Country Love Read online

  ***

  Roxanne Duff wasn’t just a fan of CJ Tanner and The Café Cowboys. She was obsessed with him and a self-proclaimed groupie of the band. She had been following the band’s every move since she first saw them perform during their early days at local Nashville bars. Roxanne was able to keep up on their every move because she worked at a local entertainment magazine in Nashville. She was an assistant to the editor of the Bands & Bars section and part of her job was to call all the bars every week to find out their band lineup. There was nowhere The Café Cowboys could play in the greater Nashville area or Tennessee without Roxanne knowing about it. Every time they played, she would show up but stay hidden in the background.

  She fantasized about CJ Tanner every moment she could and was now getting so lost in her fantasies that she was starting to convince herself they were real. Every time CJ sang a love song, Roxanne pretended he was singing it just for her, and in her quiet desperation, she actually believed it. The sad fact was that Roxanne was a very unstable young woman.

  She had been born prematurely just outside of Nashville as a cocaine addicted baby and had been hospitalized for months to get her safely de-toxed. Unfortunately, that left Roxanne with a number of psychological and developmental issues. Although her parents had stayed together when she was very young, her father finally left when her mom’s cocaine addiction got worse.

  She remembered her brother, at a young age himself, having to search in trash cans or steal food for them because her mom was using what little household money she had for drugs. Her mother was rarely around, but when she did come home, she brought horrible men to the house and Roxanne had to endure hearing things in her mother’s bedroom that no young girl should have to hear. Due to her out of control upbringing, Roxanne developed a severe case of obsessive compulsive disorder. Although she tried to hide it at work, she would go through the painful rituals at home of cleaning and re-cleaning, checking the stove constantly to see that it was off, and when leaving for work, she would come back to her apartment door at least three times before getting in her car to check that it was locked. CJ Tanner wasn’t the first person Roxanne had obsessed about. She had stalked a boy in high school so much that she was thrown in jail for a few days and slapped with a restraining order. After that, Roxanne dropped out of high school and took menial jobs. Her mom had since died of a drug overdose and Roxanne had no idea where her father was. Occasionally she would talk with her brother, but he had moved to Ohio and she knew she would probably never see him again. Right now, the only light in her life was her obsession with CJ Tanner. And like the situation that occurred with the high school boy, Roxanne was on the same self destructive path, determined to make CJ Tanner hers.

  ***

  When Paden walked into The Cat’s Cradle, it was filled with people. The Café Cowboys were already on stage and her eyes sought out CJ immediately. Standing at the back of the bar for a few moments, Paden watched him moving around the stage as he sang and she thought she had never seen a man as sexy as he was. His singing voice was every bit as beautiful and melodic as his speaking voice, and seeing him under the spotlights up on the stage caused an erotic feeling to warm up her body. She had never felt so horny just looking at a man, but CJ Tanner certainly had her body on fire. Heading over to the bar, Paden sat down on the last barstool closest to the stage, and after ordering a beer, she spun around on the stool to face him and the stage. As she looked up at him, she knew that he had seen her come in, and judging from the expression on his face, she hoped he was thrilled she had come. When their eyes locked for the first time, Paden saw him give her a wink. She could feel her face flushing. Thankfully due to the low lights in the club, she knew he wouldn’t see it. As Paden listened to the set, she recognized the three songs she had played yesterday in the studio and enjoyed hearing them again. They reminded her of the sparks that had flown between them and she wondered if the same thing would happen tonight.

  When the last song of the set was finished, CJ pointed at her. “I want to thank Paden Thomas from WSIX, who is here tonight, for interviewing me yesterday and for playing our songs.”

  A roar went up around the bar and if Paden could have crawled under the bar, she would have. Although she had come a long way in the shyness department since high school, she still didn’t like being the center of attention and it embarrassed her to no end. However, secretly she was a bit flattered and loved that he thanked her in such a public way. Giving a small, shy little wave to the crowd, Paden just smiled and took a sip of her beer like the applause was nothing.

  Before the band left the stage, CJ said, “If you’d like to buy our CD, Ramblin’ Road, we’d be most appreciative. There’s a table set up at the back of the bar and you’re welcome to buy one or just come over to say hello. We’ll be back for our second set in 45 minutes.” Jumping off the stage, his band mates went back to the table to sell CDs and CJ came directly over to Paden and ordered a beer. “Well, what a nice surprise,” CJ said with enthusiasm and a big smile. That gorgeous smile of his just melted Paden’s heart.

  She looked up at him, returning his smile, and said, “I wouldn’t have missed it. You guys sound really good tonight and it looks like you have a bunch of loyal fans here!”

