DAWN RYDER - ROCK STEADY
• 320 pages
He kept it casual
Superstar guitarist Ramsey's reputation as a bad-boy rocker is exceeded only by his dedication to his music. He's worked hard for the success of his hit metal band Toxsin, and he intends to enjoy it-completely. When a jilted groupie gets back at him for a one-night stand with an intimate-and completely inappropriate-tattoo, he needs it fixed, and fast. Sparks fly between Ramsey and his new tattoo artist, and Ramsey finds himself hoping for more than new ink.
Until she made him want more
When a high-profile tattoo job lands Jewel an invite on Toxsin's latest tour, she can't say no. It'll be great exposure, after all. What she's really worried about is ruining the gig by hooking up with the first guy to completely rock her world. She knows she should resist-Ramsey's not the kind to stick around for a morning after. But the way he makes her feel-as an artist and a woman-could be worth any risk.
Superstar guitarist Ramsey's reputation as a bad-boy rocker is exceeded only by his dedication to his music. He's worked hard for the success of his hit metal band Toxsin, and he intends to enjoy it-completely. When a jilted groupie gets back at him for a one-night stand with an intimate-and completely inappropriate-tattoo, he needs it fixed, and fast. Sparks fly between Ramsey and his new tattoo artist, and Ramsey finds himself hoping for more than new ink.
Until she made him want more
When a high-profile tattoo job lands Jewel an invite on Toxsin's latest tour, she can't say no. It'll be great exposure, after all. What she's really worried about is ruining the gig by hooking up with the first guy to completely rock her world. She knows she should resist-Ramsey's not the kind to stick around for a morning after. But the way he makes her feel-as an artist and a woman-could be worth any risk.
We all remember RAMSEY - guitarist of the very famous metal band Toxsin.
He's just had a little affair thingy with a groupie, but the poor girl probably thought it was a forever kind of love... And even though he never lies to the girls about his intentions, she still got him drunk and dragged him to a tattoo studio to get him the most rockstar-inappropriate tattoo: cherry blossoms!!!! In a very private area!!
But still an area he undresses for the rock audience every night on stage. And a famous rockband can't have a bad-ass guitarist with cherry blossoms on him!!!
Enter: Jewel
She decided to take a year after college to live a happy, fullfilled and exciting struggling tattoo-artist life before going back to her normal, boring life in an office.
And she's really good at the artist thing too.
Good enough to fix Ramsey's cherry blossoms into a bad-ass dragon.
Also - instant mega-attraction between those two.
And when her idiot boss yells at her and fires her because she didn't call him when the band showed up, Ramsey saves her and promises to find her a new job.
The new job turns out to be the bands personal tattoo artist ... She'll go on tour with the guys, to finish Ramsey's tattoo once it's fully healed.
But of course it's not an instant Happy Ever After.
Even though Jewel & Ramsey see each other every day, it's not easy. Ramsey is a very complicated guy. Ex Navy soldier with lots of baggage. But Jewel sees the real guy behind the tough rock-star facade.
But does he want her to see the real him?
He's just had a little affair thingy with a groupie, but the poor girl probably thought it was a forever kind of love... And even though he never lies to the girls about his intentions, she still got him drunk and dragged him to a tattoo studio to get him the most rockstar-inappropriate tattoo: cherry blossoms!!!! In a very private area!!
But still an area he undresses for the rock audience every night on stage. And a famous rockband can't have a bad-ass guitarist with cherry blossoms on him!!!
Enter: Jewel
She decided to take a year after college to live a happy, fullfilled and exciting struggling tattoo-artist life before going back to her normal, boring life in an office.
And she's really good at the artist thing too.
Good enough to fix Ramsey's cherry blossoms into a bad-ass dragon.
Also - instant mega-attraction between those two.
And when her idiot boss yells at her and fires her because she didn't call him when the band showed up, Ramsey saves her and promises to find her a new job.
The new job turns out to be the bands personal tattoo artist ... She'll go on tour with the guys, to finish Ramsey's tattoo once it's fully healed.
But of course it's not an instant Happy Ever After.
Even though Jewel & Ramsey see each other every day, it's not easy. Ramsey is a very complicated guy. Ex Navy soldier with lots of baggage. But Jewel sees the real guy behind the tough rock-star facade.
But does he want her to see the real him?
