Hot Ticket

Jace rubbed the hoop in his earlobe. “It’s selfish of me to feel that way.”

“So what. We’re not going to know how you feel about stuff unless you tell us. It doesn’t mean it will change our decisions, but at least we’ll understand where you’re coming from. You’re part of this band, too, you know?”

Sed hadn’t told him to get lost. He had sort of chastised him though. Jace soaked it up like a sponge.

“I want back onstage as soon as I can get my strength up,” Jace said, “but I don’t want to suck. I want to play properly. I know I’m not ready for a full show yet. Maybe I can play half of the next show. A few songs at least.”

“Whatever you think you can handle.” Sed went to a rack of hand weights and lifted a set of fifteen-pounders. He handed them to Jace and selected forty-pound weights for himself. “Let’s get busy then.”

Sed put him through the ringer with repetition after repetition. The weight was far too light for Jace’s left arm, but he struggled to lift even fifteen pounds with his right. He’d never let Sed know that though. He worked until his muscles refused to contract.

“You’re done,” Sed said.

Sed set his weights on the rack and took Jace’s. Good thing. Jace probably would have dropped it on his foot. Sed set the weights down and then cuffed Jace on the side of his head. “Go rest for a while. We can work out again tomorrow.”

“How about later tonight?” Jace should have recovered enough to move by then.

“You shouldn’t overdo it, Jace.”

Jace lowered his gaze. He preferred to work out with Sed. The guy was a body builder. Sed knew what he was doing, but Jace could do this on his own if necessary.

Sed chuckled. “You’re really determined to get stronger, aren’t you?”

Jace met his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Then it’s a date.”

“A date?” a feminine voice said from the end of the truck bed. “Sorry, Jace, but I’m the only one he’s dating for the next forty-eight hours.”

Sed gasped, his eyes widening with shock as they located their guest. “Jessica.”

“Hey, baby,” she said, with a beautiful smile on her face. She climbed into the truck and dusted her hands off on her frilly white dress. The woman was amazingly sexy. No wonder Sed was already racing toward her. “Did you miss—”

Her words were cut off by Sed’s enthusiastic kiss. He was hugging her so close Jace wouldn’t be surprised if he broke her ribs. After a long moment, Sed pulled away and looked at her as if unable to believe she was really there. He touched her face, her long, strawberry blonde hair, and then settled both hands on her shoulders, tilting her back slightly so that her belly brushed against his sweaty, naked torso. “How did you get here?”

She laughed and cupped the side of his face. “Brian sent me a plane ticket. He told me to ditch school and get my ass to Canada before you spontaneously combusted. I’d have been here sooner, but I needed a passport.”

“Brian did?”

“You’re welcome,” Brian said from the ground at the end of the truck. He had his arms crossed over his chest and looked pleased with himself. Jon stood beside him grinning, but when he noticed Jace, he scowled and slinked away.

“You two better make good use of that bedroom tonight,” Brian added, “because Myrna will be here tomorrow, and we won’t be leaving that room for two days.”

Jace wasn’t sure if Sed and Jessica even heard him. They were lost in each other’s eyes. “You’re all sweaty, baby,” she murmured. “And damn, you’re ripped. What have you been doing with yourself?” Her hands stroked his bulging biceps with obvious appreciation.

Sed’s hold loosened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get my stink all over you.”

Jessica leaned closer and licked the sweat off his collarbone. Sed’s body tensed. “I want all of you, Sed. All over me.” Her hand disappeared between their bodies, and Sed gasped brokenly when she found her target. “Inside me.”

Sed growled and claimed Jessica’s mouth again. He turned, pressed her against the steel wall, and slid a hand under the hem of her skirt. He grabbed her thigh and lifted it to his hip, before grinding himself against her.

Jace doubted these two were going to make it to the bedroom.

He grinned. Sed was so in love with Jessica. It was wonderful to see. It was even more wonderful to experience it himself with Aggie. Yeah, he loved her. He wondered what she was up to. He hopped out of the truck, landing next to Brian, and left Sed and Jessica to get reacquainted in semiprivate.

“Put it in, Sed,” Jace heard Jessica cry against Sed’s lips as they walked away. “I can’t wait…”

“That was a nice thing you did,” Jace said to Brian.

Brian chuckled, and they made their way back to the bus. “I knew Sed was too damn stubborn to tell her how much he needed her here. And Myrna’s too damn stubborn to come here no matter how much I tell her I need her.”

“So how did you convince Myrna?”

“I made it seem like it was her idea. I think I’ve finally figured out how to get what I want. She’s a psychologist, so she usually sees my manipulative methods coming from a mile away.” Brian laughed.

Jace smiled, holding Brian’s gaze. His intense, brown eyes were so much like Kara’s it stole Jace’s breath. And apparently, his ability to reason. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this.”

Brian paused. “Tell me what?”

“I dated your sister.” He wasn’t sure why he wanted to own up to it all of a sudden.

“Not possible. My sister has been dead for ten years.”

Jace nodded. “Yeah. We were teenagers. We broke it off a few weeks before she…”

Brian’s eyes narrowed suddenly. “You’re Jason?”

Jace’s heart skipped a beat. “Huh?”

“Are you the ass**le who took her virginity and then never called afterward?”

Brian knew? How could he know? He’d never told anyone—with the exception of Aggie.

“I-I guess so.”

Brian took a swing at him. Jace ducked instinctively.

“You f**king jerk,” Brian growled. “She cried for weeks over you.”

“She did?”

Brian’s next swing hit home. Jace gladly took it in the chin.

“I thought she hated me,” Jace murmured.