Carter: A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance (Rock Hard Book 3) Read online

  “Not soon enough,” she replied.

  Chapter 11 - Veronica

  By the time I made it home that night, I was dead tired. I looked at my phone and sighed. I had to pick Lacie up for The Morning Show around six AM, which meant I was looking at about four and a half hours of sleep.

  When I collapsed in bed, I closed my eyes and thought of Carter’s hands on my body.

  Worth it.

  My whole body was still alive with the pleasure of it all. I hadn’t had a man touch me like that in so long. Even with Seth, my ex, he hadn’t—what was the word? He hand’t worshipped me the way that Carter did. Carter was turned on by me being turned on. He liked the taste of me. He liked making me come.

  I’d never been one to be into the whole submissive thing. I’d always thought of myself as a strong independent woman who was sexually self-assured.

  But with Carter, I loved the way he took control. I loved the way he called me his dirty girl, and how his voice growled with commands. It turned me on in a way that I never imagined it could.

  And when he’d told me he was claiming me?

  Even thinking about the animalistic look in his eye when he’d said it was sending a thrill down my spine. I’d felt it in my core.

  I was his.

  Somehow, within a couple hours, I’d gone from just regular old me to being his.

  And I was okay with that.

  Fuck, I was more than okay with that!

  I ran my hands over my body, feeling the delicious little thrills that reminded me of Carter, and I fell asleep thinking about seeing him again.

  When I picked Lacie up in the morning, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were glowing. She got in the car and grinned.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey,” I replied. She blushed, and I started laughing. “Never knew you to be a morning person,” I said, glancing at the clock that said 6:21am.

  Lacie shrugged. “I am when I want to be.”

  “I wonder what caused that change of heart,” I laughed.

  “Oh shut up, Vee,” she laughed. “As if I didn’t walk in on you and Carter getting it on in the pool.”

  It was my turn to flush, so I just laughed and drove to the studio. Lacie went to the dressing room, and I headed towards the studio. This would be a great opportunity to take some candid, behind-the-scenes photos of the band. I checked out the studio and the stage where they’d be playing, planning out the shots that I’d like to take of them.

  I jumped when I felt hands sliding over my hips.

  “I missed you last night,” Carter growled in my ear. “You should have stayed.”

  “I couldn’t,” I replied, turning towards him. I glanced around, making sure we were alone before giving him a furtive kiss. “You know I wanted to.”

  “I don’t know, you could be playing with me.”

  I laughed. “Trust me, I’m not. I’m not that kind of girl.”

  “Good,” he growled, sliding his hand down to my ass and squeezing it. I let out a breath as the warmth bloomed inside me.

  How was it possible to want someone this badly?

  “We should get you ready for the show,” I said reluctantly. “You need to be styled and ready. And plus,” I added. “Anyone could walk in.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he growled. “But I’m not done with you.”

  We walked side-by-side towards the dressing room as my heart thumped with every step. When we got there, Lacie, Morgan, Maddox and Garrett were all there. My cheeks flushed and I felt like I was late, or like I’d done something wrong. I hadn’t, but the thought of Carter’s hands on my body was doing crazy things to my mind.

  “Good, everyone is here.” Morgan said. She turned to me, and I could see the question in her eyes. “Carter,” she continued, “I’ll get you to jump in to the seat so Lacie can do your hair and makeup. Garrett, come with me, you need to check your gear at the studio.”

  “You’re the boss,” Garrett replied. I saw a look pass between them, and my eyebrows shot up. I glanced at Lacie, who gave me a knowing look. Was something going on between Garrett and Morgan?

  I couldn’t help but grin. That would be perfect.

  Carter slipped into the makeup chair, and I watched Lacie work on him for a while. He met my eye in the mirror, and I could see the fire burning inside him.

  I felt it too. All I could think of was the feeling of his hands, his mouth, his cock. I wanted him inside me. It was torturous, like an ache that wouldn’t go away whenever he was near.

