About the Book
A high school reunion is about to get down and dirty and a whole lot more
complicated in this new erotic romance from USA Today bestselling author Stacey
Kennedy.
Veterinarian, Rae Evans expects to attend a dreadful ten-year high school
reunion. Instead, she’s confronted by a past she’s never gotten over. The love
of her life, Travis Walker, has returned to Catfish Creek, and the now-famous
rock star wants only three things: Her. Naked. And screaming his name.
Fresh off his
last world tour, Travis has returned to town to get a dose of reality. With
fame casting a superficial cloud over Travis’s life, he’s scrambling to stay
afloat. He needs an anchor, and Rae is that for him. But as he finds himself,
he’s determined to remind Rae of the heat that once burned between them.
Before they
know it, their one hot night is three, and soon, just like ten years ago,
Travis holds the strings to Rae’s heart. But Rae’s not that young girl who
watched her high school sweetheart race off to become famous. She’s a woman who
knows what she wants and realizes when a man needs her. She just has to decide
if she should put the past on repeat, or walk away from it forever.
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Travis Walker made women’s panties disappear.
On most nights, anyway.
Tonight, sitting on a
wooden stool set upon the stage at Catfish Creek High School’s conference
center, only one woman was on his mind. His fingers strummed over the strings
of the guitar, mouth rested near the microphone, and after he sang the final
two lines of the chorus—I wanna kiss you
under the moonlight. And love you ‘til the sun comes up—the applause from
the crowd reopened his eyes.
Sparkling string lights
and masquerade masks hung from the ceiling above him, reminding him that he
wasn’t surrounded by thousands of his typical screaming and wild fans. In his
Texas hometown, he stared out at teachers, old friends, and classmates, all
dressed in formal wear and masquerade masks.
From his seat in the
spotlight, he recalled playing for smaller crowds on this very stage back in
high school. Those had been some of the happiest days of his life. Now, fresh
off his last world tour, he realized he loved that scene, too. The energy of a
smaller crowd, who knew him personally, and a larger crowd, who thought they
were in love with him, was so different he couldn’t compare the two, but
admittedly, he missed the intimacy that came from a smaller venue.
Done with his song, and
with the crowd quieting, he slid the guitar strap over his head and handed the
instrument back to a member of the band that’d been hired to play at Catfish
Creek High School’s ten-year reunion. When he jumped off the stage, he sighed
in relief, finding that all the cell phones pointed in his direction were now
put away, and the flashing lights were gone.
That’s when he set his
focus on what mattered tonight: finding her.
Rae Evans—the muse behind the song he sang tonight, Moonlight.
He scanned the crowd
overtop the decorated tables with their gold chairs, but the beauty had escaped
him somehow. He recognized Annie Flowers, the librarian, who gave him a little
wave, and Christopher Christianson, the principal, who was grabbing a drink
from the bar. Travis could have sworn he spotted Rae entering the masquerade
ball when he began his song. Desperation now clawed at his chest.
Determined to find her, he
moved farther into the crowd, just as his cell vibrated in his pocket. Knowing
exactly who it’d be, and that he couldn’t ignore the call, he reached for his
phone and then frowned at the text from his manager, Scott Price.
Awesome job. The video is already up on YouTube. Fans are loving
it. The mask was a nice touch. Don’t miss your flight in the a.m.
Travis shifted the black
masquerade mask around his eyes, and the muscles along his shoulders tightened
with the reminder of the weight they carried; of the need for him to always be
on point, and the fact that nothing, not even his high school reunion, was
sacred anymore.
Life had changed
dramatically since the last time Travis stepped foot in the conference center.
But he didn’t want to think about the shit weighing on him, so he fired off a
response—I’ll be on it—then tucked
his cell phone back into his pocket.
He had tonight to fix
everything that was wrong with his life, and he wouldn’t waste it.
In the eyes of his
manager, Travis had come to the reunion to put on a show and to look real to his fans. But Travis hadn’t come
for the publicity; he had come for one very good reason: to find his anchor—the
woman who stopped his world from spinning wildly out of control.
Lately, in a sea of chaos,
he’d finally stopped drowning and saw a way back to the happiness he once had.
That happiness had started with Rae, and surely, she was his way to find
himself again.
One touch. One taste. He
wanted to remember what that happiness felt like.
Again, he searched the
crowd, ignoring the way some men glowered at him, and some women batted their
lashes. Rae. That’s whom he’d come
here to see tonight. Only her.
The band behind him
started playing another ballad, and that’s when he found her, staring right at
him from across the room. She wore a
sleek, black, strapless gown around her slender figure with matching long,
black gloves.
His muscles surged with
adrenaline, and he went to move toward her when a hard voice came from behind
him.
“Karly wants you to play
another song.”
