Chapter Four: His Hard Rockin' Princess

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Chapter 4

Tim walked next to Rich and Mandy, his new friends, on the way back to the campground Sunday night after the festival ended. Elle, his other new friend, danced a few feet ahead, humming songs from Blackest the Night, the night’s headliner. He took her to the pit down front to watch, as he’d done with a few of the bands, including Crushed Edges, her favorite band, last night. They made sure to stay clear of the actual mosh pits that broke out closer to the middle, so they had a great time in the mass of excited humanity. He also introduced her to the guys of Crushed Edges, which earned him even more points, though, for whatever reason, he didn’t need to score bonus points to impress her. What was it about this girl?

He loved how she enjoyed most of the bands today, and he meant all day, not just the main stage. The four of them, six, counting his RV neighbors, enjoyed breakfast together before hitting the festival grounds for 12 more hours of head-banging. And plenty of Elle’s sexy dancing, it turned out. He gave a quick head-shake to clear that thought out of his mind. He had a hard enough time concentrating on his conversation with Rich and Mandy while watching Elle skip ahead of them, kicking rocks, sticks, and leaves in time with the beats in her head.

“You three want to have a few drinks at my RV before turning in?” he asked. “I have plenty of caffeine-free sodas, and I’m brewing some decaf.” He didn’t add there would be no booze, as they’d had a long discussion about alcohol earlier, and how he hadn’t consumed any since his drunk driving accident.

“Sounds great,” Rich said. “I’d also love to hear some of those demos you bragged about earlier if you don’t mind.” Tim told him how he’d converted all his old demos from Splitting Braincells, as well as some he recorded of him noodling on his guitars, into mp3 files. He had them on digital recorders, but mp3s made playback much easier.

“Not a brag, but a fact,” he said, and it got all three laughing. Elle turned her head to see what was funny, and kicked a rock a bit too hard, almost clipping someone ahead of them.

“Elle!” he snapped, “be careful what you’re doing. You could hurt someone.”

“Sorry,” she said, and trotted over to his side, her head bowed, chastised.

Shit, he hadn’t meant to overstep his bounds; he didn’t want her to hurt someone with one of those rocks. Had she been abused at some point in her life? The way she scurried to his side without meeting his eyes proved that might be the case. As she clutched his arm, he glanced over to Rich and Mandy to see what they had to say about the scene, but both wore looks of confusion, and he had the distinct feeling it had to do with her reaction, not his tone.

“I won’t do it again, I promise,” she said, apprehension in her voice.

“No, it’s fine. I just wanted you to be careful with those rocks. How would you like it if someone hit you while you minded your own business?”

“I wouldn’t,” she whispered, and then looked up at him, an expression of pleading on her face. What the fuck? Had his tone been so clipped? What had she gone through in her life to react that way?

He took his arm back so he could wrap it around her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to sound so stern. I’m sorry.”

She grinned up at him and leaned deeper into his body. Holy shit, yeah, this feels right. What the hell was it with this girl?

He looked back over to Rich and Mandy to see if they said anything now, but they had their heads together in a private conversation. He could swear he heard Rich mutter, “Is that my sister? When has she ever acted like this?”

So this wasn’t normal behavior. He took a deep breath and felt her shudder a bit. “Are you cold?”

“A little.” She smiled, and it took every bit of willpower not to lean down and plant a kiss on her lips. Instead, he nudged her in front of him.

“Here, let’s keep in step, and I’ll rub the warmth back into your arms.”

She matched his stride and whispered, “‘K”

As he rubbed her arms, he heard Mandy snicker. He looked over with a questioning look. She shook her head, and mouthed, “Later.” He nodded and smiled.

Once they reached his RV, he unlocked it and hopped inside to turn on some lights, and then motioned them up. “I thought we’d sit outside, but as Elle mentioned, it’s a little chilly. Besides, Rich, I’m sure you’ll hear the tunes in here better than out there. I’m not going to blast them at this time of night, despite everyone in the campground still being awake.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said.

He motioned them to sit on the couch or one of the mounted swivel chairs, and then took drink orders. “Like I said, I’m brewing a pot of decaf, but I also have cans of soda, both caffeinated and not, and plenty of bottled water.”

“If you’re making coffee, that’s my choice,” Mandy said.

“Me, too,” Rich said.

When Elle didn’t chime in, he said, “Soda and water in the fridge. Help yourself. Let me know if you want a glass.”

“No, I’ll have coffee, too.”

Mandy let out a snort, while Rich said, “I don’t think he has enough cream and sugar for you to have coffee.”

She stuck her tongue out at both of them, and he held in a laugh. “I have plenty of both, I assure you. Now sit, everyone. The beauty of an RV is the kitchen is right here, so you can get comfortable and we can talk.”

Rich and Mandy plopped onto the couch, and though there was plenty of room next to them, Elle hesitated and looked at him.

“Where are you sitting?” she asked.

Before he could answer, Mandy whispered, “Oh my god, pick a spot, you little hussy.”

He tried everything in his power to pretend he didn’t hear, but when Elle’s eyes went wide, and she fired back, “Oh my god, shut up,” in a whisper of her own, he couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. She shot him a look, horrified embarrassment written all over her.

“I’m sitting in a swivel chair. Why don’t you choose one. They’re comfortable.”

She sat, and he turned around to get the coffee started, hiding his grin. It went wider when he heard Rich say, “What’s gotten into you tonight?”

Elle didn’t say anything, but Mandy whispered, “Leave her alone. She’s…” She then giggled.

“I said shut up!” Elle whisper-shouted.

Tim couldn’t help himself. He turned his head, caught Elle’s gaze, and winked. She gasped, turned bright red, but a goofy smile formed on her lips.

That’s when the situation hit Rich, as he mumbled, “Oh, fuck,” and then turned to Tim, gave him a slight head-shake, and mouthed, “Your funeral, pal.”

