Chapter 1
AUBREY
I uncross my legs and then cross them again in the opposite direction. Still uncomfortable, I shift in my seat. Plane seats aren’t exactly known for being luxurious, but I thought sitting in first class would be way better than coach. Guess I was wrong.
I sigh and flip through the magazine I brought on board with me, trying to take my mind off what lies in wait for me at the end.
A deep laugh rumbles next to me and I whip my head in that direction.
“Nervous?” Zach teases while he offers me one of the Oreos he’s eating.
I shoot him a look, which only causes his smile to grow wider. “No.”
He wraps his arm around me and tucks my shoulder under the crook of his arm. “You forget how well I can read that little body of yours, Kitten. You afraid of what your parents will say when you bring me home to meet them?”
“Of course not,” I fire back immediately.
I stare up at him as his green eyes search my face. His baseball cap is pulled down low on his forehead—his favorite public disguise since he’s best known for his crazy blonde and black Mohawk—framing his handsome face perfectly.
I sometimes hate that he knows me so well. The truth is I am nervous, but I’m not about to admit that to him. My parents are the most uptight, conservative people on the planet. They have no clue their little girl is about to bring home a bad-assed, tattooed rock star. I want them to get along, even though I know the chances of that happening are slim to none. I probably should’ve eased them into the idea instead of springing it on them like this, but there wasn’t any time. This trip isn’t exactly just a visit, it’s business too, and in my situation, father is the best person to ask for help.
“Attention all passengers, we will be landing in Houston shortly. Please bring your seats to an upright position and make sure your tray table is the upright, locked position…” The flight attendants instructions cause my heart to leap in my throat.
It won’t be long now.
My parents have no clue I’m coming, let alone bringing a guest with me. It was Zach’s idea to come here after the reality that I was now an unemployed new grad hit me. I cried for a solid week. It was like part of my soul had been torn away and my purpose had been yanked from me. Center Stage Marketing is a dream company to work for and I wasn’t ready to give it up.
Granted what I had done to Isaac was wrong, but it had nothing to do with my work performance. Zach tried to convince me he could help me find another job, I wouldn’t take him up on the offer though. I earned my degree on my own merit, and I want to find and keep a job the same way. The only sound thing that comes to mind is getting my old position back—via the legal route if I have to.
Zach takes my hand into his and I give his fingers a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for coming with me.”
He smiles and presses the back of my hand to his lips. “Where else would I be? You need me? I’m there. It’s you and me against the world now, right?”
I nod and stare up into his green eyes, taking in the fact again that this man truly belongs to me. “Absolutely.”
The plane touches down and I Zach and I exit rather quickly, pulling our bags along with us through the airport terminal. We finally make it to the rental car area of the airport and luckily the gray-haired woman waiting on us has no idea who Zach is. The woman processes us through in a hurry while looking up to eyeball his arms with a snarled lip every couple seconds.
She’s probably desperate to get rid of the tattooed hooligan at her counter.
Once we’re in the parking garage Zach clicks the car fob and the lights blink on a blue Ford Fusion. “That’s us.”
I grip the handle of my suitcase and roll it towards the car. “It shouldn’t take long to drive to my parent’s house. They live just outside the city.”
Zach pops the trunk and tosses his bag inside, following it with mine. “That’s good. After spending most of my time on the road, I like short trips. Being cooped up for long periods at a time sucks—it’s the one thing I hate about my job.”
I frown. “I’m going to hate that part, too. I can’t imagine being away from you so long.”
Tattooed arms reach out and wrap around my waist. I smile as Zach pulls me in tight against his hard body, and I squeeze him back as I lay my head on his chest. “I wish you would take the opportunity to come on the road with me while you’re between jobs. I would love to have you by my side.”
“Zach…”
“I know. I know. I’m being a selfish jerk. The idea of missing you after I just got you back drives me crazy.” He sighs. “I love you and I want to be with you every second that I can. Can you blame a guy for being obsessed with his beautiful, sexy, hell-raiser in the sack girlfriend?”
I giggle at how dream-like it is that he’s just as crazy about me as I am about him. “You’re ridiculous.”
A deep laugh rumbles in his chest. “Ridiculous, maybe…honest, damn straight. Come on. We better not keep those parents of yours waiting.”
I stiffen in his arms. “About that…I didn’t exactly tell them we were coming.”
I pull back and peek up at his face, afraid of the disappointment I’ll see there. His lips pull into a tight line as he stares down at me. “So they have no idea they’re about to meet me?”
I bite my bottom lip. “They don’t even know I’m dating anyone.”
