Текст книги "Double Time"

Автор книги: Olivia Cunning

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“I love it,” he said and grinned. “Brian calls me Mr. Cuddles.”

“Brian does?”

Her hold on him loosened and his heart sank. He’d been so at ease that he’d let his guard down and forgotten that he was playing the role of a fully heterosexual man. “Several girls complained to him.” Even that little lie closed a part of him to Reagan. He wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or sad that he couldn’t tell her everything.

She squeezed him again. “I’m not complaining.”

“I’m even better at it after I come,” he said, digging his toes into the mattress and rocking forward to remind her that he was still hard and yet unfulfilled. At least sexually. He was feeling pretty good about the connection between them. Like he could tell her almost anything.

“What’s your favorite position?” she asked.

He lifted his head to look down at her in question. “Mine?” Several of his favorite threesome encounters, where he and Brian had simultaneously pleasured a woman, filled his mind. He loved working his cock against another man’s while being buried inside a woman. Trey could feel a blush of heat rise up his neck. Reagan was in no way ready for that bit of information. “No one has ever asked me that,” he said truthfully.

Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”

“My lovers tend to let me please them.”

“You already did that. Now it’s my turn to please you.”

“You please me by letting me please you.”

She closed one eye and gave him her you’re-full-of-shit look. “No one is that selfless.”

He shrugged. “Believe what you want.”

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll figure it out for myself.”

She went limp beneath him, her arms straightening at her sides, her legs falling open. She planted her heels in the mattress and rocked her hips to encourage him to thrust. He began to move with her, pulling back and thrusting forward with a deep, steady rhythm. She watched him as the pleasure she offered washed over him and he began to take her faster. His eyes drifted closed as he lost all semblance of rational thought and focused solely on finding release. Reagan shoved him onto his back. He groaned as his cock fell free of her body, and that glorious building sensation in his groin abated. And then he was inside her again. He regained enough sense to remember he should touch her. Give her pleasure. She took his hands and held them as she began to rise and fall over him, taking him deep within her and grinding her hips before rising again. She continued to watch him as she rode him and he soon lost himself to the pleasure again. With nothing to concentrate on but Reagan’s heat, her friction, Trey allowed himself to be completely immersed in sensation. After several minutes she climbed off of him and settled on her hands and knees facing the end of the bed. She didn’t need to tell him what she wanted. She was trying different positions to see which he enjoyed the most. Truth was he loved them all. He shifted to kneel behind her and slid inside her. He held onto her ass and rubbed her anus with both thumbs as he plunged into her slick core.

He caught her reflection in the mirror above her dresser. She was watching him again.

“Trey, just fuck me. Don’t worry about bringing me pleasure right now.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It feels fantastic. I like that look on your face when you lose your train of thought. I want to see it again.”

And he wanted her to have what she wanted. He moved his hands to rest gently on her hips and pumped into her body. Every muscle in his body was taut, every nerve ending alight with sensation. It didn’t take him long to find his peak. She tried to pull away again, but he held her firmly by the hips and increased his tempo until he found the pinnacle of pleasure. Involuntary spasms gripped the base of his cock in hard, pulsing waves. He called out in triumph, his head tilted back in abandon, as he spent himself within her. Inside Reagan.

Reagan.

When his body went limp, a sweet tranquility washed over him. He collapsed forward, arms wrapping around Reagan’s waist as he pressed her back to his front. His hands moved to hold her breasts; his lips moved against the back of her shoulders as he produced repetitive sighs of contentment. No awkwardness after. Just togetherness.

Reagan’s arms began to tremble with fatigue and though she didn’t complain, Trey released her and pulled out of her body. He stripped the condom from his softening cock and tossed it somewhere. He didn’t know where, he just wanted to wrap his body around his woman and nestle his bare cock against that scrumptious ass of hers.

“So doggie style is your favorite?” she murmured once he had her tucked securely against his chest and trapped in the tangle of his arms and legs.