Neither Elle nor Mandy caught it, so he couldn’t help smiling. It wasn’t a threat from an overprotective brother, but a warning about Elle’s personality, which Rich described earlier as “bratty with a side of bitch.” He saw some of it on display today, and had to admit he found it endearing.

As he turned back to his little kitchen area, a spider climbed along the bottom of the sink. It wasn’t too big, and wouldn’t hurt anything, but he didn’t want it in here. It would be easy enough to grab a paper towel and squash it, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill the thing. It hadn’t done anything wrong. Ever since his accident those 8 years ago, the thought of hurting anything, even something as little as this spider, churned his stomach. He grabbed a plastic cup next to the sink, placed it over the thing, and slid it around. The spider took the bait and climbed onto the side. He tore off a paper towel and placed it over the opening. Seconds later, he had the thing out the door and back out in the wilds where it could catch bugs to its hearts content. He found no irony in it; that was nature, not the barbarism he would have committed by squishing it. Rich and Mandy chuckled at his actions, but he could see the small smile on Elle’s lips. She approved, and though he hadn’t done it for her, his heart sung.

Talk then turned to the festival, and they discussed both the music and meeting so many of the bands backstage. Rich gushed again about how cool it had been for Tim to introduce him to the guys of Splitting Braincells last night, and he said he was glad to. Especially since Rich had made sure to mention Moth Man was still his favorite member. The guys laughed, though Julian, the guitarist who’d replaced him, put on a fake pout and said he’d been with the band longer than Moth Man, and had been on more records. That brought out more laughter from everyone. Tim couldn’t imagine a better guy than Julian replacing him as lead shredder. They had then signed Elle’s notebook, posed for a few pictures, and hit the stage. And, of course, like always, they killed it.

Once the coffee finished brewing, filling the RV with the sweet and bitter scents, Tim poured four mugs. Both Rich and Mandy took theirs black, like his. Before he poured Elle’s, he said, “Why don’t you come over here and supervise so I know how much room to leave for cream and sugar.”

She hesitated for a second, and then said, “I’ll take mine black, too.”

“Elle, it’s rude to accept coffee only to dump it out,” Rich said.

“I won’t,” she said, exasperation in her voice.

He passed two to Rich so he could hand Mandy hers, and then hand-delivered Elle’s. As he did, he whispered, “If you change your mind about cream and sugar, feel free. And if you decide you’d rather have something else, I won’t be offended. I’ll even drink yours so they don’t yell at you again about wasting it. Okay?”

She gave a slight nod and smile, and bit her bottom lip. He didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but either way, he had to fight every instinct inside him to not kiss her. Hard. And, lord almighty, he might have if her brother and sister-in-law weren’t sitting a few feet away. He also could tell without a doubt she would welcome his advance. Somehow he managed to find his own seat without spilling any of his own hot decaffeinated brew.

Talk about the festival resumed, and soon 2 am snuck up on them. He, Rich, and Mandy all had refills, and while Elle didn’t drink her coffee fast, she did finish it. He had a feeling it was to spite her brother, as she admitted it wasn’t great.

As they stood to head back to their tent, Tim said, “Shit, Rich, I’m sorry. I forgot to put on those demos for you.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Mandy said. “I have a feeling you guys will be seeing each other again.” She motioned towards Elle, who gave her sister-in-law a blank look.

Tim chuckled, and said, “Yeah, you’re right.” He exchanged phone numbers with each of them this morning—or yesterday morning, as it was well past midnight—in case they got separated, and he knew he wanted to use Elle’s once he got home. She lived maybe a half-hour away from him, closer if traffic behaved.

That’s when the meaning of the comment dawned on Elle, and she gasped, her eyes wide and cheeks pink. “Yes,” she said in a harsh, throaty whisper.

Mandy let out a laugh, while Rich mumbled, “Christ.” He then patted Tim on the shoulder as he headed for the door. “Like I said, your funeral,” but he chuckled this time. Mandy swatted Rich’s shoulder and told him to knock it off, but Elle didn’t hear.

Once they all stepped outside, it seemed most of the campground had gone to bed, so they talked in whispers. “Breakfast again tomorrow?” he asked. “Or are you guys pulling out early?” The campground rules stated everyone had until 10 am to vacate. He planned on using that entire time.

“Actually,” Rich said, “If the ladies don’t mind, we might head out now. I’m still a bit wired, and we can be home in half an hour, while it’ll take well over an hour in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mandy said. “I could use a shower.”

“No,” Elle said, tears in her eyes. “I want to stay for breakfast.”

“Elle…” Rich started, but Tim cut him off.

“Why don’t you two go get packed, and I’ll bring Elle over in a few minutes.”

Mandy and Rich headed off, and he motioned Elle to him. She exploded into his arms, and continued sniffling, trying, he could tell, not to cry harder. He held her, not saying anything for a moment. After a minute or two, she pulled back a little and said, “Sorry.”

He wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “Nothing to be sorry about. I’m guessing the fact that you’re tired played a major part. I’m exhausted, and I have an actual bed in here.” He tapped the wall of the RV.

She giggled. “Yeah. But…it’s more.” She looked up at him, and he gasped at her absolute beauty. He’d been with her all day, marveled at it whenever he so much as glanced at her, but it still took him by surprise each time. He fought every instinct inside to not lean down and kiss her, but again managed.

“How about we call it a rain-check and I take you out to breakfast next weekend, Saturday or Sunday. Your choice. Whatever day works best for you.”

