Jace couldn't breathe. Face firmly lodged between some fangirl's huge tits, no amount of struggling secured his release. Had it been Aggie trying to suffocate him with her succulent breasts, he wouldn't have minded as much. He hadn't realized visiting Trey in the hospital might be life threatening.
"Oh Jace, you're sooooo cute," the young woman squealed at the top of her lungs. Sed somehow got a hand between Jace's forehead and fangirl's cleavage and pried him loose.
Jace gulped air greedily. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Sed said in his typical baritone growl.
This time Jace stuck close to Sed and Jessica as they pushed their way through the crowd of Trey's concerned fans and eventually made it to Trey's private room.
They found him, Eric, and their live sound engineer, Dave, sitting hip to hip in the hospital bed watching some porn video on the band's laptop. When the guys noticed Jessica had entered the room, Trey slammed the computer closed on Eric's hand. Dave sprang from the bed and was out the door within seconds. It didn't take long to figure out what had three grown men freaking out. The guys had been watching The Video . Granted, it would be upsetting for most chicks to see themselves getting drilled on the Internet, when they'd been unaware that someone was filming, but what did she expect? She and Sed had been having sex in public. That kind of made it fair game as free Internet porn. Eric seemed to be the only one to understand her over-the-top angst. When she stormed out of the room with tears flying, it was Eric who suggested Sed go after her.
When Sed raced out of the room in pursuit, Jace said, "I think she was upset."
"You think?" Eric said. He shook his head. "We shouldn't have watched it."
"Yeah, we should have," Trey said. "That was one of the hottest fucking things I've ever seen in my life. Jesus Christ, no wonder Sed wants her so badly. She's a sex goddess. I wouldn't mind tapping that every night for the rest of my life."
Eric shook his head slightly. "But us watching it hurt her."
Trey laughed at Eric's obvious upset. "Dude, you are such a pussy when it comes to women. That's why they walk all over you, you know."
Jace glanced at Eric. He'd never seen Eric with a woman long enough to witness him getting walked over. Eric tended to avoid anything remotely resembling a romantic relationship. Hell, he rarely engaged in sex. Usually watched and only participated if he was sure the woman wasn't truly interested in him for anything other than leftovers. The only exception was Myrna. Myrna had only wanted Brian, no matter how touchy-feely Eric had gotten. Had that been his attraction to her? Knowing she'd never really be interested in him, so it was safe to pine away for her?
Eric scowled at Jace. "What the fuck are you looking at, little man?"
Jace lowered his gaze to the floor, hiding the defiance he knew would be in his eyes. "Nothing."
"That's what I thought."
Jace shifted his gaze to Trey. "How are you feeling? Are they going to let you out of here soon?"
Trey lifted his hand and tried to make a fist. His hand didn't even close halfway. "That's how I'm feeling, Jace. Fucked up and pissed off. Whatever. I'm getting out of here tomorrow. I don't give a shit what my doctor says."
Jace nodded. He didn't want Trey in here any more than he wanted to stay.
"Don't be an idiot," Eric said. "You'll stay in the hospital until you're better."
"These places kill people." Jace bit his lip. He hadn't meant to say that, but he couldn't help but get lost in his past when confronted by such blatant reminders.
"This place saved Trey's life," Eric said, slim black brows drawing together over his piercing blue eyes. "I'm the only one who had to witness his fucking seizure. I almost had a heart attack when Trey stopped breathing and pissed himself."
"I'd appreciate it if you'd keep that 'pissed himself ' part to yourself," Trey murmured.
Eric placed a hand on Trey's brow and brushed his bangs off his forehead. "That is nothing to be ashamed of, brother. I thought you were dead. It was the least of my concerns."
"I would have been dead if you hadn't called the ambulance."
"You were coming around by the time they got there. I performed CPR on you for like twenty minutes, dude."
Jace's eyes widened. He hadn't realized what Eric had done for Trey. Jace wondered if he would have gone to the same lengths to save Trey or just curled into the fetal position and hid, as he had when his mother had died.
Trey grinned crookedly. "So that's why I've been tasting tequila since I woke up. Was it really necessary to give me tongue?"
Eric laughed. "Hey, I know you like that kind of thing. I thought it might revive you."
"You gave him tongue?" Jace's nose curled. He knew Trey was bisexual, and Jace was fine with that, as long as he wasn't confronted by it. To each man his own—just keep it behind closed doors.
