Hold Me: Music For The Heart - Book One Read online

  Hold Me

  Music For The Heart - Book One

  Faith Starr

  Love isn’t something you find.

  Love is something that finds you.

  Loretta Young

  Music For the Heart 1: Hold Me

  Copyright © 2017 by Faith Starr

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Faith Starr. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  E-Book ISBN: 978-1-94898900-8

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-948989-01-5

  Editors: Ann Curtis, Rebecca Fairfax, Faith Starr

  Cover Artist: Kelly Martin

  Published in the United States of America

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning

  This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is intended for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  This book contains descriptions of past physical and sexual violence. Care has been taken to be respectful to those who might be easily triggered. Please read Chapter 29 with caution. Help information is located at the end of the book for those who might be suffering or have suffered from sexual or domestic violence.

  DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Faith Starr will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of her titles.

  Contents

  1. Teva

  2. Joey

  3. Teva

  4. Joey

  5. Teva

  6. Joey

  7. Teva

  8. Joey

  9. Teva

  10. Joey

  11. Teva

  12. Joey

  13. Teva

  14. Joey

  15. Teva

  16. Joey

  17. Teva

  18. Joey

  19. Teva

  20. Joey

  21. Teva

  22. Joey

  23. Teva

  24. Joey

  25. Teva

  26. Joey

  27. Teva

  28. Joey

  29. Teva

  30. Joey

  31. Teva

  32. Joey

  33. Teva

  34. Joey

  35. Teva

  36. Joey

  37. Teva

  38. Joey

  39. Teva

  40. Joey

  Epilogue

  Promise To Fulfill - Sneak Peak

  Other Titles by Faith Starr

  Please Review My Book

  About Faith Starr

  Acknowledgment

  Hold Me Playlist

  Help Information

  1

  Teva

  “It’s time! Hurry up! Call now!”

  I practically jumped two feet off the ground when Lily yelled. Hell, I even placed my hand on my chest, surprised she hadn’t given me a coronary. “You scared me half to death!”

  “You’re fine. Now, hurry up and call!”

  Jeez, thanks for the love and concern.

  Lily and her ridiculous obsession with winning the radio contest had gotten downright out of control. She’d called the station all week long, praying for an open line, only to get a busy signal again and again, over and over, way too many times to count. And when she was working at the hospital, she’d have me phone the radio station for her. Totally insane, if you asked me.

  Today was her last chance, the final giveaway. And even though she behaved like a thirteen-year-old with a starstruck crush, I hit the green circle on my cell phone per her orders, on Speaker, also as requested. She had already prepped our phones with the number, both ready and waiting to be dialed.

  I took my time, in no rush whatsoever, pressing the green circle on repeat mode. I knew I wouldn’t get through. I hadn’t all week. Why would today prove any different?

  I hated to sound so pessimistic. But in all honestly, what was the probability of Lily winning the free tickets? I’d say null.

  There she went, frantically performing the same drill at warp speed. I had to give her credit, the girl remained steadfast in her belief that destiny would have her meeting the boys of the band Steam in person.

  Keeping one finger steady on the trigger, I used my free hand to reach for my freshly brewed mug of herbal tea resting on the counter.

  Lo and behold, after dialing the number about fifty or sixty times, an insane amount, the call went through on my end. I set my cup down, not wanting to spill the hot liquid on myself.

  “Holy shit, Teva, it’s ringing!” Her eyes bulged, she tossed her phone on the counter. She barreled into me so she could see my screen. It was almost as if she thought something magical would appear on it.

  We both stared at the device. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because over the course of the week, I had gotten through several times only for the call to disconnect while waiting for a DJ to answer it.

  Poor Lily worked fiercely to contain herself. She watched the phone so intently she didn’t even blink.

  “Answer, please answer.” She had her hands in prayer position.

  Unfortunately for her, the DJ couldn’t hear her pleas, whether silent or aloud.

  “95.5 Hot Times, what is your name?”

  Hmm, then again, maybe he had.

  Lily’s mouth hung open in response. She paced nervously back and forth, having a quiet dialogue with herself, her lips moving a mile a minute. She resembled a patient in a psych ward. Something I knew about firsthand—and I’m not talking by personal experience—but rather as a clinician.

  I wanted her to speak with the DJ, but in her current state of panic, I didn’t think she’d be capable of holding an intelligent and comprehensible conversation with anyone, which left me with the job.

  “My name is Teva.” I kept the phone on Speaker so at least Lily could hear me and the guy chatting.