“Both days,” she said in a breathy whisper, and that did it. He couldn’t keep himself in check any longer. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, pulled away a few inches, and then dove back in, harder. She moaned and kissed back. Their lips parted, and their tongues danced together, both fighting for dominance, and then playing a game of give and take. He’d never been so captivated by anyone. She felt like she belonged in his arms, on his lips. He had to wield every bit of self-control to keep from picking her up and carrying her into the RV. If her brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t be looking for her soon, he might have done it. He didn’t know what they’d say about this display itself, but didn’t care enough to stop. He couldn’t stop. Elle felt too perfect, too lovely, too…his.

“Elle, it’s time to go,” Mandy’s voice rang out behind them, though she sounded amused rather than angry. They jumped and pulled apart.

“Give us a few more minutes,” Elle said.

“Rich has the car started.”

“One more minute and I’ll be there.”

“Elle,” Mandy said, exasperation in her voice.

“C’mon, get out of here and don’t be so argumentative,” he said. “I’ll see you next weekend, and we have each other’s phone numbers. Call or text me any time. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, reached up for one more kiss, and then ran off towards their camp and waiting car.

Mandy gave him a quick hug. “Thanks. I’m not sure what sort of hold you have over her, but please don’t stop. You’re good for her.”

He chuckled. “I have no clue, either, but I can guarantee she has a hold over me, too. Safe travels, and tell Rich I owe him a listening party.”

“He’ll love that. Thanks for everything this weekend. We all enjoyed meeting and hanging out with you. And as I said earlier, I’m sure we’ll see plenty of each other from now on.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

He must have worn a wistful look while he said it because she laughed, and then waved bye. He  hopped into the RV and headed back to the minuscule bedroom to try to get at least a few hours of sleep. If it would be possible after that day and that kiss.

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Chapter Three: His Hard Rockin' Princess

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Chapter 3

Elle bounced all the way to the gate that led them backstage. This was so cool! She also couldn’t help but laugh at her brother, as he might have been more excited. Mandy joked earlier she’d have to keep a firm grip on his arm to keep him from floating away, but now it looked as if she did have him tight. Elle clutched the laminated pass on her lanyard as they approached the security guards. She remembered all the times through high school, and even some in college, when people talked about trying to sneak backstage, saying confidence was key. She didn’t need to worry about confidence tonight, as these passes were genuine. Rich, with some help from Dad, secured them at work, Sullivan Advertising. Dad owned it, while Rich was his second-in-command and someday successor. They tried to get her into the family business, too, but she had no interest. Maybe after college if she still didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up, but not yet.

The security team waved them through, and she and Rich grinned at each other so big she thought her face might crack. Bring on the rock stars! She had autographs to get. Along with the CD cover for Crushed Edges’ latest album, their best yet, she also carried a small notebook for anyone else famous. Maybe even some of the bands from earlier would be back here. She hadn’t known most of them, but enjoyed so many of the sounds. Rich would point out anyone of interest to get signatures. No doubt she’d end up having to share the notebook with him, but she didn’t mind. Mandy, for her part, got drafted into picture duty with her phone.

The first band, Coiled Recognition, would start in about fifteen minutes, so commotion surrounded the stage as the roadies moved everything into position and made sure the instruments sounded right. Despite not being media, their passes allowed them in the standing section to the left of the stage. Rich didn’t see anyone he recognized, so they checked out their vantage point. She couldn’t wait to watch from here. Sure, it would be a better pure view from the front row of the amphitheater, but this was so much cooler. None of her friends could say they’d seen a big concert like this.

While they stood waiting, a guy in his mid-20s or so, with a faux-hawk haircut and wearing a buttoned-up striped shirt and skinny jeans, stepped up next to her. He gave her an appraising look that made her want to punch him in the teeth, and said, “Crushed Edges fan, eh?”

She gave him a sappy sweet smile. “No, my brother let me borrow the shirt for this weekend. He said it would make me stand out less than my Katy Perry one.”

He smirked. “It’s nice you can be here anyway. I’m sure your brother will enjoy the show.”

“Yeah, he will. Not me, though. I won’t know to cheer when the opening riff of ‘Big Chugger’ starts, meaning the boys are about to take the stage. I also won’t get the significance of ‘Jagged Lines’ because I have no idea Boyd Henderson’s older brother died from cutting himself too deep with a razor blade. I also won’t know to get excited when Jason starts the opening riff of ‘Not a Party Machine.’ It’s too bad because it all sounds like a kick-ass set.” She threw a smirk of her own at the guy, who looked bemused and backed away, telling her to enjoy the show.

Mandy snorted and gave her a nudge. “You could have told him you were a fan instead of making him feel so small. Not that I didn’t enjoy watching it.”

She waited for Rich to call her bratty with a side of bitch, his favorite phrase when she did something like that, but instead he said, “Oh, shit.”

What? Had the guy gone to get someone to kick her out? Was he a true VIP who didn’t like to feel belittled? She didn’t care about making him feel stupid, as she hated the way he blatantly checked her out. It would be plenty petty of him to do so, but she’d met enough famous people through Dad’s company who thought too much of themselves to not be surprised. Instead, she found Rich staring in awe at…

…him. Her mystery older guy, the one who made her feel tingly both this morning and afternoon. And he did it again now, even if he wasn’t looking at her. Oh, god, what was it about him? She realized she couldn’t breathe.

“What?” Mandy asked. Elle thought she said it to her for a second, but instead she directed the query at Rich.

“That’s Moth Man. Moth Man Wade, the original lead guitarist for Splitting Braincells. Holy hell, I worshiped him back in high school.”

“Go introduce yourself,” she said, nudging him. “Elle can get his autograph, and I’ll snap a picture. This is why we’re backstage, remember?”

“I can’t. He’s Moth Man. I don’t think I’ll be able to say anything.”

Mandy’s voice held exasperation, but Elle heard the humor in it, too. “You’ve met plenty of celebrities at work. He’s no different. Go say hi, tell him you’re a fan, and I’ll get a picture. Elle, drag your brother over there and get an autograph.”

