Star Struck(BBW Rocker Romance)(15)

Some might consider the group too young to understand what it really meant to possess such wealth, power, and fame. There were screaming fans at every sold-out concert and women falling over each other for just one night in their beds, but it wasn’t all about the Hollywood-type glamor and the excesses that came with it. There was also the dark reality that the outside world never got to see. His abused past - his inner demons and fears that only music seemed to quell, if only for a little while.

There was something about Mandy that struck a chord in all of that. You could meet someone and in a second, it could change your world. Ethan had only felt such intensity a few times in his life: when he was writing that next visceral, ferocious song The Strum was popular for, or when he was on stage doing one of his lightning fast riffs and killing it like the bad boy instrumental virtuoso he was known to be.

He’d thought that with Mandy, it was all about the sex and just getting a piece of that hot, curvy ass. But even when he had gotten that close; even when she was nothing but a flushed, wet, trembling mess in his arms…he’d held back. He’d let her escape his desires, and there’d been only one reason overriding every other that kept him from closing in for the kill: he wanted more than just her body. He wanted it all.





Chapter Five



Mandy was just a bit shaken as she walked into Jessica’s office. The items purchased on the shopping trip with Ethan were to be delivered later, so all Mandy needed to do was show up in Jessica’s office and give her boss a rundown of the day’s events. Minus the part where Mandy had gotten hit on by Ethan Tyler, that is. Mandy had a feeling Jessica would have crowed in fury to hear Mandy had dared refuse their biggest client anything.

“I’m glad the day went well,” Jessica said with deep satisfaction. “We’ll work on getting you ready for the London gig. You’re supposed to be on my team handling another photo shoot tomorrow, but I need you to focus totally on Ethan so I’ll take another assistant. Once we can get them to take us on as the band’s main stylist, there’ll be no stopping us.” Jessica said with a snarky little smile.

“Thank you, Jessica. I’ll just go over Ethan’s design album and add my notes along with suggestions for the concert wardrobe set.”

“You do that,” Jessica said, giving Mandy a dismissive wave. Mandy escaped to her cubbyhole with a relieved sigh. Just another hour or two and she would be done for the day. And what a day it had been. Just as she reached for the Ethan Tyler portfolio, her cellphone rang. It was Marcus.

“So, where are you?” he asked in a gruffer voice than usual.

“At work, of course. Why?” Mandy asked, unable to hold back a smile.

“Just checking. You having to cater to a rock star and all – I need to make sure my girl’s okay.”

“I’m fine; everything went um…very well,” Mandy said, trying to keep her tone neutral. Guilt surfaced once again when she thought of how easily she could have ended up on Ethan’s bed only a few short hours ago.

Shivering inside, she went on, “So we’ll be meeting for dinner tonight?”

Mandy was almost desperate for things to get back to normal. Spending the evening with Marcus would definitely put things back in perspective after the high of spending the afternoon with Ethan and almost giving in to his incredible magnetism. She still felt a buzz between her thighs when she thought of the hunger and heat of Ethan’s hot mouth on hers. He hadn’t done much more than kiss her and she’d been putty in his hands. And when he’d made her fingers graze his imposingly rock-hard masculinity, she’d been half-afraid of what lay in wait if she only surrendered. She still couldn’t believe how close she’d been to falling, and now remorse made her want to run straight to Marcus for the support she needed.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. To her dismay, he told her regretfully that he had to get on a flight to New York for an important business deal that he was about to close.

“I’ll be back in a couple of days, just in time to see you before you go on your London trip.” Marcus said in his deep, reassuring voice.

Sometimes she felt like he was a considerate friend rather than a loving, passionate boyfriend. Still, it felt good that he’d cared enough to call her to make sure she was safe from some rock star’s whims.

By the time she was back home in her sizeable studio apartment, she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was cook a quick meal and relax. Mindlessly, she scrolled through the apps on her laptop, choosing to open YouTube where she searched for videos of The Strum.