Always Rocking: A Heavy Metal Romance (Slava Pasha series Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Always Rocking

  A.D. Herrick

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to any person, place or theory is in no way intended or to be inferred as fact or reference.

  The work is the singular property of the Author, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission, unless as part of a Review, Interview or Public push of the work and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Contains adult situations. 17+ only

  Cover Design by A. D. Herrick

  Copyright ©2017 Herrick

  ISBN-13:

  All rights reserved

  Also by A. D. Herrick

  (A Heavy Metal Romance)

  Rock On

  Rock Harder

  Rocking Away

  Secrets

  Echo

  Rip It

  Á La Mode

  Chasing Brittan

  Break Down

  Acknowledgements

  To my husband, Kevin, Thank you so much for always being there and taking care of the kids while I locked myself away to write. You have been my rock and without you, I would have been lost. I love you like a love song baby!!

  To my readers, thank you so very much for picking up my book and taking a chance on me. Without you I wouldn’t be here, pouring out my thoughts and bleeding the words onto the paper. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

  Judy Halloran, you have saved my bacon more times than I can count. Thank you for everything you do! Thank you for your time, patience, and support! You’re the best editor a girl could ask for XOXO

  Michelle, Girl what can’t I say about you? Thank you for taking a chance on me! Thank you for your continued support and for helping me get my books out there for the world to see! I FLOVE you!!

  “Oh, take your time, don't live too fast

  Troubles will come and they will pass

  You'll find a woman and you'll find love

  And don't forget that there is a someone up above”

  Simple Man- Shinedown

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  About The Authors

  Chapter 1

  The house was becoming an estrogen factory with Nic, Damon, and Tosha talking as much baby talk as their women. I can excuse the girls. They were, after all, elbows deep in babies. Katinka just had Karina, Evie was pregnant, and Alexa had just become a mother to Damon’s baby, Dominik. The men had no excuse. They just forfeited their man cards and tucked their balls away in their ladies purses, the sorry bastards.

  We were now rotating between two babies instead of one at night. Not that it bothered me. I loved my niece and nephew more than anything. What did bother me was the extreme pressure that had been pounding down on my shoulders.

  I could feel the pressure from my parents to follow suit, find a woman and start a family. It bothered me, forcing me to shut myself away from everyone. I wasn’t bothered by all of the baby chatter and the pressure to have one of my own. Hell, I would have loved to have had a baby of my own. The thing is, not everyone gets as lucky as Damon and has a baby just given to them. Babies don’t just fall from the sky, and you can’t go randomly picking one out at the supermarket. No, babies were much harder to acquire than that.

  I never saw myself settling down and having children until I first held Karina in my arms. Once I laid eyes on her I knew that one day I wanted one of my own. Her rosy pink lips and fleshy cheeks were the start of my downfall. Once Dominik came along I knew for a fact that I was a goner. He was just as adorable as Karina and further cemented my desire to have one of my own. I quickly changed my mindset of wanting a child of my own one day to wanting one right now, immediately, right this very instant.

  I couldn’t even begin to explain why I wanted my own tiny human. It was weird for me, too. I couldn’t wrap my head around the drive and desire to procreate. What was it about a tiny human that drove one to near madness to have one? I blamed the estrogen filled house. I blamed Katinka, Evie, Alexa, Tosha, Damon, and Nik. I blamed them for creating this burning desire in my heart and in my soul with their perfect relationships, their perfect families. It was like watching history repeat itself and I was left standing in the background watching it all unfold.

  I also blamed Ivan. Ivan left me alone to battle this demon on my own. He has been away from the house more often than not, sometimes taking off for weeks at a time. He left me alone with the estrogen factory to fend for myself. It was most definitely all Ivan’s fault.

  “What has you looking so glum?” Katinka asked from the doorway into my bedroom, her head cocked to the side in curiosity. My beautiful niece sat tucked in her arms, swaddled in a soft pink blanket.

  “Gimmie that detka baby.” I held out my arms, wiggling my fingers impatiently as I reached out for Karina.

  “I swear you men are turning into chicks with dicks.” Katinka huffed as she handed over the baby.

  I rolled my eyes at the five foot two firecracker in front of me. “You kiss my niece with that mouth?” I scolded as I graciously accepted the bundle of joy that was placed in my arms.

  Motherhood had agreed with Katinka. She had bounced back to her tiny frame not long after having Karina. Her hips had widened and her ass was a tad bigger, but the curves did nothing but enhance her figure. I bounced the baby in my arms as I took in the appearance of my sister.

  Katinka was my sister by choice, not by blood. We had all been raised together since infancy, Katinka, her brother Nik, her husband Tosha, Ivan, and Damon. Our parents had been best friends and thus we had all become best friends. The guys and I were all in a band together, Slava Pasha, and had made it big over fifteen years ago. Nik was our lead singer, Damon was on the drums, and that left the rest of us, Tosha, Ivan, and me on guitar. We had a huge scare not long ago when Nik was diagnosed with throat cancer. Katinka agreed to join us to cover for him while he recovered from the surgery to remove it.