She didn’t answer. She’d followed the conversation, but her eyes had never left the guy, this Moth Man. What kind of name was that? A nickname, but why? She wanted to walk over and ask him, but her feet wouldn’t move. When was she ever like this?

“Elle?” Mandy prompted, followed by, “Oh my god!”

That snapped her out of it. “What?” She didn’t like the smirk on Mandy’s face.

“Are you star-struck like your brother, or crushing? He’s pretty hot, but maybe a little too old for you.”

“No! Oh my god. I was…” How could she finish that sentence? She also knew she had a nuclear-level blush going. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look, she willed towards him, which, of course, brought the opposite effect. His eyes wandered over to them before stopping on her. Her heart, thanks to Mandy’s teasing, had managed to work its way into her chest from her throat, but now it shot back up. Oh, his eyes…

“Look, he sees us,” Mandy said. “Now it’ll be more rude if you don’t go over and talk to him.” Elle’s gaze didn’t leave Moth Man’s, but she heard the near-laughter in Mandy’s voice. “Come on, you two.”

And just like that, they headed towards him. In any other situation, she would have been giddy at how much fun she could have picking on Rich for being star-struck. He never batted an eye when they met a celebrity. They didn't affect her, either, but that changed big-time tonight. Only Mandy held it together as she pushed and prodded them to meet this beautiful, beautiful Moth Man.

He watched them approach, his eyes not leaving hers, but growing bigger and bigger as they drew closer. Was she doing the same? She both hoped not and didn’t care. She was going to meet him; oh, god, she was going to meet him. Could she say hi? Would her voice even work?

“Moth Man,” Mandy said, a bright smile in her voice. “Hope you don’t mind, but you have two huge fans here who would love to meet you.”

Mandy stretched out her hand to shake his, which broke the spell between him and Elle. She blinked hard a few times and let out a gasp she hoped wasn’t too loud. He then shook Rich’s hand, and her brother managed to find his voice.

“Hi, Moth Man, uh, Mr. Wade. I know I’m going to make a fool of myself, but I was such a fan back when you were in Splitting Braincells. I had a fake ID in high school so I could get into the 18-and-over-clubs. You were the best I’ve ever seen.”

Moth Man laughed and clapped Rich on the shoulder. “Thanks, I appreciate it. But, please, call me Moth Man or Tim, not Mr. Wade. And feel free to insert a corny, overused joke here about how Mr. Wade is my father.”

Rich and Mandy laughed, and while somewhere in the back of Elle’s mind she found the joke funny, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Wait, how come you keep saying ‘were’? Why aren’t you still their guitarist? They’re playing tonight.”

She gasped as soon as it left her mouth. Crap, why couldn’t she have a filter? True, she usually didn’t care if she came off as rude, but she did with him. Moth Man. Tim.

He turned towards her, his eyes intense, but the corners of his mouth raised in a smile. It melted her insides, but she managed, through some sort of autopilot, to lift her hand to shake his when offered. When their skin touched, she jumped as if shocked. Plus, her insides poured down in a lumpy puddle at the soles of her feet, and her girlie parts burned in absolute fire. Oh, god, shut up, shut up, shut up!

“I’m Tim,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, husky. Oh, wow, am I affecting him, too? She liked that idea.

“Elle,” she somehow managed to whisper back.

She might have stayed there the rest of the night, holding both his gaze and his hand, but real life had to, of course, rear it’s ugly head in the form of Mandy’s annoying—at least at the moment—snicker. Tim’s smile grew in a knowing way, and then he dropped her hand and turned his attention back to Rich and Mandy. He and Rich discussed music, and though she wanted to listen in, to gain some insight to this wonderful specimen of a man, she couldn’t get her head on straight. She gave a quick glance over to Mandy and winced. Shit! As always, her sister-in-law saw straight through her. Though at the moment the entire back stage area could probably tell what dominated her mind. If she were a boy, everyone would say she was thinking with her other head. Shit-shit-shit! Maybe she could excuse herself to the bathroom and stay there for the rest of the show. She could always peek out when Crushed Edges came on stage.

Don’t be dumb, she scolded herself. You’re an adult. Sort of. Act like it!

She took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face, ignored Mandy’s penetrating gaze, and did everything in her power to follow the conversation between Tim and Rich. They talked about the bands from earlier in the day. Had she missed the important details, her question about why he wasn’t a guitarist anymore? If so, she could ask Rich later. He’d know all the sordid details. She managed to hold her tongue until a natural pause in the conversation followed, and then blurted out, in her typical inarticulate (stupid!) manner, “Why do they call you Moth Man? It seems a little silly.”

“Elle,” Rich muttered in his defeated, scornful voice he so often used with her.

Yes, big brother, I accept your scorn this time.

Tim turned to her, a smile on his face, and his eyes again devouring her. God, he really could devour her for all she cared. For all she wanted. Feast on, big boy! Come and get it.

Holy hell, she never even felt like this with Harris Tynes, her boyfriend throughout her entire junior and senior years of high school. She liked him enough to let him take her virginity in the summer between the two, and they continued sexing each other up whenever they could almost until the end, but her feelings for him never came close to what she felt for this stranger.

“It was meant to be silly. Meant to make me feel stupid, but I owned it, and it became mine. Back in junior high, some brainiac bully discovered the word ‘moth’ sat in the middle of Timothy, so that’s what he called me. It ticked me off royal at first, but my best friend started saying Moth Man in a cool way, not condescending, and I loved it. I became Moth Man for the rest of junior high and all through high school. It continued with Splitting Braincells until…” He stopped and held up his left hand.

What did he mean? Her face must have been full of confusion, because he continued. “Not long after I turned 21, as soon as we hit the big time, I got into a motorcycle accident. Crushed my fretting hand so bad that I’d never be a touring musician again. I can play for five or ten minutes now, but any more and it starts to ache.”

