Whisky Lullaby: Rock Star Romance, Step-brother New Adult Romance (Tennessee Romance Book 1) (12 page)

Logan laughed. “All right.” He shrugged. “I’ve got a groupie crush on this chick. What can I say?” He stepped aside for his bandmates, Dale and Zip.

The two guys stood together, silly smirks on their faces. Ashley didn’t know what they were up to, but she took some pleasure in watching them act suddenly unsure of themselves.

Logan rolled his eyes. “Dale and Zip have a question for you.”

“Hey… I’m Dale. You remember me from last night, right?”

Ashley laughed. “Of course I do.” She smiled politely, trying to figure out why he suddenly seemed nervous. “And you’re Zip, right?”

Zip wiggled his eyebrows. “That’s me!”

Logan covered his face in embarrassment.

“So we were wondering…” Dale let his voice trail off as he scratched his head.

“Yes?” she prompted.

“Well, you see… For the Rock Star Royale competition… We need six band members… because we had to kick Charlie out…” Dale stalled and tried to explain.

Ashley realized what they were trying to ask.

Quickly Zip interrupted him. “We need you to compete with us. To complete our band.”

“I wasn’t done!” Dale said as he jabbed Zip in the gut.

“For shit’s sake,” Logan griped as he covered his face with his hands.

Ashley laughed at them. “So you’re saying you need me to complete you?” She nearly burst out laughing when Logan looked at her between his fingers and mouthed “Jerry McGuire? Really?”

“Can I think about it?” Ashley asked with a coy smile on her face.

Logan dropped his hands, watching her intently.

Dale pulled his phone out. “I’m sending this to Gavin and Chris. They need to see it. They’re going freak!” He looked up. “Uh, sure… think about!” Dale stammered. “Of course. Take your time.”

Zip punched him. “We haven’t got time.”

“How about this. At the gig on Friday, if I hop up on stage, you’ll know I’m in.” She caught Logan’s grin behind the guys. He gave her a thumbs up.

“So you’re gonna leave us hanging ‘til then?” Dale asked with a defeated look on his face.

Logan chuckled as he ran his tongue over his white teeth. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see on Friday then, won’t we boys?” Logan said as he looped his arm around Ashley’s waist.

“You got that right!” She pointed to her cello. “Now who wants to help me lug this equipment back to my dorm? Might score points with joining the band.” As if on cue, all three guys began packing up her music equipment, as if the quicker they packed, the quicker a decision would be made.

She wanted more than anything to be part of their band. She hoped this was also something Logan wanted as well. However, was this moving too quick? After what happened with Charlie was she stepping into trouble? She wasn’t even sure if her crush on Logan was partly because he was in the band. Spending more time with him while getting to do what she loved, it seemed like it should be an easy decision so why wasn’t it? “C’mon, I’ll treat you guys to an ice cream.”

“You will not,” Logan said with a laugh as he ushered Ashley out of the room.

Ashley walked by herself the dorms with her cello as Logan headed to his next class. He hadn’t wanted to leave her but she argued that she was fine. Her nerves twitched as she got closer to the quad. Students glanced twice at her as she lugged the cello on her back. The case was nearly as tall as she was but she was used to carrying it.

Alone in the elevator, she leaned on the side of the square box and wondered what the dorm suite was going to look like. She made a promise to herself to not clean up one bit of Kaylee’s mess. Maybe it would be smarter if she applied for her own dorm. She would have to figure a way to come up with the extra cost but after last night, she was pretty sure she never wanted a roommate again.

Moving down the hall, she saw the mess there had all be cleaned up. An empty keg standing beside the elevator was the only sign of the party until she unlocked her dorm room and stepped inside.

Red cups and empty beer bottles sat everywhere; on the counters, the floor, on tables and everywhere Ashley looked. Why she even thought it would be cleaned up was a silly wish.

“Kaylee?” she called out, hoping her cousin was gone to class.  She stepped over a beer or drink stain of some kind in the hallway toward her room and frowned at the door. Someone had tried to fix it. It was a different door put back on but whoever had done the work, had connected the hinges upside down and backwards. It was going to be a bitch to fix.

It took some shoulder effort but she managed to get it open enough to slide her cello through and then herself.

The chaos of the night before showed no evidence in her room. She did a full circle as she turned to check the room. Someone had made her bed, cleaned the cups and vacuumed the bits of the door and mess from the floor. She set her cello by her desk and noticed a sticky note on her cork board.

Ash—

Tried to clean up the mess. Hope you’re ok.