“There are more than three positions,” he said drowsily.

She squirmed so that her butt rubbed against his cock. “Good point. Trey?”

“Hmm?” He was almost asleep already. Not that he planned to stay that way for long. He just needed a little nap before they made good use of that second condom.

“Promise me something?”

“What’s that?”

“Next time we’ll come together.”

He grinned and nuzzled her soft hair. “That’s a promise.”

Chapter 9

Ethan poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the breakfast bar. He probably should just go to bed—he’d had a long, dreadfully boring night guarding a meat-packing plant—but his thoughts were too turbulent to sleep. The guy, Trey, had spent the entire night with Reagan. Ethan had thought for sure that Trey would be gone by the time he got home. It had been that thought which had gotten him through his shift. Otherwise he would have left the job to check on her and encourage her new boyfriend to leave. Ethan had peeked in on them when he’d first arrived and found them entwined in her bed looking exhausted yet sated. At least he hadn’t had to listen to them go at it all night. That would have been torture.

He took a sip of his coffee. He couldn’t blame Reagan for wanting someone to love. He didn’t like it, but he had blown his chance with her. It had been his fault, not hers. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to try to keep her to himself, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her with another man. Reagan’s bedroom door creaked open and he smiled to himself. “Did you sleep well?” he asked her.

“Definitely,” Trey’s deep voice sounded behind him. “Reagan’s bed is much more comfortable than the bunks on the tour bus. And she’s a fantastic cuddler.”

Ethan scowled into his cup of coffee. So it wasn’t the light of his life emerging from her bedroom, but that dipshit she’d brought home the night before. Ethan glanced over his shoulder and found the guy dressed in a T-shirt with a towel wrapped around his hips. Trey looked even sexier in the morning with his hair all astray and a shadow of beard growth on his jaw—the bastard. At least he didn’t have a lollipop in his mouth this morning.

“Your jeans are in the oven,” Ethan told him and turned his attention back to his coffee.

Trey chuckled and Ethan wished he didn’t have to hate him.

“There’s a place they haven’t been before,” Trey said. “And they have been in a lot of unusual places.”

“They were still wet.” And the faster they dried, the faster Ethan could shove him out the door. Then Ethan could console Reagan when she became upset that her new boyfriend had already taken off on her. She needn’t know that Ethan had bodily removed Trey from the apartment, right?

“The smell of coffee woke me.” Trey glanced hopefully in the direction of the coffeepot.

“I didn’t take you for a morning person.”

“Went to sleep earlier than usual,” he said with a devilish grin. “Reagan wore me out.”

Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. The man was utterly, devastatingly gorgeous when he smiled. Maybe instead of kicking him out of the apartment he could catch his attention in another way. He’d love to take a go at him. The only thing that kept Ethan perched on his stool instead of reaching for the half-naked man in his kitchen was the memory of Reagan’s face when she’d caught him with Joseph. She’d been devastated. If Ethan made a move on Trey, she’d probably never forgive him. He couldn’t take that chance.

“Help yourself,” Ethan said, waving a hand at the coffeepot.

Trey glanced around the kitchen and peeked in a cabinet looking for a mug.

“That one,” Ethan said, pointing at the cabinet next to the stove.

Trey opened the cabinet indicated and retrieved a mug. And dropped his towel. Ethan stifled a moan. The man had a perfect ass. Well, except for the ridiculous tattoo on one cheek. “What in the…”

Trey glanced over his shoulder at Ethan and followed his line of sight to his ass. “Lost a bet.” He ran a hand over his flank. “People keep telling me to get it removed, but it’s a great conversation starter.” He grinned as if to prove his point.

Ethan chuckled. “You dropped your towel on purpose, didn’t you?”

Trey shook his head. “Why would I do that?”

“Hell if I know. Put your jeans on.”

“Do you find my tattoo offensive?” he said, opening the now-cold oven and pulling out his jeans, which were so stiff they could probably stand on their own.

