Lyric & Wolf) (7 page)

“It sure as shit
is
yours. Where did you find it, exactly?” Hedge
asks
.

“It was wrapped around a chair leg
,
and the wind almost carried it into the pool. I
caught it, but no one was there to claim it. Someone could have another version
of it somewhere.”

Crawley tells the engineer to play it
again
,
and the guys are silent. Some of their
eyes are closed
,
and I know they’re imaging us
up on stage, singing that song to a mesmerized crowd. My blood is pumping
adrenaline like a crayon factory. It’s only a rough acoustic version of what
could be a badass track, but there’s no denying we’ve got something here. If
only we could get past the copyright part of it.

“Can we find the person who wrote this? It’s
good, Wolf. Too good to just let it go, but you’re right to be careful
,
” Derrick says.

Crawley slaps Hedge on the back since
he’s the closest, causing Hedge to wince and squirm away. “I have an idea.
Shit. I have a fucking brilliant idea.” He’s laughing now and
rubb
ing his hands together like a mad scientist. “We
practice it and we play it at our shows—with a disclaime
r
that the
unedited
lyrics were
found and we’re looking for the owner. We don’t release it for profit until we
find the writer. This song will go viral. It’s got to, and whoever wrote it
will come forward to claim their share.”

“Shit,” we all say in unison. Sometimes
Crawley comes up with ideas like this that remind us all why we hired him in
the first place.

“What are you shitheads waiting for?
You’ve got a bloody song to learn.” With a
laugh and
huge
smile on his face, Crawley leaves the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Lyric

Terese picks me up from the hotel early
in the morning. She’s accompanying me to Wolf’s San Diego show and all the
preceding activities for the day. I’m disappointed she won’t get to come on the
tour. She’s a cool chick, one who hasn’t screwed me over yet, and it would be
nice to hang out with girls other than Stryder’s girlfriend, Misty, and
Lorraine. And then there are the groupies. I’ve heard the rumors of how often
they frequent Wolf’s tour bus, and I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for
that.

We park and walk backstage to claim our
badges. We’re in an open-air venue tonight so the only privacy for band and
crew lies within a cluster of tents and trailers.

The guys won’t be here for a sound check
until early afternoon, so we spend the morning stealing snacks from the VIP tent
and perusing the band’s surprisingly short list of demands. There are a couple
of special requests I notice, but only because two of the band members have
food allergies and it has to be mentioned.

“Lyric,” a voice calls from the other
side of the dressing room trailer. I turn to see Doug grinning at us. “They
told me you were here. Don’t worry, you’re off duty, so I won’t tell you what
to do today,” he says. “If you want to come with me to merchandise, I’m heading
over there now. You can meet the team.”

I hop up from the couch and pull Terese
along. I smile, genuinely happy to see him again. He used to tour with my
father, and since my father was my primary guardian for most of my childhood
years, Doug has always looked out for me.

“Doug, have you met Terese? She works in
local event promotions. She’s my guest tonight.”

He extends his hand. “Afraid we haven’t
met.” They shake, and then we’re taking the venue detour through the remaining
tents and through the hidden backstage gate. He leads us to the merchandise
booth they’re setting up near the entrance. For this venue, since it’s a
smaller show than usual, there are only two.

As soon as we get to the booth, he tells
us each to pick out a shirt. We decide on the black one with Wolf’s logo
plastered across the front of it and slip them on over our tank tops. “Nice,”
he says, then introduces us to the crew. “This is Melanie, our merchandise
manager. She’s been with the crew for two years and is great with handling the
crowd and their money. Her squad, Brad, Stevie, Raquel, and Lacey, will be
traveling in bus number two.”

Bus number two is also known as the crew
bus with twelve bunks, one bathroom, and a small living area. It’s the bus I
thought I'd be on until Doug informed me I was riding with the band. I’ve
ridden with bands before so it’s nothing new, but knowing I’ll be sharing a
small space with Wolf makes my stomach churn.

Terese and I are following Doug backstage
when someone alerts him over his radio that Wolf has just arrived. We approach
security, where Doug hands me a radio and places wolf stickers on our badges.