  Finally, Lacie finished with him and he stood up. He walked right to me and opened the door. “Come with me,” he commanded.

  My eyes widened and he nodded towards the door. A smile stretched over my lips and I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  He slipped his hand in mine, looking down the hallway. He glanced in a couple room and finally found what he’d been looking for: an empty dressing room.

  Pulling me inside, he slammed the door closed and pulled me to him.

  “You’re driving me insane, Vee,” he growled. “You look so fucking sexy in that dress.”

  “It’s actually a skir—” he crushed his lips against mine, running his hands up my skirt and grasping my ass. I moaned into his lips as my hands curled into his shirt.

  “I’m going to ruin your hair and makeup,” I panted.

  “I don’t give a fuck,” he growled, turning me around and pressing me up against the door. He lifted my leg up with his arm, using his other hand to push my panties aside.

  When he sank his fingers inside me, he groaned. “Nice and wet for me,” he said, his eyes gleaming as he kissed me again.

  “You make me that way.”

  “I know I do,” he replied, dragging his fingers in and out of me as he held me up against the wall. I reached down to unclasp his pants.

  “You know why I make you so fucking wet, baby girl?” He growled as I reached down to wrap my hand around his cock.

  “Why?” I panted. His fingers were moving in and out of me as his thumb rolled over my clit. I could feel the orgasm coming already, and we’d only been in the room a few seconds.

  “Because you’re mine,” he growled. “And don’t you ever forget it.”

  With the last word, he slipped his fingers out of me and lifted my leg over his hip, and then he drove his cock inside me.

  I screamed, shoving my face into his chest to muffle the sound. He picked up my other leg, pinning me against the wall as he hooked both knees over his elbows. I put my hands on his chest, feeling his strong arms hold me in place as he fucked me hard up against the door.

  I gasped, clinging onto him as his cock drove me closer and closer to the edge.

  When I came, he groaned. “Come on my cock, angel,” he growled in my ear as he continued to fuck me mercilessly. “Make a mess of my fucking pants and come all over that cock.”

  His dirty, filthy words sent me over the edge. The orgasm intensified as I kept coming and coming, all over his cock until my honey was soaking us both.

  He moaned, crushing his lips against mine as I felt his balls tighten against me and his orgasm rip through him. His hot, thick seed splashed inside me and I moaned again, clinging onto him. It had been good the night before, but feeling all of him him side me, feeling his skin against mine and his cum inside me made my head spin.

  Carter’s lips found mine and he moaned into my lips as he kept pumping more hot cum into me.

  He put my legs down, dropping me carefully on the ground. Reaching between my legs, he put my panties back in place and patted the side of my leg.

  “I want you to feel my cum dripping out of you all fucking morning,” he growled. “Whenever you feel it soaking into those sweet little panties of yours, you’ll know that you belong to me.”

  I shivered. I could feel his seed inside me, and his words made me feel dirty in the best possible way. I looked at him, running my finger along his jaw.

  “I don’t need your cum to remind me of that, Carter” I brea
thed. “I already know it.”

  Chapter 12 - Carter

  When I pushed the door open and walked out into the hallway, Garret was there with a grin on his face. His eyes flicked from me to Veronica, and he fought to keep a grin off his face.

  “What were you guys doing in there?” He asked innocently, his eyebrows shooting up.

  “Photo shoot,” Veronica answered quickly. Garrett’s grin widened and I felt Veronica go stiff beside me.

  Garrett tilted his head. “Where’s your camera?”

  “Must have left it in the room,” she said, blushing. “Silly me.”

  “I’ll help you find it,” I said, shooting Garrett a glance.

  Stop talking, I wanted to say. He grinned at me, and I shrugged. Garrett walked down towards the dressing room and Veronica stared at me, eyes wide. She smacked my chest and shook her head.

  “This is such a bad idea.”

