Dare Me (ROCK GODS Book 1) Read online

  "Now I'm definitely keeping you up all night."

  "Excuse me?"

  "I just meant- look, we're going to Vegas for the weekend. I was going to postpone until I knew you were okay. You should come with."

  She looked scandalized. It was adorable. Oh there were so many ways he’d like to scandalize her.

  "To Vegas?"

  "Yeah. That way I can make sure you don't fall into a coma or whatever happens with a concussion."

  She rolled her eyes at him.

  "Actually, that's exactly what happens."

  "Okay so, let's go."

  "I don't know..."

  He leaned in and smiled at her. He knew he was playing with fire with this girl. She wasn't his usual fare of vapid but experienced women. She wasn’t in the industry.

  But suddenly he didn't care.

  "Come on, Jess. I dare you."

  Chapter 10

  Jess

  What the hell are you doing, Jessica Sheffield?

  Jessica stared around the luxurious tour bus. She had officially lost her mind. She was actually doing it. She was going to Vegas with freaking Kendall Jackson. She debated about pinching herself but decided she didn't particularly want to wake up from this dream.

  It was so out of her normal range of experience that it felt like a dream. And they weren't even at the airport yet.

  The In Tempo tour bus was tricked out, with couches, a bar, an enormous flat screen tv suspended from the ceiling with a gaming system that the rest of the band was currently gathered around.

  She was sitting at the kitchenette area table, watching Kendall flip through a deck of cards. She was trying not to stare at him. He was so insanely good looking it almost hurt to look at him. He was sending little shivers of desire through her body and he hadn't even touched her.

  He seemed to think she was easy on the eyes too, judging from the glances he'd been casting her way.

  There was just one little problem. Her lack of experience with men.

  She had no doubt that Kendall probably expected her to sleep with him.

  Tonight.

  It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to him. That was a given. It's just the idea of rushing into bed with him wasn't that appealing. Even if he was a gorgeous rock star.

  Besides, she hadn't dated in a long time. And she'd never been with someone, not all the way. She was not the sort to just fall into the sack with someone. There was something gross about that, even if the guy was a really nice, really hunky, really talented celebrity.

  In fact, him being famous was the biggest problem she had at the moment. She didn't particularly want to be just another groupie. Even if she kind of was. Or had been, a decade ago.

  She chewed her lip, wondering what the hell she was doing.

  Or how she'd turn down sex with the man of her dreams.

  Because she had no doubt in her mind that he was going to make a move on her.

  And that he’d be very, very hard to resist.

  Impossible really.

  She sighed and stared out the window.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  Chapter 11

  Kendall

  Good lord, the girl was stacked.

  Kendall was staring at Jessica's body again. Her waist was so small he could span it with his hands. But above that and below it, nice juicy handfuls. He wondered if she was the kind of girl who got wild in bed, or if she was as sweet and shy as she seemed.

  Or better yet, she’d start off sweet and he’d turn up the heat until she went wild.

  Yeah, that was the perfect plan.

  She was saying something… he forced himself to pay attention.

  "Hmmm?"

  "I'm not so sure about this."

  "What's wrong?"

  They were standing on the tarmac, getting ready to board the private plane the label had sent for them. Jessica looked ready to bolt.

  "This is really crazy. I can't just go to Vegas. I have to work tomorrow."

  He frowned, trying to figure out how to convince her to come with him.

  She had to come. He was counting on it. He would be flat out miserable if she dipped now.

  He briefly considered throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her onto the plane. But that would be bad.

  Kidnapping bad, Kendall.

  He had no idea how it had happened but he desperately didn't want the night to end. Not that he expected anything to happen necessarily... Well, he was hoping.

  He was definitely going to get a kiss out of her. More than that. A lot more hopefully.

  He had to get his hands on that tight little body.

  But he had a feeling it might not go any further than that. He could tell she wasn't the kind of girl who was going to just take her clothes off. She wasn’t a groupie. Not really.

  He told himself he liked that about her. Even if it interfered with his primal instincts to mate.

  It had been six months since he broke up with Becca. She was a stunning movie star, but so self centered that he’d stopped even seeing her good looks after a while. He'd gone out with a few girls since then but nothing serious. Models mostly.

  To be frank, he had other things on his mind other than sex.

  Usually that was the case. But not tonight. Right now he was hornier than a teenage boy. He was trying to force himself to slow his roll.

  He didn't want to scare her off by being some sort of perv, did he?

  "Call in sick. You did get knocked in the head after all."

  He grinned at her, trying to put her at ease. To hide the fact that she was making him feel like a horny teenager for some wild reason. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to get this girl on the plane with him. Maybe that's what was throwing her off.

  "Look, we don't have to do anything.”

  “Do anything?”

  He bit his lip, trying to convey what ‘anything’ meant without saying it.

  Her adorable face turned pink as she got his meaning.

  “Oh.”

  He took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her palm.

  “I mean it. Besides, I need to make sure you stay up, remember?”

