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“You’re burning up, baby,” Aggie said.
“I’m freezing.”
“We’ve got to get you back to the hospital,” she said. “If you get an infection—”
“No, I don’t need a hospital. I need a toilet.”
He leaned heavily on her as she helped him out of the bedroom and to the bathroom next door. He tried to get his balance, but decided without her support, he’d soon find himself on the floor again. He’d never felt so woozy.
“I can’t stay on my feet without you,” he whispered.
“Just go,” she insisted. “It won’t bother me.”
She helped him keep the hospital gown out of the way as he mostly hit the toilet. He couldn’t help but sigh with relief as he drained his bladder. His eyes rolled into his head in bliss. Aggie chuckled. When he’d finished, she helped him back to the bedroom and tucked him into bed.
“Thirsty,” he murmured, almost asleep again. Just the walk to the bathroom had sapped his energy.
She shook him awake and pressed a bottle to his lips. “Jace, you have to drink.”
When had he fallen asleep again?
“Jace? Please drink, baby.”
“Aggie?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Take a drink. Come on.”
The first swallow hurt going down, but then he couldn’t get enough. He chugged the icy sports drink until the bottle was empty, and then shivered uncontrollably. Why was he so cold? Aggie stood and started to leave him alone.
“Stay,” Jace whispered.
“I was going to get you another blanket.”
“Stay.”
She sat beside him, her fingers stroking his cheek. He could feel himself drifting back into oblivion, but wanted to keep his eyes open—wanted to look at her. He missed looking at her when they were apart, and they’d been apart far too long while he’d been touring last month. Aggie sniffed. A lone tear slipped down her cheek and dripped off the edge of her jaw.
“Don’t cry,” he murmured.
“This is my fault. If you’d never met me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“If I’d never met you, I would have never gotten to hold you. I’ll take the bullet.”
He hadn’t meant to make her cry harder. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his shoulder. Her body quaked with sobs as she clung to him. “Don’t die on me, Jace, please.”
“Not planning to.”
He wanted to hold her, comfort her, but his exhaustion had reached absolute, and he had no choice but to succumb to it.
Chapter 24
The next time Jace opened his eyes, a bright light was shining in his face. “Ah good, you’re awake.” A blurry face came into focus. At first he thought it was Trey, but the man was older and lacked Trey’s long bangs and face piercings.
“Doctor Mills?”
“I don’t usually do house calls.”
Well, of course not. He was a frickin’ plastic surgeon. What in the hell was he doing here anyway?
“Your friends think you’re on death’s door, but you’re just healing. No signs of infection. You are anemic and dehydrated, but you’ll recover.”
“I feel like shit.”
“Not that any of you kids ever listen to me, but you really need a blood transfusion and a month of uninterrupted bed rest. Preferably in a hospital, in case there are complications with your recovery.”
“Can Aggie take care of my complications?” He chuckled.
“This is no joking matter,” Aggie said from the opposite side of the room. He might have watched what he said if he’d known she was there. “He will stay in bed and rest, Doctor. You have my guarantee. I know fifteen ways to tie a man.”
Doctor Mills chuckled. “I bet you do.”
“I can’t spend a month in bed. We have three shows next week. In Canada.”
“Then you’ll be playing your bass from your bed,” Aggie said.
“Don’t worry,” Eric said. “I’ve got the perfect solution.”
Eric? Just how many people were in the room?
Jace lifted his head, his eyes scanning the room. Aggie, Brian, Trey, Sed, Eric, and Doctor Mills. Okay, all the guys were there witnessing firsthand how pathetic and helpless he was. Jace lowered his head to the pillow with a groan.
“What kind of perfect solution?” Sed asked.
“I asked Jon to stand in for Jace for a few shows,” Eric said cheerfully. “He said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Jon? Jon Mallory? Sinners’ previous bassist, the sun rises and sets over his fingers, the only bassist who could ever properly fill Eric’s drum progressions, Jon Mallory?
“Yeah, that’ll work,” Sed said. “Good thinking, Eric.”