“No, I find your ass distracting. If you don’t want me to come over there and…” Ethan pressed his lips together so he didn’t continue that thought. “Put your jeans on.”

“Two days ago, I would have told you to make me.” He shook his jeans out and hopped from one foot to the other as he put them on. Ethan forced himself not to stare at Trey’s cock as he pulled his jeans up and tucked it into his pants. “But things have changed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ethan asked as he watched Trey pour a cup of coffee.

“Reagan,” he said, as if saying her name explained everything. And in actuality, it did. They were on exactly the same wavelength, and it only made Ethan want him more. And not because he thought it would get rid of him. On the contrary, he wanted him to stick around indefinitely.

“I hope you have better luck with it than I did,” Ethan said. He took a sip of his coffee and watched Trey put the carafe back in the coffeemaker.

“Sugar?” Trey asked.

Ethan pushed the sugar bowl in his direction. Trey circled the counter and took a seat next to Ethan before shoveling spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his cup.

“So how was work?” Trey asked, stirring his coffee with the sugar spoon. When he licked it, Ethan’s entire body tensed.

“It sucked.”

“What do you do exactly?” Trey glanced at him and Ethan got lost in his emerald green eyes for a long moment.

“Depends on the day,” Ethan said. “Last night I guarded big slabs of beef.”

Trey paused. “I like my beef big. The bigger the better.” He tossed the spoon on the counter and massaged his forehead with one hand. “Sorry. It’s a habit. I need to watch what I say.”

Ethan chuckled. “What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without a man?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He averted his sexy green eyes as he took a sip of his coffee. He reached for the spoon and added more sugar.

It was only a matter of time before Trey messed things up with Reagan. Ethan just had to be patient. And not be the one who Trey strayed with. After Trey and Reagan inevitably broke up, then maybe Ethan would have his chance with Trey. Ethan watched him wrap both hands around his coffee mug. The man had phenomenal hands. Long, strong fingers. Thick wrists. Sinewy forearms. Ethan tore his gaze away and stared into his empty coffee mug with a scowl. It was hard to be good when temptation sat on the stool next to you. Close enough that with each breath, Ethan caught Trey’s scent mingled with Reagan’s. The combination blew his mind. Ethan decided he should head for bed. He could think about having sex with Trey and jack off. No one got hurt that way.

“So do you always guard big slabs of beef?” Trey asked. “Any experience dealing with heavy metal fans?”

Ethan turned his head to look at him. “I’ve done security at a lot of concerts.”

“Metal concerts?”

Was he questioning Ethan’s ability to guard Reagan? “A few.”

“She’s going to be a superstar. Are you ready for that?”

Abandoning his plan to head for bed, Ethan climbed from his stool to get more coffee. “Is she ready for that?”

Trey chuckled. “It definitely fucks with your mind. If you aren’t careful, you start to believe the things people say, both good and bad. You’re a god. A talentless hack. A sellout. The best thing that ever happened to the planet. A menace to society. It’s enough to drive a person nuts.”

“How do you deal with that stuff?”

“Trust only the people who are living it with you and the people who knew you before you became famous.”

“She knows she can trust me,” Ethan said. He took a seat again. His arm brushed Trey’s as he settled on the stool, and he stifled a groan of torment. The man was utterly delectable. Even when he wasn’t trying to be.

“Don’t betray that trust. She’s going to need you.” Trey caught his eye and held his gaze. “Almost as much as she needs me.”

Ethan’s first instinct was to protest. Reagan didn’t need anyone but him. He would protect her until the end. Keep everyone at minimum safe distance. No one would touch her or even look at her. He knew that wasn’t realistic, and though he only managed to hold Trey’s gaze for several seconds before he had to look into his coffee again, Trey was right. Reagan would need Trey, or someone in a similar position, to go to when things Ethan couldn’t understand weighed her down.

