Olivia Cunning - Rock Hard

“Did Brian hurt you?”

“Not too badly,” he murmured.

“Were you holding back?”

He shook his head. “That would be an insult.”

She chuckled. “Guys are so weird. How can best friends come to blows and then all is forgiven the minute it’s over?”

“Less talking,” he murmured and kissed her again. His hand slid up her thigh beneath her skirt and her body tensed. Her hand moved down his firm belly to the crotch of his pants. She was surprised to find nothing stirred below his belt. He pulled away and moved her body to sit beside him. She looked up at him in question. She’d never known Sed to be even slightly unprepared for a sexual encounter.

“Sorry,” he said wearily. “I keep thinking about Trey. And I’m really tired. Could we just sleep when we get back to the room? I’m just not in the mood. You know?”

Maybe that was the truth. Or maybe Brian had made him question their frivolous relationship. Maybe Sed had changed his mind about wanting her. That shouldn’t make her chest ache, but it did.

“Of course,” she said. “I’m not really in the mood either. We could both use some sleep.”

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and checked it for messages.

Jessica watched him fiddle with the device obsessively, concerned by the furrow creasing his brow. She took his hand. “The doctor said Trey has a really good chance of recovering fully.”

He nodded. “I hope he hurries up about it. I can hardly breathe.” He rubbed the center of his chest as if to loosen a knot that had formed there.

The most delicate heart I’ve ever seen in a man. Myrna’s words filtered through Jessica’s thoughts.

She brought Sed’s wrist to her lips and planted a gentle kiss on the pulse point just under his thumb.

“Thanks for staying with me at the hospital,” he murmured, looking out the taxi window.

She smiled to herself, knowing how hard it was for him to thank her for something like that. Maybe he had overcome his innate asshole-ed-ness. “No problem.”

At the hotel, they wandered through the nearly empty casino, their steps punctuated by the whirring sounds of slot machines. In the elevator, Sed leaned heavily against the interior wall and closed his eyes as it rose to their floor. Jessica had to shake him awake when they reached their destination. Literally asleep on his feet. Apparently, he hadn’t decided she was chopped liver and really was exhausted.

Sed used one of the plastic keycards to open the door. Jessica stepped inside and glanced around, breathless in awe. Their suite had a marble entryway and rich mocha and taupe decor. On the other side of the expansive living area, a king-sized bed overlooked the Vegas strip through a wide floor-to-ceiling window.

Sed put out the “Do Not Disturb” sign while Jessica went to the window to stare at the lights below. The fountain now rested, but in the morning she’d be able to watch the water dance from above. “What a spectacular view!”

Sed followed her, but instead of joining her beside the window, he collapsed face down on the bed. “Will you call the front desk and extend our stay another day? I’m sleeping late. Unless someone calls about Trey.”

She turned to gaze at him. His face was smashed against the mattress, his eyes already closed.

“Sure.”

The hotel was happy to accommodate her request, and by the time she returned to Sed’s side, he was snoring quietly. Poor guy looked incredibly uncomfortable. Taking pity on him, she removed his boots and socks. He groaned in protest when she made him stand so she could take off his coat. His pants followed, and once naked, she tucked his gorgeous body into bed.

“Thanks,” he murmured, almost asleep again. “Your turn to get naked, beautiful.”

He kept his eyes cracked open long enough to watch her remove her clothes and jewelry. He held the covers open and she slid into bed beside him. He’d always been a cuddler, and she didn’t mind when he spooned up against her back and draped an arm and leg over her body. He kissed the back of her head and sighed.

“I’ve missed this,” he whispered.

“Me too,” she admitted.

She lay there for a long while after he’d fallen asleep, his warm breath tickling her ear. As much as she tried to convince herself that all she wanted from him was amazing sex, she knew she was slipping back into old patterns. Tomorrow she’d be more careful with her heart, but tonight she’d let him hold her while he slept and pretend he still loved her. Which of course he didn’t.

The riff of Sinners’ “Twisted” drew Jessica from a deep sleep. Sed groaned beside her and tugged her body closer to his chest. Limbs and bedclothes tangled their bodies together. Again the riff intruded upon the room’s silence.

What?

Sed’s arm shot toward the nightstand. He answered his cell phone.

“Trey?” he said, his voice raspy with sleep.

