New Flames (Rocked Love - Vol. 1): Rocked Love, #1

By Emma Brown

Volume 1 of the Rocked Love series!

Old friends - New flames.

Ben Madsen has flown into town to meet up with Juliet Davies, a long-time friend he harbors feelings for. Juliet also just happens to be the next hottest thing in the music world.

Ben and his cousin Jesse are both planning on helping Juliet with her new album, but Ben arrives a few days ahead. Long nights in the studio with Juliet soon make way for something else...

The tension between the two friends begins to mount, and playful teasing turns into something much more intense, leaving them both questioning where their friendship is headed, and if it will result in sweet harmony...or a bad tune!

Note: Parts of Rocked Love were previously published as Sweet Harmony.

Also includes Sneak Peeks at some upcoming novels!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roja Publishing
• Release date: Nov 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540154859

Emma Brown

Emma Brown is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. In her life before journalism, she worked as a wilderness ranger in Wyoming and a middle school math teacher in Alaska. She lives with her husband and two children in Washington, DC.

Book preview

Volume 1 of the Rocked Love series!

Old friends - New flames.

Ben Madsen has flown into town to meet up with Juliet Davies, a long-time friend he harbors feelings for. Juliet also just happens to be the next hottest thing in the music world.

Ben and his cousin Jesse are both planning on helping Juliet with her new album, but Ben arrives a few days ahead. Long nights in the studio with Juliet soon make way for something else...

The tension between the two friends begins to mount, and playful teasing turns into something much more intense, leaving them both questioning where their friendship is headed, and if it will result in sweet harmony...or a bad tune!

Note: Parts of Rocked Love were previously published as Sweet Harmony.

Also includes Sneak Peeks at some upcoming novels!

~Volume One~

Ben spotted her as he strode through the airport, making his way from the gate to the baggage claim. She had not yet seen him; he gave himself a moment to take her in. She was dressed in faded jeans, a tee shirt, and battered old converse high-tops, her red hair pulled back from her face. Her big, dark eyes were searching the crowd of passengers, looking for him. He had told her that she didn’t have to pick him up at the airport, but she had insisted; even from a distance, he could read the fatigue on her.

She was working long hours, odd hours—it was her usual routine when she was in the studio. Part of the reason he had agreed readily to come and help her was because he worried about her. He would never admit it to her, though—he had tried, once, a few years before, but she had laughed it off and said that she had plenty of time to sleep when the project was over. Ben sighed, licking his lips unconsciously; she had no idea that when she hair her hair up like that that she showed such a gorgeous curve of neck that he had to resist the urge to explore it with his lips and teeth and tongue.

Her dark brown eyes turned in his direction, and she found him. Her eyes widened and her face lit up with the smile he knew so well. She rushed toward him, completely heedless to dignity in her excitement. Benji! she called out, genuine happiness in her voice, and Ben felt his pulse speed up.

Hey, Juliet! She continued running towards him, stopping just short of colliding with him and throwing her arms around him. Ben closed his eyes as he hugged her tightly, breathing in the scent of roses and spice that clung to her skin and hair. I see you’re flying under the radar today, he commented, holding her away from him and giving her a frankly appraising look. Juliet laughed.

I’m not well-known enough to need to, and you know that. It was a half-truth. While Juliet was not a household name, she had a growing following—and when she was onstage, she wore distinctive makeup and clothes. She couldn’t disguise her hair without wearing a wig, but the neat bun she had it in was demure enough. Ben wouldn’t be surprised if they were stopped by fans on the way out of the airport; the band he was in with his cousin and his brother were better known than Juliet was, which would make her more conspicuous, and there was always the possibility that she would be recognized on her own.

So why didn’t you come to the airport with your hair done up and your makeup on, Miss Unknown?

She stuck out her tongue at him, her hands on her hips. Ben laughed and gestured for her to precede him toward the baggage claim. He found himself glancing down at the slight sway of her hips as she walked, and forced himself to direct his attention elsewhere. Juliet had never given him any real indication that she was interested in him as more than a friend; no matter his feelings, he had to respect that. She trusted him, and her trust was precious to him.