“She’s important to me. Her happiness is important to me.” Ethan had no idea why he was spilling those feelings to a man he hardly knew. A man who happened to be his competition for the woman he loved. Except Ethan wasn’t competing anymore. He was sitting on the bench watching from the sidelines like some loser.

“I know,” Trey said. He clapped him on the back. “It’s important to me too.”

Trey’s hand slid down Ethan’s back. It took every shred of Ethan’s willpower to stay on his stool and not tackle Trey to the floor and rip his clothes off.

“So have you always been in security?” Trey asked. His gaze drifted down Ethan’s body and he shifted on his stool uncomfortably. “You definitely have the right build for it.”

“I used to be a police officer.”

“Used to be?”

Ethan nodded. “I got fired for beating the shit out of a suspected child molester. Police brutality.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Well, I might have gotten off easier if I hadn’t already been on probation for beating the shit out of a guy who assaulted his wife.”

“You probably just got carried away.”

“Like I did when I beat the shit out of a guy for raping a sixteen-year-old girl?”

Trey winced. “I guess.”

The thing was Ethan didn’t regret getting violent with those criminals. Not at all.

Trey touched his knee. “Do you miss it?”

Ethan shrugged. “Sometimes. I have too much of a temper to be any good at it. I enjoyed protecting the innocent and hurting those who hurt them, but that’s not what the job is really about.”

“So now you guard… beef?”

Ethan scowled. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Good morning,” Reagan said in a sleepy voice behind them. “I need coffee.”

Ethan shouldn’t have looked at her. She’d put on her panties and a T-shirt, so most of her was covered, but the messy hair, blurry eyes, and the sexy smile she gifted Trey were too much for him to handle.

Trey wrapped an arm around her narrow waist and directed her to stand between his legs with her back against the counter. He drew her against his chest, embracing her with easy affection. Ethan couldn’t decide what he wanted more at that moment, to be the person wrapped in Trey’s strong arms or the man holding Reagan. How could he want both of them? And be jealous of both of them? This was a total mind fuck.

“You can share my coffee,” Trey murmured against her cheek.

She leaned back and accepted Trey’s cup. She took a sip and pulled a face of disgust. “This isn’t coffee. It’s syrup. How much sugar did you put in this?”

“Enough,” he said and took his cup back to take a sip.

“I’ll get you a cup,” Ethan said and rose to make Reagan’s coffee. He knew how she liked it. One sugar and a splash of milk.

“You’re such a good roommate,” she murmured, relaxing against Trey again. He seemed to be holding her up. “When do you have to get on the plane?” Reagan asked. Her hands tightened, clenching his shirt.

“A few hours. When’s the limo supposed to be here?”

She glanced at the clock on the wall in the living room. “Fuck,” she murmured. “In twenty minutes.” She clung to him, pressing her face against his shoulder. “Do you think the band will mind if I show up like this?”

“I’d say they wouldn’t mind at all,” Trey said, “but if you want them to concentrate on their music instead of your gorgeous ass, you might want to put on some clothes.”

Ethan extended her cup of coffee toward her. She gave Trey a leisurely kiss, her hands messing up his bed-hair even more, and then reluctantly drew away and took her cup of coffee. “I guess I’ll shower. Maybe try wearing a little makeup today.”

She moved away from Trey and sipped her coffee on her way back into her bedroom.

“Are you leaving on a trip?” Ethan asked Trey, not knowing if he wanted him to stay or go.

“Yeah, I’m still on tour. Just came back for one night. Brian’s wife had a baby yesterday. We have a show tonight.”

“He’s going to perform in a concert the day after his wife had a baby?”

“We scheduled our tour dates so he’d have a week off when the baby was born, but Malcolm decided he wanted to come out two weeks early.”

“So you’ll be gone for two weeks?” Ethan wondered how mopey Reagan would be during that time. She obviously liked this guy. She wasn’t going to like being away from him for two weeks so early in their relationship.

“Yep. Then we have a week off. Then we’re going back out on tour with Exodus End.” He grinned. “And Reagan.”

