Wicked Beat

by Olivia Cunning

Page 8

  Author: Olivia Cunning

  Rebekah laughed harder, almost dropping her plate in

  the process.

  “Oh my God, Rebekah,” Sed grumbled, “would you please not encourage him? He’s bad enough already. ”

  She glanced from Sed to Eric, and her smile faltered. “That was not funny, Eric,” she said seriously. She turned her head so no one but Eric could see her expression. “Yeah, it was,” she whispered.

  Eric grinned. “Are you going to eat any of that?” He pointed at her plate with his fork.

  Her appetite had already returned. “Yeah. Making me laugh won’t earn extra food from me. ”

  The guys around the table had already finished their food and were picking at Brian’s. Rebekah couldn’t blame them. The roast was tender and juicy. The flavor rich and savory. It was one of the best meals she’d ever cooked.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Eric pointed to the back of the bus.

  While her attention was elsewhere, Eric attempted to steal from her plate. Her hard stare stopped him with his fork hovering millimeters from one of her potatoes. “Busted. ”

  “You’re just picking at it, and it’s so good,” he said. “I wouldn’t want it to go to waste. Can’t I have just a little bite?”

  She considered him for a moment. She really didn’t mind sharing, but he was so fun to tease. “How about a trade?”

  “I don’t have anything you want. ”

  He had plenty she wanted, but she didn’t want to be too greedy. “Foot massage. ”

  “For one potato?” He shook his head. “That’s worth a bite of roast, two potatoes, and a carrot. At least. ”

  “You’re a master negotiator. You’d better do a good job. ” She fed him off her plate, knowing there was no way she could possibly eat it all anyway, but hey, she got a foot massage from the man with the magic hands out of the deal. She was definitely getting the better end of this bargain.

  He chewed each bite slowly, as if trying to avoid his task.

  When he’d finished, she continued to eat and he rose to put his empty plate in the sink. Returning a moment later, he knelt on the floor at her feet. He took her socked foot in both hands and looked up at her. Their eyes met and her heart began to race. When his uninjured thumb rubbed her instep with just the right amount of pressure, she moaned.

  Eric got a strange look on his face, lowered his nose to her foot, and took a hesitant sniff. “Jeez, woman, are you trying to kill me?”

  “My feet do not stink,” she said indignantly.

  “Must be the sock. ” He stripped it from her foot and tossed it aside.

  His thumb against her bare skin was almost too wonderful to bear. She stretched her toes and closed her eyes to relish the sensation. After a minute he stopped and moved to sit beside her on the sofa. She opened her eyes to look at him. “What about the other one?”

  “You said foot massage, not feet massage. ”

  She scowled. “But my other foot wants some attention. ”

  He looked at her plate pointedly.

  “You can’t possibly still be hungry,” she said

  “I am,” Sed said in his low baritone. “That was fucking fantastic. I’ll massage your other foot for second helpings. ”

  Eric’s eyes opened wide, and he flopped down on the floor again. “Jessica will kick your ass if you touch another woman. ”

  “Worth it. Have you tried Jessica’s cooking?” Sed made a face of horror.

  Rebekah giggled. Eric Sticks and Sed Lionheart competing to massage her feet? She didn’t remember dying and going to heaven, but it could be the only logical explanation. If only Trey would show some interest. He was sucking on a red lollipop and staring at the bedroom door where Brian had disappeared moments before.

  “I’ll make more next time. I’m not used to cooking for five men. ” Or anyone but herself since she’d broken up with Isaac.

  “When we catch up with the other bus and the equipment truck, you’ll be cooking for seventeen men,” Eric said.

  “Seventeen?”

  “And one very adorable woman. ”

  “I’m not adorable,” she insisted.

  “And also for yourself. ”

  “There’s another woman on tour?” She said it before she realized he was teasing her again. “You better get busy massaging, or I’ll be sharing this delicious piece of roast with Sed. ” She pushed a large piece of roast to the edge of her plate.

  “I’m so there,” Sed said.

  “Hey, Sed,” Trey said around his sucker. “Come here. I need to tell you something. ”

  Sed hesitated and then returned to the table and leaned close to Trey who said something in his ear. Rebekah lost concentration when Eric stripped off her other sock and massaged her neglected foot. She speared her meaty offering with her fork and fed him. He grinned while he chewed and passed Sed a smug look. Sed had settled at the table next to Jace. Apparently, he’d changed his mind about competing for the rest of Rebekah’s supper. When she finally finished, Eric took her plate and set it in the sink.