This time I feel Zach’s back stiffen against my fingers. It's tension I’ve created by not being honest with him about the situation.
He starts to pull away but I grab the hem of his shirt. “Zach. Stop.”
He freezes in my grasp and tilts his head up—doing everything he can to not look at me. I study his strong jaw line and the slight stubble growing along it. I hate that I’m hurting him. Fighting with him is the last thing I want to do. I wish he could understand why I didn't say anything to them. He has no clue how hard it’s going to be facing my parents and telling them how irresponsible I was in their eyes for dating this gorgeous rock star before me, throwing my career away in the process. My father doesn’t believe in doing crazy things in the name of love.
How can I explain to Zach while I love him with every inch of my being, my father and his hard-ass ways still scare the shit out me even though I’m an adult? I know it doesn’t make sense, but I still can’t bring myself to succumb to my father’s views on life in general.
I take a deep breath. I brought him here to make them understand. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told my parents, but I knew if I did over the phone they wouldn’t get it. They wouldn’t know how special you are to me. I wanted to introduce you in person and make them see.”
Zack tips his head down and stares into my eyes before pushing my hair behind my ear. “I get it. Just because they’re our parents doesn’t make them the best people sometimes. I know that as well as anyone.”
I lean into his hand that lingers against my cheek and think about how great my family life was compared to his. And how I’m being such a baby over things and he’s still so understanding. “Thank you.”
He smirks. “Besides, you probably didn’t want your mom Googling me and seeing some pictures of her daughter’s boyfriend in um…” He clears his throat. “Compromising positions.”
I smack his arm. “Ugh. Gross.”
He laughs as he walks to the passenger side door and opens it for me. “What? You don’t think she needs a little man candy in her life? I’m sure she does after dealing with The Judge all these years.”
I take a couple steps toward him while I groan. “My parents don’t have sex, okay?”
Zach rests his hand on top of the door while I squeeze between it and the car and face him. “Of course they do. How else do you think you got here?”
My stomach turns at the thought of my parents that way. “Okay, so maybe they did it two times, but that’s it—once for me and once for my brother. No more. ”
He laughs and I scrunch my nose. Zach stretches out his index finger and taps me on the nose. “Wishful thinking, Kitten. Everyone has sex.” I open my mouth to protest, but he quickly cuts me off. “Everyone. When we hit our fifties, we’ll still be having hot, porn-like sex everyday. My stamina has no expiration date, babe.”
When he wiggles his eyebrows a laugh escapes me. There’s no doubt in my mind that this sexy beast before me will probably still have his most favorite body part standing to attention well into his golden years. It’s just funny thinking of this wild man as ever being old. He’s too strong willed and virile for me to picture him in any other state than he is right now—a tatted up rockstar with muscles galore.
I tug on the bill of his ball cap and then take my seat inside the car. “Come on, sex machine. You have some parents to impress.”
“No worries. Moms love me.” He winks at me after he shuts me in.
I shake my head. It’s kind of gross that he’s dead on. I’ve seen the way women throw themselves at my man. I’ve seen the cougars in full effect. Apparently, lust has no age limits.
Once we’re on the road, I stretch my legs out and take in the familiar scenery that covers the landscape on my way to my childhood home in The Woodlands, in northern Houston. “Make a left here.”
Zach let’s out a low whistle as we finally pull onto my street. “Wow, looks like I’m dating a spoiled, little, rich girl.”
“I’m far from rich. The Judge is the one that’s loaded, not me,” I remind him.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “Maybe so, but I guarantee you never went without.” When I don’t immediately have a snappy comeback to argue that I didn’t have it made like he thinks, he smiles. “That’s what I thought.”
The truth is I did have it made as a kid—as long as I played by my parent’s rules. I was never one really to push the boundaries the perfect child role they expected my brother and I to play, but I didn’t fully embrace the uppity lifestyle, either—which probably explains why I started dating the bad-boys in college. They were so different from the guys I grew up with in high school. They hated rules and loved their freedom, and deep-down I discovered the same thing about myself once I was out in the real world and could make my own decisions.
Zach pulls into the drive and cuts the engine before turning his head my direction. “Anything else I need to know before I walk in there?”
My mind wonders through a few scenarios of how this first meeting could go down. The last boy I brought home was clear back in high school, and he was nothing like Zach. While my mother knows I tend to get my heart crushed by loser men, she’s never had the pleasure of meeting my new type. She’s used to seeing me with uptight jerks like Isaac, so I’m not sure how she’ll react. I pray they remember their manners and are polite to him, whether they approve of our relationship or not. If not, I’m going to have to put on my big-girl panties and tell them to fuck off.
