Star Struck(BBW Rocker Romance)(14)

Her emotions ran the gamut from anguish at the thought of betraying Marcus’s trust to anger at the thought that she was the only one feeling guilty when Ethan obviously had no problem making a pass at a woman with a boyfriend.

She searched her brain for an explanation, but she was certain that she hadn’t encouraged his advances in any way. He simply felt entitled to every woman that crossed his path, Mandy thought with a growl. Well, lesson learned. She’d focus on her job and get it done and ignore everything else. If he wanted to treat her differently just because she refused him, then so be it. She’d leave that for his sycophants and groupies.

One thing though: she’d been right all along when it came to her impressions about some of these so-called rock stars. They had zero regard for women and didn’t consider them useful for more than fulfilling their lusty desires. Even at the workplace, a woman like her would have to deal with getting hit on by some entitled celebrity who couldn’t understand that some people, like her, had boundaries.

Not a word was exchanged between them till the car stopped in front of the building holding the Jessica Charles offices. Mandy wasn’t sure what to say and for all she knew, Ethan had changed his mind about taking her to London. Maybe he’d call Jessica and say he wouldn’t require Mandy’s services after all. She’d be kicked out of the first big assignment she’d had in her career and then she’d likely get fired altogether after Ethan withdrew his interest in the firm.

Hiding her sudden surge of panic, Mandy turned to look at Ethan. “Um…so we’ll follow up with the details for the upcoming tour?”

He barely glanced her way, checking his watch almost pointedly. “My people will get in touch.” Then he met her eyes with a detached look that said he couldn’t wait for her to leave. “Thank you, Mandy. Looking forward to working with you on the tour.”

Mandy’s deep sigh of relief passed inaudibly from her parted lips. She even managed a smile.

“Me too. And thank you, Ethan. Take care.”

Mandy stepped out of the car and then watched it speed away from the curb. Part of her was filled with pure elation that she hadn’t lost the opportunity, but another part of her felt a twinge of absolute dread. She’d managed a narrow escape from Ethan Tyler today, but the next time, she wasn’t sure she’d be so lucky.



* * *



“Where to now, Ethan?”

Ethan broke out of his dark musings at the sound of Vernon’s voice. Vernon doubled as his driver and handler, and when needed, crowd controller. Built like a Samoan linebacker, he had the patience of a saint. Ethan had to resist the urge to bark at him for interrupting his thoughts.

Ethan could still smell Mandy’s perfume, lingering like a waft of heaven on the expensive leather upholstery. He cursed under his breath.

“Kerry and a couple of her pals are expecting us to pick them up later for dinner at Ben Jin’s. Then we hit the club.” If there was ever a day that needed salvaging, this is one of them, Ethan thought. “But first we need to meet up with the rest of the guys for practice. Jaime will freak out if I miss it,” he muttered.

“Got it, Ethan,” Vernon replied.

Ethan knew he should simmer the hell down. He had no one to blame but himself. Being around Mandy had not been a good idea. At all. Not alone in close quarters and certainly not for long periods at a time. He couldn’t trust his own urges. The things he wanted to do to her. He could still feel the imprint of her curves beneath his fingers. He bit hard on his lip and imagined how good hers had tasted and how sweet – how impossibly sweet – it had been inside her soft, giving mouth.

Any other woman and he’d have had her. More than once by now. He’d never gotten rejected by a woman he desired, and he certainly would never have let her slip from his grasp once he’d had her in it. And Mandy had been well within his grasp – he’d had her alone in his room, trapped against the wall, and if he’d wanted to have his way with her, he would have. That was what he kept telling himself. But then Mandy’s words kept ringing in his ears. That he could never be the man she would want to be with even if he succeeded in seducing her. In more ways than he cared to admit right then, that had hit a nerve.

At age twenty-five, Ethan knew he’d had more than his fair share of women. He knew of his reputation and hadn’t done much to tame it despite the media exaggerating the number of lovers he had or outright lying about who he was or wasn’t dating. He hadn’t cared much about his personal image or even the fact that he was a sex symbol. But when it came to his music, the members of The Strum were not just rock stars, but rock ‘n’ roll gods. And when Ethan took the stage with his custom guitar, shredding right along with Jaime’s vocals and Henson’s drums, they could whip a crowd into the kind of frenzy unrivalled by any other band. That was all he cared about.