by Nicky James
“What’s the game plan, sugar?” Krew asked.
I flipped my focus to Adrian who was dealing with our check-in. My mind was still swamped with anxiety, and I struggled to ground myself and think straight.
“I have to meet up with the organizers at noon,” Adrian explained, a slight groove in his forehead the only indication of his own stress. “Erin will be here somewhere by now. I should find her and go over what we need to prepare.”
“Guess that means you’re all ours, babycakes.”
“Yeah. Let’s just get our shit in our room, and I’ll text you.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Krew left us to our check-in and shimmied up beside Max, chatting too quietly to hear.
I squeezed in close beside Adrian just as the woman behind the counter handed over our room cards.
“Elevators are that way.” She indicated with a smile.
I laced my fingers with Adrian’s, and we each grabbed our bags as we headed in the right direction.
The doorman gave me a funny look, probably because I hadn’t removed my shades, but I ignored him. I was used to being a spectacle when I wore them indoors. The urge to growl and tell him to mind his own business was on the tip of my tongue, but I was too desperate to get free of the windows to start a fight, so I stayed quiet and kept moving.
Inside the elevator, I drew my first full breath since our plane had landed. The overhead fluorescents didn’t bother me anymore.
I tugged Adrian into my arms and breathed against his neck. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m such a fucking mess.”
“You did well. That’s the most exposure you’ve had in seven years. Be proud.”
Adrian tipped his head back and his gaze flicked between my covered eyes. When he reached up and removed my shades, I didn’t object. Without the dark filter, his rich brown irises came to life behind his glasses. I touched his cheek, grazing my knuckles over his smoothly shaven face.
The worry lines remained on his forehead and guilt replaced all my earlier anxiety. I’d been so focused on me, I’d forgotten the struggles Adrian faced with this conference, too.
Smoothing the grooves along his forehead, planting gentle kisses across his brow, I asked, “How are you doing?”
His shoulders fell, and he slumped into my hold. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll live.”
“Adrian.” I cradled his head as my body relaxed by degrees. “I know I’m a train wreck, but I’m here for you too.”
“I know,” he mumbled against my chest.
The elevator dinged and we grabbed our bags. I hooked my shades onto the front of my hoodie and pulled back the hood, messing a hand through my fiery red hair. Any sense of order I’d given it that morning was long ago flattened from my hiding.
I snagged Adrian’s hand, and we headed toward our room.
We had a queen-sized bed and a large window with a view of the busy city below. Nothing extravagant, but much nicer than any place I’d ever stayed in before.
Adrian plopped his bag on our bed as I drew the curtains closed over the window. I knew I shouldn’t. I knew I should accept that step and fight through those uncomfortable feelings, but I also felt like I’d had enough for one day. Besides, I’d have to go downstairs eventually and venture through the wide open, sunlit lobby at some point.
I clicked on a few lights, spilling an orangey yellow glow into all the dark corners.
Adrian fidgeted with folders of schedules and paperwork he’d pulled from his bag. His bottom lip found its way between his teeth, and he compulsively adjusted his glasses.
His own nerves were showing.
I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and relieved him of his paperwork, tossing it back onto the bed, then I turned him.
“You’re going to do great.”
“I haven’t done a presentation on this scale since the one I did at the college that turned into a shit show. I can still hear them laughing. I can still see it all play out when I close my eyes at night.”
“That’s in the past. You’ve moved on and up. This is a professional environment. There isn’t going to be asshole bullies out there teasing or taunting you or planning practical jokes. Believe me.”
And if there were, I’d tear them to shreds. Never, so long as I breathed air into my lungs, would I ever allow anything like that to happen to Adrian again.
“I know. I’m just worried. Look.”
He held up his hands, and they shook as bad as my own had downstairs. I clasped them and threaded our fingers.
“I’ll be there this time. Just like with group. You worried about taking that on and speaking in front of everyone there, too, but it’s been just fine. You’re smart, and people see that and respect you. They look to you for support and answers. I know I do.”
Adrian nodded and shuffled before letting out a long breath. “Erin sees through me, you know. She asked me about it the other day. She must have noticed my anxiety as we went over the sections we are each covering for the presentation. She asked. I gave her a rundown of what happened.”
“I should hope she sees it. It’s her job to notice stuff like that. But I’m glad you told her.”
Adrian nodded.
Before he could revisit those stress-filled thoughts, I leaned in and captured his abused lower lip in my own teeth, nipping and sucking it into my mouth. Then I kissed him, tangling my fingers in his thick brown hair and holding him in place. His tongue found mine and they glided, silky smooth together.
We were in this together. I may have a million and one issues, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t support Adrian too. I was proud of his accomplishments. Proud of the direction he was going.
When we came apart, Adrian looked adequately kiss-drunk—my favorite Adrian. Disheveled, and near boneless from a simple kiss. His troubles were long gone, and I was glad.
He blinked a few times, straightening his clothing and fixing his glasses with a coy smile that matched my own.
