The Rocker That Savors Me (The Rocker...) (14 page)

Big chocolate eyes blinked up at me as I drew back a little. “Not fair,
rock star.”

I laughed, completely and utterly happy in that moment. “Nothing about the way you make me feel is fair, Layla
,” I assured her.

“Evil man
,” she grumbled with a grin.

The skinny guy stopped in front of us again.
“Layla?” She shrugged and I switched us from shots of Patron to rum and coke. I didn’t want us completely wasted, just buzzed enough to enjoy ourselves for a few hours. When I left I wanted her sober and completely in control of herself so that she could say no to me if that was what she really wanted. I prayed to every god I knew of that she wouldn’t say no to me!

We sat there sipping our drinks for a long while. The bar was getting pretty crowded. All walks of life were in attendance
: college kids, a few bikers, Goths, and Emos. I didn’t feel out of place like the preppies that were huddled in the back at a table. Everyone gave them a wide berth because they were loud and starting to get obnoxious.

When the band came out on stage
, everyone moved closer. Nik had asked me to take a look at them because Rich had mentioned something about them to him. They had gotten popular over the summer because of something on YouTube, and Rich was thinking of signing them and putting them as our opening act when we eventually started touring again.

Layla, who was now sipping on a Vodka and Cranberry, stood in front of me. I kept an arm around her waist, needing to touch her at all times. It wasn’t because I felt like she wasn’t safe, I just needed the contact. When the band started their intro
, she pressed her rear right into my crotch, and my mind went completely blank for a full minute.

Around us people were going crazy for the band
, and I finally snapped out of my desire filled fog. I pressed a kiss just under Layla’s ear. “Careful, baby. Any more of that and I won’t be able to walk out of here.”

I couldn’t hear her laugh, but I felt it vibrating through her and into me.

When I was able to focus on the band on stage I found that they were mostly a cover band. They didn’t have anything original to offer, but they were pretty good at the rock songs that they covered. The guitarist could have kept up with Drake, and that was saying something because Drake was king when it came to playing with strings. The frontrunner had a kind of raspy voice that made people stop and take notice, but he lacked a certain personality that lead singers needed for a performance. I liked the drummer’s skills good enough, but the guy on bass was off by a cord or two from time to time.

All in all
, it was a great band to see at a bar, but I wasn’t all that sure if they were what Rich was looking for. And I was in serious doubt of Nik agreeing to let them open for us if Rich really did sign them. If Rich brought them on board there would have to be some major changes within the band itself.

Still
, they were cool to listen to tonight. And Layla seemed to be having a good time as they continued to play some really good rock songs. The liquor had loosened her up, and she was dancing in front of me now. With her hair whipping around as she moved that sexy little body so provocatively, I fought with myself not to haul her out of the bar right then and there.

But I wasn’t the only one enjoying the sight of Layla dancing. Several guys around us had turned their attentions from the band to her as she moved her ass to the beat. Even as my dick reacted to her
, my rage boiled as a guy from the preppy table dared to approach her.

I had lost my hold on her waist a few songs ago to give her free reign to dance to her heart’s content. She had moved a few feet away from me
, and I had been cool with that. But now Preppy with the light pink polo and gelled hair was taking advantage of the distance between us.

I watched it as if in slow motion as the guy pressed up against her side and she leaned into him for half a second before she realized that the man touching her was not me. She stepped back, glaring up at Preppy
, but he pulled her back into his arms and started grinding his hips against her.

Maybe it wouldn’t have bothered me so much if she hadn’t been trying to get away from the douchebag
, but she was pushing against his chest and he wouldn’t let her go. Okay, it wasn’t just because of that. Layla was mine. And no one, absolutely no one, touched what was mine!

Two steps forward and I
was beside of Layla. She looked up at me in relief… Until she saw the fire in my eye. “Jesse…” she started, but I didn’t give her time to finish her sentence as I pushed between her and Preppy.

The guy was a tool
—the kind that did nothing but worry about how good he looked. He probably spent hours at the gym to get his abs just right, had a hundred dollars’ worth of product in his slightly spiked hair. His clothes were from Hollister, and I was almost positive that he was the kind of guy that thought he could have anything and everything handed to him with just a snap of his fingers.

Well he wasn’t fucking getting my girl!

“What’s up dude?” The guy shouted up at me, taking a step back when I got between him and Layla. “I’m dancing here.”

My eyes narrowed. “Dance somewhere else.”

Layla pressed up against my back, her hands rubbing at my shoulders in an attempt to make me relax. “Jess, it’s okay. Dance with me and forget about him.”

I might have done just that if Preppy hadn’t opened his mouth again. “Sorry
, dude. Didn’t know she was taken for the night. That’s one fine piece of ass you got…” He didn’t finish what he was going to say. He couldn’t. Not when my fist practically broke his jaw and he fell on his ass in the middle of the bar.

His friends, all six of them
, rushed over to help him to his feet. All of them seemed to be as clueless as he was because the one in the middle tried to jump on me. Like Preppy, this guy was just as much a tool as the rest. He swung his fist directly at my chin, but I was quicker than him. Years of drumming gave me faster reflexes than most people. I stepped back, causing the guy to fall on his face with the force he had put behind his punch.

“Jesse!” Layla called a warning as two more jumped to the aid of their fallen friends.

Bouncers were pushing through the crowd to get to us, but I didn’t bother to wait for them. My fist connected with the first’s stomach, causing the air to rush from his body and he bent in half trying to suck in oxygen. The second got a cheap shot, and his fist connected with the side of my face. It hurt like hell, but it only made me angrier. I grabbed him by his expensive shirt and lifted him a few inches off the ground. “Your mistake,” I growled at him.