  “Like the shoes?” the DJ replied with a chuckle.

  “Sure, like the shoes.” The joke had lost its luster over the years. I made sure to reel in my sarcasm, though, because right now the guy speaking to me was dangling a carrot in front of both me and Lily.

  “Well, Teva, you’re the fifteenth caller. Do you know what that means?”

  Yeah, it means I dialed the number a hundred times to be the fifteenth person to get through.

  Something seemed so wrong with that equation.

  “It means I’ve just won two front-row seats to the upcoming Steam concert on Wednesday night as well as a backstage meet and greet, right?” My heart pounded harder after I uttered my reply, the realization of the magnitude of the prize hitting fast. Sure, I wasn’t a die-hard fan of the band, but I still enjoyed their music. Besides, I had never won a radio contest before, and it felt awesome. I could hear myself in the background on t
he radio in the living room while speaking to the DJ.

  By this point Lily started hyperventilating as she sat on the kitchen floor, leaning against the wall with her head resting between her knees.

  Holy moly.

  “You’re a smart girl and a lucky one too. Not only did you score two front-row seats and a meet and greet with those sexy men of Steam, but it’s also a sold-out show in their hometown, so it’s going to be a spectacular experience. Who will you be bringing along with you?”

  “My best friend, Lily, who’s about to pass out from excitement.”

  He snickered. If he only knew I spoke the truth.

  “Do me a favor and save all that enthusiasm for the show. It’s going to be a blast. If you don’t mind, Teva, please hold for a minute, so I can put you on the line with someone who can give you more details about your big win. Congratulations again. Well, you’ve heard it. Teva is the final winner of our Steam free ticket and meet and greet…”

  Blah, blah, blah.

  I couldn’t focus on the DJ’s speech, too eager for him to connect me to the person who held the golden prize.

  “Good luck on scoring them.”

  At those words, I tuned in again to his deep voice. It meant he had finished rambling on about the contest.

  “In the spirit of Steam, I’m going to play their number one hit, ‘Rest Alone.’”

  Now came my turn to nervously pace back and forth in the kitchen, the phone pressed against my ear, off Speaker, waiting for someone to give me more details about how Lily and I could claim our tickets.

  “I can’t believe we won! I’m going to meet Trevor Stone. I can’t believe it!”

  “Me neither. This is crazy.” I inhaled slowly and released my breath in the same controlled manner, trying to calm my racing heartbeat and trembling hands. I didn’t get my sudden bout of nerves. Maybe Lily’s were contagious.

  “Teva, are you still there?” a man questioned over the line.

  The phone shook against my cheek due to my quivering hand.

  “YesI’mhere.” My words came out as one.

  “Glad to hear it. Your tickets will be held at the station. You can pick them up anytime this week between nine and five. All I need now is your full name and the best number for us to reach you.”

  “Teva Feingold. My friend Lily will be joining me at the show. She might have to pick up the tickets depending on our work schedule. Her last name is Cooper.”

  I gave the man our contact info and answered a few more questions.

  After disconnecting the call, I joined Lily on the floor.

  She reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in my insanity all week. I know I’ve acted like a total basket case about this contest, and I apologize for my atypical behavior. But we won, we actually won!” Tears trailed down her cheeks.

  “Hey, this was all you. I merely helped out. But now that we’ve won, I’m stoked.”

  “Me too. You can’t imagine how much.”

  I nodded, thrilled at the prospect of going behind the scenes to check out the wild world of rock and roll.

  2

  Joey

  “Down to the finale, man.” Trevor beat his sticks against the small table as the tour bus moved steadily along.

  “I’m looking forward to taking a well-deserved break.” Logan leaned against the back cushion of the sofa, cradling his head in his clasped hands.

  “So is Dani. She already made plans to meet up with some old friends tomorrow,” I added.

  “Which old friends—the hot, single, female type?”

  My lip curled up in response to Logan’s words. The guy couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. He literally had hope in his eyes while waiting for my reply. And he certainly didn’t lack pussy. The guy had a smorgasbord of it on a nightly basis.

  “Old friends you probably went to school with as well, dickwad. But Daniela didn’t invite you, so it’s irrelevant.” He’d get my point with my smartass reply.

  “Are you going?” he asked.

  “It wouldn’t matter if I was, because you aren’t.”

  “Dick.”

  I had no sympathy for him in this instance.