“You’re trouble, and I’m gonna be a mess when I meet with these people at this rate.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”
“Don’t forget to get registered at some point today,” he reminded me. “And please control Krew. This is a professional atmosphere. Do not let him run amok.”
I chuckled. “You should have thought of that when you said I could invite him. Krew cannot be tamed. Just ask Max.”
“Well, I was hoping Max would keep him in line.”
“And he has, so far.” I fixed a piece of Adrian’s wonky hair and pecked another kiss on his lips. “Text me once you’re free again. We can grab dinner or something at the restaurant downstairs.”
“I will. Hopefully, I won’t be all day.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Krew
I knelt on the couch in the sitting area of our room, clasped my hands to the back with my knees wide and back arched just right to display my assets to Max.
“Remember that time,” I said, peering over my shoulder and examining my perky ass where it sat snug in my skin tight red jeans. “When you fucked me over a couch in a hotel just like this?”
I gave my hips a little wiggle, enticing him as I winked.
Max rolled the sleeves on his button-up and shoved them to his elbows before undoing a few buttons at his collar. His gaze remained glued to my backside, a gleam shone out his eyes. “I remember. I also remember what brought you to my hotel room that night to begin with.”
I rolled my eyes and swung around, dropping to sit on the couch instead. “Ugh, of course you remember that part. Haven’t you learned the unhealthy practice of blocking out terrible things from your past and pretending they don’t exist?”
Max smirked and sauntered toward me. He held out a hand, and I took it, allowing him to tug me to my feet. He didn’t stop there and scooped his hands under my ass, heaving me up until I wrapped my legs around his waist.
As he walked toward the huge king-sized bed, my brows winged up. “Oh
, yes, please! Hotel sex is my favorite.”
Max dropped me on the bed, and I lay flat as he bent down, feet planted on the ground and arms braced on either side of me. “No sex right now.” He kissed my nose then each of my eyelids in turn. “Later. Rory will be looking for you any minute, and he’s why you’re here.”
I pouted and blinked dramatically. “But, but…”
Max was never seduced that easily anymore. He’d long ago discovered the flirtatious, manipulative tricks I used to get him in bed.
“Later. I was thinking.” Another kiss, this one along my brow. “While you and Rory spend the day together, I might rent a car and scour the city.”
He trailed his nose along my cheek, inhaling and closing his eyes. I melted at the attention.
“For what?”
“Potential future investments. Someday, I’d like to expand Limbos out west. Not yet, but it’d be good to get a feel for the area. And, if I rent a car, maybe we can go shopping while this conference is on tomorrow.”
“Shopping?” My ears perked and I wiggled under Max, delighted by the idea. Then I frowned. “But I think Adrian was gonna get us in to the conference.”
“For what purpose? You’re not a doctor. We don’t have anxiety disorders.”
“Pff, speak for yourself. I’m overrun with phobias. In fact, today, I developed frezashowraphobia.”
Max quirked a brow, unable to hide his growing smirk. “Which is?”
“A fear of freezing cold showers. Like the one I had this morning before we left for the airport because you stole all the hot water. My junk shriveled up like a dehydrated hotdog, and nobody needs to see that. Plus, it hurt when my raisin-shrunken balls burrowed inside me for warmth. I swear I heard them screaming and crying in pain.” I whimpered as Max chuckled. “It wasn’t pretty. It affected me deeply.”
“I see.”
“So now we need to attend this conference so I can ensure all these professionals know and understand my pain.”
“I thought you preferred blocking out all the horrific things that happened to you in the past. You just said—”
“Oh my God, do not throw my own logic back in my face. I hate that.”
“So you’d rather attend a long, likely dry and overwrought with technical research you won’t understand conference than go shopping?”
My eyes widened as I considered. “Good point. I feel like I may be developing doctotechnatalkaphobia as we speak.”
Max tipped his head to the side as he studied my face. “Let me guess. A fear of technical doctor terms?”
I gasped and covered my mouth. “You’ve heard of it? Oh, thank God. We should definitely go shopping and save me from any unnecessary anxiety.”
“Clearly.”
Max bent and ghosted his lips over mine. A promise of a kiss. A tease that made my insides squirm and scream for more. The rasp of his trim beard scratched my chin, sending shivers up my arms and down my spine.
I grasped hold of his forearms and lifted my head, joining our mouths and slipping my tongue between his lips, licking and tasting him. He could only resist me so long, and I knew it.
Max groaned, kissing back. He draped his body over mine nearly crushing me but mindful of his weight. I delved deeper, hooked my legs around his waist and tugged him closer.
Max complied—for a few minutes—then broke free. “You’re trouble.”
“It’s my middle name.”
My phone rang just as Max dipped his head for another kiss. I dropped my head back on the bed and fisted the blankets underneath me when he pulled back instead. “I’ll kill him,” I growled. “You can help me dispose of the body, and we can continue this.”
Max chuckled, lifting off of me as I wiggled my phone from my tight jeans. It was Rory as I assumed it would be. I tapped the accept call button and grinned facetiously at Max as I answered.
