Reckless Love: A Billionaire Baby Steamy Fantasy Multicultural Love Story Rockstar Romance (5 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jasmine and Leo… and Nigel

The night was wearing on, and people were starting to leave. Someone had lowered the lights a bit, and the candles were twinkling at each table. The few remaining guests were sat in small groups, standing at the bar, or slowly dancing on the dance floor.

The quartet members were looking restless, all but Jasmine, who was enjoying the feeling of Leo’s hand on the small of her back, out of sight of even her friends. His hand felt so warm, so comforting, and yet with a hint of recklessness. Of danger. She almost felt as if it would snake down under her skirt if a few more people left and as much as she might want that, of course it would be completely unacceptable. As it was, it was exciting enough to feel his touch.

Kerry had started to give her pointed glances, clearly wanting to leave, but too good a friend to interfere when she knew what was going on. Still the others were in the dark and showed it. Jessa’s chin was propped up, elbows on the table, her eyes half closed, and Robyn was tapping Kerry on the shoulder, probably making a case to leave, Jasmine surmised.

But that was so difficult to even think about.

Jasmine had always been the one who wanted to be the first to leave any event, ready to go home and practice as soon as it was over. Her mind would be only on how she could improve her performance, not on how she could pick up one of the guests.

On his part, Leo marveled at how this small scrap of fabric underneath his fingers could be a hundred times more exciting somehow than any of the crazy events of his own experience. Just touching the small of her back was nearly enough – his fingers hungry for every tiny little connection with Jasmine. Of course he wanted more – but for the first time in his life, he was unwilling to lose what he had – which in this case was a tiny piece of real estate the size of his hand on the soft black fabric of her gown.

But nonetheless Jasmine was feeling guilty. Seeing her quartet members aching to leave was conflicting with her desire to find out exactly what was going on between her and Leo. She turned to him.

“Well, I suppose all good things must come to an end,” she murmured. “It looks like it it’s getting on time to leave.”

“Yes I’m afraid things do tend to wind down about 11 PM here in jolly old England, at least in our current part of it,” he smiled ruefully. “Of course when the band’s all together we do tend to push the limits.”

“I’m kind of embarrassed to say, I actually haven’t heard your band.” She figured she might as well admit it – her complete ignorance when it came to pop music.

“Well I can fix that,” he said. “Take my iPod and when you go to bed tonight, have a listen and think of me.” He handed her the device, taking a little extra time as the fingers were touching. “Will you still be around the grounds tomorrow?”

“Just for the day,” she replied. “We leave for another concert the next day, but tomorrow is a free day, and we’ve been graciously allowed to stay here.”

“Well we will just have to meet up so I can get my MP3 player back,” he winked. “I can’t have you walking off with it now can I?”

“Absolutely not,” she said.  “But what if I get addicted to your style?  And I decide to abandon classical music altogether?”

His eyes flashed lasciviously. “Are you that easy to corrupt? And here I thought that you were going to redeem me.”

“Well on that note,” she grinned, “I better get while the getting’s good.”

“Well all right then,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the games room tomorrow at one, and we can say… go for a walk?”

“Sounds lovely.” He squeezed her hand briefly, sending an electric spark to her core. She tried not to skip back to her quartet.

“I thought you’d never want to leave,” said Kerry, with a half-grin on her face. “But I gotta say – we are all lagging here.”
“I get it! Let’s go!” She walked out with more energy than she had felt in years, holding the tiny MP3 player tightly.

***

Nigel eyed the gaggle of American girls were pushing their way out the door just as he was walking in.
Not bad
, he thought turning his head to watch them go. His eyes went from rear to rear.
Not bad at all. Well fit.

He scanned the room for Leo, finally seeing him standing at the edge of the room leaning against the wall with a dreamy look on his face.

“All right mate?” He said as he reached his friend.

“Nigel! I didn’t think you could make it!”  Leo clapped his friend on the shoulder.

“Neither did I, mate, but we’ve finished recording a smidge early and I did my best to make it to the Victor’s wedding. How did it all go? Was it quite dreary? I’ve got something to ease both of our pain.”

Leo was thinking of Jasmine. “Actually it was not so bad, I’ll tell you about it sometime. Now what’s this you’ve got for me?”

“Actually got a couple of things,” he said. “But we should get out of here and get right to it.”

“Why can’t get to fucked up tonight mate,” he said, “I’ve got shit to do in the morning.” He felt a little bad referring to his date as ‘shit to do,’ but it really wasn’t the right time to be telling Nigel about a girl. Besides after the night he’d had it will be a relief to have a drink with Nigel.