  She exhaled, clearly trying to decide if he was a serial killer or something.

  “Come on Jess. Let's just have fun."

  She smiled at him shyly. Jesus, the girl was sweet! He felt an overwhelming urge to protect her wash over him. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. He wanted to do that for her. God, her mouth was luscious…

  How had he thought she was a kid before? The girl was anything but childlike. Sure, she was petite.

  But she was sex on wheels.

  "Seriously. I mean, you are very cute but I'm not a raving sex maniac or anything, I promise."

  She laughed. Good. That was a good sign.

  "Okay."

  He grinned and grabbed his backpack.

  "I'll even let you borrow my toothbrush."

  She rolled her eyes at him. He kind of loved that she wasn't all that impressed by his status. She was definitely not putting him on a pedestal. On the other hand, he wouldn't mind putting her on one… much easier to get access to those insane curves she had.

  Down boy.

  He watched as she got checked in by the flight crew. Then she smiled at him.

  "Let's do this."

  Chapter 12

  Jess

  Worried, negative thoughts were swirling in her head.

  This was not going to end well… He was going to hurt me… I was never going to get over Kendall Jackson…

  Even she knew she was overdoing the worry. She was a serious person by nature, but not a pessimist.

  After her childhood, she was a perpetually disappointed optimist.

  Maybe mommy won’t get drunk tonight. Maybe there will be food to eat. Maybe the power would be on so she could do her homework, or laundry.

  Ugh, Jess, snap out of it! Just try to enjoy yourself for once!

  Jessica stared around the incredibly luxu
rious suite at the Milagro. It was insane. In fact, this whole night was insane. And it hadn't even started yet apparently.

  The rest of In Tempo had accepted her presence as no big deal, joking around with her as they piled into the small plane, then the limo, then the elevator. Then spilling out into the spacious two story suite. It took up what appeared to be two entire floors of the top of the hotel.

  Big time didn't even begin to cut it.

  The whole time, Kendall had been by her side, whispering funny things in her ears. Sweet things. Joking around. Getting to know her. Or trying to.

  As if she'd really let anyone get to know her.

  She didn’t like to share her baggage, generally speaking. Who needed to unpack all that? Especially not on a random, incredibly exciting hook up.

  But he was making an effort and she had to give him credit for that. It might open the door a crack, but there was no way he was getting past the front room. She was starting to hope that he kept trying though.

  Beyond that, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

  The guys had a plan for the night. They were going to have cocktails in the hot tub. And then clubbing. And then- who knows?

  The other guys and their new manager were doing shots at the fully stocked bar in the suite. Even Davie the family man did a shot, though he only did one. Kendall was watching her as she walked around the living room of the suite, staring out the windows.

  There were plenty of bedrooms, something Kendall had been quick to point out to her. It was almost as if he were trying to convince himself that they shouldn't sleep together.

  She felt a blush spread over her body at the thought of him holding her, kissing her. Maybe even more. That was not going to happen though.

  Jessica was in no way that easy, whether Kendall knew that or not.

  Ultimate dream man on not, she was not going to lose her virginity tonight.

  But she was definitely interested in having a little bit of fun.

  She kind of hoped he'd make a pass either way. She'd enjoy all the preliminary stuff, even though she was not giving up her V card to a stranger. He’d said he wouldn’t pressure her.

  And she was supposed to stay up all night…

  It wasn't like they were dating. She didn’t have to watch every word out of her mouth. This was a one time deal obviously. She'd just have to be firm about the limits. That's if he even tried anything.

  It was weird but she sensed that he liked her. Maybe even a lot. He'd said she was cute more than once. That was good right? Not as good as 'gorgeous' or 'beautiful' but not terrible.

  She'd take it.

  She shook herself mentally. What did it matter what he thought? This was an adventure, not the beginning of a relationship. She didn't believe in love anyway, remember?

  Love wasn’t real. And she had no experience of a loving or supportive family. Only her friends had ever actually come through for her.

  Friendship was sacred to her. Above everything else.

  Don’t fall in love, Jess. You’ll only get hurt. And pretty sure you’ve had enough abandonment and neglect for several lifetimes.

  Kendall Jackson was a fling, nothing more.

  Funny how many times she was reminding herself of reality tonight. Everything felt so foreign and strange. But if she was honest with herself, it was all different in a good way.

  A very good way.

  She turned to see the guys piling into the hot tub out on the deck. Tom was running around in his underpants, pretending to be a monkey. That was a whole lot of spray tans and six packs.

  Not that she minded. She was a human female after all. No harm in looking.

  Speaking of which… the guy sitting next to her put them all to shame. If it was a competition in hotness, which it definitely was not.

  But still… he was ridiculously handsome. Excruciating really.

  Kendall laughed, shaking his head at their antics.

  "You want a drink?"

  She nodded and followed him over to the bar.

  "Beer? Mixed drink?"

  "Um… tequila and tonic."