She gasped and without thinking grasped his hand and stroked it, as if she could cure all that ailed him. He moaned, and it zipped through her, straight to her girlie parts. God, how could she want this man so bad, so soon? She knew nothing about him, not to mention he was at least a decade her senior.

At that moment the first band of the night hit the stage. The lights dimmed around them and the fanfare started, and the mammoth crowd on the other side of the stage roared. That’s when she found Rich and Mandy had left her alone with him. They headed towards the media viewing area.

He leaned in close and said, “I’d love to keep talking to you. Do you want to go watch the band, and then continue our conversation between sets?” He swiped his fingers of his left hand across her cheek, and it was her turn to moan. He smiled, and it looked like he might lean down and kiss her. Yes! Do it! Instead, he stopped short, looked to be going through his own internal monologue—she could sure relate to that!—and shook his head as if clearing it. He then smiled, stepped towards the viewing area, and offered his arm. She grinned and took it.

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Chapter Two: His Hard Rockin' Princess

Read Ch. 1 by clicking here

Chapter 2

Elle Sullivan couldn’t hear anything except the driving heavy metal, and she loved it. Her brother, Rich, and his wife, Mandy, had taken her to concerts before, but they’d been three or four bands at the most, and always with assigned seats inside an arena. Seeing bands on four different stages, often overlapping, was the coolest. The three of them most often caught the beginning of one set and wandered over to a different stage to catch part of another. Rich had a few this weekend he needed to see all the way through, his emphasis, not hers, but neither she nor Mandy minded. And both nights they had backstage passes for the main stage, where tonight she hoped she’d get to meet Crushed Edges, her absolute favorite band. She had a CD booklet ready for them to sign. Anyway, she loved the almost constant musical assault and backstage thoughts because it kept her from thinking about that older guy earlier at the campground.

What the hell had that been? He was way too old to affect her like he did. She couldn’t tell his age, but he was at least a few years older than Rich, who, at 25, had six years on her. So she shouldn’t, couldn’t, lust after an old guy. Could she? Ugh, like she said, now wasn’t the time to think about it. Or maybe ever. Though the way he stared at her made her tingly inside, a reaction guys never elicited from her. Yes, she had a boyfriend in high school, had sex with him, even, but that one look…

Snap out of it!

Oh, crap, and now Mandy eyed her with curiosity. How did she always know? Everyone said how mysterious Elle’s mind worked, but she never fooled Mandy. The only other person who could read her so easy was Mom, and she was, well, Mom.

She gave her sister-in-law an innocent grin and then started banging her head along with the music. She accidentally, but sort of on purpose, whipped Rich with her hair, and he grinned and gave her a nudge in time with the music, which she returned. Their own private mosh pit.

Hehe. Mosh pit. The term always put a smile on her face. She could understand calling it something like mash pit, as people mashed themselves together, but mosh pit? A silly phrase for such a violent act. She glanced over at Mandy and saw her attention had returned to the stage. Good.

The band, Sunken Ships according to the banner hanging behind them, launched into their final song, and the crowd went a little extra nuts. She didn’t know it, but liked its catchy hook. She bobbed her head and watched the controlled mayhem. A mosh pit roared in front of the stage, but the three of them stood well out of its reach, so she had fun watching. Rich looked like he wanted to sprint into it, but he wouldn’t. Mandy had issued a stern warning before they got here yesterday that his pitting days were behind him, and he agreed. She still found it funny to see how tight a grip Mandy had on his arm, though she bobbed her head in time with the beats as she did.

Once the song finished and the band said its goodbyes, a guy, close to her age by the looks of him, stepped next to her. He wore tattered jean shorts, a Sunken Ships t-shirt, and had a bunch of tattoos on his arms and neck. She groaned at what she knew would come next. She’d put up with it more than once today. Most had taken her brush off in stride, but Rich had to step in on one occasion. Would this guy try to chat her up, or would he go for the porta-potty sex right away? Her mind chose that moment to betray her with thoughts of the guy in the campground this morning, wondering what she’d say if he offered. She couldn’t help but flush, and, shit, it emboldened this douchebag.

“Hey, baby, did you enjoy them? They’re my favorite band.”

“I never would have guessed.” She nodded to his t-shirt. Double-shit. Why did she give him an opening in the conversation?

His grin widened. “It’s kind of noisy. You want to go somewhere a little more quiet?”

“No, I want to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law and watch some bands.” She turned towards Rich and Mandy, her wearing a slight grin at how she handled it, and Rich scowling at the guy, like every time a dude hit on her. Not that she minded his overbearing attitude; she wasn’t here for a boyfriend today. Or any day, to tell the truth.

“I can come with you. We can talk music. Or whatever you want.”

“Take a hint, dude.” She emphasized dude in a not very polite way.

He grabbed her by the elbow, and she readied herself to smack him, while Rich stepped forward, murder in his eyes. Even Mandy, always so calm, cool, and collected, looked ready to kick some ass. Before anything physical happened, people around them, both men and women, shouted at the guy that she said no, and he needed to back off. He let go, put his hands up in surrender, mumbled an apology, and took off. Those around looked at her to make sure she was okay, and she smiled and nodded at everyone, who went back to their own business. Mandy calmed Rich and raised her eyebrows at her.

“I’m fine. The asshole would have been in for a world of hurt if he hadn’t backed off. Make sure the Hulk is calm enough to continue our afternoon.”

Mandy giggled and rubbed Rich’s chest.

“I’ll hulk you,” he said, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Maybe he’ll mosh pit, and we’ll let you join that one.”

“Don’t give him any ideas,” Mandy said, but Rich already had a gleam in his eyes.

“Let’s stay here,” he said. “Shotgun Serenade starts in a couple of minutes and I want to see their set. I need to get in some serious headbanging.”

Mandy kissed his cheek. “Fine, but don't move. We’re going to get some drinks. Do you want lemonade or a beer?”