  “You have handfuls of women swooning all over you nightly. Besides, some of the friends my sister is meeting up with are guys, so unless you’re into that sort of thing, it’s a nonissue.”

  Trevor’s tapping ceased.

  Hmm, why did he freeze when I mentioned Dani going out with guys? The drummer had more sense than to even think about going there with my sister. He knew better than to touch her, let alone think about it. At least I hoped so.

  “Are you going to gripe about it too now?” After sensing Trevor’s sudden withdrawal, I wanted to see what he fed me regarding the topic.

  “No, man, I’m good.”

  Yeah, right.

  For some reason, I didn’t believe him or his cocky smile.

  “Excellent. And for the record, I’m not going out with Dani and her friends.” The main reason being that one of them happened to be an old flame; a flame that didn’t require another match. That candle had burned and melted into nothing a long time ago.

  Dani and I were fraternal twins, my one and only sibling and best friend. She toured with the band and acted as our assistant. Hey, if I was going to be successful, my sister might as well take the ride along with me. Besides, I felt an overwhelming need to take care of her, so there was no way in hell I’d ever leave town without her. She had suffered enough back in the day. That shit would never go down under my watchful eye. Not if I could help it.

  The guys had no qualms about her presence either. We had all known each other since our high-school days. They treated her like a sister, with all the teasing and arguing that went along with it.

  Logan wore a big-ass grin.

  “What the hell do you find so amusing?”

  “The swoons of women we have available to us every night. This is the life, my friends.” He had satisfaction with the concept written all over him.

  Trevor shook his head. I knew exactly where his thoughts had drifted, because mine were in the exact same place. We sent each other silent messages with our eyes.

  Logan could be a real prick when he wanted to be, especially when it came to the ladies. If karma had its way, he would be a heartbroken son of a bitch one day, for the second time. Sadly, his dick behavior was the result of heartbreak. The guy had never truly gotten over his ex, and it had royally fucked him up big-time for all future women. He wouldn’t let one get within ten feet of his heart.

  I also knew, though, that if I confronted him about my knowledge of the inner workings of his mind, he’d bite my head off. So I refrained, choosing to keep my mouth shut instead. Oh, he’d fight me and Trevor tooth and nail that he loved every minute of living the wild life with the groupies, but I called bullshit. To myself, that is.

  As for me, perhaps in the beginning I’d had fun screwing around, but time and the same old thing made the thrill seem to all but fade and disappear.

  “Speaking of which, now that we’re home, are either of you up for some play at Hilltops? I’m game for some club festivities.”

  What a great suggestion I had made, one my dick twitched at the notion of, encouraging more of the pussy talk, craving some action. It had been a few days since I’d blown a load. I could certainly use a release about now, and Hilltops would be the right place and the perfect opportunity to do just that since it catered to those who got off on kicking things up a notch in the bedroom, which I for one did.

  “I’m in.” Logan didn’t have to think twice before responding.

  “Trevor?” I tipped my chin in his direction.

  “It depends on when you’re going. “

  Something was going on with him. I couldn’t pinpoint the cause, but he wasn’t acting like his usual chipper self.

  “I’ll give Mitch a call tomorrow to see what fun’s to be had at the club,” I offered.

&n
bsp; “Sounds good.” Trevor nodded. “‘By the way, what time is sound check?” He rose from the couch and helped himself to a cold bottle of water from the small fridge in the kitchen area.

  My phone gave me the answer. “We should be arriving at the arena in a few hours. I think I’ll get some shut-eye while I still have the chance.”

  “Me too.”

  “Is there something going on between you and Joey that you’d like to share?” With a wiseass smirk, Logan sat back and crossed his leg over his knee.

  His comment didn’t dignify a verbal response, a visual one, yes. I gave him the bird as part of my wave and headed back to my bunk. Trevor followed me, going to his own.

  I got comfortable resting on my bed and checked my phone one last time. Camilla, our band manager, had sent a group text, giving us an update about the scheduled meet and greet prior to our performance.

  As much as I loved meeting our fans, the meet and greets took the heaviest toll on me. It didn’t help that the year prior, one of our female fans had gone a little overboard and somehow discovered where Dani and I lived.

  One night I came home to find a girl camped out in front of our apartment with a sleeping bag. When I approached, she screamed. She scared the living crap out of me. But sometimes you get a feeling about people, an intuition. She happened to be one of those times, so I didn’t call the cops or report her. I sensed she was harmless, which fortunately, she turned out to be. All she wanted was a picture with me and an autograph. I agreed to both.