He could keep it from getting out of control, couldn’t he?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jasmine

Jasmine nearly sailed home. Her quartet, however, was not nearly as blasé as she would’ve hoped about the whole “meeting of English billionaire rock star nobleman” thing. In fact it seemed like they were full of questions.

Jessa was pulling on her arm like a little kid. “So tell us everything!” She said, breathless. “Who is he? What’s he like as a person? What did he think of our playing? Does he want to see you again?” The questions were coming fast and furious. In fact, Jasmine couldn’t keep up with them, and Kerry had to step in – although she did it thoroughly tongue in cheek.

“Come on guys, she doesn’t need you badgering her about every little thing having to do with her fancy rock star playboy boyfriend. Just because it’s completely unlike her doesn’t mean we should be allowed to harangue her with questions.”

Robyn piped up. ”But that’s just the thing! It is so unlike her. If I was can going to pick any of us to meet somebody on this trip, it would be me of course,” she grinned, “but second choice, I doubt it would be Jasmine. Not that she’s not pretty enough, or anything like that, but everyone knows her first love is her cello.”

“While that’s true,” Jasmine said side eyeing her, “I guess life is full of surprises.”

“ So you’re not going to answer any of our questions?” Jessa pouted.

“Or introduce us to the rest of the band?”

“Maybe we should let her get used to the idea first,” Kerry said. “I mean, when’s the last time she had a date? Undergrad?”

“Hey, be nice!”

“I am nice,” Kerry said, a wounded look on her face. “All I’m saying is give the girl a break.” She turned to Jasmine. “So you’ve never heard his music, right? What if you don’t like it?”

Jasmine didn’t quite feel like telling Kerry about the MP3 player. It still seemed too special to let the quartet to send on it in a feeding frenzy. She wanted to listen to the music with a pure heart, not to have it questioned, harmonically analyzed, and torn apart before she had a chance to listen to it even once.

When they finally got back to the suite, Jasmine was very grateful to be able to slide between fresh, cool, sheets and slip in the ear buds. It felt very intimate, and secret, to have this little piece of him to put between her ears… Almost to put part of him inside her. As she pressed play, to hear a ballad, her fingers began to play a little too. His voice crooned softly in her ear as her fingertips began to wander over her skin.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Leo and Nigel

Nigel and Leo went straight to the games room, ready to hit their own bar. Nigel grabbed one of the most expensive bottles of Scotch, two glasses, and poured two hefty shots, neat.

He handed Leo one of the drinks, and emptied the other down his throat, in one. He motioned for Leo to do the same. For once, Leo looked a little bit uncertain, but quickly followed suit, putting his glass down with a bang. That was the signal. Nigel immediately refilled the two glasses. He didn’t miss the uneasy look that Leo sent his way.

“What’s going on with you? Something on your mind?” He sniffed and wiped his half-closed fist underneath his nose. “Something having to do with Victor I expect?”

Leo could see that Nigel was heading for a long night. He shook his head.

“No nothing like that,” he said. “Actually didn’t have a half-bad time tonight as it turned out.”

“Any interesting birds there? Or did you have to hang with the dreary string quartet?”

Oh, if only Nigel knew…better throw him off at the pass.

“You know how these things are,” he demurred. “Filled with old ladies trying to pawn off their spinster daughters.”

“Sounds positively awful, my man. I bet you can’t wait to go on tour next week, and get your pick of the crop every night.” Nigel made a lewd gesture in his crotch area and they both laughed.

“Well sure, I am getting a bit antsy in this dusty place.” He took another healthy swig. “It’s never too soon to get out of here.”

“Truer words were never spoken, my friend,” said Nigel. “Places like this are good for anyone, not even those in power, as you have so eloquently proven time and time again.” He chuckled. “Think of all the shit you’ve gotten up to, even before you joined the band. Remember when we were kids, and over Christmas each of us stole a bottle from our parents’ liquor cabinet at home, and we went marauding through the town?”

“Breaking windows and the like? Yeah I remember. I guess we were always pieces of shit, even as kids. This sleepy town never knew what hit it.” Leo wondered what Jasmine’s childhood had been like.
Did she grow up privileged, or poor? How on earth did she start playing the cello, of all things? Was she like other kids, or did she always feel different? Like he always felt?