Not one piece of advice to give to Zach flits through my mind, but I want to reassure him as I hope for the best. “Just be your charming self and they’ll love you.”
He flicks his green eyes towards the large, two-story, brick home in front of us. “I can’t get over the size of this place. Lawyers really make that much?”
“The good ones do.” I touch his hand on the gear-shift. “Remember, my dad takes his job pretty seriously, so don’t crack jokes about it. He actually likes it when my brother, Gabe and I call him The Judge like the rest of this town. That’s how much he’s into it. It’s his life.”
Zach raises his brow. “Maybe I should have you start calling me Guitar God. Might be kind of fun, especially in the bedroom. What do you think?”
I smack his arm. “I think you better keep dreaming, because that’s so not happening.”
He laughs as he opens his door. I take a second to appreciate the view when he walks around the front of the car. His jeans hang low on his hips, yet hug his butt perfectly, accentuating the curve, making it almost yummy enough for me to take a nibble. The white t-shirt he’s wearing strains against his toned, tattooed arms as he reaches up and tugs on the hat that’s hiding his trademark hairstyle. He’s so freaking hot. How did I get this lucky?
Lost in the thought of how sexy he is, I jump and clutch my chest when he opens my door.
He stares down at me with those sparkling, green eyes with a perplexed expression. “You alright there?”
A blush fills my cheeks as I stand up. “Never better.”
Zach wraps his arms around my shoulders and grins. I inhale the spicy scent of his cologne mixed with the soap he uses. “You were thinking naughty thoughts about me again, weren’t you?”
I bite my lip but never tear my gaze away from the challenge in his eyes. “Maybe I was.”
A growl escapes his lips as he pushes his hips against me, allowing me to feel the growing erection in his pants against my belly. “Damn it, Kitten. See what you do to me. I swear to God I’m on like a fucking light switch whenever thoughts of you and sex enter my head at the same time. You’ve ruined me for life.”
I laugh and run my hands up and down his back. “I’m glad I’ve ruined you for all other women. I want to keep you all to myself.”
“You don’t ever have to worry about that, babe.” He reaches up and tucks a strand of my auburn hair behind my ear. “If I have it my way, you’ll be stuck with me forever.”
His thumb traces my chin and he leans in and presses his lips softly to mine. My legs below me instantly turn to jelly and I sink further into him. It’s amazing the affect a simple kiss from this man can have on me. It was one simple kiss from him that first night backstage that turned my world on its head and changed everything in my life. For him—for this love we have—I would do anything. This man is my world.
My lips part of their own accord and I allow his tongue to slip inside my mouth. I grip his shirt in my hands, holding on tight as I get lost in how much my body craves him.
Lean muscle pushes against me and I steady myself against the car for support. Zach’s fingers thread into my hair and a small whimper escapes my lips when he pulls away. Feather light kisses run along the corner of my mouth before he works his way across my cheek to the spot just below my ear that drives me crazy. My head falls back as he runs a hand down my side.
We probably look semi-pornographic making out in my parent’s driveway, but I don’t care. Zach brings out a wild side in me even I didn’t know existed—a true rebel willing to risk anything for the man who makes my body feel this good. His touch is pretty damn addictive.
He sighs against my skin. “We should probably go in before someone reports the tattooed man mauling The Judge’s daughter to the cops.”
“To hell with the neighbors,” I breathe, not wanting to lose this feeling.
Zach chuckles. “As much as I would like to give the neighbors a hell of a show by fucking you on the hood of this car, I don’t think it’s the best idea. I actually want your family to like me.”
My shoulders instantly sag. “You’re right. It wouldn’t be a good look, would it?”
He pulls his lips into a tight line and shakes his head. “Probably not. Besides, your father has enough connections to kill me and get away scot free if he were to catch me with my dick in his little princess.”
I pinch his pierced nipple through his t-shirt. “You know exactly what to say to ruin a perfectly romantic moment. My father shooting you is the last thing I want to picture right now.”
“Ouch!” He swats my hand away and then rubs his chest. “Oh, you’re going to get it!”
Zach leans in and smiles playfully, ready to pounce on me and a voice behind us stops us both in our tracks. “Get what?”
I jerk my body to the right in order to peer around Zach’s shoulder and see my brother behind him. “Gabe!” I scurry over to him and he scoops me up in a bear hug. “What are you doing here?”
Gabe laughs and tosses his shaggy, brown hair out of his blue eyes. “I could ask you the same thing, little sister.”