“What are these?” Terese asks.

I laugh. “The All Access badges only get
us in the main backstage area, on the side stage, and into VIP. The stickers
get us anywhere else we want to go.” I wink at her as her eyes glow with pride.
“Haven't you ever been backstage?”

She laughs. “Not with free rein like this
at a show like Wolf’s. I handle the smaller events and radio shows mostly.”

“Come on. Let’s say hi to the band.” We
walk out to the stage where the roadies are testing the instruments and
microphones. Wolf is nowhere to be found yet, so we hang back and wait.

A familiar face approaches us, a pretty
blonde in her early twenties like me, all done up. The radio badge gives her
away, and my memory chugs to life. “Jenn,” I exclaim with mock enthusiasm. It’s
my job to network with the radio personalities since we sometimes need them to
help out with local hookups—and I don’t mean the sexual kind. Unfortunately,
girls like Jenn get it wrong. I’m not particularly fond of her because of her
reputation. I dated a rock star, so I can’t judge too much, but that’s so much
different than a quick bang before getting kicked away and forgotten. How can
anyone seek that sort of thing out?

Jenn’s smile is warm and bright, making
me wonder if her reputation is undeserved. “I can’t believe it’s you, Lyric.
Are you on tour with Wolf?”

I nod. “I am, but I’m not working this
show. Just hanging out. This is my friend, Terese,” I say, pulling her forward.
The girls greet each other. “Doug runs the show tonight. He hands over the
reins after that, and we’re off to Raleigh. How are you?”

Jenn waves her arms around, her eyes
wide. “Couldn’t be better. This is the show we’ve been waiting for since we
heard about it. Wolf has become the hottest thing in San Diego. I can’t wait to
see him again.”

The way she says this with a wiggle of
her eyebrows confirms my theory about her reputation—and his.

Jenn gives me a mock empathetic look, and
I know what she’s about to say. Here it comes. “I have to say, I’m surprised to
see you here. After that last disaster.” She makes a face. “I’m so sorry to
hear about that.”

Everyone in the industry knows about my
latest breakup. The media and the fans, not so much. Tony made sure to keep a
seal on all relationship drama, for fear that it would affect his tour. I
complied, because I didn’t want the drama either. Still, it’s totally shitty
that my heartbreak was on display for my peers. It’s the one awful part of
being so close to the industry and one of the many awful things about dating a
rock star. There is no privacy.

“That’s not going to keep me from the
music, Jenn. C’mon, you should know better than that.” I keep up my smile,
although it’s the last thing I want to be doing now. She’s just poisoned the
conversation.

“Hey.” Her eyes widen as if in
afterthought, but I know better. “If you can help me snag an interview with
Wolf, I would owe you big time. He wasn’t able to come in to the station today,
and his fans would love to hear from him.”

“Sure, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Lyric, we need to go. Sound check is
almost ready to start.” Terese tugs me away this time. “Great to meet you,
Jenn. Enjoy the show.”

Terese and I walk away and I squeeze her
hand in thanks. She squeezes back knowingly. “How much you want to bet Jenn
winds up in Wolf’s bus after the show?” she whispers.

I laugh. “She can try, but there won’t be
much time for romping. We leave right after he gets off stage. Which reminds
me, will you help me transfer my stuff from the car? I want to get it over
with.”

The group of buses are parked close to the
backstage entrance along with the trucks full of gear. The only way I can tell
the difference between the buses is by the slips of paper in each of the
windshields. I’m with the band in Bus #1. The rest of the buses, which belong
to the new opening act, will meet us in Raleigh.

The transfer is quick and painless, but
I’m disappointed I don’t get to see the inside of the bus yet or pick out my
bunk. I’ll be the last one who gets a say on where I sleep but I cannot be on
the top. When I tried to tell Doug that, he told me I’d have to deal with
whatever was left over, but he would put in a word with the driver, Rory, to
try and save me a spot.