WHAT WiLL HAPPEN WITH JEWEL & RAMSEY?
WiLL THERE BE A HAPPY EVER AFTER?
OR WIiLL THERE BE A CLiFFHANGER?
Nope - I'm not telling you anything!!! ☺
WiLL THERE BE A HAPPY EVER AFTER?
OR WIiLL THERE BE A CLiFFHANGER?
Nope - I'm not telling you anything!!! ☺
__________________________________________________
I'm the biggest Rockstar-Romance-Fangirl EVER!
And this rockstar was really hot and funny and adorable and broken.... you can't help falling for Ramsey!
We're on tour most of the time... that means the whole band is in this book a lot. I loved that. I can't wait to read the books of Taz & Drake - they all have a lot to tell.
This story was soooo adorable and sexy and funny and cute and HOT and moving and sad and frustrating. The whole 'I want you but I don't want to want you or I don't want you to want me and you couldn't handle the real me anyway' thing was a bit too much for me. It was too much back and forth. We all know they'll get together in the end and we just want them to get there already. But it takes them forever ...but I still loved Ramsey & Jewel a lot!
I love it when a rockstar romance is really rockstarish - meaning - they're on tour - we're seeing the roadies and bus-rides and paparazzi et cetera.
ROCK STEADY was a really sexy and sweet Rockstar-Romance!
You will sooo want your own Ramsey after reading it! ☺
You will sooo want your own Ramsey after reading it! ☺
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#EXCERPT
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#EXCERPT
“Pissed off your girlfriend?” she asked pointedly.
“She wasn’t really a girlfriend.”
Jewel
clicked her tongue and looked back at the cheery blossoms. “By the look
of that, she disagreed with you on the topic. She must have taken you to
Spike Collar.”
Taz was
typing into his cell phone as she spoke. “Makes sense. You surfaced
right around where that tattoo parlor is on the map.”
“Just don’t go back there,” Jewel warned as she went behind the counter and pulled a blank sheet of paper in front of her.
“Why not?” the blond asked. “I’ve got half a mind to have my lawyer pay them a visit.”
Jewel
didn’t look up from what she was drawing. “Won’t do you any good. They
never touch a client without a release of liability signed and sealed,
with video footage to back it up. Whoever was
gunning for you did her homework. The gals at Spike Collar don’t like
guys, and they really don’t like any males who try to charm them.” Jewel
cast a look at Ramsey. “You are exactly the sort they hate. Bet they
popped a bottle of champagne the second you
cleared the doorway with that little gem.”
Taz made a low sound under his breath.
But
Ramsey was watching her. She felt his attention tightening, focusing on
the motion of her pen as she inked a design on the paper. He’d sent a
shiver down her spine before, but now he was warming
her insides, melting her core slowly with the absolute devotion he was
giving her. She looked up, locking gazes with him.
Her insides churned.
And her toes curled.
She’d never felt so connected to another soul. It was his doing, and she realized that his arrogance was something he’d earned.
That fact slapped her across the face and sent her into a full meltdown. He was the sort who could captivate.
Which was a damned dangerous place to go.
It wasn’t
like she had any personal experience with it. Still, she felt like she
was on pins and needles. The sheer level of sensitivity the guy was able
to elicit from her was off the scale. It
was fascinating to say the least.
As well as a really bad place to go when he looked like he could afford to hire her.
She
looked back at her work, forcing herself to focus on the art and get a
grip on herself before he knocked her flat. Sweat popped out on her
forehead, but her hands responded perfectly. Art was
like a living force inside her. A place she could take refuge in as
well as being a gift she might share. She let it consume her, the
drawing coming to life beneath the strokes of her pen. It was a little
like giving birth: first she had to let it grow and
form before it was ready to breathe.
“That is smokin’ hot,” Taz said as he leaned on the counter to peer at her work.
“You’re good,” the blond said in a tone full of awe.
Ramsey
reserved judgment until she’d shaded in the last few areas on her
sketch. When she lifted her pen, he swept it up and studied the drawing.
It was a metal dragon crawling down his abdomen
toward his cock. Its front claws would be where the cherry blossoms
were, and its tail would wrap around his lean hip and onto his lower
back. It wasn’t a reptilian dragon. It was a steel one, a merging of
metal and mythical creature.