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jasmine

Jasmine’s dreams were fitful. She’d fallen asleep with the MP3 still playing in her ears and the sound very low. But Origin of Species didn’t always play ballads – some of their stuff was pretty hard-core. And for someone who almost never listened to pop music, not to mention people who did, it was pretty intense.

In her dreams, Leo was wailing, crying in pain as the guitar wailed along with him. He was in a straitjacket, with the arms loose and flapping instead of tied together, but he was still bound and in pain. His normally rough but indescribably handsome face was twisted as he sang, “part of this world, apart from this world, alone in this world, at one in this world…” And he kept getting smaller and smaller, further and further away. Jasmine reached out trying to grasp him, and felt the fabric of the straitjacket slip between her fingers as she fell forward and he receded. The words he was singing became a wordless scream as he disappeared finally he was just the guitar, the whammy bar ending with his hand in miniature, writhing and contorting.

She sat up straight in bed, awakening suddenly, having forgotten where she was and she looked around in a wild panic, her own fingers clutching the sheets in anything but ecstasy. But there was nothing, not even the sound of her friends’ breathing to comfort her, as they were all scattered around the suite, nestled in their own sleeping nooks.

Jasmine shivered. She wrapped a blanket around her, and got up to go to the kitchen, to get herself a glass of water.
This jet lag is messed up,
she thought. When she got into the kitchen, she was startled to see that Kerry was up as well.

“Couldn’t sleep either, eh?” She said, a sympathetic look in her eye.

“No. Bad dreams,” she whispered back.

“I get it, Jasmine.” She handed her a cup of hot cocoa. “I found this in the cupboard. You can have mine, and I’ll just make another one for myself.”

Jasmine took the mug gratefully, wrapping her hands around it for its cozy warmth. “Thank you,” she said before sipping the sweet liquid.

“No worries,” Kerry smiled. “You’ve been through a lot lately. I know how messing up even one note makes you get all obsessive and crazy like, and rehearsals didn’t go so great – and now on top of that, maybe you’re falling in love?”

“In love? Are you crazy? I’m not in love. It’s just some kind of infatuation. He probably has ten thousand girls around the globe who think they’re in love with him. I’ve just never met a rock star before, much less a nobleman. I’ll get over it.”

“What’s that that Shakespeare said? Methinks the lady doth protest too much?”

“I’ve never been in love before. I don’t even know what it is. The only thing I’ve been in love with his my cello.”

“Well I have,” said Kerry. “and you’re showing all the signs.”

“What signs?” Jasmine busied herself staring intently at the rim of her cup. She didn’t want Kerry to see how close she had gotten to her own very real feelings.
Am I falling in love? Is it even possible to fall in love with someone when you’ve only spent one night with them? Not even a night, just an evening?

“Well you’re sleepless –“

“So are you –“

“That crazy look in your eye –“

“I always look like this!”

“No, not like this,” Kerry stirred her drink thoughtfully. “In fact, you’re probably the sanest one of us. The nicest, the prettiest, the most productive, the least likely to get distracted…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’ve all got our strengths.”

“Well that’s true,” said her friend. “But you’re special, Jasmine. Even among special people.”

Jasmine looked up at her. She seemed to be serious. “Well that’s a compliment. Thank you.”

“And that’s why you have to be careful,” she said, the look in her eye now unmistakable– it was deadly serious. “Your work’s important, Jasmine. Your work with us, but more than that – everything you’ve worked
for
. I don’t want you throwing it all away on some fling just when we’re getting good, when we’re finally seeing some real success. I know he’s hot and everything, I’m just saying – just don’t lose your mind.” Kerry grabbed her hand. “You know I love you, and I want what’s best for you. I just know you’re not that experienced in these matters, and this is a crucial time for the group.”

Jasmine didn’t know how to feel.
Of course Kerry was right. She was always right. About things like this anyway – things that Jasmine didn’t know anything about. But at the same time, all the other girls in the quartet had had boyfriends, and they’d handled it. They weren’t warned off the men that they liked. Did Kerry think she was an idiot?
Iciness clutched at her heart.
What was Kerry’s problem?

She got up, the chair banging a bit as she pushed it away. “Don’t worry about me – I’m a professional. Any acquaintances I have won’t interfere with all your big plans.” She put down the mug spun around, not giving her friend a chance to respond.

Kerry watched her go, her mouth turning down at the edges. This is what she was worried about the whole time.
This was so unlike Jasmine. She’s the core of the group. And why now? Just when all their work was coming to fruition?