Jessica kicked herself free of the sheets and sat up beside him, instantly wide awake.

“We’re leaving now,” Sed said into the phone and ended the call.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s not quite awake yet, but he’s starting to stir. Get dressed.”

Jessica slipped into her wrinkly clothes from the night before. Oh yay, a day without panties. Sed had a similar problem.

“I don’t have a shirt.” But he looked damned fine in those leather pants without one.

“We could stop by the tour bus and change clothes,” Jessica said.

“No time.” He shrugged into his black leather duster and reached for his boots.

At least he gave her a moment to use the bathroom before rushing her out of the room and into the nearest cab outside the hotel. She was surprised by how bright it was outside.

“What time is it?” she asked Sed, thinking there must be a law against starting the day with no caffeine.

He glanced at the screen on his cell phone. “Almost noon.”

“Noon? Jeez, I slept like a rock.”

He smiled at her. “Me too. I can’t remember the last time I slept that good. Months? Two years, maybe?” He ran a hand over his shorn hair and found the roof of the cab incredibly interesting. “You hungry? We missed breakfast.”

“I’m okay. Seeing Trey is more important.”

Sed grinned and lifted her hand to his lips. “Brian was all excited when he called. Something about Trey flinching.”

In the ICU, they found Brian and Myrna at Trey’s bedside. Dare slept in a chair at the end of the bed. Jessica doubted he’d left his brother’s presence since the night before. Rumpled clothes, tangled hair, and a growth of beard shadow on his strong jaw, Dare looked about as scruffy as Jessica felt.

Myrna chuckled at something Brian said. She patted Trey’s hand. “If you don’t wake up soon, sugar, Brian’s going to tell me all your dirty little secrets.”

The black staples that ran along the left side of Trey’s scalp in a semi-circle stood in stark contrast to his unnaturally pale skin. Jessica noticed that only a single wide strip of his hair had been shaved along the left side of his head. How had he managed to get away with not having his entire head shaved? Oh wait. This was Trey. That explained it.

Jessica glanced at Trey’s monitor. As far as she could tell, his ECG, heart rate, and breathing rate looked normal. The tube up his nose did not.

“I don’t think even Brian knows all of Trey’s dirty little secrets,” Sed said. “How’s he doing? Brian said he was waking up.”

Brian scratched the back of his neck. “I got a little over-excited.”

Myrna smiled a greeting at Sed. “When Brian told me how Trey lost his virginity, he flinched. That’s the only response we’ve gotten.”

Sed cringed. “No wonder he flinched. Sheesh, Brian, give the guy a break. He just had brain surgery.”

Jessica’s curiosity stirred. “How did Trey lose his virginity?”

“Let’s just say he’s been with an older woman,” Sed said.

“Much older,” Brian added.

“There’s nothing wrong with older women,” Myrna said defensively. She patted Trey’s hand again. “Besides, it’s sorta sweet that his grandmother’s best friend helped him out.”

Brian and Sed shuddered in unison.

“I’m sorry I asked,” Jessica murmured.

Sed glanced at Dare, who would need a chiropractor after sleeping in a chair in such a position. “Is Dare dead or what?”

“He keeps passing out from exhaustion, but he won’t leave,” Myrna said. “His band couldn’t get him to leave. His parents couldn’t get him to leave. Even the doctor and nurses couldn’t talk any sense into him. The only one who will get him out of that chair is Trey.”

“Trey, you selfish prick,” Sed called to him. “Wake up. Look what you’re doing to your brother. He’s a train wreck.”

Trey’s eyebrow twitched.

“See, I told you he’s trying to wake up,” Brian said. “Aren’t you, buddy? How about we tell everyone about New Year’s Eve three years ago? I still don’t think the police report had all the details right.”

Dare sat up in the chair, instantly alert. “Is he awake?”

“No. He just twitched a little,” Myrna said.

Dare darted across the room and grabbed Trey’s shoulders firmly. “Terrance, can you hear me in there? Wake up! Terrance!”

“Fuckin’ quit calling me Terrance,” Trey mumbled, his voice slurred but coherent. “You know how much I hate that name.”

“Thank God,” Dare whispered. His head dropped against Trey’s shoulder, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“Are you crying? Jesus Christ, Dare. Who replaced my big brother with this pussy?” Trey placed a hand on the back of Dare’s head and offered him a weak, yet comforting, pat.