Hot Ticket
Page 79

“Jace lost,” Eric said. “He came first.” He sucked a breath through his teeth. “I’m about to join him.”
“If you come on me, I will kill you,” Jace said to Eric.
He didn’t come on Jace. He came on Aggie’s ass. She felt his fluids hit her skin—warm and thick. “God, that’s hot,” Eric groaned and rubbed the head of his c**k in his cum to spread it over her skin.
“You really need to find yourself a woman,” she said. “Preferably a  p**n  star.”
“I’d rather share you with little man.”
“Not sure why we let you participate,” Jace grumbled. “I satisfy her better on my own.”
Eric flopped down on the bed beside Jace. “Because I’m your best buddy, and you don’t want me to die from a giant case of blue balls?”
“I don’t think that’s fatal,” Aggie said.
“Have you ever had blue balls?” Eric asked.
She grinned and flipped her gaze to the ceiling. “Well…”
“They’re not just for Smurfs.”
Jace laughed and reached up to tug Aggie down against his chest to cuddle her against him. “Wouldn’t that be a constant condition for them?”
“Poor little guys,” Eric said with a troubled scowl.
“That probably has more to do with them only having one female in their species, more than their skin color,” Jace said.
Eric laughed.
“I bet Smurfette gets a lot of UTIs,” Aggie said.
Eric guffawed until Aggie thought he was going to pass out from lack of air. After several minutes, he wiped the tears from his eyes, still chuckling sporadically. “You guys kill me.”
Aggie snuggled closer to Jace’s chest. Did he see it now? How much he meant to Eric?
Eric stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “I could go for a nap. Are you going to finish her on your own? I don’t have the energy. Haven’t been getting enough sleep.”
Jace rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’re worthless.”
“Maybe,” Eric said, “but at least I don’t have a daisy tattooed on the top of my foot.”
“Ass.” Jace punched him in the arm and received a retaliating blow in return.
Aggie just grinned. Watching Jace’s walls crumble was the greatest gift he could give her.
Chapter 35
Jace removed his sling and stretched his injured arm above his head. There was barely any pain now, but his strength had diminished significantly since he’d been wearing the damned thing. It was time to become proactive in his recovery so he could get back in the show. Screw Jon. This was Jace’s band now. He was f**king sick of taking the backseat, not pursuing what he wanted, worrying about how everyone else felt. Jace left the tour bus and went to find Sed in the back of the equipment truck. Sed could usually be found there lifting weights, especially when he was sexually frustrated. Since he hadn’t seen his fiancée in almost a month, he was bulking up like a Mr. Olympian contestant.
Jace climbed into the back of the truck. Though it was chilly outside, the air inside was stifling, thick, and moist. It smelled like an unwashed gym sock. Sed was bench-pressing twice Jace’s weight, his bulging muscles straining against his skin.
Jace moved to stand at Sed’s head and peered down at his red, sweaty face. “Need a spotter?”
Sed lifted an eyebrow, but instead of pointing out that Jace would make a piss-poor spotter, he nodded. “Sure.”
Jace watched Sed do a couple of reps, hoping to God he never actually needed a spotter. With one useless arm, there was no way Jace could possibly hold that much weight, much less lift it off Sed’s chest.
“Did you come in here for a reason?” Sed asked.
Jace shrugged.
“Hiding from your chick or something?”
“Nah, she’s an angel.”
“Eric?”
“Nope. We’re cool.” For once.
Sed grunted and lifted the metal bar to rest on the bench’s stand. The truck rocked slightly with the shift in weight. Sed sat up and wiped his face on a towel. “Got a problem?”
“Kinda. I need to build up the strength in my arm. It’s about healed, but…” He shrugged.
“Aren’t you supposed to wear that sling for two more weeks?” Sed acted more like his father than Jace’s actual father ever had. Jace had always found it comforting. He never wanted to let this guy down.
Jace ducked his head, disappointment sinking low in his chest. “Yeah.”
Jace turned to leave the truck, but Sed caught him by the back of his shirt. “Let’s see it.”
He hesitated and then pulled his shirt off his arms and let it hang around his neck. The puckered skin of the scar on his upper arm looked a little less angry every day. He needed a mirror to see the one on the back of his shoulder, but it had healed shut as well. They no longer required bandages. The problem wasn’t the wounds though. It was the loss of muscle mass from wearing that sling so long. Jace could see the difference in the size of his two arms, and apparently, so could Sed. He poked Jace’s right biceps.
“You should start out pretty light and build up to heavier stuff. We’ll get you evened out, but I don’t want you to hurt yourself by rushing this. We’ve got Jon until you’re better.”
Jace pulled his shirt back in place, embarrassed by his puny arm in the company of ripped-beyond-belief Sed. “That’s why I’m ready to get stronger. Now.” Jace lifted his head, forcing his gaze not to waver. “I don’t want Jon to take my place anymore.”
Sed smiled, which always made him look less tough and reminded Jace that Sed really was a nice guy and genuinely cared about people. “I guess it would be boring to be stuck on the tour bus for a month and not get to be onstage. We’ll get you back out there soon.”
“I never wanted Jon to take my place,” Jace clarified.
Sed scratched his head, looking perplexed. “But you wouldn’t have been able to play a month ago. We would have had to cancel tour dates.”
Jace’s heart thudded. He knew his next words would make his feelings perfectly clear, and he had no idea how Sed would respond. Jace expected him to tell him to get lost. Permanently. “You did it for Trey.”
“But there was no one readily available to take Trey’s place like there was with you.” A look of realization crossed Sed’s face. “Oh.” Sed blushed. Jace didn’t know that Sed was capable of blushing. “If you felt that way, dipshit, why didn’t you say something sooner?”