“And me,” Ethan added.

“I guess that’s right. Should be fun.” Trey’s ornery grin did strange things to everything in Ethan’s boxer briefs. He wasn’t sure “fun” was the right word. Torture might be more appropriate.

Chapter 10

Reagan almost swallowed her tongue when Harold showed her into the kitchen and she found Dare slicing fruit on the dark, granite countertop of the kitchen island. He was shirtless. His hair wet from a recent shower. Beard stubble recently trimmed. His expression dreamy and contemplative. Dare Mills. Yum-to-the-um.

Dare glanced up from his task and smiled at her in welcome. “There you are. I never got your number yesterday so I couldn’t call and let you know that today is a no go.”

Reagan’s heart sank. “A no go?”

“Max went to Vegas with Logan to blow off some steam. Steve took off to the wilderness somewhere, and I have sudden plans to go to Hawaii. I’m leaving tonight.”

Reagan’s excitement waned. How was she supposed to get ready to go on tour with them if she didn’t practice with them?

“He has a girlfriend there,” Trey said.

“I haven’t seen her in a while.”

Trey slipped onto a barstool, picked up slices of strawberries with his fingers, and popped them into his mouth. “You could have called me, Dare. I would have relayed the message.”

Dare just kept right on slicing a peach as his little brother helped himself. “I tried to call you. It kept going to voice mail.”

“I probably need to charge my phone.”

“So I had an idea,” Dare said to Reagan. “You wouldn’t learn much you don’t already know by hanging out here in the studio for two weeks without the band. Have you ever been on tour?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “All of Bait-n-Switch’s gigs were local.”

“Why don’t you go with Trey and hang out with Sinners for a couple of weeks? Learn what goes on behind the scenes.”

“Besides the beer and pussy?” Trey said, helping himself to slices of Dare’s peach now.

Reagan whipped her head around to glare at him.

He chuckled. “Kidding.”

“Sure,” Dare said with a grin as he rinsed an apple in the sink situated in the center of his kitchen island. He started to cut the apple into thin slices on a cutting board. “Trey gets all the beer and pussy he wants, whenever he wants it.”

Reagan scowled. “I bet he does.”

Trey grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to stand between his legs with her back to the counter. “Yours is the only pussy I want. I will take a beer though.”

Dare snorted. “That’s another reason you should go on tour with him, Reagan. To keep an eye on him. I think his record for celibacy is about twelve hours.”

“I’ve gone a few days without,” Trey said.

“A few days?” Reagan bellowed.

“How many more tour dates does Sinners have?” Dare asked.

“Eight shows in the next fourteen days. Then a week of rehearsal for the new show with you guys, and then back on the road again for… I don’t remember. A long fucking time.”

“So that means fourteen days without sex.” Dare laughed. “He won’t make it, Reagan.”

“Don’t worry. I am perfectly capable of jerking off for a couple of weeks,” Trey assured her. He took a slice of strawberry and used it to trace her lips. The very idea of him with his hands on some other woman, his cock inside some other woman, another woman watching him come, had her seething.

“I think Dare has a great idea. If I go on tour with you and Sinners, I won’t be so anxious when I start out with Exodus End.”

Trey fed her the slice of strawberry. “Well, if you want to go, I don’t see why you can’t. All the other guys have brought a woman on tour with Sinners in the past. About time I took advantage of that privilege.”

“And you can help me practice my music, too,” she said, really warming up to the idea now. “And maybe Brian can help me work on my triplets.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to.”

“Really?” she said, wrapping her arms around Trey’s neck. “He’s such an amazing guitarist!”

Dare cleared his throat.

“You all are amazing guitarists,” she hurriedly rectified.

“We’re all amazing guitarists,” Trey amended.

Reagan smiled. “Right. We’re all amazing guitarists.”

“If you’re coming along, you better go get packed. Brian’s supposed to be here in an hour to fly back to Oklahoma City to meet up with the bus for tonight’s show in Topeka.” Trey smiled sweetly. “I wonder how his little one is doing.”