  He squinted at her and shook his head.

  "Really?”

  "Yeah. Tequila is actually one of the only alcohols you can get in the United States thats not made out of corn or grain. Or hard apple cider, but that’s hard to come by.”

  “Seriously?”

  "It's easier to digest. Plus, I like it."

  He grinned.

  "Okay doc. Hey, are you really a doctor?"

  She nodded, watching his muscles flex while he made them drinks.

  "I'm a vet. Like I said."

  He flashed her a devastating grin.

  "So, you must be an animal lover."

  She nodded again.

  "Me too. I always wanted to have a ranch where I could bring animals that had escaped from the slaughter house. Maybe even do a raid and rescue a few.”

  He must have seen the look on her face because he stopped mixing.

  "What is it?”

  "Me too."

  “What do you mean?”

  He grinned and shook their drinks with ice, making a funny rattling sound. She exhaled deeply, feeling suddenly out of her depth.

  "That's what I've always wanted too."

  “No shit?”

  She nodded, almost afraid to look at him. But she did. And the look in his eyes took her breath away.

  “I wanted a place in the middle of nowhere where I could take care of animals who needed help. Maybe even a place where kids could come and learn about agriculture. Maybe then they’d know about the atrocities committed in the name of a fast food burger.”

  He stared at her, looking hypnotized. Then he grinned.

  “Fucking A.”

  She laughed and looked away, muttering to herself.

  “You are officially too good to be true…”

  She could tell he hadn't heard her soft reply. She hadn't wanted him too. The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. In front of her were at least six or seven uniformed hotel staff pushing rolling carts full of covered trays.

  "Room service, Miss.”

  She stepped back, waving her arm into the room.

  “Please, come in.”

  Chapter 13

  Kendall

  "I think I see blood…”

  “No you do not.”

  She reached up, her pretty little fingers sliding against his. He smirked, enjoying the sparks that flew every time he touched her.

  Every. Single. Time.

  And he was taking any excuse he could get.

  He’d know her for less than six hours and he was already hooked.

  “Hold still!”

  Kendall was inspecting Jessica's head, looking for bumps. He was enjoying having her in his grasp, wedged between his knees as he sat on the back of the huge sectional couch.

  He was sorry she’d been injured but he couldn’t complain about the results. He had the perfect excuse to touch her at will… and smell her.

  She smelled really good. Really, really good. Absurdly good, really.

  It wasn't creams or perfumes either. She was 100% natural, other than the tiniest bit of eye makeup and a sheer gloss.

  That delicious smell was all her.

  100% pure Jessica.

  He hoisted her up against him. Now he could hold her close on his lap while he pushed her hair around, inspecting her scalp. Her hair was soft. He sniffed it.

  “There, that’s better.”

  "Hey! I'm not a toy you know!"

  He smiled to himself, sneaking a peak down the front of her shirt. He moaned, trying to keep his dick in check. It was not go time. Not yet anyway.

  "Are you sure? You are kind of doll sized…"

  "Shut up!"

  They'd had their drinks and eaten a boat load of food. Party stuff mostly but it was extremely well made. He'd watched as she popped veggie after veggie down her throat.

  The girl could eat.

  She
didn't eat meat, but she wasn't picky beyond that. He'd refrained from eating the tiny bite sized kobe burgers out of respect for her. He realized he would go vegetarian if he had a girl like her as his girlfriend.

  She was right when she said that ‘anyone who said they were an animal lover couldn't in good conscience eat them.’

  She told him about how much she loved cows, and their placid personalities. She told him they were great mothers. She told him pigs sang to their babies and were smarter than some children. Smarter than some adults even.

  That had made him roll his eyes a little bit.

  He would have laughed but she'd been dead serious. She was very cute when she was fired up.

  Now he was debating about what to do next. They could go out. She'd probably want to. But he was having a great time right here. And if they stayed in, the bed was much easier to get to…

  He made a huge show of yawning and draping his arm over the back of her seat. She didn’t notice until his arm slid down over her shoulders. She had very nice shoulders. He gave her puppy dog eyes when she finally noticed he was sitting so close.

  She’d been too busy eating to pay attention.

  She wiggled out of his grasp and gave him her best stink eye. He laughed, giving in to the inevitable. There was no use for it. The girl was not going to just hop into bed with him, as much as he'd like that.

  And he would have liked it a lot.

  Hmmm… she was delicious. He was hard just from sitting this close to her. It would have been embarrassing but Kendall’s jeans kept him from pitching an actual tent.

  He did grab a pillow and lay it over his lap.

  Out of all the girls in the world, he'd met the only one that wouldn't just do whatever he told her to. Women literally came running when he snapped his fingers, even famous ones. Jessica wasn't like that at all.

  It was refreshing.

  Frustrating, but refreshing.

  Extremely frustrating.

  He ran his hand through his hair, trying not to get annoyed with her. He stared out into the Las Vegas night. Out on the deck the guys were finally getting out of the hot tub.