Sometimes falling in love with the wrong girl just feels right...
But Bryce's problem is that the woman he loves has been with Blake, his cousin, band mate, and best friend, for years.
Then, Bryce gets a call that changes everything…
After years of addiction and self abuse, Blake is gone. Now, Bryce is going back home to bury his cousin and hopefully reconnect with the band and crew he once considered family. Road Son used to be a group of four bikers who loved music. When Bryce picks up a bass, he starts playing as though he never put it down.
The moment he spots Clara, all his old feelings come rushing back. And soon he's about to learn that Clara had a deep, dark secret of her own for years. She never wanted Blake... she always wanted Bryce.
Can this forbidden love stand a chance... or will a band, a crew, and a town be ripped apart?
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(Clara)
“Can I come in?” a voice said.
That voice.
Clara touched her chest and felt
her heart racing.
Rachel hesitated, but then she
backed up and held the door open. “Sure, come on in.”
What the hell is she doing?
Standing near the fridge, sort of
trying to hide, Clara watched Bryce walk into her apartment and right back into
her life.
She studied him for a second. Black
boots, jeans, a leather cut over a tight black t-shirt that hugged muscles that
were much bigger than Clara remembered. His arms were tattooed, but not too
much. He jaw looked like it had been cut from rock. He turned his head and when
he saw Clara, his eyes opened wide. His dark brown eyes instantly tore down the
wall she had built around her heart.
“Hey,” Bryce said.
“Hey,” Clara replied.
She licked the inside of her mouth
and took a couple steps from the fridge. She always knew Bryce as a quiet, good
looking guy, but this version of Bryce was different. Better. He was a man now.
A strong, incredibly sexy man. And he was standing in her apartment.
At least she had Rachel as some
kind of buffer.
“You know what?” Rachel said. “I’m
going to take your advice, Clara. I’m going to go give Harlan a call. See what
he’s doing.”
“Rachel…”
Rachel grabbed her stuff and
stopped, grabbing Bryce’s arm. “It was good to see you. Hope you stick around
for a few days at least.”
Bryce nodded.
Rachel went to the door and looked
over her shoulder. Bryce's back was to Rachel as she bit her bottom lip and
bent her knees a little before mouthing ohmyfuckinggod… he’s so hot…
She then smiled and closed the door
behind her.
Tension flooded the room and Clara
had no idea who was supposed to say something first. So she started small.
“Can I get you a drink or
something?” Clara asked.
“Beer?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Clara grabbed a beer from the
fridge and handed it to Bryce. When he took it, his fingers grazed hers.
Clara’s heart raced. She couldn’t control her emotions right now.
Bryce twisted the cap off and
drank. He put the bottle down and let out a sigh.
“What a day,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. It's been like this
a lot longer than a day though.”
Bryce nodded. “Was it bad?”
“It was bad,” Clara said. “You know
that though. He never changed. Only got worse.”
“Damn,” Bryce said. “I'm sorry I
was gone.”
“You left because you wanted to. Or
because you had to, right? That’s what you told me.”
Bryce stared and his lip started to
curl. “It wasn’t the easiest decision to make. Everyone thinks I just went to
sell a song and sold out. Hardly.”
“I never thought that,” Clara said.
“You were better than everyone else for making that kind of decision.”
“What about you?” Bryce asked.
“What did I leave behind?”
Bryce looked angry, but it didn’t
seem to be at Clara. He seemed pissed off at himself.
“I’m right here,” Clara said. “I
survived.”
“No help from me though.”
“Wasn’t your job to help me.
Remember? We had a long talk that night, Bryce. A long talk. You told me…”
“Forget whatever I said,” Bryce
said. “I was mad at the world. I wanted…” Bryce grabbed his beer and turned
around. He shook his head.
“What?” Clara asked.
“I wanted you, Clara. I couldn’t
have it so I left. That has never settled well with me.”
Clara wasn't sure what to do. Her
dress felt tighter than ever. She felt exposed in front of Bryce… and it wasn’t
exactly a bad thing. He looked over his shoulder at her. His eyes were freaking
deadly.
“I need to get out of this dress,”
Clara said. “I hate wearing this stuff.”
“I know you do,” Bryce said. “You
always hated dressing up.”
“Always have and always will. Not
much has changed.”
“Doubt that.”
“You weren’t here, remember?”
Bryce closed his eyes and swallowed
hard. “Thanks for that.”
“Sorry…”
Clara felt her throat tightening,
so she hurried away from the kitchen and from Bryce. Tears were streaming down
her cheeks before she could get to her room. She slammed the door but didn’t
lock it. She ran to the dresser and almost fell into it. She looked in the
mirror at herself.
With her hands shaking she reached
back and unzipped the dress. Her heart was racing and body ached to be touched…
the right way… and the right way was the way she always imagined Bryce
would touch her.
Clara stepped out of the dress and
bit her lip, wondering what would happen if Bryce walked into the bedroom right
now.
(Bryce)
She shook her head and when she
started sobbing, it was all Bryce could take. He wrapped his hands around her
arms. He hesitated as she slowly looked up at him. A tear fell from her eye and
Bryce’s finger chased it down.
“What did you tell him, Clara?”
Bryce whispered. “Please. Tell me.”
“I don’t want you to get mad at
me.”
“I never would. Not after what I’ve
done.”
Bryce touched her face. She was
soft and warm. Blinking away tears, little black lines of makeup on her face,
Clara was still incredibly beautiful. She used to be a pretty girl that liked
to hang out with the band, but now she was a beautiful woman.
“Clara,” Bryce said. “Tell me.”
“I told him I wish I had been with
you.”
Bryce froze. It took him right back
to the night he left and the feel of Clara's lips on his, just once.
Bryce started to move down as
Clara’s shaking lips parted. Another tear fell from her eye and Bryce stopped
himself from making a bad decision. He wiped the tear from her cheek and then
pulled her close.
He held Clara, just like he had
done before.
He loved her… and that was going to
be a big problem.
Karolyn James is the author of several bestselling series, including Brothers of Rock which saw the first book – All Access – hitting both the NY Times and USA Today bestsellers list as part of a boxed set. Other series include Back Down Devil MC, written under the pen name London Casey, as a bestselling romantic suspense series. Writing under the pen name of Claire Charlins, Karolyn has seen success on the western romance and historical romance charts. Now she has her sights set on the groundbreaking rockstar romance novella series titled This Road.
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