Page 79 of Dirty Rock

“I just want things to stay the same.”

“Bit late for that.”

“It doesn’t have to be. We’re letting it be.”

Her brown eyes searched mine, and I ran a hand through my messy hair. “I’m not fighting about this, Jules. I’m not fighting about the fact that, somehow, this has happened, and I happen to really fucking enjoy it.”

“I don’t want to fight either, but every time I think about talking it through with you, the thought just makes my insides shrivel up. I know it’ll end in fighting no matter what we do because apparently that’s all we can do. Fight or fuck.”

“Well, I know which I prefer.”

“I’m serious, Rhett.”

“Aboutwhat? What are you serious about? Us…?” I briefly looked up at the ceiling and blew out a breath. “Just tell me. Tell me what you want.”

“I want to come back to the band. I want to finish what I started with Youth Gone Wild.”

“You should never have quit in the first place.”

“I want to be the one to make you guys the biggest band since The Beatles.”

“You’re the only one capable.”

“And, yeah, I want to keep doing this… with you.”

I raised a brow. “And this is...?”

“Sleeping together. Being intimate. Having fun.” She nodded once, showing no shame.

“Okay.”

She rubbed her lips together. “And I want to keep it between us.”

“You want to keep us a secret?” I scowled.

She held up a hand. “Yes, but before you jump to conclusions… no, I’m not ashamed of you. No, I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Not really, anyway. Okay, so maybe a little bit, but that’s not the reason I want to keep it a secret.”

“Then what is the reason?”

“I want you to myself for a while.” Jules shuffled closer, sliding along the bath and lifting her legs over me until they hung by my waist. She rested her hands on my thighs and squeezed them tightly. “I don’t want everyone having an opinion on us, Rhett, until we’ve figured shit out for ourselves. We barely know each other.”

“We’ve worked together for over three years.”

“I know Rhett the rock star, not this intimate guy in front of me. I know the fiery fighter, the soulful singer, and the guy who knows where to put his mouth. I want to know more,” she said softly, her eyes warm and inviting. “I know you’ve got secrets, and I’ve got them, too. I’m not saying you have to tell me everything. All I am saying is that before anyone knows what’s gone on between us, and before we fuck everything up, let’s just be clever about this. Let’s take our time. There’s obviously chemistry here.”

“You think?”

She raised a brow at me, which only made my lips twitch in appreciation. She was never hotter than when she was irked with me.

“I like you, Rhett, but this has the potential to ruin both our careers, and I know which one of us will survive, and which one of us won’t when the bus comes to run us over.”

“I wouldn’t throw you under any fucking bus, Jules,” I assured her firmly.

“Wouldn’t you?”

I leaned forward, bringing us together until she was straddling my lap in the water, and I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. She held onto my shoulders, looking unsure.

“You either want me, or you don’t. I’m not going to beg. I’m not going to sit here and convince you of what I could be over time. I don’t even know myself what I’m capable of. All I know is that if you were to get out of this bath now and tell me we were never going to sleep together again, I’d panic. I’d feel like we could have done more, experienced more together. I’d thinkShit, I could have done that better. I should have remembered every moment.I’d feel fucking gutted, Jules.” I pressed my palms into her back and pulled her closer. “And I don’t know what that means,” I whispered. “So, I’m asking you to help me figure it out. If keeping it a secret is what you want, then fine. That’s what we’ll do. But you have to promise me one thing…”

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