His eyes
narrowed as he studied it, seeing more than just the black lines. He was
seeing the attitude she’d tried to capture and portray. His expression
gave her a hint of the man inside him. She
got the impression he spent a lot of time covering up that man with his
didn’t-give-a-rat’s-ass attitude.
But she saw it.
His
attention shifted to her, their gazes locking over the edge of the
paper. For a moment, she caught a flicker of understanding in his eyes.
Just a moment of awareness, a few seconds when he admitted
to himself that she saw him.
Really saw him.
It didn’t
last long. In fact, she found herself questioning if it had really been
there, when his gaze hardened and sealed her out of that place he was
determined to keep private.
“You recognize me,” he said.
It wasn’t
a question, but she felt inclined to answer anyway. “It isn’t hard to
peg you for a metal-head when you’re wearing nothing but leather and
have a stud bar through your nipple.”
“I’m a metal god,” he said.
“Right,” she countered, feeling a rise of heat in her cheeks. “I’m good at what I do.”
“You are,” the blond interrupted. He was studying her portfolio. “So why are you working the graveyard shift?”
“I wanted
to work at the best shop in town. That left me to choose between Spike
Collar and here,” Jewel said without hesitation.
“But you’re not a lesbian,” Ramsey finished for her. “Bet that was a bit of a problem with getting hired over at Spike Collar.”
“Definite
ripple in the pond,” she confirmed. “Not on my side, mind you. They
just don’t like straight girls. Shame really, they know how to do tats.”
“So do you.” Ramsey was thumbing through the pictures of her work. He had that businessman expression.
“Who are
you?” she gave in and asked. All three men looked up at her. “I mean,
since it sounded like you were trying to impress me.”
“Impressing you will involve more than my name,” her client said.
His lips
curved, and his expression became sensual. He flattened his hand on the
counter between them and leaned toward her. In one flat second, it felt
like her breath caught in her lungs. She
was hyperaware of him, fighting not to take a step back. There was a
flicker of approval in his dark eyes as she managed to stand her ground.
“Count on
that fact.” Her voice had turned raspy, but his arrogance was rubbing
her pride raw. “I do tats. Only tat’s for pay. So if you’ve got a
problem understanding boundaries, the door is behind
you. There’s another place up a couple of blocks that opens in a few
hours.”
Taz
reached over and shoved Ramsey. “I told you not to piss her off.” He
shook his smart phone in the air between them. “She’s the best in the
nearest three cities—checked her out.” He turned to
look at her. “Your references rock. Why are you working in this dump?”
“Because
my boss might be a prick, but he’s also got twenty-five years’
experience, and references to top mine. I want to learn from the best,
and there are a few things you can’t learn from anyone
but a master.”
Taz nodded. “True, even if some masters are egomaniacs.”
“You didn’t answer me.” Jewel aimed her inquiry at Ramsey. “Who are you?”
“Ramsey, Taz, and I’m Syon,” the blond answered. “We’re members of a band called Toxsin.”
She bit back the snide, Yeah, right, that tried to escape her lips.
No way.
But they
were all standing there looking pretty confident. She reached over and
tapped “Toxsin” into the laptop on the countertop. Their website was the
first thing to come up. She clicked on the
link.
“What the
fuck are you doing roaming the streets?” She looked between the screen
and the three guys standing in front of her. It was weird, to say the
least, to have the pictures from the screen
living and breathing in her shop. “Don’t you have people to deal with
stuff like this?”
Ramsey
eyed her from where he was lying on the counter. “I’m a hands-on sort.”
He covered her hand with his, stroking the back of it.
Jewel ended up taking that step back. Victory flashed through his eyes as she sent him a sharp look.
Taz punched him in the shoulder again.
“How’s that ‘hands-on’ thing working for you tonight?”
Jewel said. It was a barbed comment, a challenge. Hell, it felt like
she’d smacked him across the jaw with a white glove and dropped it at
his feet.
The way
his eyes narrowed confirmed he felt the same way. For one split second,
she half feared he might just flip the counter out of the way or jump
over it.
“Let’s focus on the problem,” Syon said. “We need this fixed—discreetly, quickly.”
“No
joke.” Jewel happily changed thought tracks. She pulled one of the shop
disclosure agreements up onto the counter. The tightly packed lines of
legal mumbo jumbo didn’t give her the same sense
of comfort they normally did. Ramsey grabbed it and yanked the top off a
pen before boldly scrawling his signature across the bottom line.