I’ll see you later

Lisa

Ashley smiled. That was really sweet of Lisa to do. She wondered if she had Dale help her fix the door. She appreciated that Lisa hadn’t cleaned the dorm either.
Smart girl.

“Ashley?” The sound of Kaylee’s voice sounded close by. A second later her cousin’s head appeared through the door. She was pale and looked like she was hurting from a bad hangover. “I thought I heard you.” She didn’t come any further into the room. “You’re friend came and cleaned the room, then made a shit-load of noise fixing the door.”

“That was nice of her.” She stared at Kaylee in amazement. No apology? Nothing?

“I was trying to sleep.” Kaylee swallowed and grimaced. “I’m going back to bed now.”

“You need to clean up the dorm.” She was mad and didn’t know what else to say. She wished she’d thought of something on the walk over.

Kaylee waved her hand. “Whatever. I’ll do it later.” She turned to go.

“You’re unbelievable!” Ashley threw at her.

“What?” Kaylee’s head reappeared and she glared at Ashley. “You’re mad ‘cause I had a party? Big deal!”

“The party was out of hand. It’s the bloody second day of school! It was stupid.”

“It was fun.”

“Do you even remember it?”

Kaylee shook her head, her hair falling into her face. “I do. I remember quite clearly you hitting on my boyfriend.”

Anger boiled in her blood. She clenched her hands into fists. “Yeah, that’s what happened,” she snarled sarcastically. “That’s why he’s the one in jail right now.”

“Get over it.”

Ashley blinked. “What did you just say?”

Kaylee sighed and leaned against the wall. She actually looked like she regretted the party. “Okay. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry the party got too big and went well past quiet hour. I didn’t know it would get that outta hand. Charlie was drunk. He can be an idiot sometimes when he has too much to drink. He feels bad. He says he misread the signs you were sending him.”

“I wasn’t sending him any signs!”

“Maybe you were and just didn’t realize it.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Okay. Whatever. I don’t want to fight.”

Ashley raised her eyebrows.

“I’ll get the dorm cleaned up and from now on, I’ll sleep at Charlie’s when we hang together. I won’t take him here.” She tried to smile. “Peace?”

“No more parties?”

“No more. Not allowed to. After the cops showed up instead of campus police, I got read the riot act. It won’t happen again.” She looked ready to cry.

Ashley felt sorry for her cousin. She’d probably got talked into the party and then didn’t realize how uncontrolled it was until she was too drunk to care. Or maybe she’d tried and ended up with a ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ kind of attitude.

“We’re good.”

Kaylee smiled as she rushed over and hugged Ashley. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Ashley laughed. “Go! I’ve got class and you need to take a shower, you smell like puke.”

Kaylee touched her hair and frowned. “Gross.”

At least I don’t have to move
. Ashley sighed as she grabbed a new notebook for her next class. Maybe the crap had to hit the fan first, before the two of them were able to ensure a good year together.

Ill With Want

Logan and Ashley developed a pattern the rest of the week. He’d wait for her in the mornings before classes to grab coffee, then they’d meet up by the oak tree and spend the afternoon and evenings together.

Despite their obvious connection, Logan wanted to take things slow with Ashley. He wanted to show her he was different from the other guys she had dated before, and most of all, different than his stepbrother.

She had moved back in her dorm room that day when the door had been repaired. Logan found out that Charlie was kicked out of the dorms. He was surprised the guy hadn’t been kicked out of the school. He wondered if Ashley had had something to do with that. He didn’t ask either of them.

They avoided the topic entirely and he was fine with that. If Ashley wanted to bring it up, he would listen and say as little as possible. Apparently, the stunning woman had thick skin along with so many other hidden talents Logan was determined to find out about. All in time, he kept telling himself.

She also wouldn’t tell him if she really wanted to join the band. He kept dropping hints but wouldn’t ask her outright. She would only smile and tell him, “I guess you’ll see on Friday.” Then she’d distract him with her lips or a simple touch of her hand on his body.

Although the thought excited him, Logan couldn’t help but feel nervous, also. The band was starting to pull the money together, and Ashley would make the perfect addition. She hung out while they practiced and listened to them gripe about the crazy cost of the competition. He didn’t want to put any pressure on her.

On Friday they both decided to cut their last class when Ashley offered to pack a picnic for them instead. Logan didn’t need any convincing. He hoped she would tell him what she had decided. He’d thought it over the entire day and previous night, convincing himself that she was going to say no. It was a big commitment and they were a five male-membered band. They wanted to travel and play the country the upcoming summer. What if she wanted to focus on classical music? What if she couldn’t because of her scholarship? What if the chance of having another encounter with Charlie frightened her? Logan couldn’t rule that out from happening. He’d been ignoring the texts from his stepbrother but eventually he was going to have to respond.