He picked up his pace so that he was walking next to her instead of behind; the view was too tempting. He knew that Juliet didn’t actually particularly like wearing the characteristic makeup and clothes that she wore on stage. He had known her years before she had developed that persona, and he had watched her craft it carefully. It wasn’t that she was phony—it was more that the way she presented herself onstage was a way for her to hide. The makeup was like a mask, the clothing and hairstyle were costuming. He realized that he was one of a very small group of people who knew the extent to which Juliet experienced stage fright; he had seen her backstage before a performance, had seen her hands trembling, her face pale underneath her makeup, and the wild-eyed look of complete fear. He had asked her, more than once, why she performed if it made her so scared.

Everything makes me scared, Benji, she had told him with a laugh. Besides, the stage fright passes once I’ve been onstage for a couple of minutes. He experienced stage fright, but a much milder version—and much easier to translate into excitement, rather than fear.

While they were waiting at the baggage carousel, it happened. Someone walked up to Juliet, a shy teenaged girl who didn’t quite make eye contact. Excuse me, she said, glancing from Ben to Juliet.

You’re Juliet Davies, aren’t you? Juliet smiled and confirmed that she was. I’m such a big fan of your music! Could I—I mean, would you mind giving me an autograph? The girl looked at Ben and her eyes went wide. Oh my god, Ben Madsen! Are you two dating? Juliet turned to him with her eyes widening, and laughed.

No, no, Ben’s here to help me with the new album. Jesse is flying in to help to, but Ben didn’t have anything better to do so he got here first. Ben laughed it off as well.

Juliet needs real professionals to help her in the studio. The girl nodded. Juliet dug in her purse for a pen and signed the girl’s boarding pass envelope, passing it to Ben to sign as well.

Do you think I could get a picture? Juliet glanced at Ben and shrugged.

Sure! She had told Ben after her last tour that she still felt ambivalent about taking pictures when she wasn’t in her usual stage makeup, because she wanted to defend what anonymity she could, while she could. But she had reasoned that anyone who could recognize her deserved the reward of a picture. The teenager brought her brother over to take a picture of her, standing between Ben and Juliet. Fortunately, she thanked them and left, hurrying to grab her luggage from the carousel. Ben noticed his suitcase on the conveyor belt and stepped through the press of travelers to claim it. Let’s get out of here before she tells anyone else, Juliet remarked with a grin.

Ben awoke in the midafternoon gloom, able to barely make out the sound of Juliet playing guitar in the living room. He knew she would feel bad if she thought she had awakened him, so he stayed in bed for a few moments to listen. Ben imagined her sitting on the couch, the guitar in her lap, her hands moving over the instrument slowly; her playing was more in line with almost thinking out loud than playing through a song she had already completed. He could easily picture the look on her face, the kind of abstracted concentration that he had seen so many times; her brow slightly furrowed, lips relaxed, her dark gaze distant.

He turned onto his back, closing his eyes. He had known Juliet from when they had both been teenagers—he one-third of a successful band, Juliet a fan who had won her way backstage. She had been so unlike the other fans that he had spent an entire afternoon talking to her. She didn’t scream or hyperventilate; she had smiled and talked to him person-to-person, interested and charming. She had humbly mentioned that he and his band mates had inspired her to begin learning to play guitar.

Juliet had grown as a musician over the years, developing her skills on both guitar and piano and even picking up a little percussion. He had persuaded Jesse and Ezra to let her collaborate with them on a track on their album a few years prior, and she had worked hard on her own to further her career in the music industry. She was poised to begin achieving success on her own, working on her third album, and she had asked Ben and Jesse to help her on a few tracks. I don’t like any of the session musicians the label sent me, she had told him over the phone. They just don’t have the right feel. Besides, I need the right vocal harmonies to make some of these songs work, and no one harmonizes like you guys do. She had extended an invitation to Ezra as well, but he had his hands full with his wife and new baby.

Ben got out of bed and left the guest bedroom, stepping into the living room on his bare feet. Juliet’s back was turned to him, and he heard her mutter a curse under her breath. Having trouble? He asked quietly. Juliet jumped slightly and turned to face him, smiling sheepishly.

I didn’t wake you up, did I? Ben shook his head, crossing the room and sitting down in a wingback chair next to the couch.

You need to sleep more than I do anyway, he told her. It was true; her hands had trembled slightly as she had driven them both to her house, and he could see the signs of fatigue on her face as well.

There’s coffee, she said by way of response, picking up a mug from the table in front of her. Ben chuckled, relaxing back in the chair.