He sets me on my feet. Gabe’s filled out since I saw him last spring. The gleaming-white, tennis outfit he’s wearing shows off the lean muscles in his forearms and toned calves. “Wow. You been working out?”
He shrugs. “A little. The ladies seem to like it.”
I laugh. “Always the ladies man—you never change.”
Gabe grins down at me. “Can’t say the same thing about you, sis.” His eyes flit over my shoulder in Zach’s direction. “Who’s this?”
I smile and then turn towards my boyfriend who’s’ watching us with mild curiosity while leaning against his rental car. “Gabe, this is my boyfriend, Zach. Zach, this is my brother, Gabe.”
Zach pushes his sculpted body away from the car and extends his hand. “Hey, man. Nice to meet you.”
Their hands make a small audible clap when they meet. “You, too. Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”
My brother’s eyes scan my man’s tatted-up arms as he mentally tries to place his familiarity. While I know why Gabe thinks he’s seen Zach, I won’t burst in and ruin Zach’s cover if he isn’t ready to share that part of himself with my family, yet. I’ll leave that secret for him to reveal.
Zach shrugs and grins wickedly. “Maybe at the country club?”
My bother pauses for a moment before he chuckles, catching the hint of amusement in Zach’s voice. “I think I would remember you at the club. Hell, you’d be my biggest competition for the ladies. I know how they go gah-gah over men with tattoos.”
I hook my arm through Zach’s and peer up at his face. “I can vouch for most women when I say tattoos are sexy.”
My brother shakes his head. “Let’s hope you’re right about that, sis, because he’s about to meet a woman who I’m pretty sure has a snooty-stick shoved so far up her ass she doesn’t find anything appealing, let alone sexy.”
I smack my brother’s arm. “Gross! Don’t ever say Mom and sexy in the same sentence ever again. Those two words are now forbidden for use together.”
Gabe laughs. “You know I never did like rules. We always had that in common, remember?”
I give Zach’s arm a gentle squeeze, thinking of how I’m breaking the rules right now by bringing this man home. “I do. Are Mom and The Judge home?”
“Yeah, they’re in there. They don’t know you’re coming do they? I mentioned you coming home this weekend and neither of them had no clue what I was talking about, so I left it alone. I figured you had your reasons.”
I shake my head. “No. I didn’t want to explain my unscheduled visit with them.”
Gabe’s eyes widen and instantly drop down to my stomach. “Holy shit! Are you pregnant?”
My hand flies to cover my belly. “God, no! “
“You’re getting married then, or you’ve already gotten married?” My brother grins while his eyes bounce back and forth between Zach and me. “I’m glad I decided to come home from school this weekend. This should be a damn good show.”
“You’re an idiot.” I sigh. “It’s neither of those things…” My eyes flick to Zach’s for a split second before I turn my attention back to my semi-annoying sibling. “At least not yet, anyway. But, there is something pressing I need to speak with them about.”
Gabe waves us towards the house. “Well, come on. Let’s get this show started. I have a court reserved in a bit with a hot, little blonde from the club. I’m hoping to crush her on and off the court, if you know what I mean.”
I roll my eyes. “What is it with you men and sex? Is that all you ever think about?”
Both men in my presence answer “yes” in unison, and then immediately laugh.
“I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Zach. Watch out for my old man, though. In this case the apple falls very far away from the tree.”
“Thanks for the tip, bro. I’ve heard some stories about The Judge,” Zach says.
“Most are probably true. Tread softly, man. The tattoos won’t help your case much, I’m afraid. He’s old school and correlates them with criminal activity.”
Zach shakes his head. “That’s so judgmental. Talk about stereotypical.”
My brother shrugs. “He is a judge. It’s his job to be judgmental.”
“Touché,” Zach laughs. “Let me grab our bags from the trunk.”
“I’ll help you,” Gabe says.
My heart warms instantly at the sight of the man I’m deeply in love with talking and laughing with my one and only sibling. More than anything in the world, I want Zach and my family to get along well. I know if they can see the way he loves me they’ll understand why I love him so much and why he’s the perfect man for me. Gabe’s right though. The tattoos won’t make the best first impression—neither will his occupation once they all find out who he is, but I hope they can get past that. I need them to get past that, because no matter if they approve or not, this is the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.
My brother takes my bag from the trunk and Zach closes the lid. “Anna nearly has dinner finished. You’re just in time to sit down to a traditional Sunday lunch with the family, Zach.”
Zach arches his pierced eyebrow. “Anna?”