By the time we get back from the
transfer, the sound check is almost over and Wolf is having a sidebar conversation
with Crawley. Hedge sees us and waves with exaggerated enthusiasm. We roll our
eyes and smile.

“You girls look dead sexy in our shirts,”
Hedge’s voice booms from the speakers.

Terese giggles but my eyes catch Wolf’s
light brown ones as he turns his head toward us. We get a nod, and I return it,
telling myself not to act stony. He brings out my defenses. We may have cleared
some things up last week at dinner, but I still want to be clear that I won’t
be one of his conquests. Still, I need to be careful. I’m not trying to make
enemies. Plus, he’s technically my boss.

I can’t hear what he says before the band
kicks off another melody. This one is unfamiliar but sounds catchy. “Wait until
you hear this new song, babe,” Stryder says into the microphone. I look at
Misty, who's grinning from her seat. She’s clearly smitten. I can understand
why. He’s got the lightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen and the guy knows how to
light up a room with his energy. He is pure rocker, through and through.

I get excited at the mention of a new
song. There’s nothing I love more than the newness, before songs get overplayed.
To my disappointment, all we get is the instrumental version of the song, and
the sound check ends soon after without so much as a “Check, check, one, two”
from Wolf.

Wolf glances at me before hopping off the
stage. I think he’s headed in my direction. Derrick follows, his eyes all over
Terese. He totally has the hots for her, and he’s not even trying to hide it.

Derrick makes it over to us, but Wolf is
intercepted by Jenn. The disappointment I feel surprises me, and then it pisses
me off that I care at all.

“I’ll meet you backstage,” I say to
Terese, who most likely didn’t hear me or see me leave.

As I slip backstage, Wolf’s head turns
and catches my eye, but he doesn’t move. Of course not. That would be rude.
Jenn works for the fans. The problem is me. I am far too aware of all things
Wolf in areas that surpass my job description. That acknowledgement sends me
straight to the VIP tent, where I order a beer. I’m going to need a drink tonight.
Perhaps many. At least then I won’t care if I end up on the top or bottom bunk.

When the sex god himself appears next to
me at the bar, I’m fully aware that he’s following me. This is a test. If I can
keep my libido in check around Wolf, I’ll be blessed for eternity. If I give in
to him, I’m headed straight to hell in the form of another heartbreak.

“Damn, woman. I wouldn’t have taken you
for a lush.”

I glare at him over the bottom of my beer
glass. I
am
drinking faster than
normal. “I’m not a lush.
Just .
 . .
anxious.”

“For the tour?” As he leans over the
counter, his broad shoulders and thick, tattooed arms catch my eye. Wolf
doesn’t need the illusion of the stage to make him larger than life. He’s a
solid guy. And tall. It’s too bad he’s a rock star because while I may not be
his type, he’s definitely mine.

“Lyric?”

My focus is still on his build. With a
flicker, my eyes move to his mouth. That’s no better. Wolf has a nice mouth.
Finally, dragging my gaze back up, I know I’m going to lose. Whatever war is
brewing between my head and the quick building need between my thighs needs to
end. I’m nearing the danger zone. He’s standing right in front of me.

He’s gazing back at me, an amused
expression playing on his face. “I think I’m going to like this tour a lot.”

Heat rushes up my neck and I take a deep
breath, trying to ignore it. Turning to the bar, I order a second beer for me
and one for Wolf then walk away without another word. In fact, I never did
answer his question. Again. That was rude. Pivoting back to face him, I slam
into something hard. Him. What the hell is wrong with me?

He holds up his drink and laughs. “Forget
something?”

I’ve never been so flustered in my life.
In fact, I pride myself on being more confident than most girls, especially in
situations like this. Wolf simply defies all logic, and he’s making me do the
same. “Shit, sorry. I just realized I didn’t answer your question.”

He’s chuckling when he moves a hand to my
face and swipes away a strand of hair caught in my eyelashes. “That’s okay,
darlin
’. We all have our weaknesses. I’m yours. I get it.”
And then he walks off, grinning.

My entire head feels as if it’s about to
explode, and I'm convinced he chose the wrong animal name for his band. Wolf is
a jackass.