  For the next forty minutes, CJ and Paden sat at the end of the bar, and with the exception of a few fans coming over to shake his hand and express how much they liked the band, they were left alone to talk. When CJ saw his band mates starting to return to the stage, he said apologetically, “I've gotta go back and do the second set. If you want, I’d love to buy you a drink when we’re done if you feel like staying.”

  Paden had so enjoyed their easy conversation over the last forty minutes that she knew she wanted to stay. Nodding, she said with a hint of sexual overtone, “I’ll be here.” For the whole second set, Paden listened to the band and became more mesmerized by CJ and his confident presence on stage. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Every so often, CJ would look down at her from the stage and give her a smile or a wink.

  Unknown to Paden at the time—Roxanne, sitting at the far end of the bar, fuming as she watched the couple get to know each other—was hatching a plan to destroy their relationship forever.

  Chapter Four

  Bob Stanton, the music director for WSIX, had fallen for Paden the moment she had been hired by Russ Farrell, the program director, but he kept his distance because he felt she was way out of his league. At 40 years old, Bob had unfortunately put on weight and with his hairline beginning to recede, he felt insecure about flirting with her because his gut feeling told him he would be rejected. But nonetheless, he would talk to her at every opportunity and kept his eye on her when she was at the radio station.

  When Bob learned that she had been an assistant music director at her previous station, he hatched a plan to invite her into his office from time to time under the pretense of getting feedback on some songs he was considering adding to the playlist. Bob knew he was professionally manipulating her but he carried no guilt for doing so. For him, it was a way to be close with her and to slowly see if he could win her over despite his insecurities. Often when she was in his office and he watched her as they listened to songs, he would get a hard on under his desk and fantasize about being in an intimate relationship with her. For the moment, Bob was willing to bide his time and covet her from a distance. What he didn’t know, was how long he would be able to hold out.

  Chapter Five

  Although Paden loved listening to the band play, she was glad when they were done. She wanted to be close to CJ again.

  When the house lights went up and the bar music system was turned back on, it was only a few moments until CJ joined her. After buying them both a beer, CJ pulled his barstool right up to hers and leaned into her. He whispered, “I hope you don’t find me too forward, Paden, but looking at you while I was on stage got me so horny I’d like to have my way with you right now.”

  Paden couldn’t believe her ears! She felt exactl
y the same way. At that exact moment, one of her favorite slow songs by The Eli Young Band came on and giving him an “I’ve got something in mind” smile, she stood up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him out to the dance floor.

  Sweeping her into his arms, CJ looked down at her and said, “Smart thinking, little lady. This should do, at least for now.”

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, Paden snuggled into his broad chest and moved slowly to the beat with his arms wrapped firmly around her. She could feel his cock digging into her body and his warm breath against her ear.

  “You feel so damn good,” he whispered. Paden could feel her body getting immediately aroused as his hands dropped down to rest on her ass.

  If only he would slide those big masculine hands down the inside of my pants and squeeze my ass, she thought. Looking up into his eyes, she knew he was about to kiss her and she longed for it with every fiber of her being. As she saw his head slowly move toward hers, her heart raced as he cupped her face gently with his hands and brought his lips to hers. Closing her eyes, Paden melted into his body as everything around her disappeared. All that existed was the softness of his lips, the warmth of his body and the feel of his hands against her skin. When she felt CJ’s tongue seek out hers. She tightened her arms around his neck and let out a soft groan, returning his kiss with a passion she had never felt before. For the first time in her life, Paden felt both protected and cherished. The need and lust she felt emanating from him was intoxicating. As the song ended and the world slowly came back into focus, Paden knew she wanted more.

  Looking up into his eyes, she could see he did too. Giving her a conspiratorial wink, he guided her off the dance floor and headed toward the door.

  As CJ said goodnight to the bartender, she could feel the warmth of his hand as he protectively held hers. Moments later, with no one in earshot, she had to grin when CJ said, “Come with me. I’m going to take you home. It’s time I see that sexy body of yours.”

  Thankfully his house was only 10 minutes away from downtown Nashville and her breathing quickened just thinking about him touching her entire body. As they walked out into the darkness of the night and toward his truck, sexual tension and excitement ricocheted between them. Just as they reached his truck, CJ stopped dead in his tracks. Looking up at him with questioning eyes, Paden knew instantly that something was wrong. Following his gaze, her hand flew instantly up to cover her mouth as she gasped at what she saw.

  Both headlights and rear lights of his truck had been smashed. Glass was lying below all four lights and there was a big gouge in the paint all along the driver’s side. Not knowing what to say, Paden let go of his hand and followed him as he slowly walked around his truck, seething as he surveyed the damage. Along the passenger side of the truck were a series of dents, like someone had taken a baseball bat to the doors. In a fraction of a second, their whole night was ruined and all the erotic, sexy feelings evaporated.

  “Who would do this, CJ? Do you think it was someone from the bar or just some vandals passing by the parking lot?”

