Cover Me: A Rock Star Romance Read Free Page A

wasn’t exactly encouraging conversation. “How are Jean and Paul? And Emmy?” I already knew the answer. My mom filled me in on all the neighbors during our weekly call every Sunday night. Not that I asked.
    “Fine. Emmy just had my third niece and Mom and Dad are travelling right now in Europe. Mom loves sightseeing at castles.”
    “Who wouldn’t?”
    She turned to me, eyes wide. “You’ve been?”
    “To Europe, yes. Last year. On tour with Generic Obsession.”
    “Right. G.O.”
    I wasn’t sure if the way she said my old band’s name was suggestive of sarcasm or not, so I let it go. “Not a lot of time for touring castles, though,” I said.
    “That’s too bad. I was there last year, too, covering the Inner Disgrace tour for The Scene. They got some down time for sightseeing, so that was fun.”
    My eyes should’ve been on the road, but I couldn’t stop myself from staring at the side of her face. She had to feel my eyes on her, but kept right on looking straight out the front windshield.
    Fucking Inner Disgrace. She toured with fucking Inner Disgrace. Jack Dickface Stewart headed up I.D. Did she sleep with him? With that fuckwad, Jack Stewart?
    I pictured him on top of her and wanted to put my fist through something. Thinking of her with anyone gave me the urge to become violent. This was Bess . Bess from next door. Bess didn’t have sex with guys.
    I was such a fucking idiot. Like she’d been waiting around to screw me all this time. I didn’t honestly think she was a virgin, but until right then, I didn’t think about her ever being with another man. Obviously, she had been. She was a smoking hot twenty-seven-year-old woman. Smart. Successful. Who wouldn’t want her? I was the only one too stupid to notice before today.
    “Did I say something?” She asked, eyeing my white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.
    “No. I mean, Inner Disgrace—Jack Stewart—isn’t my favorite topic, but it’s fine.”
    “I should’ve realized. Being competitors…” She smoothed her hair and turned to look out the side window.
    “Were you and Jack—you know,” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
    Her head snapped back my direction. “How is that any of your business?”
    “I guess it isn’t.”
    “No. It’s not.”
    She just kept shutting me down.
    “Where are you taking us, anyway?” she asked, getting testy.
    “My house.”
    “What? Why?” She did this little head jerk thing that I remembered from high school. When she got mad I’d imitate her and she’d start laughing, but probably not anymore.
    “Because I make better burgers than you can get anywhere else.”
    “What if I tell you I’m vegetarian?”
    Another shot to the nuts. “That would be regrettable.” I chanced a look in her direction. “Are you?”
    She frowned. “No.”
    I started laughing. “God, you hate me.”
Bess
    “I told you I don’t hate you.”
    “You’re just determined to hate my burgers?” he said, still chuckling.
    “I was looking for an excuse to get out of going to your house. It’s the last place I ever thought I’d end up.”
    “You used to practically live at my house growing up.”
    “I know.” It was difficult to think about all the time we spent together as kids. All the races through our back yards, forts under blankets, swimming until our eyes burned from the chlorine. “A lot’s changed since then.”
    “What?” An edge of annoyance sounded in his voice. “What’s changed so much that you can’t come over and have dinner at my house?”
    “For one, we’re adults.”
    “So what? I’m going to throw you on my floor and ravage you because we’re adults? Is that what you’re afraid of?”
    I wasn’t afraid of it and that was the problem. The thought of him ravaging me made my heart palpitate and my legs weak. It sent heat flushing up over my breasts. I’d thought of him making love to me more times than I could count. Infinite times since first learning what sex was all