Fuckin’ A. Shoot me now.
Jace lifted a hand to cover his eyes. A burst of pain stabbed the back of his shoulder and snaked down his right arm, reminding him he’d already been shot.
Well then… shoot me again.
“You rest up, and we’ll see how you are when we get back from Canada,” Sed said.
“Fuck that. I’m coming with you,” Jace said. There was no way in hell he was letting Jon Mallory tour in his place without him there.
“Are you sure you’re up for it, little man?” Eric said.
Aggie took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “He’ll have me to take care of him until he gets better. If he’s going, then I’m going.”
Chapter 25
Despite Doctor Mills’s assessment of Jace’s condition, Aggie made him go to a hospital for a more thorough examination while the band and crew prepared for the next, extended leg of their tour. A blood test, MRI, and IV of enriched fluids later, Aggie seemed satisfied that Jace was okay to travel. He wasn’t used to having a woman as a fixture in his life. Wasn’t sure how to react to her constant hovering and concern. He hoped he healed quickly so she’d knock it off already. And she’d made him go shopping. Sure, her suitcase had been stolen, and she needed clothes and other necessities, but shopping? Jace hated shopping. Almost as much as he hated that pitying look she kept giving him.
“Maybe you should just stay at my place while I’m gone,” Jace said, leaning heavily on the shopping cart as they ambled through the aisles. She’d tried to get him to use one of those electric scooters when they’d first entered the store. Next, she’d ask him to hand over his balls on a plate. “I promise I’ll take it easy.”
“You don’t want me to go on tour with you?”
He trod carefully into loaded-question territory. “It’s not that I don’t want you to go with me.” The guys are going to rip on me constantly if I bring a smothering chick on tour. And this whole go on tour “thing” had been her idea, not his. He didn’t get why she insisted on it so vehemently. He knew she needed a break from her mother, but she didn’t have to ride on the tour bus to get away from her. “I just think you’d be more comfortable at my place. You’d still be away from your mother, and Brownie would love the company.” He rubbed his jaw on his shoulder to catch sight of her expression. Was she buying it? That would be a negative. She stared at the shampoo display with her pretty face twisted in a harsh scowl.
“I see,” she said in a clipped tone. “I might as well go back to Vegas.”
“No, I didn’t mean…”
She tossed shampoo and conditioner in the cart.
“It’s gonna suck for you to be trapped on a bus with five…” And Jon made six. “Uh, six guys for a month. I think you’d be better off—”
“This has nothing to do with my mother. Don’t you get it? I’m worried about you. I feel responsible for you getting hurt.”
He understood what that guilt felt like. He shouldn’t have been so worried about what the guys would think. He wrapped his good arm around her, his injured one trapped in a newly acquired sling, and held her close, stroking her silky hair with one hand.
“Okay. If it makes you feel better to go on tour with us—”
She stiffened and pulled away with a frustrated sigh
. While he tried to figure out what was wrong with what he’d said, she tossed toothpaste, mouthwash, and a toothbrush in the cart, yanked the cart from his grasp, and zoomed off to a different aisle.
Jace struggled to catch up, a stitch in his side. He needed to lie down again. He found her several aisles over selecting cosmetics. He smiled when she added a tube of glossy, cherry-red lipstick to the cart. She looked incredibly hot in red. And leather. He missed her leather.
“I don’t want to force myself into your life, Jace,” she said. “If you don’t want me around, then just say it.”
Why would she think that? He thought the world of her. He just didn’t want any of his bandmates to know it. “I do want you in my life, Aggie. I’m not used to… the hovering. I… my mother died when I was nine, and my father never remarried, so women… confuse me. Why are you mad at me?” And why did asking that question make his heart thud so hard?
“I’m not mad at you,” she said.
She wasn’t?
“I’m sorry about your mom.” She slid her hand into his hair and kissed his forehead. “Why don’t you tell me about her?”
“No. I didn’t bring her up to make you feel sorry for me. I want to know what I said that made you mad.”