Travis slowly glanced over
his shoulder to find the biggest asshole in Catfish Creek High School history,
Jason, a blond-haired, slender, one-time big shot. Rae was best friends with
Kate, and Kate had loved—and later married and divorced—the dipshit behind him.
Times had changed.
Travis didn’t owe Jason
anything now, and he certainly didn’t owe the reunion’s event planner, Karly,
shit. “You can tell Karly that I told her I’d play one song, and that’s exactly
what I did. Bother me again, and we’ll have a problem.”
Jason didn’t make a move
or say a word in rebuttal. Once a coward, always a coward.
Refocused on the only
person who mattered tonight, and pulled by the energy only Rae conjured, Travis
stretched out his fingers, shedding his frustrations as he moved with purpose
through the crowd. Her pretty, hazel eyes surrounded by dark makeup followed
his every move, and she yanked him forward with a simple look.
She’d always been a pretty
girl, but she’d grown into a blindingly beautiful and stunning woman. Her gown
fit her like a glove. A gold filigree mask somehow made the creaminess of her
skin appear richer. She wore her shoulder-length, brown hair in big waves
framing her round face.
Tonight, she didn’t look
so fresh-faced and innocent. She looked sexy as hell, and just the sight of her
again caused Travis’s cock to swell eagerly.
While he’d talked to her
through email, text, and the occasional late-night, drunk phone call every
birthday and Christmas over the last ten years, he hadn’t seen her. Not since
that day on his parents’ porch. Sure, he’d kept an eye on her through the Catfish Creek Chronicle when they
featured her for her charity work, and also on the website for the vet clinic
she owned. But after he’d walked the path that led away from her, he’d never
found his way back. Life got busy. New friends were found. Fame overtook
him.
Now, he was…home.
When he finally reached
her, the air between them felt charged. “Rae,” he said.
Her eyes warmed. Dark,
red-painted lips curved. “Travis.”
Christ, he remembered how
those lips tasted. How she
tasted—every goddamn inch of her.
Beneath her mask, those
pretty eyes now turned a little suspicious. “Why didn’t you tell me you were
coming to the reunion?”
Perhaps he should have
called, but… “I wanted to surprise you.” Because there were important reasons
he returned to his hometown, ones that he didn’t want her to know about.
Yet.
It all began with an
article in the Catfish Creek Chronicle.
Dr. Rae Evans
feels she’s done what was needed to help the animals in Catfish Creek, and
she’s ready to begin a new journey. She’s looking to open another clinic in one
of the neighboring towns.
At
twenty-eight years old, she’d achieved what she hoped to do by thirty, and that article reminded him
of the guy he used to be when she’d first made those plans. He wasn’t the same
man who left Catfish Creek all those years ago, and he didn’t know when exactly
he lost himself. While Rae had likely found all the happiness she wanted in her
success, he simply wanted to find his way back to the carefree guy he once
was.
To do that, he had to come
back to the place where he was the happiest. He had to come back to her. “But to tell you why I wanted to
surprise you, I need to tell you a story.” He offered his hand. “How about we
dance, and I’ll share it.”
For a second, he thought
she might refuse him. She simply stared at his hand.
When her eyes met his
again, and she slowly slid her palm into his, the tightening in his chest
eased. He closed his fingers around hers and sensed her soften, making him
smile.
Reliving that infectious
energy she carried, he led her into the middle of the dance floor, then he spun
her around and pulled her to him, nice and close, sliding his hand across her
lower back.
She laughed softly, eyes twinkling behind her
mask. “You’ve still got the moves, I see.”
“My moves will never fail
me.” He grinned.
The band played the
perfect song. Something a little sexy and slow, keeping her hips swaying
perfectly with his. He did nothing to shield his erection, but one look into
her eyes told him that was all right. With her breasts pressed against his
chest, her cheeks a little pink now, he noticed the heat in the depths of her gaze.
He’d recognize it anywhere. That fire felt like it belonged to him—always had,
always would. Yet in the past, she’d shy away from that desire. Now, he noted
how she firmly held his gaze, telling him she wasn’t the young lover he once
had.
“How long are you staying
in town?” she asked, in an obvious attempt to divert their attention away from
his cock.
“Just tonight.” He stroked
his thumb over the back of her hand, keeping her as close as he could, inhaling
her flowery scent that had faded from his memory. “I fly out bright and early
in the morning.”
“Only tonight?” She shot
him a questioning glance. “You came all the way here from New York just for the
reunion?”
“You seem surprised.”
She shrugged, seemingly
unaffected when another couple bumped into her, her interest obviously centered
on him. “Seems like a long way to come for only a few hours.”
A very good point, indeed.
“Well, you see, that brings us to my story.” He sent her out, twirling her
around before bringing her in close again and returning the smile she gave him.
“But I think we need to go back even further for you to truly understand.”
“Go on,” she said,
watching him closely.
He paused, collecting his
thoughts, then he began. “You’ll never hear me complain about my life. I have
far more than I probably deserve.”
