Why do we love rock stars? Maybe it’s the tight pants, or the sexy way they play their instruments, pun intended. This box set explores love on the way to the altar for musicians, and the men who love them.
Within these pages, you’ll find the flawed and famous as ex-band mates work their way back to each other. Or a playboy rock star who has to convince his former lover that he’s changed. How about a keyboard player wooing the man of his dreams? Not to mention the famous singer who has to play dirty to get the man he wants.
Take a musical journey to “I do” with these four couples and find the beat of your drum, the keys to your heart, and the song of your soul, forever.
Contains the stories:
Let the Music Say I Do: Jared Page and Joey Seever are ex-band mates and ex-lovers. The reason? Joey’s fear of marriage -- and then his cheating. Jared doesn’t know, though, that Joey’s been hurt in the past, and has never trusted in love. An accident and some harsh words bring these issues to the fore. Now, it’s up to Jared to convince Joey that it’s okay to love, and marriage is just the music to which you say, “I Do.”
The Beat of His Drum: Dorian Seacrest is livid. Laramie Treble, leader and drummer of Caesar’s Flame is back in town, and wants to stake his claim -- on him, of all people. But Dorian doesn’t trust him, and his heart is leery. One round of heartache with Laramie is enough. Laramie is determined to make amends, however and won’t take no for an answer. All he has to do is get Dorian to dance to the beat of his drum.
Keys to His Heart: While Grady Tremone helps his mom with rehearsal for a show, he bumps into Tim Hugo. The instant lust he feels for Tim almost blinds him, but Tim isn’t interested in casual sex. He wants a relationship. After some false steps, the two men decide to take it slow, and after a month of blue balls, they finally become intimate and Grady is convinced that Tim has the keys to his heart.
Let the Song Last Forever: Evan Harper has deep feelings for Chuck Whistler. But being betrayed and outed in high school by someone he’d loved, has left scars on Evan’s heart. He cools things off with Chuck but despite his best efforts, Chuck won’t let things go. The two men have an argument, ending in a broken nose. When, after all that, Chuck still professes his love, Evan has to find a way to make things right.
EXCERPT FROM "The Beat of His Drum"
A few minutes later, I hunched my shoulders and pushed into the wind, making my slow way home. I preferred to walk more than I drove. It saved on gas, and my vehicle had too many miles on it, as it was. It was a fifteen minute stroll, usually, but it was gusty this evening. When I finally arrived at my condo building, I was shivering and ready to warm up. Unfortunately, I noticed Laramie’s SUV parked next to my truck.
I was in no mood to deal with him, and he could freeze his balls off in that fancy car of his, for all I cared. I took the elevator to the tenth floor and strode down the hallway, thankful for the heat in the building. When I turned the corner, I saw Laramie leaning against my door, watching me with a wary expression as I approached.
“Why don’t you drive instead of walking? It’s way too cold outside,” he said as I stopped before him.
“Why is it any of your business what I do?” I retorted. Of course he remembered where I lived, having been here numerous times while we’d been…whatever we were, back then.
He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Jesus, don’t bite my damn head off.” He didn’t move out of the way, however.
I took the key out of my pocket. “You’re blocking the door.”
“I want to talk to you, but you keep blowing me off.”
“That’s unusual for you, is it?”
“I’d never expect that from you. Why are you being such a dick?”
“You make it sound like I have to give you a reason for what I say or do, when we don’t have anything between us anymore. Never really did, actually, since it was all about sex.”
“But, I thought we could --”
“We could ... what? Oh, I see. You wanted us to get together, is that it? Maybe fool around a bit like the old days, until you get bored and move on? What do you take me for, stupid? Don’t you have some groupies to fuck or something?”
“You mean the two from earlier?” He shrugged. “They’re harmless, and way too young for me.” He was so cavalier about the whole thing. God, enough already.
I rubbed my forehead. “I’m tired, Laramie. It’s been a long day, and I don’t see the point to this conversation. Can we not do this, please? You’re wasting your time, and mine.”
He watched me for a moment, then stepped aside so I could finally unlock the door. “I don’t know what else I can say to get through to you. I’ve changed, Dorian. I’m not that guy anymore.”
“I’ve yet to see proof to the contrary. Your track record precedes you, Mr. Treble. Good night.” I shut the door in his face.
“Dorian, Come on!” he yelled. “I’m a tool, okay? I know that. Just talk to me. Please?” I didn’t respond, but leaned against the door, my forehead resting on the hard surface as I tried to quell the tears of frustration I knew would fall if I let them.
“Go away,” I whispered. He pounded the door for a while, and I was sure the neighbors were wondering what the hell was going on. After ten minutes of silence on my part, he gave up, but not before slipping a business card under the door. I waited a little bit longer before I picked it up.
The card had his name, email address and phone number. “Call me,” he’d written on the back. No way in hell.