“He called this morning and said Myrna was checking out of the hospital. I think she and the baby are coming out to the airstrip to see him off.”

“Aw,” Reagan said. “I’ll get to see baby Sinclair?”

“If you hurry.” Trey patted her butt. “We’ve got to make it in time for the show tonight. Have the limo run you home.”

“What do I bring?”

He leaned back to look her over. “A box of condoms and some energy drinks.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him.

“Just pack as if you’re going on a two-week vacation. I don’t know what you need to bring. Chick stuff.”

“Don’t bother bringing your guitar,” Dare said, slicing a pear now. “You can grab one of Max’s from the practice room.”

She pecked Trey on the lips. “I’ll be right back,” she promised and raced toward the front door to find the limo before she regained her senses and changed her mind.

* * *

As soon as Reagan was out of earshot, Trey picked up a peach and threw it at Dare. It stuck to the center of his bare chest.

“What the fuck, Dare? Why did you put me on the spot like that?”

“I knew you were too stupid to think of it on your own.” He peeled the piece of fruit off his chest and popped it in his mouth.

“Are you even going to Hawaii?”

“No. I broke up with Cassidy weeks ago. The rest was true though. Max and Logan went to Vegas as soon as Steve took off into the wilderness. Can’t blame Steve for heading out. You know what he’s like. He needs trees.”

“And you’re going to just stick around here by yourself?”

“I’ll probably do a little entertaining.” He grinned. “Or be a little entertained. So how did things go with Reagan last night?”

Trey checked over his shoulder to make sure she hadn’t returned unexpectedly. “She’s phenomenal.”

“Yeah. I thought you’d like her. Is she okay with your bisexual side?”

“She doesn’t know. And I’m not going to tell her. I’m giving up men.”

Dare shook his head at him. “Right, Trey. Good plan,” he said sarcastically.

“Her ex is bisexual. She caught him cheating on her with a man. She’s not very open to that kind of thing.”

“Hmm,” Dare said, munching on a slice of apple, his green eyes reflective. “You should dump her now then. She’ll just wind up hurt when you put your snake in a dark tunnel.”

Trey threw another slice of peach at his idiot brother. “I won’t be putting my snake in any dark tunnel. Unless it’s hers. I want this to work between us. I want a normal relationship. Last night was amazing. I want to keep that going.”

“Trey, you can’t deny what you are. You need to find a woman who accepts that part of you as part of the package. You’ll never be happy if you give up men entirely. I know you won’t.”

“Just butt out. Okay? Let me do this my way.”

Dare sighed and reached for a pineapple. He hacked off the top with more force than necessary before grabbing some fancy gadget that trimmed it into a neat, hollow cylinder. “Just don’t chase her off, Trey. We need her for the tour.”

“I’m not going to chase her off. I’m going to make her mine.”

The doorbell rang. Trey’s heart thudded with excitement, and he stood up from the barstool. “I bet that’s Brian.”

“Don’t wet yourself there, Trey.”

“Shut up.” He hadn’t seen Brian in over a day. He had a lot to tell him. And he missed him. A lot. Just because Trey had given up on Brian loving him didn’t mean that he’d fallen out of love with the man. Trey didn’t know if he’d ever stop loving Brian. Not completely.

By the time Trey made it to the foyer, Brian and crew were already inside the house. Brian had a diaper bag slung over one shoulder, a baby carrier in his free hand, and was trying to coax Myrna into a nearby chair.

“I’m fine, sweetheart,” she said, “really.”

“Since when did they start letting women out of the hospital after one day of rest? It’s insane,” Brian insisted. “Please, baby, sit. I don’t think you should be out of bed yet.”

“Brian, I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

“Did you call Jessica?”

