Chapter 4

"So, you're an author, and you've got quite an impressive backlist. Is that right?"

"I think others will have to decide if it's impressive, but I think I've got something like eighty or so stories out there now in various forms."

There were gasps from the audience, and Keith nodded, adjusting his suit as he did. It was dark gray and fit his slightly short frame well.

"That seems like an impressive amount to me. Am I right?" he asked, looking at the audience.

Cheers came back, making me smile with gratitude and feel even more relaxed.

"And your latest one is a fantasy epic? Out in a week and already expected to do well."

I nodded, momentarily confused by his Irish lilt and giving myself a moment to run his words through my head and make sure I'd heard them right.

"It's the last one in the series, and each release has really built on the one before," I said, hoping I'd interpreted him correctly. "I've been very fortunate."

Keith smiled and then spent the next few minutes talking about the feedback I'd had on the series and how my career had grown. I answered the questions as matter-of-factly as I could while seeming warm and excited about it.

"Am I right in saying you had the idea a long time ago, as well, but you've only been writing the books in the last few years?" he asked a moment later.

"Yes. I always knew the series would be an important one to me, so I waited until I felt good enough to write it and do the characters and their stories justice."

"Because characters are important to you. And you've stated many times in the past that they feel like real people?"

"Yes. It may sound a little crazy, but they come alive. I often feel like I'm sitting at a laptop or with paper and pen, furiously trying to transcribe their actions as quickly as I can." I smiled, grateful that all the questions so far had been ones I was expecting.

"And speaking of the characters coming alive, I'd like to do something I've never done before and give you all a little surprise," Keith said, almost entirely interrupting me. "I'd like to bring on a second guest!"

The audience erupted again, clearly excited about the idea of the first-ever double on the show.

I exhaled, grateful the focus wasn't on me for the moment, as Keith waited for the cheers to subside so he'd be heard.

"My next guest is in town to record a brand-new album. The lovable rogue and everyone's favorite actor, Jack Starling."

If I'd thought the crowds were loud earlier, they were a hundred times louder when they heard Jack's name. Almost immediately, he appeared out of the same gap I had, and I had the sense to relieve my already painful foot by getting up to move over on the sofa.

Before I could sit down again, however, Jack had finished greeting Keith and chose to do the same to me, giving me a hug and pecking me on the cheek.

I almost froze, my heart skipping a beat as I inhaled his cologne.

Damn, he smelled good.

As he sat, I managed to persuade my body to follow suit, putting myself on the far edge and immediately feeling a little calmer, doubting that most of the audience would give me a second thought now.

Who would get any attention when they were beside the hottest celebrity on the planet? Not to mention the richest.

I listened as Keith asked him about the new album and the latest film he'd been in. It was one where he'd sung and played his guitar for a scene, and they showed the clip. I hadn't seen the film yet, but I was mesmerized, his deep but somehow gentle voice intoxicating.

"Well, that seems to be a hit with the ladies," Keith said at the end of the clip over lots of feminine cheers and catcalls.

A moment later, our host looked straight at me, and I tried to return my mind to the task of being interviewed.

"And speaking of having an effect on the women, I understand you're a big Jack fan, Juno."

I nodded a little and felt my cheeks instantly heat up, but Keith didn't stop there.

"So much so that you wrote a romance under your pen name based on him?"

I blinked. How the hell did he know about that?

"Is that true, Juno?"

I felt rather than saw Jack shift uncomfortably beside me, turning his body slightly toward me, and I gulped. Was there any way to answer this question that kept my dignity intact? I wasn't sure, but however I answered, I had to do it soon. The room had gone silent while they waited for me to respond.

"I have a billionaire romance or two under my pen name, yes."

"The erotica and dark romance pen name that was revealed in the last year, I understand. And one of those is about Jack?"

"I…" My voice cut out, my cheeks so hot I could barely breathe, let alone think. "It's not one of my very dark stories, but it has elements of suspense."

"And a dominant-and-submissive style relationship, with Jack being the alpha male."

"Yes, well…sort of." I paused, my brain finally catching up. "When I plan a story, it's common for me to take inspiration from the people around me, and then that takes on a life of its own. The characters very quickly become people of their own."

A slight grin crossed my interviewer's face, and I could have sworn he was enjoying my discomfort and my struggle to answer without embarrassing both of us.

"So yes, I started a character from what I knew about Jack, but I always ask myself questions like how would someone meet this person? What would put them off the other main character? And as I build all that up, they morph into something else. Someone else."

This seemed to make Jack relax a little, and relief flooded through me. Maybe I could rescue this. They shouldn't have ever known I'd written about Jack. I'd only told a few people when acting as my pen name.

Someone had been digging, and I had a feeling this question was payback for our insistence that we would both be interviewed. It was embarrassing for both of us.

"And why the submissive-dominant element? I understand the female character was based on you. In essence, it was sort of Jack Starling fan fiction," Keith continued, his eyes full of sparkling delight and the corners of his mouth twitching up farther.

Somewhere on the inside, part of me grew cranky enough that the embarrassment melted away. I was the sort of person who, when intimidated and threatened by a bully, found an inner strength, and it didn't fail me now.

"As I already said," I continued politely but firmly. "The characters soon take on a life of their own, and I don't truly know Jack. We met for the first time today, so they would never be perfect representations of each of us at all. I started a story because I wanted to explore the dynamics in a dominant and submissive relationship that didn't involve the other BDSM elements."

There was a pause, and I expected Keith to jump in. Instead, Jack turned even more toward me.

"You've got me curious now. Go on," the billionaire rock star said, smiling in a much more genuine way. The audience let out little chuckles.

"It wasn't long after your trial against your ex-wife—sorry to bring that up," I said, looking at Jack for the first time properly. "I didn't know what the verdict was, but I knew you had to be innocent of any wrongdoing."

There was silence in the room so intense I felt myself get emotional, but no one else spoke, almost as if they sensed that I hadn't finished explaining.

"My heart broke for you, and I guess when I thought of a story where two broken people came together and healed each other, I thought of you first. I wanted to create a character who genuinely loved you and wanted to see you return to the alpha-male role you belonged in."

There was a collective sigh from the audience and a nod from Jack. I'd done it. I'd won them all over and rescued myself at the same time.