I groaned, flopping back on the bed.
"Seriously?" I said, putting a hand over my eyes. "How could you let me get that drunk?"
"Me?" Jaden laughed. "I had nothing to do with it, baby...I was getting ready for the show. Anyway, you already had a good head start on me by the time I got back from that photo shoot, if you recall..."
I clutched his hand, feeling a surge of guilt. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" he said. "Why? Just because you scared me half to death, making me think you'd been raped or murdered and dumped in a park somewhere?"
"Not just that," I said. "For missing your show. For being such a pain in the ass..."
He shook his head. "Don't worry about the show. You didn't miss anything. You've heard all those songs about a million times by now, anyway..."
"Still...it was a big show. I can't believe I missed it. It's also why I came..."
"Don't worry about it," he insisted. "If you want to be sorry, be sorry for scaring me out of my mind...not for the show. At this point, I'm just glad you're all right." Glancing down at my expression, he smiled again. "Once I knew you were okay, I kind of chilled out. That cop had a good long talk with all of us, and made us realize that we really should have been keeping an eye on one another better, too." He gave me a rueful look. "Jon didn't, though. Chill out, I mean. Cass seemed to be a pretty good sport about it, but Jon, well. He was a little-"
"Yeah," I sighed. "I get it. Damage control." Blowing up my bangs, I closed my eyes. "Jeez. I can't believe I just wandered off...in New York, of all places. What a complete fucking idiot." I looked up at him, touching his face. "Why are you dating such a idiot?"
"Don't be stupid." Leaning down, he kissed my neck. Once he let himself fall into what he was doing, he leaned into me more, putting more of himself into each kiss as he eased his body between my legs. Feeling him starting to get turned on, I laughed.
I pushed at his shoulders when I felt his tongue in my ear.
"I thought you wanted me to get up?" I said. "Coffee, remember?"
"In a minute," he murmured, resting more of his weight on me. "One of us up at a time is probably safer...and I never got to celebrate with my girl post-show last night..."
His fingers slid into my hair, caressing it back from my face, and I shivered suddenly, looking up at him. A pain started in my chest. Without thought, I raised my hand to where it started. As I did, I felt it again, that feeling of presence, wound into a darker nausea in the lower part of my belly. For a moment, it was strong enough that I closed my eyes.