“You’ve reached Krew’s answering machine. I can’t come to the phone right now, I have a massive dick up my ass and I’m taking a pounding like you’ve only dreamed about. If you’d like to leave a message—or fucking text like you were supposed to, you asshole—I’d be happy to get back to you as soon as I can. Beep.”
There was a long pause, and I frowned. “Um… I said, beep.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll wait. You come faster than a sixteen-year-old boy watching porn for the first time. It shouldn’t take long.”
“I hate that you know that about me.”
“Believe me, I hate it too. Are you free?”
“Yeah. It’s just you and me. Max is gonna get a car and do grown-up stuff that sounds utterly boring, so you get me all to yourself.”
“Lucky me. What room are you in?”
“Fifteen oh eight. Left off the elevator.”
“Be there in five.”
The call disconnected and I tossed my phone away before flipping over and presenting myself on my hands and knees. “Quick, Max, you have five minutes. Go, go, go!”
Max chuckled as he flipped through something on his phone, barely paying attention to me.
Rude much?
I hated being ignored. I wiggled my butt and whimpered. “Maaaaaxxx!”
“You keep poking that ass up at me, and I’ll spank it.”
I couldn’t move fast enough and whipped around on the bed, clutching my backside with an exaggerated look of horror. “You wouldn’t!”
“I would.”
Max eyed me over his phone, a single brow rising higher than the other. He’d slipped his reading glasses on while I was on the phone and he looked fucking edible as he peered over their top—which wasn’t helping. Why did I only have five minutes? Why was Max denying me?
So unfair.
Admitting defeat, I slid to the edge of the bed as I looked around our huge room. It was as large and as extravagant as the hotel room Max used to always book when he visited Dewhurst before he moved. So many memories of those times.
I peered into the not-so-distant past and smiled… Magic fingers…
“Okay, I’m set. I have a car waiting downstairs to take me to get a rental. I’ll be back for dinner. Did you want to go out somewhere nice?”
Max pocketed his phone and wedged himself between my legs. Using a single finger, he hooked it under my jaw and tipped my chin up.
“Or we could get room service and stay in,” I suggested.
“We could.”
He bent and captured my mouth in a short kiss. “Try to remember, this isn’t the bar. Control your sassy self a touch, and try not to overwhelm strangers. Even though you know a few people here, they are all dealing with difficult issues this weekend. Their stress levels are likely higher than usual, and they might not appreciate your bubbly personality like I do.”
“Is this your way of telling me to leave Ireland alone?”
“You see right through me.”
Max smiled and stroked my cheek just as a knock sounded on our door.
“I’ll be good,” I said, bouncing up. “My job is to help Rory mingle and stay relaxed.”
Max caught my hand before I flew to the door. “I love you. I’ll text you.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him once more. “I love you, too. See you later.”
Rory was his usual, delightfully cheery self, grumbling hello and steering us down the hallway with a pleasant scowl on his face.
In the elevator, I couldn’t help noticing his excessive fidgeting and squirming. He still wore his shades and hoodie, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. He was a ball of live wires wound so tight he looked half a second from exploding.
“Girlfriend, you need to relax. We’re done outside. Windows you can handle. Consider this a step in the right direction.”
“I need a smoke, and I can’t smoke in the building. It would help, I know it would. Maybe I could relax some and deal with all this shit.”
I nibbled my lip as I watched the numbers tick down above the door. “We could go down to the parking garage under the hotel. It will be rela
tively dark and technically outside.”
Rory’s head jerked up, and I knew he was staring at me, even when I couldn’t see his eyes. “You think we could?”
I shrugged. “Can’t see why not. Why don’t we find out where to register you first then go check it out.”
He nodded and turned to watch the descending numbers as well. On the main floor again, Rory’s shoulders climbed to his ears as we wandered through the lobby and down a hall that led to the various conference rooms.
In a spacious opening outside a set of double doors, an older man in a suit sat behind a table littered with lanyards and name tags. Two other tables flanked his sides and under each were boxes filled with bright blue folders.
I nudged Rory’s side and pointed. “I think that’s it.”
We wandered over and waited while a woman dressed in slacks and a white blouse chatted with the man. Once she left, we approached. The older gentleman greeted us with a smile.
“Registering?”
“Yeah,” Rory grunted.
“Patients of Dr. Kelby or Dr. Mann?”
It must have been evident by our dress that we weren’t among the professionals attending the conference.
“Kelby,” Rory answered.
The man nodded and shifted to the far table on his left. “Name?”
“Rory Gallagher.”
He scanned the name tags which were distributed in even rows until he got to Rory’s name. He scooped it up along with a lanyard and bent to grab a folder from under the table.
“Here you go. I’ll just have you sign the list over here on the clipboard, and you are all set. Your itinerary is the first page inside your package. It will tell you where you need to be and what lectures are taking place and where if you’re interested in attending more than the one you’ll be part of.”
“Thanks.” Rory flipped open the package and skimmed before closing it again and stuffing it under his arm.
The man turned a smile to me. “Name?”
I waved a hand. “I’m just the wingman, sweetheart. However, there is a distinct possibility I’ve recently developed—”
Rory elbowed me in the gut, and I grunted.