“Yes, I called her. She said she’d meet me here and stay with me at the house until you get back from tour. And when she’s unavailable, Aggie said she’d help out too.” So Myrna had agreed to let the lady Sinners—Sed and Jace’s respective fiancées—help her out. Trey was actually surprised that she would admit to needing help.

Brian breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad they both agreed to stay with you. I can’t imagine leaving you alone right now.” Trey decided she’d done so only to give Brian some peace of mind.

Malcolm grunted in his carrier, and Brian set it on a decorative table, oblivious to the expensive vase he pushed aside. He had the baby out of his seat and cradled against his shoulder in record time. When Brian sniffed Malcolm’s tiny baby butt, Trey burst out laughing.

“Hey, Trey,” Myrna said. “Enjoy your day off?”

“You might say that,” Trey said and came further into the room.

“Is it time for him to eat?” Brian asked Myrna.

“It’s only been an hour,” she said with a weary smile.

“He made a noise,” Brian told her.

“They do that sometimes, sweetheart. You’re spoiling him.”

“Ah, God, I miss him already.” Brian cradled Malcolm in the crook of his arm and hummed some lullaby version of the Sinners song “Good-bye Is Not Forever” while gently bouncing him up and down.

“He’s going to puke on you if you aren’t careful,” Trey warned.

Brian pointed to a white spot on his shirt and grinned as if it were some treasure to behold. “He already did.”

The doorbell rang again. Dare had just taken a step into the room but stopped in his tracks and went to the door.

“Is the baby here?” Trey heard Jessica squeal from the front door.

“Uh, yeah, I think he came with his parents,” Dare answered.

Jessica breezed into the room, looking absolutely stunning as usual—a strawberry-blonde bombshell who looked like she belonged in a Playboy centerfold instead of in a courtroom. Trey was pretty sure some of her clients were repeat offenders just so they could see her again. Jessica gave Myrna a quick hug. “I’m so glad you called me,” she said. Jessica noticed Trey and gave his arm a squeeze as she zeroed in on Malcolm. “Oh,” she said, clutching her hands in front of her chest. “He’s adorable. Let me hold him.”

Brian in no way looked prepared to hand over his son until he had no choice, but the pride in Jessica’s excitement at seeing his child was apparently a good motivator. He handed over the kid but stayed beside her with his hand inches from Malcolm’s back as if he expected Jessica to drop him on the polished marble floor at any moment.

“Oh,” Jessica said again and cuddled the baby against her chest as if he were as fragile as wet paper. “Did you send a picture to Sed? He’ll die when he sees him.”

“Yeah, we sent the guys pictures,” Brian said, still hovering over Jessica. “They bitched about missing out on the fun.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it fun,” Myrna said flatly. “Amazing, unbelievable, breathtaking, and wonderful, but not fun.”

Once Brian seemed sure that Jessica was trustworthy, he moved to stand beside his wife. He stroked her auburn hair with one hand. “Are you thirsty? Hungry? Can I get you something?”

“A glass of water would be nice,” she admitted.

“I’ll get it,” Dare said. “Harold!”

Trey watched Brian fuss over his wife, and though he was a little sad to watch Brian slip even farther away from him, Trey was glad that Brian was so happy. Absolute joy radiated off the guy. It was almost blinding.

“Who’s a handsome boy? Who’s a handsome boy? Who’s a handsome boy?” Jessica asked Malcolm who was gnawing on his fist and gazing at her with unfocused eyes. “That’s right. Malcolm’s a handsome boy. Malcolm’s a handsome boy.”

“He’s not a dog, Jess. Why are you talking to him like that?” Trey asked.

“He likes it,” she said. “Don’t you like it? Yes you do. Yes you do.”

“Well then, he’s the only one,” Trey muttered.

Myrna chuckled.

“I want to hold him again,” Brian said, following Jessica around the room as she continued to repeat herself incessantly. “You can hold him as much as you want after I’m gone.”

“Oh God, I want one,” Jessica said, hugging the baby before handing him back to his father.

“Are you sure you mean that?” Trey said.