“Our housekeeper,” I answer after retrieving my purse from the car. “My mother hasn’t cooked a meal herself since Dad’s career took off.”
“And that’s a blessing if you ask me. Anna is a much better cook than Mom.” Gabe states as we head towards the front door. “I prefer a little Latin flavor.”
I smirk at him, knowing he’s not just referring to food. “You mean you prefer Alandra, Anna’s daughter.”
Gabe stops at the door and grins while his free hand rests on the handle. “I haven’t seen Alandra since she went away for college on the East coast.” His eyes get lost, and almost have a dreamy appearance like he’s remembering some long lost dream. “I wonder what she’s up to? I bet she’s hot now.”
I shake my head and nudge his shoulder. “Come on, Romeo. Let us in.”
The heavy, wooden door swings open with ease as soon as Gabe turns the handle. The house is just as immaculate as always. The gleaming, white tiles in the foyer make the double, grand staircases stand out against the stark walls. The round mahogany table between them matches the wood throughout the house perfectly, while the bright yellow and pink flower arrangement resting on its surface gives the room a pop of color.
“Wow,” Zach says as he takes in the large space. “If MTV ever brings Cribs back and wants to come to my house, I’m bringing them here instead. This puts my place to shame.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t. I can’t wait to see your place,” I say.
A wide smile stretches across his face. “Soon.”
The sound of high heels clicking against the floor catches my immediate attention and I stiffen. “Good land of the living, is that my Aubrey I hear in here?”
Mom appears in the room in a pink knee-length skirt and matching blouse, her pearls on display around her neck. Her auburn hair hangs loose above her shoulders, and as always she looks very put together. I smile as I set my purse on the table and step into her outstretched arms. “Hi, Mom.”
She pats my back. “Darling, it’s so good to see you. Let me take a look at you.” She steps back and grabs each of my wrists, effectively spreading my arms away from my body for her once over. “Charles, dear, you must come greet our unexpected visitor!”
I freeze as my mom calls for my father to enter the room. In an instant, my father is there, dressed in his khaki pants and long-sleeved button down shirt—his typical casual Sunday outfit. His salt and pepper hair is neatly trimmed and styled like he’s stuck in the eighties.
The Judge smiles. “There’s my little princess. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming, honey?”
I cringe at him referring to me as his princess. It only solidifies what Zach was saying earlier about me being spoiled.
“It’s good to see you, Judge,” I step into my father’s awaiting hug.
“Dear, would you pay the poor cab driver so he can leave,” Mom says to Dad while clutching her pearls, and I instantly jerk away from the hug.
“Here you go, young fellow.” Dad reaches for his wallet and I shake my head placing my hand on his arm, stopping it mid-motion. “Don’t be silly, Aubrey. I’ll pay your fair.”
Without warning the Judge takes a couple steps toward Zach and stuffs a wad of cash in his hand. Zach’s eyebrows rise as he stares down at the money. My face heats up and I know it’s fifty shades of red as I feel embarrassed that my family is so close-minded to think my man is nothing but a hired hand. I want to crawl into a hole and die.
I reach over and touch my father’s shoulder. “No, Daddy. He isn’t the cab driver. This is Zach, my boyfriend.”
The Judge eyebrows pull together in confusion. “Boyfriend? Honey, I don’t understand. Have you seen this man? I thought your mother and I raised you better than that.”
“Daddy, please!” I scold my father while anger that he would treat the man I love this way boils inside me. I step to Zach’s side and wrap my arm around his waist while he throws his arm over my shoulders. “I love him and I would appreciate if you could all to treat him with the same respect you show me. Besides, he’s not some riff-raff off the street, he’s—”
Zach holds up the hand holding the money, cutting me off mid-sentence. “Let him think what he wants about me.” In a swift motion Zach stuffs my father’s money in the front pocket of his jeans and my heart thunders, knowing this is his way of telling my father to fuck off. “He is The Judge, after all.”
The Judge narrows his eyes and raises a pointed finger at Zach, ready to fire threats like he always does when he’s challenged. I grip my man’s side preparing for my father’s wrath.
I hear my mother gasp and my mouth hangs open just before her body goes limp and she collapses to the floor. She was never good with conflict, passing out at anything the slightest bit stressful.
“Honey?” My father lands on his knees next to my mother’s side holding her head up while my brother uses his medical training to assess her.
Zach and I stand in my family’s foyer wrapped together in a show of solidarity. No matter what they say, I’m going to be with him. Like he said earlier, it’s him and I against the world. If my parents don’t want to support that, I might have to make one of the most difficult choices I’ve ever had to face and cut them out of my life.