Thinking of his stepbrother’s actions only reminded him of his stepdad, Floyd. It all made him angry and resentful. He also missed his little sisters and he couldn’t keep letting his mother’s calls go to voicemail either. There was so much shit on his plate, it seemed impossible to think straight.

“Baby,” Logan pleaded as he lay on the picnic blanket on the grass by the quad. He leaned on his elbows as he looked up at Ashley.

“Baby, baby, baby…. You can baby me all you want. I’m not tellin’. I already told you that five times today.” Ashley stretched out beside him and pressed her body against his. A sly smile teased her lips.

“Why must you torture me so?!” Logan groaned.

“Good things come to those who wait.” She ran a finger along his jawline.

“It’s okay if you say no.” Logan tried to focus on her eyes, not her sexy, soft lips. “Please don’t say yes because you feel pressured. The guys will be fine.” He wasn’t sure he would be, but that didn’t matter.

“Well then, Logan Murphy, you will know that I have my reasons to say no.”

“Ugh…” Logan groaned as he turned over on his stomach.

“Quit your bellyaching and pass me a soda.” She laughed and slapped his bum.

Now
that
he didn’t mind. He grinned at her. “We don’t call it that around here. It’s pop.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Pass me a drink, please,” she said sassily.

“Oh, fine.” Logan reached into the picnic basket and held the pop in his right hand, out of her reach. “It’ll cost ya, though.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Ashley said with a laugh. “What’s your price?”

“Tell me your decision.”

“No!” Ashley said with a laugh. “You’ll find out tonight! I thought you were going to charge me a kiss or something.”

“I am.” He grinned wickedly and rolled over. “But the price just went up. It’ll cost you some tongue too.”

Ashley opened her mouth to protest and then must have changed her mind. She crushed her lips against his shocked ones and forced her tongue into his mouth. He moaned and let the can of pop fall on the blanket as his hands reached around her to allow his fingers to tangle up in her gorgeous thick hair.

She pulled back just as suddenly as she had started. She held out her hand. “Pop, please.”

Logan lay staring at her in confusion, blinking and trying to clear his head from the fog of pleasure that had just erupted inside of it. Without saying a word, he reached for the can and handed it to her.

Ashley popped open the tab and took a long swig. She winked at him as she snuck her hand onto his leg.

Logan reached his hand over her thigh in return. Neither spoke as he began caressing her thigh, his hand just on the edge of her skirt, he slowly inched his way up. The temptation to go higher drove him insane. He swallowed hard.

Ashley leaned over and began to blow gently on his ear, covering him in cool air from her breath as her hand massaged his leg. She began to whisper small little details of things they could do together after the show. She’d moan every once in a while as his fingers trailed her inner thigh and teased her panty line.

Logan groaned and rolled to his side, giving his hand more access to what was under Ashley’s skirt. He grew hard as her words riled him up like he had never experienced before. He liked her teasing. He leaned over to brush his lips against her neck, nibbling on her earlobe as he began to whisper his own dirty thoughts back. He complimented her on her delicious body and how much he wanted to touch her.

She squirmed under the direction of his fingers and her hips lifted when he rubbed them roughly against her inner thigh, threatening to venture further as he let a finger rub her sweet spot under her panties. They felt like silk. Or she did. He groaned at the thought.

“You wouldn’t,” she spoke in a breathy tone. “Not out here in the quad.”

“Is that a dare?” His whisper turned into a growl as he let a finger slip under the thin material holding him back from his goal.

Ashley clamped her legs tightly together, locking his hand where it was. “Logan, we can’t out here.”

He grinned wickedly. “I know. That’s what makes it so incredibly hot.”

She rubbed her thighs against his hand and pressed her hips towards his fingers. “Later,” she whispered, her voice shifted as she begged, “please?”

They stared at each other, her eyes full of desire and want. Logan wanted nothing more than to fill that need with his hands, his mouth, his… all of his body. He sighed and slowly dragged his hand out from under her skirt. What had been teasing had turned full throttle into sexual need for both of them. “Later it is.”

She dropped her head down on the blanket and pressed close beside him. “Why is it that you make even the bad thing seem so good?”

He chuckled. “I think more students have done worse things than this out here.”

“Probably.” Ashley blew air to move her hair away from her warm forehead. “But Logan Murphy has a reputation to uphold.”

“So does Ashley Slater.”

She pressed her thigh against his erection. She grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I’m sure I can show you a whole different side of me you might like just as much. If not more.”

Logan swore he was going to die.