She smiled and hugged him. “You’re fucking adorable. Do you know that?” She kissed the tip of his nose.
Scowling, he wiped at the wet spot with the back of his hand.
“The reason I’m mad—though I’m not exactly mad, just a little hurt—is that you make me feel like you don’t want me on tour with you.”
Well, he kind of didn’t. He wanted to see her, yes, but having her on tour? No, thanks.
“I was hoping that you’d be happy to spend time with me, Jace. Show some enthusiasm. Not look at me like, oh fuck, now I’m going to be stuck with this stupid bitch for a month.”
“I never said that. Never even thought it.”
“It’s the vibe you’re giving off.”
He was supposed to keep track of his vibes now too? Fuck, he couldn’t win. At least he understood what she wanted.
“I can’t wait to be stuck with you for a month,” he said earnestly.
She laughed and hugged his arm. “Oh, you. What am I going to do with you?”
He kissed her deeply, lust flooding his loins. “I can think of a few things.”
Chapter 26
Jace carried a few of Aggie’s lighter shopping bags up the tour bus steps. He paused when he noticed Eric and Jon sitting on the sofa laughing hysterically. Eric was wearing what Jace suspected was a Kevlar vest. He didn’t bother asking why. The seven horseshoes nailed to the wall above the sofa were new—undoubtedly Mr. We R. Cursed’s idea.
“Ah, here’s little man now,” Eric said, wiping tears from his eyes with the back of his wrists. “Need help carrying that stuff? I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“I’ve got it,” he said, hurrying toward the bedroom.
He’d thought he and Eric were starting to get along. Now, with the return of Jon the Magnificent, they were back to square one.
“Baby, slow down,” Aggie called after him. “You’ve got to take it easy.”
Great. Just what he needed. Aggie in smother mode in front of Eric. And worse. Jon.
Jace tossed the bags into the back bedroom, brushed past Aggie on his way back down the hall, and opened the fridge. “Now that Myrna’s out of here, we need to get some fuckin’ alcohol on this bus,” he growled. He grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator and slammed the door shut. He gripped the bottle with his wounded arm and attempted to unscrew the top with no success.
“Yeah, we finally get rid of Myrna and Jessica, and someone brings another chick on tour with us,” Eric said.
“She can tour me any time she wants,” Jon said. “What a babe.”
Eric laughed. “She’s too hot for little man, that’s for sure.”
Jace didn’t have the patience to deal with their bullshit right now. He tossed the unopened juice bottle into the kitchen sink and returned to the bedroom to find Aggie sorting through her purchases. She smiled, and his pissy attitude lightened. “Where do I put my stuff? I don’t want to infringe on anyone’s territory,” she said.
“We sort of throw all our shit together wherever it fits.”
She lifted her hand to touch his face. “Sweetie, you look pale. You should lie down for a while.”
“I’m fine.”
“The faster you get better, the faster you can get that jackass, Jon, out of here,” she whispered and turned those pretty blue eyes of hers in the direction of the common area.
She had a point. He kissed her tenderly. “I could use a nap.”
“And I could use a shower and a change of clothes.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “Get into bed.”
“Are you going to join me?” he murmured, his hands moving to slide over her luscious ass.
“After my shower.”
“Hurry.”
“Are you planning to get me all sweaty again?”
“Yeah. You’ll have to do all the work. I’m just going to lie there and take it.”
She smiled. “I think we’d be better off cuddling. You really do need your rest.”
Geez, woman, I’m feeling inadequate enough here. He shrugged his arm out of his sling and peeled his shirt over his head. She traced the stark white tape holding his bandages in place. He needed to heal quickly for more than one reason. This new pity attitude of Aggie’s grated on his last nerve. He removed the rest of his clothes and moved out of reach.
“Come join me after your shower. Don’t bother putting on clothes.”
She grinned. “If you insist.”