“I think I need a beer after that fucker tried to assault my baby sister.” No, they weren’t related by blood, but Mom, her mom, had married Dad, his dad, when she was four-years-old.

Elle rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to protect me. I was about to smack the shit out of him. Despite what you think, I can stand up for myself.”

He rolled his eyes back at her, which got her giggling. It also got him to crack a smile, so she and Mandy left to grab some drinks.

“Lemonade or water?” Mandy asked.

Like she needed to ask. Elle couldn’t get enough of the strawberry lemonade here. “I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count.”

“Water it is.”

She scoffed. “You’re bad at this game.”

Mandy laughed and handed her a $10 bill. “I want a regular, not the strawberry one. I’ll go get Rich his beer. If the guy comes back, kick him in the shins.”

“I’ll aim a little higher,” she said, and Mandy gave her a grin and eyebrow wiggle.

As she waited in the short line for lemonade, her attention drifted over to the BBQ stall a few feet away, and her heart sprung into her throat. It was him. The hot older guy. He couldn’t see her since he stood at the front of the line and focused on ordering, but she had a good view of him. He was every bit as handsome as she remembered, and she better judged his age to be late-20s or early-30s. She guessed him to be about six-feet tall, taller, but not towering so, over her 5’5” frame. He had dark brown hair, cut short, but shaggy in a stylish sense. She remembered how his eyes matched his hair color. Now that she saw him standing, she noticed how fit he looked. Not like a bodybuilder, but he definitely kept himself in shape. God, how she’d like to see him without his shirt. Without his pants would be nice, too, and then she gave herself a mental face-slap. Get it together, girl. Unless you want to go introduce yourself. Ha, yeah, right. She sort of wished Brianna, her best friend, was here; Bri would’ve pushed her towards the guy so she’d have no choice but to say hi. Of course, Bri might have taken the Sunken Ships asshole up on his alone-time offer, so she wouldn’t be in line with her anyway. He had the tattooed look she liked in guys. Elle stifled a laugh, her eyes still on her mystery older guy.

“Uh, miss, you ready?” the guy behind asked. He pointed to the girl at the cash register.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Keep your shirt on.”

She ordered the two drinks, and by the time she collected them, her guy had gone. Shit-shit-shit. But it wasn’t like anything would have happened. Besides, she saw nothing wrong with staring and dreaming. Plus, she knew where his RV was. There were still two nights left in the campground, after all. Because, sure, she’d go right up to him. He might even be married and she simply hadn’t seen his wife. Though by the way he stared back this morning, that didn’t ring true.

Elle sucked in a deep breath to clear her mind. She couldn’t keep any of this on her face when she saw Mandy, or her secret crush would be ferreted out. Mandy could do it, and Elle hated that in a big, bad way. Yeah, it was fun to watch when she did it to other people, but not her. When she saw Mandy walking towards her with Rich’s beer, she put on a big smile to hide any of her mystery guy thoughts, and went to meet her halfway.

Read Ch. 3 by clicking here

Chapter One: His Hard Rockin' Princess

Chapter One

Tim Wade lounged in a lawn chair outside his RV, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. Most of the campers, both the RV’ers and tenters, were still asleep, as it had been a late, raucous night. Though he stayed up far later than normal, he didn’t mind; he wouldn’t expect anything less at HeavyMetalFest, the premier annual heavy metal festival in Southern California. He hadn’t bothered climbing into bed until well after 3 in the morning, even if he’d done nothing but sit in this same lawn chair, enjoying the ambiance. Well, except for the little excitement after the Friday night concert, which had been open only for those camping out this weekend.

While there would be 12 hours of music on both Saturday and Sunday, with many bands overlapping on different stages, the Friday night show took place on a single stage with five relatively unknown bands playing short sets. The headliners, Metal Knives, had a following, but they’d been out of the limelight for a few years. Tim had toured with them back when he’d been the lead guitarist for Splitting Braincells, this year’s Saturday headliners on the main stage. All those years ago, Metal Knives had been the direct support for the headliner, Bring the Pain, while he and Splitting Braincells were the small-time, just breaking onto the national scene, opener.

He himself had never heard of the first four bands, and he dug a couple of them enough to where he purchased their digital albums once he got back to the WiFi hotspot in his rig. Metal Knives did a hell of a job closing out the short night, even starting a small mosh pit, the lone one of the night. The next two days would see plenty of bigger ones, and though he would steer clear, he enjoyed watching the mayhem. Back in the day, when he’d been the one on-stage, he never got tired of witnessing all those bodies hurling themselves at each other. Truth be told, he incited more than one for his viewing pleasure, though it didn’t take much to get metalheads slamming.

Once the final notes had been hit, and the waves and good nights thrown out, a woman walked up to him. The glint in her eyes showed she recognized him. He guessed her to be a few years older than his 29, but no more than her mid-30s. Had he bedded her when he was the lead shredder for Splitting Braincells? It wouldn’t surprise him, as he’d been a true rock star back in the day. Much different from now, eight years later, when in all that time he’d been with one woman, although they’d been together for a year and a half before she decided to cheat on him after a fight.

“Moth Man Wade, right?” she asked. He contemplated shaking his head and saying sorry, my name is Steve Jones or something, but didn’t.

“Hi, yeah. You a fan of my shred school?” He gave an internal smirk. He started his online guitar lessons a little over a year after his accident, and it turned into a full-time business. He’d since expanded to all metal instruments, sans singing, both in cyberspace and a land-based studio. No one recognized him for that, though his long-time fans often knew.

“No, though I think it’s cool. I follow you on Twitter, and I love the clips you share. Reminds me of your shredding days. I saw you in the small clubs around So Cal so many times before you guys blew up. I don’t think I can tell you how often I tried to meet up back then. I caught one of your picks at a show at the Big Orange, and you gave me a high-five at the Palladium, but I never got any closer.”