Eric rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and shook his head. "No, I didn't really give him tongue. Jeez, dude, do you have any sense of humor at all?"
Jace had a hard time figuring out when Eric was being serious and when he was joking. He'd probably do better if he erred on the side of joking. The guy was rarely serious.
"I knew you were joking," Jace said.
"Whatever."
"I'm bored. Let's watch Sed and Jessica's video again," Trey said.
Dave peeked in the door. "Eric, are you ready to go?" he whispered loudly.
"Sed and Jess left," Eric said, waving Dave back into the room. "It's safe."
Dave stepped into the room, glancing around cautiously. "Was Sed pissed at us for watching that?"
"Sed?" Trey asked. "Nah, I'm sure he's proud of it. Jess, on the other hand…"
"She ran out crying," Jace said. "Sed went after her."
"If she was upset, then Sed will be upset too," Dave said.
The four exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
"Fine," Trey said. "We won't watch it again." He sighed loudly.
"A shame really," Eric muttered. "Excellent jack off material. I just don't want to upset Jessica. She's a good woman."
Jace had never given Jessica much thought. She was gorgeous. No mistake about that, but he didn't know her well enough to judge her character. There must be something pretty great about her if she could keep Sed interested for two years, even while absent.
"Where have you been all day, Jace?" Dave asked. "We wanted to borrow your bike earlier, but couldn't find you."
Jace flushed, thoughts returning to Aggie. "Sorry, I was…"
Trey chuckled. "He was getting laid. Look at him blush."
Jace's already hot cheeks burned even more.
Dave nudged him with his elbow. "Good looking chick?"
"Perfect."
"How much did you pay her?" Eric chided.
Jace was pretty sure his face was about to burst into flames. "Uh… a grand."
"You paid for it?" Trey asked. "Dude, I can hook you up with any chick you want. Don't ever pay for pussy."
Jace's defenses rose. "Not the sex. I didn't pay her for that part."
"Then what?" Dave asked, looking puzzled.
Jace shook his head. He was unwilling to share this part of himself with the guys. They'd think he was a freak. Eric grabbed him in a headlock and pulled the back of his shirt up. Dave gasped as he took in what must have been a matrix of bruises, welts, and scratches.
Eric poked a bruise with one finger. "Just as I thought. Dude, if you want someone to hit you, just ask. I'd love to knock you around."
Trey laughed. "Careful. You'll give him a boner, Eric."
Jace's hard fist to Eric's ribs gained his release.
"Ow, fuck , you hit hard." Eric grabbed his side, wincing in pain.
Jace felt immediate remorse for hurting him. "Sorry."
"So you paid some guy to beat you up?" Dave asked, perplexity written in every confused line of his face.
Trey burst out laughing. "Uh no, Dave. Hanging around us, you'd think you'd come out of the shelter of your vanilla existence every now and then. He likes women to hit him."
Jace's eyes widened, and he diverted his gaze to his boots. "I need to leave."
"Don't leave. Tell us what she did to you," Trey insisted. "It might alleviate my boredom for a couple minutes."
"Did she piss on you?" Dave asked. He shifted to his other foot and adjusted the fly of his khakis.
"No, she didn't piss on me."
"But you want her to piss on you , don't you, Dave?" Trey said.
"Em, no," Dave said. "That's sick." He adjusted his fly again.
"You're all hard just thinking about it," Trey noted. "She'll probably piss on you for a couple bucks. What do you say, Jace? Give her a call. Ask her if she'll piss on Dave. I'll spot him a twenty."
"Don't," Dave said, flushing from the collar of his mint green polo to the line of his immaculately styled, light brown hair.
Jace scowled. He didn't know if Aggie pissed on guys for money, and he didn't want to know. Talking about this cheapened his experiences with her. He didn't like it. She treated him different from the rest of her customers. She'd already told him that. Part of him wanted to believe it.
"I don't think she does that kind of thing."
"Puh-lease. A chick like her will do anything for money," Eric said.
"No. She's not like that." Why did he feel the need to defend her? She did serve men for money. But it was on her terms. Wasn't it? "I've got to go."
Jace left, but he vowed he wouldn't go to see Aggie again tonight, even though he had an appointment with her in five hours and thirty-seven minutes. He could not allow himself to get any more attached.