Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Just like his daddy.” I winked as I handed him over. “Can’t get enough of your tits.”
Lia’s face flushed red and she rolled her eyes, but her lips tipped up in amusement. Pax latched on and she relaxed, her face filled with wonderment as she watched him eat. She winced at one point, then snickered. “He’s barely eight hours old but he’s eating like it’s his last meal. Maybe he’s more like you than I thought.”
I laughed as I sat on the edge of the bed and slipped my arm around her shoulders then kissed her temple. We sat for a while in comfortable silence. I figured it might be a good time to bring up the tournament again, since she was so happy and content with our son in her arms.
“About the tournament.”
Lia lifted her head slowly and her gray eyes were narrowed in warning. “Yes?”
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Sweetheart, if you want to make registration, we need to head home soon,” I murmured the next morning as I sat beside the bed and cuddled Pax to my chest.
I glanced up at her and was surprised to see her nod and start to get out of bed. I was about to put my foot down and tell her there was no fucking way I was going to let her leave this hospital early so she could sit for hours playing poker.
It turned out, I didn’t have to. Thank fuck because I would have been in a shit ton of trouble.
“I think I’ll skip this one,” Lia groaned as she shifted and scooted back into bed.
Since she was laying back with her eyes closed, I felt it was safe to grin in triumph. “Stop smiling, you big jerk,” she muttered, making me laugh.
“I love you, sweetheart,” I replied sincerely.
Her eyes opened and she smiled as she watched me press my cheek to the top of Pax’s fuzzy little head. “I love you, too.”
Rock-a-Bye, Baby
She’s meant to be his. Griffith Thorne knows it as soon as he spots the raven-haired beauty in the audience of his final Vegas show.
Belle Dawson sees the way he looks at her and feels it in her bones. She throws caution to the wind and heads up to the sexy rock god’s suite. But can there be more for these two when he’s flying out of her life the next morning?
Chapter 1
Griffith
Adrenaline pumped through my body like a hallucinogenic drug. I felt as though any minute, I would sprout wings and fly. There was no feeling as heady as performing in front of a screaming, clapping audience. Whenever I was on stage, I wondered why anyone turned to needles or snorting when they could just step in front of a crowd.
I gripped the microphone and belted out the melody while my bandmates wailed on their instruments and sang harmonies that amplified the notes until they were ringing throughout the arena. As the chorus came to an end, I let go of the mic and returned my fingers to the strings of my Gibson Firebird.
Louie, our lead guitarist, dueled with me, his strings electrified and practically magic in his hands. Bex’s hands flew across his drum kit, and my heart was thumping in time with every pump of his foot on the bass drum pedal.
The music did a fast crescendo, getting louder and louder until we were practically shaking the fucking rafters. The crowd was going insane, jumping, clapping, singing their hearts out. Then we hit the final note, and there was utter silence throughout the arena. After about thirty seconds, the audience’s roar was deafening, making me grin like a fucking lunatic.
I had the best fucking job ever.
“You guys are the shit!” I yelled into the mic. “You want more?” They clapped and shouted. “More from Rising Phoenix?” Another boom of approval. I pointed my right index finger to the wings of the stage, and a couple sauntered out from behind the drapes. “How about from Stone Butterfly?”
The audience’s reaction almost had me putting my fingers in my ears as I laughed. I’d met and become friends with Levi, the lead singer of Stone Butterfly, years ago, before either of our bands went gold, then platinum. We’d remained close, and I’d even been a groomsman in his wedding to Brooklynn Hawk a couple of weeks ago. They met when she signed on to be a backup singer with his band. Their love story was well documented on fan and paparazzi sites, not only because of the tumultuous nature but also because when they sang together, you had no doubt that they were made for each other.
They happened to be stopping in Vegas on their way to a remote island for their honeymoon. We met for lunch the morning of my last concert at The Lennox Hotel and Casino, and I asked them to make an appearance and reveal a big secret. They loved the idea.