Taz was flipping the lock on the front door.
“Good idea,” Jewel agreed. She didn’t care for the fact that she had to take a breath before getting her feet to move.
Ramsey
flopped down on her worktable, popping his pants open. They were custom,
all right, the right side of them shaped perfectly to contain his cock.
The guy had an impressive package.
She ended up stopping halfway around the counter, earning a smirk from him.
“Don’t let my fame make you nervous,” Ramsey teased her.
“Typically,
I worry about my clients taking their displeasure out on my hide.” She
made it to her stool and sat down. Her workstation was normally the
place she felt most comfortable.
Today, she felt like the padded stool was full of spikes.
“So what’s your problem with me?” Ramsey asked.
She wasn’t going to answer that.
Nope.
Not a chance.
She turned half away from him and sterilized her hands.
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked.
Jewel turned back toward him and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
What a man animal.
She
really needed to get a grip and enjoy the moment. She was pretty sure
she was never going to get the chance to work on so fine a specimen
again.
“I’m thinking you wouldn’t think twice about filing a lawsuit against me, signature on a release form or not,” she said.
His
expression turned serious , his eyes narrowing, his lips thinning. “I
don’t get my kicks out of using my money to pin my mistakes on other
people. I own my fuckups.”
It wasn’t what she’d expected him to say.
But she liked it.
A whole lot.
Integrity was something most people sold out on. Especially when it came to admitting they’d made dumb mistakes.
“I’m beginning to see why the gals at Spike didn’t refuse to do your girlfriend’s dirty work.”
Ramsey leaned his head back. “She wasn’t my girlfriend.”
“I’m guessing that was the problem.”
He’d closed his eyes but opened them and looked at her. “Guess it was. But I didn’t lie to her.”
He really
did own his screw-ups. It was there in the flat acceptance on his face.
He looked past her to his bandmates. “I’m good. You guys can shove
off.”
“Not a chance.” Syon settled himself on the other worktable. “Those little pink flowers will take us all down.”
“Yeah.” Taz sat down behind the counter and claimed her laptop. “Besides, I don’t trust you to be polite. Jewel is a lady.”
Ramsey made a low sound under his breath. “I bet she gets naughty with the right company.”
Jewel
didn’t look up from where she was cleaning the skin on his abdomen. She
was no stranger to personal jabs, especially off-color ones.
What surprised her was the way her pulse leapt.
She needed to get a grip.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Taz said. “She’s an artist, like Kate.”
“Yeah,” Ramsey agreed. “Sorry, I’m still a little buzzed. Talking out of my ass.”
Jewel
warmed under the single word of praise. She got the impression Ramsey
didn’t hand out undeserving compliments. She ended up looking into his
eyes because he was watching her.
“Kate made my pants.” He gestured at his buddies. “She makes all our leather gear.”
“She’s
good.” Jewel picked up her sketch and began to position it. “I see my
share of leather around here. The good, the bad, and mostly the ugly.”
“She’s the best,” Syon added without opening his eyes. “Even has good taste in men.”
Ramsey snorted. Syon offered him a single-finger salute.
“Aren’t you guys cute,” Jewel muttered.
“There’s nothing cute about the part of me you’re looking at.”
She should ignore him.
Should,
but she wasn’t going to. Jewel looked up and caught Ramsey grinning at
her. “Did you want this done sometime before Christmas?”
“You wouldn’t let me go on stage wearing flowers…would you, Jewel?” He tried out his puppy eyes on her.
“The idea is growing on me.”
He made a soft humming sound beneath his breath. “I like a girl who plays rough.”
“I bet you do.”
Which was just enough of a reality slap to get her focused. He was an animal, the prowling kind.
And she was already living on the edge enough.
She got the drawing in position and transferred it onto his skin.
Canvas.
Normally the word helped her tune out everything but the art.
Yeah, well there wasn’t much of anything that was normal about Ramsey.
↓ LINKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR ↓
Dawn Ryder is the erotic romance pen name of a bestselling author of historical romances. She has been publishing her stories for over eight years to a growing and appreciative audience. She is commercially published in mass market and trade paper, and digi-first published with trade paper releases. She is hugely committed to her career as an author, as well as to other authors and to her readership. She resides in Southern California.