Rock Hard by Adriana Hunter

 
    Kate couldn’t
believe she was about to see Gage Stevens again.
    After almost
five years, she would finally come face to face with the man who had once been
ready to give her the world. His world . Only this time, he was a
mega-successful rock star and she was some down-and-all-but-out columnist working
for a New York entertainment magazine.
    Kate Preston
had been the stereotypical good girl. She had great aspirations for college and
beyond; dreams of becoming a world-renowned novelist. Funny how she had fallen
for the hip and cool rocker Gage Stevens without so much as a second thought.
    They’d met
soon after she’d graduated. She’d been hanging with her friends at a local club
where Gage and his band had been playing. Gage was the gorgeous lead vocalist
who’d caught sight of Kate in the dancing crowd. After his performance, he’d
sought her out and asked for a date.
    Back then
he’d just been one of those indie band types who performed at a few local shows
and bars every so often. He’d been charming and without question, he was the
most handsome man Kate had ever met. He pursued her with a relentless zeal that
had her succumbing in the end despite the fact that she’d never have imagined
them being compatible.
    Kate had
never really met anyone quite like Gage. He swept into her world and tipped it completely
upside down. Well, swept was an understatement. He had crashed into her
life like a destructive wave determined to crush even the smallest rock on the
shore, consumed her very being, and before too long, he was all she could think
about.
    He believed
that nothing was as important or worth worrying about except your dreams. He
was also very romantic; he surprised Kate constantly with unexpected dates and
heart-warming antics. It had been so easy to fall for him. Especially when he
was also such a thoughtful, generous and passionate lover. The nights she’d
known in Gage’s arms had been impossible to recreate with anyone else –
not that she’d dated that many after Gage in the past five years.
    The truth was
that no man had ever come close to Gage since she’d left him all those years
ago.For the last five years, Kate
had regretted breaking up with Gage Stevens – more so than ever in the
last few months, though she wasn’t quite sure why.
    At the time
of their breakup she’d thought she was being realistic when she’d told him, all
those years ago, that his dreams of being a rock star would get him nowhere and
that he needed to get a ‘real’ job.
    But now that
he was a rock god and her own career in journalism was stagnant, she didn’t
need a soothsayer to tell her how wrong she’d been.
    And now for
the first time, Kate was attending one of his concerts.
    Sold out,
Gage performed that night to hysterically screaming fans. His stagecraft had
been breath taking, his voice and music so powerful live as it was in studio
recorded music. He moved so naturally, thrilling the watching crowd to a fever
pitch. It was so easy getting caught up in the moment. The atmosphere in the
arena was incredible and Eva could understand now why Gage was the rock star he
was. Even though she’d known Gage years ago when he’d just been a struggling
rock act, she couldn’t help feeling star-struck. On the stage, above that
crowd, he came alive like no other performer she’d ever seen.
    Song after
song seemed to send the crowd into more of a rock ‘n’ roll-induced fever. The
roaring crowd knew every line of every song as they sang along. Songs of
passion, desire, rebellion and heartbreak. Kate couldn’t deny, even to herself,
that she loved his music. What was there not to love?
    The grinding
beat and the thrash of the guitars, the frenzied drums and then of course, Gage
singing in that deep, raspy voice that stirred the blood and left her heart
exploding in her chest.
    Everything
was pulsing; kaleidoscopes of lights bursting around from the screens around the
stage. Such powerfully charged choreography