  “I disagree,” I said. “Plus, did you see the way Garrett and Morgan were looking at each other? I wouldn’t be surprised if they were sneaking off together, too.”

  “This is not what I expected when I took this job,” she laughed.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I put my arm around her back, guiding her towards the dressing room. My hand drifted down to her ass, and she inched closer to me.

  “A good thing,” she whispered as a blush stained her cheeks. “It’s a very good thing.”

  We walked back into the dressing room and I pointedly ignored Garrett’s eye. Veronica tried to casually pick up her camera where she’d left it, on a table next to Lacie’s makeup station.

  “You almost done, Lacie?” Veronica asked as Lacie tousled Maddox’s hair for what seemed like the hundredth time. I looked at my band members and grinned. All three of us seemed more relaxed than we had been a couple days ago. Maybe this PR team was good for us.

  “Yeah,” Garrett called out. “Last time I checked, I was the lead singer. Shouldn’t you be fussing over me?”

  Lacie blushed and waved her hand. Within a few minutes, Morgan appeared in the doorway. I tried to see if anything was going on between her and Garrett, but she was stone-faced. She tried to be, anyway. I saw her blush the tiniest bit when she looked at Garrett.

  She started talking, but I was distracted by Vee bending over beside me.

  “So it’s important that you behave yourselves out there,” Morgan was saying. She looked tough, and for once in my life I actually wanted to do what she said. I didn’t want this PR team to leave us any sooner than they had to.

  Morgan continued, swinging her gaze to Garrett. “Or else your spot at the Grammys will be cancelled. This is the test.”

  Garrett threw up his hands. “You’re the boss,” he said, holding her gaze and grinning.

  There it is.

  I glanced at Veronica, who had a smile playing over her lips. Garrett and Morgan definitely had a thing. But I didn’t have time to investigate any further, because we were going on stage. For once, we actually did behave ourselves. We went on, did the interview, and then played our new single. It went well, which was a shock, considering our last six months of appearances had usually been disasters.

  From then on, the day was hectic. Veronica and Lacie stayed with us as we went from interview to interview, but I didn’t have time to sneak off with Vee. She snapped photos of us, smiling at me from behind the lens.

  Even though I couldn’t touch her, it felt good to have her nearby. Anytime we got asked a question about the past six months and I felt the anger rising inside me, or anytime someone brought up the divorce and asked how our new album related to it, I just looked at Veronica as she took photos of us, and a sense of calm swept over me.

  It was strange, but not unpleasant. I leaned into the feeling, enjoying her closeness as the day went on.

  At some point during the day, Garrett slid in beside me.

  “What do you think of this new PR team?” he asked, staring at the cameras and microphones that would be shooting us shortly.

  I shrugged. “It’s a lot of fucking work.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  We both turned as Maddox tumbled in the door, flushed and disheveled. “Where did you run off to?” Garrett asked.

  “Nowhere,” Maddox answered, avoiding my eye as he accepted the beer. “Bathroom.”

  Lacie walked in the door looking every bit as flushed as Maddox. Garrett looked at me and grinned before sitting in the makeup chair. I was a bit jealous, looking at the two of them. I glanced around, wondering if I’d be able to sneak off with Veronica anytime soon.

  I didn’t get the chance, and I hardly got the chance to say goodbye. She gave me a quick kiss as we finished for the day, smiling at me.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said. “I have to go home and pack for New York.”

  ‘Why do we have to go all the way across the country? Aren’t there enough news outlets and promos we can do in LA?”

  “Stop whining,” she laughed. “I’m excited to go to New York, I’ve never been.”

  She glanced behind me and frowned.

  “What is it?”

  Veronica looked at me again and shook her head, smiling. “Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew, but I must have been wrong.”

  I leaned down and kissed her soft lips, groaning. “How can one person taste so good?” I asked. Veronica laughed, rolling her eyes.

  “Stop it,” she said.

  “It’s true! You taste fucking incredible.”