“That’s a good thing,” she
said firmly, even as a playful grin teased her lips. “You have a pretty amazing
life, and you’d better not complain to me about all the fabulous trips you get
to take around the world, or you might lose a tooth.”
He chuckled but leaned in,
calling her out. “And how do you know so much about my life? Reading up on me?”
“A little,” she admitted.
That’s what he liked most
about Rae. She was honest, through and through. The fact that she followed his
life could bite him in the ass later, but at this point, there was no going
back, so he pushed the conversation along. “So, then you know that I have a
very good life. I travel. I stay in fancy hotels. I eat at amazing restaurants.
I never have to lift a finger. I have everything that anyone should want.”
Her eyes searched his.
“But it’s not the life you want?”
Of course, she caught on.
He didn’t expect otherwise. That’s why he’d come to the reunion—to be with
someone who truly knew him. “It’s not that I don’t want the life I live,” he
explained gently. “It’s that something is missing. Something very important.”
“Which is?”
“The guy I used to be.”
She began nibbling her lip
like she used to do in high school when she became confused. “What do you
mean?”
“I can have anything I
want, Rae. There is nothing that’s not available to me.” He slid his hand along
her spine, pulling her in closer, leaving no room between them. “But the guy I
was when we were together…I don’t know him anymore.”
Her eyes softened, and her
voice grew quiet. “That’s really kinda sad, Travis.”
“It is what it is.” He
shrugged, not wanting to get stuck on the things he couldn’t change. “My
manager told me that I’d been invited to the reunion and saw it as a business
opportunity. But I saw it as a personal one.”
The song shifted to
something faster, and the crowd began to fill the dance floor, bumping into his
back. He refused to let her go, holding her tightly against him. “Do you want
to know the real reason I came to the reunion tonight?”
“Yes,” she said, a little
breathlessly.
“I came to relive the
past, Rae.” He released her hand, wrapping his other arm around her and
bringing his mouth close to hers. “That’s the only reason I’m here. I want to
remember what it’s like to be with a woman who knows the real me.” He was encouraged by her shiver. An involuntary movement
that spoke of her willingness to give him all that he wanted and more.
Hot and hard, he dropped
his head into her neck, inhaled the subtle hints of her flowery perfume, and
said into her ear, “We have a chance that many people don’t get. To go back and
feel what we felt before.” He dragged his nose across her neck in the way he
knew she liked, feeling her quiver under his hands. “Tomorrow, our lives will
return to normal. Nothing will have changed. You’ll live here, entirely focused
on your clinic and your life, and I’ll live mine in New York. Tonight’s our one
free pass to dip into the past, and I want to take it. Because tonight, Rae”—he
brushed his lips across her neck, and a soft moan escaped her mouth as he
murmured—“I want one more taste of you.”
She gasped and stepped
back, blinking rapidly. “I…sorry, excuse me. I need to get some air.” Then
those pretty pink cheeks and wide, excited eyes were gone, her dress trailing behind
her as she ran for the door.
Travis shoved his hands
into the pockets of his suit and grinned. He didn’t mind hunting her, it
sweetened his reward.
Addicted 2 Romance Review
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
This was a very short and sweet book with LOTS of sex scenes. Be sure that you like a HOT story before reading this one. This is the love story between Rae and Travis, it is part of a Kindle World series and the stories feature other characters from other authors who wrote those other books. Each story is novella length.
Travis is the Rock Star, hence the title and I really see him as more of a country star. He left behind his girlfriend Rae some 10 years before. She wanted to be vet and he wanted to be a star so he went to NY and she never planned to leave town. Now its ten years later and their 10 year reunion.
They both have always loved the other and they never found anyone to replace the other. But they only have one night to see each other because of Travis' packed rocker schedule. Is that enough time? Well you will have to read to find that out.
Did I love the story. Not really. Maybe I am too mature for this story but the thing holding them apart I found silly. Jobs and cities just does not make sense at 29 as a stumbling block than it would at 18. So I didn't really understand why they could not be together now. They didn't seem to mature as a normal 29 year old would. These two have to really figure out that where and what you are doing is not as important as who you are doing it with and I just waited for that idea to finally root in their head. I felt that ten years later they should have known that and thats more of what I expected this book to be rather than them having to figure that out during the book.
Despite that it was an enjoyable story that was well written and I did like the characters.
About the Author
Stacey Kennedy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Dirty Little Secrets and Club Sin series. She writes deeply emotional romances about powerful men and the wild women who tame them. When she’s not writing sensual stories, she spends her time in southwestern Ontario with her real life hero, her husband, their two young children, and her other babies: a mini labradoodle named Jax and a chocolate labrador named Murphy. Stacey is a proud chocolate, television show, Urban Barn, and wine addict. She likes her heroes in her books like she likes her coffee…strong and hot!