Our tussle had caught everyone’s attention
, and even the band had stopped playing now. I heard someone shout out my name, “That’s Jesse Thornton!” But I ignored them as I slung the guy I still had a hold on to the floor and bent to punch him in the face.

“Jesse…” Layla was trying to catch my attention. The rest of the group was attempting to get their friends on their feet.

Four bouncers finally broke through the crowd that had surrounded us. One stepped toward me, but Layla got between them and me. “It wasn’t his fault,” she defended me. “That guy…” she pointed to Preppy. “H…he was manhandling me. Jesse was just protecting me. Then these guys…” She pointed to the three that were still on the ground, two of them groaning. “..tried to jump him. He was just defending himself.”

“Layla?”
One of the other bouncers stepped forward and frowned at Layla.

She stiffened when the guy come closer. “Oh
. Hey, Kyle…” She gave him a small, tight smile. Her reaction made me take a closer look at the bouncer. Not quite six feet with some well-defined muscles, he had a chip in one of his front teeth and a scar just above his left eye.

He wasn’t much to look at
, but the way he was looking at Layla made me think that he had seen her without her clothes on. That thought alone made me take a threatening step toward the guy. Layla’s arms wrapped around my waist to stopped me. “No,” she whispered. “Calm down.”

I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm my rage. She sighed and turned enough so that she was facing the bouncers again. “We were just trying to have a good time, Kyle. These guys started the fight.”

“It’s fine, Layla,” Kyle told her. “This lot has been causing trouble left and right all night long. You and Thornton go back to enjoying your evening.” They were pushing the preppies to their feet and out the door. “It was good seeing you. Call me sometime.”

“Umm…
sure,” she murmured as the bouncers walked away and everyone around us tried to act like nothing had happened. The band started up where they had left off, and I had to give them points for playing it cool like that.

“Friend of yours?”
I couldn’t help asking as I glared after the bouncer named Kyle.

She snorted. “Kyle? No. He was the bouncer at the club I used to work at a few years ago.” She grimaced. “But that was a life time ago.”

I pulled her closer, burying my face in her hair as I tried to get my rage under complete control. I hadn’t gotten into a fight like that in a long time, but I’d never fought over a girl before. I wasn’t the jealous type, at least not normally, but there was nothing normal about what I felt for Layla.

She held me until the rage seeped from my body
, her fingers tracing soothing patterns on my back under my shirt. Her sweet scent filled my nose, and my body grew tense for another reason all together. “How about another drink?” she offered.

“Yeah, I think we need one.” I kissed her lips quick and hard then pulled her toward the bar.

Layla

We weren’t back at the bar five minutes before three guys approached Jesse. They were
obviously fans. Jesse was good-natured about signing autographs, but after a few minutes of conversation he excused us. “Sorry, guys. I’m here with my girl.” He pulled me against his chest.

The guys gave him knowing grins and left us alone. I took a long pull from my beer and wrapped myself around him. “I’m sorry
,” I told him.

He frowned down at me. “What the hell are you sorry for?”
he demanded. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I ruined our first date.”

“No. I shouldn’t have been dancing like that.” I should have known better than to even start
, but I had been having so much fun and the music was pretty good. I had felt safe knowing that Jesse was right behind me, and I had wanted to dance just for him as I felt his eyes burning into my back while I moved to the music. I had gotten carried away and attracted more attention than I had wanted.

“Layla
, you can dance however you fucking like, whenever you like. That douche bag was just asking for trouble. Everyone in this place knew you were with me. He was drunk and thought he owned the world, you included. I shouldn’t have let him get to me, but I wasn’t going to let him talk about you like that.” He grasped my hand and brought my fingers to his lips. “Let’s not let him and his friends ruin the rest of our night. Okay, baby?”

I
smiled, equal parts of heart melting and panty melting as he nibbled on my fingers. “I promise not to if you promise not to.”

“Deal.”
He ordered us each another beer and then pulled me to the back of the bar so that we could listen to the band. There were no seats left at the bar, but I didn’t want to sit. He leaned back against the wall and pulled me into his arms before giving me one of the beers.

The band was playing a slower song now
, and I snuggled closer to him. His hand slipped over my hip and stayed there while his fingers beat a soft rhythm along to the music. Jesse’s lips were close to my ear, and I could hear him humming along to the song. I was content to stand there in his strong arms while we drank our beers. It felt good… It felt right.

When his beer was gone
, he pulled me in front of him, so that my back was to his chest. Those muscled arms of his wrapped around my waist, and I turned my head to smile at him over my shoulder when I felt his erection twitching against my ass. He buried his nose in my hair, and I pulled it over my right shoulder so that he could kiss my neck instead.

His tongue skimmed over my exposed flesh, causing goose flesh to rise and me to shiver. “Jesse.” I sighed and pressed my rear into him.

“Can we get out of here?” He breathed against the shell of my ear.

I pouted up at him. “I don’t want to go home.” I wasn’t ready to tell him goodnight. I wanted…
Fuck, I wanted so many things! We could none of them do if he took me home. There was no way I was having sex with him in the guest house, not when my sisters were there, and I didn’t think I could look at myself in the morning if he took me in to the beach house. I didn’t want everyone to know what I sounded like when I was coming apart for this man.

A wicked, hot tongue slipped inside my ear and I nearly came then and there. “Not going home tonight, baby. Will you come with me?”

I had no choice. I wanted—shit, I needed this man! Unable to speak I was so messed up from that kiss to my ear, I simply nodded. His arms tightened around me for a moment before he released me and entwined our fingers. “You won’t regret it.” He pressed a kiss to my neck then pulled me toward the exit just a few feet away.