The Billionaire's Rock Star - Lori Ryan Page 0,48

had swooped in and cut him off, hanging on his arm and draping herself over him in a drunken effort to hold his attention. But, what he’d noticed was Pru’s look. She had looked at him...in a critical way. Like she knew the kind of man he was—a man who went through women faster than clean shirts—and her expression told him she wasn’t interested in having anything to do with a man like that. He can’t say he really blamed her. At the time, it was true—he dated a lot. A whole lot.

So he’d kept his distance. But, over time, they had talked when they found themselves at events together. He was drawn to her. Then, they started meeting on the rooftop gardens of the Towers where they talked a lot more. Got to know more about each other.

He had told her she could come up to his rooftop garden anytime he was in the hotel at the same time she was if she needed to escape the madness of her world, if she needed peace and privacy.

But now? Well, now he wanted more than occasional chats on rooftop gardens. He wanted to see where this would go with her. Good time or not, he wanted to pursue this relationship. And he sure as hell wouldn’t walk away while she was in danger. He’d be there with her through this whether she wanted him there or not. And, in the end, he’d find a way to convince her he wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t going to move on to the next model or actress or whatever. He wanted Pru.

Chad and Zach knew Gabe planned to follow her back to the hotel. They couldn’t do much to stop him, and it didn’t appear as if she had asked them to do anything about it, so they let him do his thing.

He stepped out of the town car at the airport and strode up the steps to his private jet. He’d call Chad from the plane to be sure PJ got on her plane all right. She hadn’t let him give her his jet to use so he’d arranged for her to borrow Jack’s. He didn’t want her flying commercial at a time like this. The press would be all over her, and she wouldn’t have a minute’s peace on a commercial flight.

Chapter 16

Pru followed Chad off the de Havilland jet, her guitar slung over one shoulder. She’d played a little on the flight, but she still felt as if she were somehow cut off from her music. It left a hollow ache in her stomach.

Zach flanked her and the steward carried her bag behind her. Her eyes landed immediately on the limousine and black SUV parked on the tarmac near the plane.

Well, those weren’t exactly what her eyes fell on. No, they locked on Gabe who leaned casually against the limo, his long legs crossed and his phone in hand, looking like he was answering an email or text. Then he put his phone in his pocket and glanced up. He smiled and waved at her.

Waved. As though she hadn’t told him she didn’t want him there.

“Can we have a minute, guys?” Gabe asked, looking at Chad and Zach as PJ only stared at him. She had a feeling her jaw was on the ground, but she didn’t care. The man just didn’t give up.

As ticked off as she was about that, certain unmentionable girlie parts were doing a little happy dance over the same. But worse, her heart was skipping wildly in her chest. Darn him.

Chad and Zach nodded and stepped over to the SUV, while Gabe opened the back door to the limo for her and ushered her inside. The privacy partition was up, separating the back of the car from the prying eyes and ears of the driver.

PJ waited for Gabe to explain himself, watching warily as his eyes pierced hers. He sighed and pulled her across the seat into his lap where she squirmed in response. He slapped a strong arm across her legs and locked her in place. “Keep that up and we won’t be talking much longer, sweetheart,” he growled.

She stilled. “Gabe, what part of ‘I don’t want you here’ did you not understand?”

“PJ, I’m not Jimmy Mondo or that idiot, Kurt Tolleson. I’m not using you, and I’m not going to get bored and leave you. A long time ago, I thought the age difference between us would be a big deal, but now