“Ah, the Big Orange.” He chuckled. It had been a small club in Downtown Fullerton in Orange County. It closed about five years back, and he’d been sorry to see it go. “What a shit hole, but, man, it was a great place to play.”

“Great place to watch, too. You never disappointed.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. Those were the days.”

“So,” she drawled out. Oh, great. He saw where this was going, and didn’t relish it. He wasn’t here to meet anyone, even for a few hours.

“Yeah?”

“You here alone?”

Now that it was out, he could smell the alcohol on her breath. He’d been so caught up in reminiscing that he hadn’t before. Or maybe the slight breeze had changed directions. Either way, he needed to end this.

“Yup. Flying solo. About to head back to my spot and hit the hay.” That was a lie, as the campground would be far too loud for the next few hours to even attempt sleep. “Enjoy the rest of the weekend.”

It didn’t deter her. “You don’t want to go to bed yet. Besides, my boyfriend and his friends went back to our tent to smoke out. I wasn’t invited.” The lilt in her voice made it clear she expected him to salve her wounded ego.

Sorry, lady.

Though he supposed he could let her sit outside the RV with him for an hour or two. If she’d been a fan back in the day, maybe she could hold up her end of the conversation about metal, his favorite topic, at least at rock shows. Okay, all the time, but all the more so at shows.

They headed to his RV, and he pulled out two lawn chairs. She frowned, disappointment at the fact he didn’t invite her inside written all over her face, but she held it in check. No doubt she figured he’d build to it. Again, she was out of luck, but he didn’t want to bring it up yet and cause a scene.

The conversation went about how he hoped, as she knew quite a bit about the metal scene, both current and a decade ago. Too much turned to how she’d bedded her share of musicians, with her favorites being the shredding guitarists, and he did everything he could to steer their talk in other directions. Once they focused on the music and got on about recent bands they’d both seen live, their talk bloomed. He even found it amusing when people wandered by, said hello, and she introduced him as if he were her prize.

About one in the morning, she stood and stretched, giving him a show of her braless breasts beneath her t-shirt. “I need to get back soon.” She tossed him a wicked grin and nodded towards his RV. “A romp before I go? I suck a mean dick, and I love it in the ass.”

It took all his self-control not to laugh out loud. “Nah, not tonight. I had a great time talking to you, though. Thanks for being a fan.”

It took a second for her to get her head around his words. “What? You don’t want to fuck?” Another few seconds of processing. “What the hell? Are you gay or something?”

“No. I’m here for the music. Like I said, I enjoyed meeting you.”

He stuck out his hand for her to shake, hoping the act would disarm her, but she instead scowled and stomped away, tossing a vitriol, “Fuck you, you washed-up has-been,” over her shoulder. He had controlled his laughter in the moment, but now, the next morning, a deep belly laugh escaped as he set his coffee on the grass so he didn’t spill it all over himself. Plus, it would have been a horrible waste of good coffee. Camping in an RV had definite advantages over tenting it; much easier to bring his electric bean grinder and good French press. Why suffer through a camping stove kettle of cheap brew or the crap sold at the camp store?

“Someone a jokester over here?” his neighbor called, sticking his head out of his own RV. He couldn’t remember the guy or his wife’s names, but they seemed pleasant enough. Both were older than him, in their mid to late 40s. Tim was afraid he woke him at first, but the big grin on the guy’s face proved he hadn’t. Good. Nothing worse than pissing off the neighbor at a campground. Not that he’d be here much, spending most of the time inside the festival, but still.

“Sorry, no. Thinking about something that happened last night.”

“It was an interesting night, right? Let me finish waking up, and then we’d love to swap some stories. Can’t head over to the venue for another few hours. Unless we’d be imposing.”

“Not at all. I’m about to rustle up some bacon sandwiches for breakfast if you guys want to join me. I have plenty.”

“Only if you let us supply a side of scrambled eggs and juice. We have plenty, too.”

He smiled. “Deal. I’ll have my sandwiches done in half an hour or so. Need to finish my cup o’ joe.”

“Great. See you then.”

Tim picked his coffee back up, and as he took a sip, his eyes wandered out to the path where people from the tent area had started to wake up and wander to the camp store and porta-johns. He enjoyed watching the blurry-eyed crowd, most in sweatshirts or jackets on this early March morning, though he and everyone else lucked out at how mild the weather was supposed to be all weekend, even for Southern California. He chuckled at how many stumbled around like zombies, and not the freshly-dead ones.

And then he saw her.

Dark auburn hair ran about a quarter of the way down her back. She wore a black sweatshirt with the Crushed Edges logo emblazoned on the front, one of the bands playing the main stage tonight. They were, in his opinion, a metal starter band, but, hey, if a teen, and she couldn’t be older than 19, if that—Oh, shit, please be over 18; I don’t want to be ogling a minor—wanted to listen to any type of hard music instead of the pop crap that dominated society, he was all for it. He couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild at how her small but perky breasts, which would look perfect on her petite frame, pushed up in the middle of the logo, even if the sweatshirt hid most of the view. He also tried to be gallant and not check out her ass, but he couldn’t help himself. Despite the fact the hem of her sweatshirt dipped low, he could still tell it was nice, tight, and fit, perfect for a sexy grab.

Before he could tear his eyes from her, she turned, and her bright emerald eyes burned into his soul. She stopped, an unreadable expression on her face. He wanted to smile, tried to smile, but didn’t think he succeeded. Her mouth tugged up a few millimeters, and then she bit her bottom lip, a look of…something…on her face. Before he could shake any other thoughts loose in his brain, she jerked, blushed, and raced after the couple she’d been walking with.

