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Caitlin Ryan had turned his whole world upside down. Here they were, at the start of the band’s tour, and he had fallen like a ton of bricks for their new lead singer. He wouldn’t go so far as to fool himself that he was in love with her—more in lust—but he was aware that one or two quick hot tumbles in bed were never going to be enough to satisfy the bone-deep yearning he had developed for her. Not for one moment had he meant for such a thing to happen, but somehow, in some way, Caitlin had got into Jake’s blood and there wasn’t much he could do about it.
How in hell was he supposed to keep a clear head and do all the things he normally had to do to help support and motivate the band? Get them out on the road with all guns blazing? Just seeing her every night for the next six weeks up on stage was going to be the sweetest torture. He already had to feel sorry for Rick and the others, because his mood sure as hell wasn’t going to improve if he couldn’t touch Caitlin in the way he ached to touch her. He’d either end up having to take religious vows or quit managing the band. Either way, his libido was definitely going to come under some serious duress.
* * *
The first shock Caitlin had received on reaching London was the discovery that she was going to be put up in Jake’s flat in Chelsea for the two nights they were there. It had turned out that the rest of the band all had homes in the capital, including Rick. But Jake had quickly vetoed his friend’s suggestion that Caitlin stay with him.
It had been too late for her to protest at the arrangement and organise an alternative, so she’d kept her doubts to herself and agreed. The most important thing was the coming performance, and she absolutely had to make a good impression…for all their sakes. But when they’d arrived at the fairly compact popular West London venue, Caitlin had found herself having to change into her stage gear in the ladies’ room, because by the time they’d rehearsed, done a sound-check and had a meeting with the venue manager there had been no time to go back to Jake’s place and get ready.
Frowning into one of the less than pristine mirrors, she had applied her make-up with a thumping heart and trembling hand, inadvertently spilling the contents of her make-up bag into the porcelain sink when she’d yanked out a tissue too hard to pat her lipstick dry with.
Now she stood in the wings with the rest of the band, feeling a bit like a little girl playing dress-up in her mother’s best clothes, only partially tuning in to Rick’s animated pep talk as he paced up and down in front of them, like an army sergeant pumping up his platoon for battle. In front of the small raised stage the crowd had swelled and the anticipation that crackled in the air was not dissimilar to the lightning strike before a torrential downpour.
There was a rumour going round that many of Blue Sky’s fans who had supported them from the beginning with Marcie had turned up to support the band’s return, in spite of their disappointment that she had walked out. Naturally Caitlin fretted that she would never pass muster.
Rick had told her that her style was quite different from Marcie’s but that that was a good thing. Her strong vocal suited the band’s music perfectly. Like a match made in heaven, he had assured her with a smile. But, while she welcomed the compliment, and was glad that the relative intimacy of the venue was perhaps not as intimidating as a much larger one might have been, her stomach was sick with nerves at the thought of being put through the ultimate baptism of fire for a new singer.
And where was Jake? He had been with them up until about half an hour ago, when he’d murmured something about ‘last-minute arrangements’ then disappeared. Caitlin found that now, when it came to the crunch, she needed his assurance more than ever.
‘Is everyone okay?’
And suddenly he was there, his grin lighting up the dim little space to the side of the stage like a beacon shining in the dark, his misty blue eyes immediately seeking her out as though it was implicitly understood that she was the one who needed his assurance the most.
‘You look terrific,’ he told her.
Even as he spoke, Jake was thinking that she looked much better than that. She looked nothing less than drop-dead gorgeous. The purple velvet top she had selected on their shopping trip clung to her body in all the right places and her long black skirt skimmed the flat plane of her stomach and the soft swell of her hips as though it had been exclusively designed for her shape and her shape alone. Inevitably, his blood headed immediately south. Even if Caitlin couldn’t sing a note, the men in the crowd were going to give her a lot of rope and that was a fact. It heartened him to know that they were all going to be pleasantly surprised.