  Katinka ended up marrying Tosha and stayed on with us during the tour, even after Nik was given a clean bill of health. Having her up on stage with us just felt right. She was like our missing puzzle piece. As the tour wound down Katinka found out she was pregnant and we all decided to take a break from the road and soak up some much needed R&R.

  We were only planning on being home for a year but then Damon was gifted a baby by a woman he had met in a pregnancy chat room. Sadly, the mother had passed and since she knew Damon was financially well off she wanted him to raise her baby. I think it was a real wake-up call for him. Damon had always been a player, never sleeping with the same woman more than once. Katinka had challenged him to go celibate until he met The One. He ende
d up finding the love of his life Alexa and was given an instant family. Overall I was happy with how things had worked out for him.

  Then, we found out Nik and his new bride, Evie were having a baby. We all decided to take off work for an additional year. This would give time for Nik and Evie to enjoy her pregnancy and give them both time to bond with the baby before we had to hit the road again.

  Being surrounded by babies and women having babies was having a decided effect on me. I couldn’t get enough of them and had even started wanting a family of my own, which was strange for me, considering how much I enjoy playing the field. But I knew that to have a family, I had to settle down. It was unlikely a judge would grant an adoption to a single father, no matter how fat his bank account was, and there would definitely be hesitations about giving a baby to someone who was on the road more than he was home.

  I looked up from the precious bundle in my arms to find Katinka still standing in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest wearing a pair of faded distressed blue jeans that hung off her hips and a black tank top. Her hair was parted on the side, cascading across her face. She had started to let her hair grow out from the rocker cut she had on tour. It was good to see her trying something new. Her dark chocolate brown hair reached her shoulders giving her a more adult look.

  Karina cooed in my arms drawing my wandering thoughts back to her. Her tiny fist tugged on the scruff of my beard reminding me of her presence. I had started growing my facial hair out, hoping it would give me an edgier look. Karina seemed to love it. She loved to tug on the soft patches of hair and giggled when it brushed against her tender skin when I blew raspberries in the apex of her neck.

  Karina’s bright blue eyes shined up at me as she gurgled. She would be an early talker. She was always gurgling and making cooing noises. Her eyes were bright and dazzled with intelligence. The thick dark hair on her head was all her mothers. The eyes she definitely got from Tosha.

  “So what’s going on with you?” Katinka asked again refusing to let the question go.

  I had hoped that if I ignored her that she would just go away and drop it, so much for wishful thinking. I kept my eyes trained on the princess in front of me. Her bright blue eyes studied my face, seeing straight through me into the depths of my soul.

  “Just thinking,” I said smiling down at my niece as I ruffled the thick dark hair on her head, causing her thin tiny lips to draw back into a gummy smile. Her hair was as soft as down and lay in beautiful ringlets across her head like a halo.

  “Wanna talk about it?” Katinka asked as though I had a choice in the matter.

  “Do I have to?” I asked begrudgingly, my eyes never leaving the angel in my arms.

  “Well since you put it that way,” I watched from the corner of my eye as Katinka gave a half shrug and walked further into the room.

  She situated herself on the bed. Her back pressed against the pillows she had stacked against the headboard, her ankles crossed on the bed. She had settled in for a long talk. Despite what her words said, her actions told otherwise.

  I let out a groan. Talking really wasn’t what I had in mind. If I wasn’t playing with my niece or nephew I wanted to be down at the studio, laying down some of the beats that had been hammering around in my head. Everyone in the house may be on vacation but I couldn’t turn off the noise in my head. While everyone was going baby crazy, I was just going crazy. This was my first time since I was a kid that I wasn’t constantly on the road, my body and mind hadn’t quite figured out how to slow down.

  I carried the baby over to the bed and placed her in the middle of the king size mattress on her back, her soft pink blanket spread out beneath her. I then climbed in beside her, lying on my stomach. I braced myself up on my elbows so that I could play with Karina and also look at her mother. I knew Katinka would not let the matter die down so it was time to get it all out so she would leave me alone about the matter.

  “I’m waiting,” Katinka said in a sing-song voice reminding me she wasn’t going anywhere.

  “I want this,” I said motioning toward Karina with a quick duck of my head. “I want my own version of Karina.” I finally admitted. Just by saying the words out loud it felt as though a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

  Karina’s little eyes lit up with the recognition of her name being mentioned. I smiled down at the infant who smiled back around her toes she had managed to pull into her mouth.

  “Okay,” Katinka said slowly, allowing the weight of my words to sink in. Her brows came together as she thought my words through.