  “I need to go,” she said reluctantly. “You can taste me again tomorrow, when we’re in New York.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  She squeezed my hand and smiled at me before walking away. I saw her get into her car, and then Lacie joined her. Maddox appeared beside me and we watched them drive off.

  “I think today is the first day since we launched our album a year ago that we’ve actually had some decent interviews.” Maddox dragged his hadn’t through his hair, watching the car drive off.

  “It’s also the first time in a long time that I’ve actually enjoyed it.”

  Maddox laughed, nodding. “I guess we’d better pack for tomorrow. Three more days of this shit, interviews and promotion and talking about total bullshit.”

  “At least we’ll have some company,” I grinned.

  Maddox grunted, and we got in my car and headed back to our house. As we walked in, the house seemed bigger and lonelier than it had before. Maddox went to his end of the house, and I went to mine. I packed haphazardly, chucking clothes into a suitcase and thinking of Veronica.

  I wished she was beside me. I could imagine her, lounging on my bed as I packed. She’d probably make a snarky comment and then laugh at her own joke. I grinned as I thought of her laugh.

  We must have been on the same wavelength, because my phone buzzed.

  See you tomorrow xx

  Those three words made my heart thump harder than I thought it ever could. A smile stretched over my lips as I answered Veronica’s text. I smiled to myself, and for the first time in months, I looked forward to tomorrow.

  Chapter 13 - Veronica

  I picked up Lacie on the way to the airport. When we got there, I checked in to the flight, went through security and grabbed a coffee. Lacie was quiet, and I knew she felt exactly like I did: tired, but incredibly excited. We probably wouldn’t see the band until we were in New York, since they were flying first class and we were flying coach.

  Lacie joined me at the coffee shop next to the gate, and we sat down in silence. Something caught my eye behind her, and I stiffened.

  “What is it?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “One sec,” I said, jumping out of my seat. A man had made eye contact with me and then immediately turned around and walked away.

  Could it be him? Was that Seth?!

  What would he be doing at the airport?! I rushed towards the man, pushing past a crowed of
people in the airport as I tried to reach him. He shuffled ahead of me, keeping his chin tucked into his chest and a baseball cap pulled low over his head. He ducked down a hallway just as a large family came around the corner. By the time I’d woven between them, he was gone.

  I sighed, slumping my shoulders and turning around. I shuffled back to the cafe, finding Lacie exactly where I’d left her. She frowned at me as I sat down.

  “What was that about?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  How could I possibly explain it? How could I tell my best friend that I thought I was seeing my creepy stalker ex-boyfriend everywhere? I thought I’d seen him at the last interview we’d done with the band last night, but I’d shaken it off. Just as Carter had kissed me, I’d felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle and I’d made eye contact with someone for a split second.

  And this morning?

  I’d seen him again, but this time at the airport when I was about to fly to New York.

  Unless he was following me, there was no way it was him. It had to be just two different people that happened to make eye contact with me. I was just paranoid, because maybe I wasn’t quite ready to have another relationship after what I went through with Seth. I knew this—thing—with Carter was probably a bad idea for both our careers.

  Mostly mine, though. He was a rock star, after all. And it was always the woman’s reputation that was in danger.

  Lacie raised her eyebrows at me over her coffee. “Vee,” she said in a stern voice. “Tell me.”

  I sighed, staring at the black liquid in my cup. “I keep thinking I’m seeing Seth.” I shook my head. “It’s just my brain playing tricks on me, I know it is.”

  “Seth? Your ex, Seth? What do you mean you keep seeing him?”

  “It’s nothing,” I grumbled.

  Lacie put her hand across the table. “Tell. Me. Now.”

  I looked over at her, and finally sighed. “Last night, Carter was saying goodbye to me. We were talking in the hallway at the late night show’s studio and he kissed me, and, I don’t know… I just felt it. Like that slimy feeling down my spine. I looked over Carter’s shoulder and…”