When I wake up in the middle of the night, I’m willing to bet I’ll be all alone and stranded here in the house because you’ll be at the studio, recording vocal passes. He shook his head in mock disapproval.

Not a very hospitable hostess. Juliet rolled her eyes, grinning.

I promise I won’t leave you stranded while you’re here. Besides, I have a mini-studio set up here at home; I don’t need to go all the way to the studio. Ben stood and went into the kitchen.

You would find a way to work even when you’re not working, he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding sugar. He heard her laugh and came back into the room. So, what’s giving you trouble? he took a long sip of coffee and sat down on the couch next to her, looking down at the notebook she was working from. He tried not to lean in too close, though he could smell her perfume, almost feel the heat of her body.

It’s this part, she said, starting to play a few bars before. Ben listened to the melody, following the musical line of thought until she broke off. It doesn’t sound right... here. I can’t figure out what chord should come next. Ben hummed the melody, instinctively finding the note.

Drop down to the minor third, he suggested. Let me show you. Juliet handed the guitar over and he began playing the chord progression; he wasn’t as good at guitar as she was, but after years of picking away on his brother’s acoustic, he was far from a slouch. He found the chord he could hear in his head and played it in the progression, glancing up at Juliet to see if she agreed. She nodded, quickly leaning forward and scribbling the note on the page. Ben pushed down the urge to reach out and touch her; her hair was down and he remembered how silky it was. One night, while she was in college, he had invited her to fly out and celebrate her twenty-first birthday at a concert the band was playing in the Midwest; she had accepted gratefully and they had both gotten drunk, ending up the night playing a Tekken tournament on the tour bus. They had fallen asleep tangled up in each other’s limbs, though fully clothed. When Ben had awakened the following morning, Juliet’s hair was across his face, strands of it wound around his fingers.

Ben wondered briefly if it had been a good idea to stay at Juliet’s house while he was helping her with the album. Jesse would be staying, too, but he wasn’t due in town for a few days. Ben forced himself to focus on the task at hand; until he got any clue that Juliet was interested in him, he would keep assuming that she just wanted to be friends.

Juliet laid back on the couch in the control room, listening to Ben’s drum take as it was recorded. It was such a relief to have him working in the studio with her; they had only been working a few hours and she already felt better about the progress of her album. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes and following his beat. She had known that he was the right drummer for the album, even before she had worked up the nerve to ask him. From the very beginning of their friendship, she had sensed a sort of simpatico between them—he just got her, in a way that she hadn’t experienced with any of her other friends. She thought back briefly to their initial meeting; she had been so nervous to meet him, so keyed up. She could understand then why girls began screaming when he and his band mates appeared—though she herself was not the screaming type.

Instead, she had forced herself to act calm, to talk to him like a regular person. It hadn’t been hard; even as a fan she had been interested in getting to know him—Ben, or Benji as she later took to calling him—not Ben Madsen, drummer and heartthrob. She hadn’t even noticed the passage of time, or the fact that all of the other fans had been ushered out of the backstage area gradually, leaving her and one or two others chatting with the members of the band. Ben and she had exchanged phone numbers; she had been dubious about the chances that he had given her his real number, but when she had dialed it on a whim, he had answered, and she had to quickly recover from her shock.

While he and the band were furthering their career, she had been finishing school, going to college—doing all of the right things, the things her parents had wanted her to do. When she gained an inheritance from the passing of one of her grandparents at the age of twenty, she had decided to finish her degree before trying the music industry. She and Ben had developed a close friendship over the years, with Ben encouraging her to keep practicing, keep writing songs—he had been the only person outside of her family that she had allowed to hear her earliest work.

Ben finished the run-through and Juliet sat up, grinning. It had been the first take, but he already had the right beat, the right feel to his playing. It was nearly perfect. Ben was the first drummer of those she had worked with so far who could follow her shifts in time without missing a beat or making it sound awkward. Juliet stood and strode to the sound board, pressing the intercom button. That was awesome! she told him, almost laughing with delight. It was remarkable, the difference between working with Ben and working with the session pros that the label had sent. She almost couldn’t believe how much easier it was. Come listen to the playback. She watched Ben take the headphones off and put down his drumsticks. As he stood she felt a little frisson in the pit of her stomach; she couldn’t deny that Ben had grown up to be an extremely attractive man.