  We sat there in companionable silence, our focus on Karina who played with her feet and cooed innocently. We watched as the baby held a death grip on her foot as she attempted to cram the whole appendage into her mouth. It was both amusing to watch and slightly disturbing. I couldn’t believe how easily Karina was able to contort into a ball in order to nibble on her toes. I gave a soft chuckle as I watched.

  “How do you plan to go about having a baby?” Katinka asked breaking the silence. I could practically hear the gears grinding in her head as she tried to figure out my plan of action.

  I just shrugged, my eyes never leaving the contortionist in front of me. I honestly had no clue. I hadn’t told anyone yet, but I had been dating. I had actually been doing a lot of dating. I never seemed to get past the first date. I’m not sure if it’s the women or if it’s me. I have had more than enough dates with women who just want to date me for who I am as a musician but even of the ones that had no idea who I was, I still found reasons to not go for a second date.

  “I’m not sure myshka little mouse,” I told her in honesty finally dragging my eyes up to meet hers.

  I really had no idea how I would get what I wanted. It wasn’t like I would get lucky like Damon and have a baby just given to me. Those types of things don’t happen very often, if ever.

  How do you go about finding a woman that understands what you want in life? One who can accept who you are? A woman that understands that my life is full of music and traveling? How do you develop that trust in another?

  With the three couples that lived in this house, I had heard enough about them having a spark. I have heard repeatedly about how they just knew that they were meant to be. I hadn’t felt anything for any woman other than desire, lust, sexual gratification, and the occasional irritation.

  I had even decided to go celibate like Damon had done. I had hoped that it would help me on my path to finding a woman to share my life with. So far I have had zero luck. I sighed in exasperation.

  “I could always adopt,” I suggested, managing to turn the corners of my mouth upward and gave her a reassuring smile.

  I had considered it. I even had the paperwork in my desk back in the studio. My attorney told me that it could be difficult since I was a single male. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. It was an option though.

  “You could. Or use a surrogate.” Katinka suggested. She leaned forward, her fingers laced before her on her lap.

  She was right. I hadn’t considered that option. I felt a thrill run through me at the thought.

  “That’s a great idea. I’ll have Jessie look into that.” I gave her an excited smile.

  Jessie was our lawyer. We had gone to high school with him and once he passed the bar exam we had hired him as our attorney. Once we made it big we had vowed that we would do whatever we could to help our friends that supported us while we were in high school and helped us to become the ‘superstars’ that we were.

  “You could always get a mail order bride,” Katinka suggested humorously. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles.

  My eyes grew wide with delight. That was a fucking perfect idea. It was like a two for one, wife and soon baby. I had no idea why I hadn’t thought about it. I would definitely be looking into that option. There were plenty of Russian women looking to marry to get out of Russia with hopes of moving to the United States. I knew the woman didn’t have to be Russian but it just felt
like the right place to get a wife, we were Russian after all and it would give us common ground to build from.

  “I was joking Kiev, don’t even think about it.” Katinka’s eyes were wide as she spoke her voice carrying an edge that threatened pain if I should decide to go forth with the plan.

  “Tink, that really is a perfect idea. I mean, I can get a wife that wants to come to the states. In exchange, I get a baby.” I said excitedly, my words coming out in a rush.

  “Kiev, what if you get a psycho? Think about it. You are talking about marrying a perfect stranger. Someone you don’t even know.” She exclaimed.

  “Yes, someone that doesn’t know who I am or what I’m worth.” I tried to reason with her.

  “Yeah, but also a stranger that would be living in our house with mine and Damon’s babies.” She reminded me.

  I instantly deflated. She was right. I couldn’t bring a perfect stranger around my niece and nephew. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that there was a possibility that someone could hurt one of them.

  I sighed, sinking my face into my hands.

  “You’re right,” I conceded in a groan of defeat.

  Karina chose that moment to start to fuss. Her rosy lips puckered and quivered as she whimpered. I knew that it would only be a matter of moments before she resorted to full fledge screams.

  “My little one is hungry aren’t you detka.” Katinka cooed as she lifted the baby into her arms blanket and all, cradling her against her chest.

  “I’m going to go feed her. You figure out another solution to your dilemma.” Katinka said giving me a warning look, a perfectly arched brow, daring me to challenge her. I rolled my eyes in defeat and sank into the bed face first. “Fine,” I mumbled into the mattress.

  I knew that a mail order bride was out of the question if I planned to bring her home to this house. I could always get my own place but that really wasn’t going to work for me. I couldn’t imagine being away from my niece and nephew, even if I was just down the road. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t even know how to live on my own. I left my parents’ house only to go on the road with my brothers. We had never been on our own. Katinka was the only one brave enough to fly solo. The rest of us had always stayed together and when we decided to take a year off it was only natural that we all crash at Katinka’s house.