“Towels are under the sink.” He climbed into bed and admitted that he did need rest. He was almost unconscious the moment his head touched the pillow. He heard her close the bathroom door. A moment later, the water started flowing. He considered joining her as he drifted toward oblivion. Next time.
Aggie’s scream woke him. “Get out of here, you fucking pervert!”
The bathroom door closed. “I told you she’d go Brazilian, Eric. You owe me twenty bucks.”
Jon.
“How do I know you’re not just saying that?” Eric said.
“Have a look.” The bathroom door opened again. There was a loud thud. “Hey, baby, don’t throw stuff. We’re just settling a bet.”
Jace leaped from the bed and stalked down the hall. He grabbed Jon by the arm and spun him around. Jace’s left-handed uppercut to Jon’s chin sent him flying. Jon landed on his back at Eric’s feet. Eric stared at Jace in astonishment.
“Do you want a piece?” Jace asked Eric.
“We were just having a little fun. Chillax, little man.”
“If you disrespect my woman like that again, I’ll kick your fuckin’ ass. You won’t get back up.”
Jon rose up on one elbow, rubbing his jaw. “Jesus Christ, that hurt, dude.”
Aggie opened the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around her curvy body. “Jace, you should have let me punch him. You’ll tear out your stitches.”
He shrugged. It would have been worth it.
She turned to Eric. “Your perverted friend owes you twenty bucks, Eric. I’ll have you know, I do not go Brazilian. I shave it in the shape of a butterfly.”
Jace chuckled, glad she had a sense of humor about the situation. She wouldn’t last long on a bus with six guys if she didn’t. “A butterfly?” Jace said. “I don’t recall that. You’d better show me.”
Jace coaxed her toward the bedroom. The faster he got away from Jon, the better.
“Why do you call him little man, Eric? The guy is hung like a whale,” Jon said as he picked himself up off the floor.
“It’s an optical illusion. It just looks big. Even at three inches, it’s half his height.”
“I guess that explains what she sees in him. Shape of a butterfly, my ass.”
Jace closed the bedroom door, shaking his head in di
sgust. Aggie’s towel snapped against his ass. His entire body tensed in response, and his cock stirred with excitement. He turned to look at her. She traced a butterfly shape on her clean-shaven mound.
“You don’t see the butterfly?” she asked.
“No, I don’t.”
She climbed onto the bed, rolled onto her back, and spread her legs wide. She traced the shape again. “See it now?”
Oh, he saw it all right. Not a butterfly. Everything she had to offer between her thighs. He grew light-headed as his cock thickened.
“Maybe if I come closer,” he murmured.
“I think you should.”
He settled on his stomach, resting on his elbows between her legs. His injured shoulder protested the weight he put on it, so he shifted to his left side. “I still don’t see it. Are you sure it’s there?”
“Maybe if you touch it, you’ll feel it.”
He stroked the smooth skin of her outer lips and mound until she shuddered. Her scent intensified as she grew excited. Wet. Her inner folds swelled. Reddened. Invited him in. He resisted though, touching only her clean-shaven areas.
“Do you feel it yet?” she asked breathlessly.
“I feel plenty,” he said, “but no butterfly.”
“Maybe your mouth can find it.”
He grinned. “I think I’m being manipulated here.”
He licked her smooth flesh. Suckled it. Inhaled her intoxicating scent but purposely avoided tasting her fluids. He could feel her heat against his face—see how swollen and wet she was. His cock protested its neglect.
“Maybe I was wrong,” she said. “Maybe Jon won that bet after all.”
“Don’t say his name in our bed.”
He slid up her body and thrust into her delightfully warm pussy. Ah God, why did she feel so good? Her silky flesh gripped him, stimulating every pleasure sensor in his cock with each forward thrust and withdraw. It had never felt this good before. He couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t think of anything but the feel of her around him. He possessed her faster, unable to believe the pleasure could intensify, but it did. It built so quickly, he couldn’t contain it. He was scarcely aware of her body convulsing with release beneath him. Her pussy tightened as she came, pulling at him, encouraging him to join her in ecstasy.