Free The Forbidden Beat (A Stepbrother Romance) by Jillian Sterling

last night, discovering him in
bed with that nearly naked skank straddling his back. He didn't even try to
hide her. And why wouldn't it be okay to do something like that in front of me?
What were we to each other? I squirmed around an uncomfortable truth. That I
wanted to be the one straddling him in that bunk.
    Dion was my band mate. We were on tour together. He was my
stepbrother. Whatever was going on between us had to stop.
    "Unrequited love?" I said with a snort. "Are
you reading Wuthering Heights again?"
    "Love in the Time of Cholera," Jett said.
    Presley shuddered. "How can there be any love with that
many bodily fluids around? And they aren't the fun kind."
    Exasperation filled Jett's sigh but before she could chide
Presley for her ignorance, Devlin popped his head in the room.
    He had to raise his voice to be heard over the crowd's
chants, which were loud enough to fill the room when he opened the door.
"You ready for your second Rogue Nation gig, kid?"
    I snapped up my drumsticks and made a bee-line for the door.
I wasn't sure if I was ready for the gig, but I was absolutely ready for a
break from my thoughts about Dion.
    "Knock 'em dead," Presley yelled after me as I
scooted out of the room.
     

 
    CHAPTER NINE

     
    "Jeeze, Vince, watch it!" Jett yelled as she
ducked down, coming dangerously close to the filthy cement floor of Studio
Seven's green room. Vince popped open the champagne bottle, and the cork
ricocheted around the room, narrowly missing my sister's head. We had just
finished the radio interview, which was just down the road from the club, so we
stopped by the venue. Since we had the night off, Vince decided we should
celebrate in style.
    "Sorry, Jett," he said, handing her the bottle.
"You get first swig."
    She waved it away. "Nope, I've gotta study."
    "For that one online class?" Presley asked.
"Come on, sis, live a little."
    Jett looked at me for support, but I just shrugged.
"Jett, it's not every day bands field offers from labels like
SubPop."
    She sighed but took the bottle. When her gulp made it down
her throat, we all cheered. She passed it over to Presley.
    "Congratulations, ladies, on a phenomenal start to this
tour and an excellent radio interview," Vince said. "I fully expect
Grimm to come up with an even better offer now."
    Presley nearly choked on the champagne. "Serious
offer?"
    "Like, as in, we had an offer before?" Jett asked.
    "Yes you had an offer," he said.
    Presley smacked him in the arm. "Why wouldn't you tell
us?"
    "Because, like I said, it wasn't serious."
    "And now it is?" I asked.
    "You don't think he'd let SubPop jump in and snatch you
out from under him?" Vince laughed. "Not when you're out touring with
one of his bands!"
    "Is this why you showed up in Seattle?" I asked.
"Grimm send you to woo us?"
    Vince arrived in Seattle during our radio interview.
    "No," he said. "I came up to help you field
both offers. You want to make the right choice here."
    I bit my lip and looked him up and down. "What if we
don't want to sign with Grimm?"
    "Nikki!" Presley said, irritation edged her voice.
    "Well?" I said. "What can they offer
us?"
    Presley's eyes were still wide. "Money? A huge
marketing machine?"
    "Your Instagram selfies are the best marketing we
have."
    "Seriously," Jett added. "Your bikini shots
break the internet every damn time."
    "This is something you should think through,"
Vince said. "Instagram bikinis aside SubPop is a well-respected indie
label, and if you want indie cred..."
    My "totally" and Presley's "nope"
overlapped.
    "But Grimm is a hit factory and a marketing machine,
Instagram bikinis aside," Vince continued, winking at Presley, who beamed.
"Grimm will get you press coverage, your album will chart, you will get
your top ten hits—"
    "He'll match us with the best producers," Presley
interrupted.
    "We'll lose our autonomy," I argued.
    "Will the label want you to do it their way?"
Vince asked. "Yes. But they will give your ideas serious consideration.
But