When they had met, they had both been going through somewhat awkward phases, though Juliet had always found Ben attractive. When she had spotted him walking toward her at the airport, however, she had felt her heart begin to race in spite of herself. His light brown hair was down to his shoulders again; she had scolded him when he had cut it all off. He had kept it in a low ponytail, a few strands hanging around his face, ever since his arrival. Years of playing drums along with an active lifestyle had given him a lean body with a muscled chest and arms—when he had hugged her, she could feel the strength in him. He had shaved the morning after he arrived, but Juliet found that she secretly liked the feel of the stubble on his face when her cheek brushed against his as they hugged. He wasn’t a clotheshorse like his cousin Jesse, but he dressed with a comfortable sort of style that suited him.

Ben came into the control room and sat down on the couch, ready to listen to the take. Juliet threw herself down onto the couch next to him, playfully draping her legs over his lap. She had thought, a few times over the years of their friendship, that he might be interested in her; there was something between him, she felt that. But he had never made a move, never suggested that he wanted anything more than their easygoing friendship. Ezra treated her like a little sister, and Jesse was difficult to read. If she was honest, she’d had more than her fair share of lust-filled thoughts about Ben’s cousin, but Jesse was always a little distant. Friendly, certainly, and he treated her no different from any of the other women in the circle of friends and family surrounding the band; but there was something that made her hesitate to even think about pursuing him.

They listened to the take together, Juliet already thinking of how she could move forward with the track—what she could add to fill out the musical fabric and make the song whole, the way she saw it in her mind. She thought she would get Ben to work with her on the vocals; it needed a harmony, though not the refined variety that Ben and Jesse managed to achieve together. She wanted something looser, softer for the track. Hey, Benji, she said when the take finished. Harmonies? She raised an eyebrow. Ben considered it for a moment.

You taking a third above lead and me a third down? In his band, Ben typically sang one the tenor harmony part, though he had a good range.

We could try it and then flip it if it doesn’t work, Juliet suggested with a grin. Her range wasn’t as good as Ben’s, but she had more alto in her range than soprano. Ben laughed and gave her a playful shove.

Because your song will totally sound great with the girl sounding like a guy and the guy sounding like a girl. Juliet giggled, letting Ben’s shove tilt her onto her side.

I’ll call it artistic. Who’s going to question me? Ben rolled his eyes, grinning.

Let’s get down to it, then, he suggested, standing in a graceful movement that Juliet envied. He reached down and pulled her up off of the couch. God you’re so lazy, he joked, poking her in the side as they walked out of the control room. The sound engineer was prepping as they walked into the vocal booth.

Laying down all the time. Juliet raised an eyebrow at him, looking up at him with a challenging glance.

You’re just jealous I don’t let you lay down with me. She stuck out her tongue at him defiantly, putting her headphones on. Ben glanced in the direction of the control room and, noticing no one paying attention to them, leaned in and licked her on the cheek. Ewwwww! Juliet said, giggling and pretending disgust as she wiped the saliva off of her face with her hand. Bob! she said into the mic, shooting Ben a playful look. Ben licked me! She heard the engineer’s chuckle through the headphones.

Bob, Juliet’s breathing my air, Ben said, adjusting his own headset and sticking his tongue out at her. Juliet glanced at the control room window and leaned up on the balls of her feet, licking Ben’s tongue quickly and trying to compose herself. She saw Ben’s eyes widen in surprise and pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

Don’t make me turn this studio around, Bob told them, ruining the effect with a chuckle. Ben reached out and tickled Juliet, and she let out a sound somewhere between a shriek and a laugh—fortunately away from the microphone. Ben laughed, ruining her attempt at a scowl.

Let’s get down to business, she said primly, taking a deep breath to control the fit of giggles that threatened. I’ll do a take just doing the lead and then we can work out harmonies from that. Ben nodded, the consummate professional once more. Juliet took another deep breath, trying not to glance in Ben’s direction lest she begin laughing again. She picked up the cue and started in the first verse, going through the lyrics she already knew by heart after multiple revisions. She had the lyric sheet for Ben to read over.

They worked on the harmonies for an hour, trying different combinations until they were both satisfied. Ben, when he was actively working, had the same kind of focus that Juliet had; she knew that as long as she kept doing takes, he would be right there with her on them. It was strange, Juliet thought as they took a break for lunch, that in some ways, Ben was as steady as a person could possibly be. In other ways, he brought an airiness to working, adding a fillip