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. What was that? Women never affected him like this, especially such young ones. Yeah, he’d like to meet that special girl, but she wouldn’t be ten years or more his junior, would she? No, of course not. At least not at this stage of his life. And hadn’t he said more than once last night that he wasn’t here to meet anyone? It hadn’t been meant as a brush-off to his groupie, but the god-honest truth.

Tim took a deep breath, drained what remained in his coffee mug, and pushed himself to his feet, careful to not show the campground the boner the sweet young stranger had given him with a simple look. The fuck am I, 16 again? He chuckled, making sure to keep it in check so his neighbor didn’t ask what was so funny this time, and then headed into his rig to both refill his mug and to start breakfast. He’d promised bacon sandwiches to the nice older couple next door, after all. He also fired up his music on the sound system. Metal never failed to get everything back to normal.

Read Ch. 2 by clicking here

His Hard Rockin' Princess Preview Intro

EDIT: Check below for links to the chapters.

EDIT #2: It's available at Amazon! Click here to buy!

Hello Lovelies!

Yesterday on Twitter I teased that I'd be releasing the first five chapters of His Hard Rockin' Princess right here on this blog. That will indeed happen tomorrow! Today I want to give you the introduction and post the description of the story. I'm aiming for a Friday release, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, that will happen. So, without further ado, here are the cover image and description of His Hard Rockin' Princess!

19-year-old bratty with a side of bitch Elle Sullivan isn’t looking for love. She had a boyfriend in high school and it nearly ruined the last few months of senior year. But when her eyes lock with that hot older guy at HeavyMetalFest, she can’t control her heart. Or her lust. He brings things out of her that she never knew existed. And has no idea where they come from. Like when she calls him Daddy and demands he spank her. Where in the heck did that come from? But, holy goodness, is it hot! Too bad she can tell he hates it. Will that kill the love they’ve built? Or are they destined for more?

Tim “Moth Man” Wade, former lead shredder for the heavy metal band Splitting Braincells and current owner of Moth Man Shred School, never expected to find love at a heavy metal festival, and especially not with a girl a decade younger. But when their eyes meet across the festival campground, he's hooked. Even if she calls him Daddy and wants him to spank her, something he can't stand, the sex is so good that he can overlook it. Can’t he? He’ll have to if he wants her to be his hard rockin’ princess.

I'd love to hear what you think! Tell me here in the comments, or let me know on Twitter! And check back tomorrow for the preview! 

EDIT: I have published the chapter previews. Click on the one you'd like to read:

CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE

Not much erotic in the first five chapters of this erotic romance, though chapter five does have some masturbation, though, so you can see some fun-time in this preview. The sex picks up in Ch. 7 with some spankings and sex, and then has plenty of sexual (and I hope you agree hot!) scenes after. 

As I said above, I'd love to hear what you think about these first five chapters either in the comments here or on Twitter. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the novel description and cover, too, so don't be shy! You should be able to pick this up Friday, Saturday at the latest. Thanks for reading!

Coming Soon: His Hard Rockin' Princess

EDIT: You can buy His Hard Rockin' Princess at Amazon now! CLICK HERE

Hello My Lovelies!

As some of you have noticed on Twitter, I've posted a few lines from my upcoming novel, His Hard Rockin' Princess, as well as the cover. I'm finally ready to talk about it, and I'm so excited!

I've yet to write anything longer than 15K words, which is almost but not quite on the short end of the novella scale. This one is my first full-length novel, clocking in at around 75K words. It's an erotic romance (or romantic erotica if you prefer) about an ex-lead guitar player for a heavy metal band finding love with a girl a decade younger than him. Without even her knowing why, she attempts to turn him into a Daddy Dom of sorts, at least with the spankings. The problem is, he can't stand to cause anyone, especially her, any pain. He knows when he spanks her that she gets off on it, but he can't help but hate the situation, even as he grows more and more in love with her. There's plenty more to the story, but that's the heart of the conflict. These two are perfect for one another in every way except that, so is it big enough to tear them apart? Find out soon!

I wrote a trilogy of shorts called Festival Fun, Concert Chaos, and Viva Vegas all under the series title of His Hard Rockin' Princess. Those stories very much inspired this novel, though I did change quite a bit. Daddy-Daughter role play was the center of that trilogy, but in a much different way. I also changed the characters, some by fleshing them out quite a bit, and others, like my main male lead, by making entirely new people/characters. I decided I loved the name His Hard Rockin' Princess, since hard rock and heavy metal play a huge roll in the story (and, much to her, Elle's, delight, he, Tim, calls her his princess).

I had a great time writing this book. l fell in love with the characters, their situations, and everything. And since I love hard rock and heavy metal music, I had a ton of fun (maybe too much) coming up with various band names. I hope you'll give it a read and have as much fun reading as I did writing! And, as I said, it's an erotic romance, so there's plenty of hot sex. Makes it all the more fun, right?

I don't have a date of release yet, but I'm shooting for late this week, maybe early next. My revisions are almost done, which means it just needs to go through the final editing phases for unnecessary words and typos. I will be putting it out on Amazon, where I'll charge $2.99 or let you borrow it for free if you are a part of the Kindle Unlimited program, which, as I've said before, is practically a must if you love to read! I will also most likely create a paperback for it if you like to have physical books, though if I do choose to do that, it will be a few days later.

I also have another plan for this book. Sometime in the near future, I will bundle the three short stories that originally inspired the novel, as well as an epilogue that I loved but ultimately decided the book didn't need, into a package and put it up for sale not only on Amazon, but on Smashwords, as well. I will, of course, talk much more about that when the time comes for that release, but I wanted to get my plans out there, as I'm excited about them!

So there you have it! I'll have another blog post as soon as His Hard Rockin' Princess is ready for you to download, as well as a post on Tumblr and plenty o' Tweets. As I say see you next week, if not sooner, I'll leave you with a picture of the cover. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you're looking forward to the book! See you soon!