  Shaking his head, CJ answered tersely, “I have no idea who would have done this or why.” Pulling out his cell phone, CJ called the police and a tow truck, apologizing to Paden for having their sexy night ruined.

  ***

  The only smiling face in the parking lot was that of a jealous, mentally unstable woman hiding in the shadows.

  Watching CJ flirting with that DJ bitch at the bar had Roxanne boiling mad. How dare that woman hit on her man! And then to see them kissing on the dance floor was the last straw. It took every ounce of her energy not to walk up to them and punch the bitch right in the face. CJ Tanner was going to be hers and no one was going to interfere with it. Roxanne knew she had to do something to make CJ pay for putting his hands on another woman and she had just the way to do it. Throwing down some cash on the bar to pay for her drink, she got up and left abruptly.

  Roxanne had been stalking CJ long enough to know which truck was his, and seeing a five foot long piece of metal pipe lying by the dumpster in the parking lot, she set about smashing his lights and denting one side of his truck. She was lucky that in those few moments, no one had left the bar or turned into the parking lot. Taking her keys out of her purse, Roxanne walked along the driver’s side, digging it into the paint as hard as she could. This should certainly wreck their night together, she thought with satisfaction. Roxanne had always had the temper of a redhead, and tonight she unleashed her fury on his truck with a vengeance. Doing damage to his truck was one thing, but she wanted the greater satisfaction of seeing his face when he saw it. Slipping around the side of the dumpster, she knelt down and waited patiently. Fortunately for Roxanne, it wasn’t long until she saw CJ and Paden exit the bar.

  Watching quietly in the shadows of the dumpster, Roxanne practically glowed with joy seeing the look on his face when he saw the condition of his truck. In her sick, delusional mind, Roxanne had completely convinced herself that he deserved this punishment for flirting and kissing another girl. Convinced that he wouldn’t be taking that woman home tonight after all, Roxanne slithered away from behind the dumpster and left in the opposite direction.

  ***

  CJ didn’t know if he was more pissed about the damage to his truck or having his plans with Paden ruined. She had been gracious enough to offer to wait around and give him a lift home but he knew it was going to be a while since he had to fill out a police report and deal with the tow truck driver. The police officer had given him a lift home and CJ had instructed the tow truck driver which auto shop he wanted his truck dropped off at. Now that he was finally home, he took his mind off the ordeal and thought about Paden and the kiss they’d shared that night. Just thinking about her beautiful brown eyes and soft sexy lips got an erection going and he knew he wanted to talk to her. Picking up his cell phone, he called the number she had given him earlier and was glad when she picked up the phone.

  “I hope it’s not too late to call you,” CJ said with lust in his voice. “I just got home and I was thinking so much about you that I wanted to call. I really had a great time tonight and I’m so glad you came. I hate that the evening ended so badly. All I wanted to do was bring you home, sweep you up into my arms, and show you how much I’ve fallen for you.”

  As Paden listened to his beautiful words, her heart swelled at his honesty. The men she had met in the past were too insecure to share their feelings, and hearing his vulnerability made her fall for him even more. Secretly, she had been disappointed that the evening’s events had curtailed their lovemaking and her body was still painfully aroused.

  Feeling a bit sexy and uninhibited, Paden suggested, “Well, maybe we can do something to relieve your stress from this evening over the phone. That is, if you have something that needs to be relieved.”

  CJ couldn’t believe what he was hearing and was absolutely thrilled with what she was suggesting. He loved this newfound little deviant streak in her, and being a red-blooded male, if she was game, so was he!

  Lowering his voice, CJ teased back, “Why, yes, I do believe I need something relieved. The thought of someone’s sweet sexy ass has given me an erection and I would hate to satisfy it all by myself. Talk to me, baby. You can even read the damn phone book if you want to. I want to hear that beautiful radio voice while I cum all over my lap.”

  Paden was delighted that the thought of her turned him on so much and she was intrigued to play this game with him. “Hmmmm…” Talking softly into the phone she began, “I’ve recently met this very handsome and talented man. He is drop dead good looking in his black cowboy hat and he plays and sings in a band.”

  “Oh yeah?” CJ breathed as he grasped his cock and started to stroke it. “Tell me more about this guy.”

  Smiling on her end of the phone, Paden proceeded. “As a matter of fact, I’m thinking about doing some very dirty things with him.”

  In barely an audible whisper, CJ said, “Tell me what you’d like to do with him.” Knowing she
had his complete attention and assuming his arousal was building, she continued, “Well, I would most certainly like to wrap my lips around his cock and suck him until he begs for more. Then, I would crawl up his body until my breasts and nipples reach his mouth and I would let him suck on them as long as he wanted. I would even let him pinch them or gently slap them while I watched.”