  He then settled next to her on the sofa. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the smell of Reb foot off my hands. ” He sniffed his fingers and made a face of displeasure.

  “Hey!”

  “Do you play video games?” Sed was suddenly standing over her and handing her a controller.

  “A little,” she admitted. She took the controller from Sed.

  “Awesome. ” Sed handed a second controller to Eric and then plopped on the sofa next to him. “You playing, Jace?” he called to their bassist.

  “Yeah, why not?”

  Jace squeezed in on Sed’s opposite side. “Scoot over, Sticks. I can’t breathe,” Sed complained.

  Eric moved closer to Rebekah. His arm and thigh rested against hers. She scooted toward the arm of the sofa to give Eric a bit more room. Sed’s massive frame shifted into Eric again. “What part of get the fuck out of my personal space don’t you understand?” Sed said to Eric.

  By the time Sed was satisfied with his personal space, Rebekah was halfway on Eric’s lap. Eric hesitated and then wrapped an arm around her back. Her heart thudded as she shifted completely onto Eric’s lap. His arms circled her as he gripped his controller in front of her body.

  “That’s better,” Sed said. He and Jace exchanged devious grins.

  Rebekah wasn’t sure what was going on, but she decided trying to shoot aliens was twice as hard when she was engulfed by Eric’s body heat and his masculine scent. She couldn’t concentrate with him this close. Not that she minded.

  Brian came out of the bedroom and sat next to Trey in the booth. Rebekah’s attention was cut in half again as she tried to follow their conversation. Even Eric’s attempts to protect her from the enemy aliens in the game didn’t save her avatar from certain death.

  “Everything okay?” Trey asked.

  “Myrna’s pretty upset,” Brian said. “I told her I’d fly to Kansas City and see her in ten days or so. You know, when she’s fertile. Maybe no sex for ten days will up my sperm count or something. ”

  “Too much information, bro. ” Trey chuckled.

  “One of these days you’ll be in my shoes, and I’m going to give you a hard time. ”

  “Trying to have kids? No way in hell. I don’t want any kids. Not my idea of a good time. ”

  Rebekah’s avatar met an untimely end as she took her eyes off the TV to look at Trey. He didn’t want kids? She was just the woman not to give them to him.

  “I love kids,” Eric said. “They’re so much fun. ”

  Rebekah scowled. Her avatar regenerated on screen, and she blasted an unlucky alien to bits.

  Chapter 7

  In the darkness, Rebekah rolled onto her back and stared at the bunk overhead. Trey slept up there. She could hear his soft snores. He hadn’t spoken a word to her all evening. She’d had fun with the other guys,
but Trey was obviously avoiding her. She rolled onto her side, restless and horny. She regretted making Trey and Eric stop their combined seduction more and more with each passing minute. Maybe they wouldn’t notice that her body was weird. It had been almost two years since her surgery. Maybe things were better now. How could she know if she didn’t try?

  Feeling claustrophobic in her little curtained bunk, she tugged the curtain back. Across the way, the light in Eric’s bunk was on. He looked up from the book he was reading. When she tried to see the title on the spine, he shifted it so she couldn’t read it. The tease. Like her. Did Trey really think she was a cock tease? She hadn’t meant to be. It had just sort of happened that way.

  Thinking about what had almost transpired in the garage made her skin hot. And being on a bus with five virile men all evening didn’t do much to cool her off. She kicked off her covers and rolled onto her back again. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head enough to catch Eric watching her. She followed his piercing gaze to her cleavage. The way he looked at her made her want to feed his desire. Maybe she should try sex with Eric. He’d probably be less critical of her body than Trey would be. She wasn’t sure what compelled her to tug her loose tank top down until one bare nipple appeared above the neckline. Eric’s excited gasp made that nipple bud into a hardened point.

  Jeez, why did her nipples get hard every time that guy looked at them? Annoyed, she rubbed a hand over her breast, trying to get her reaction under control. It only managed to make her nipple harder. Probably because it felt so good. Damn, she was horny. Her sex drive had been nonexistent for almost two years. This was a welcome, though unexpected, change.

  Eric’s book tumbled to the floor, and she looked down at it. Shakespeare? Really? She glanced at him and found him watching her with a look of unquenchable desire on his ruggedly handsome face. Did he like watching her rub her own breast that much?

  She plucked at her nipple with her fingertips to see how Eric would react. He shifted in his bunk and took a deep, shuddering breath. If she kept going, would he get excited enough to touch himself? She licked her lips. Their eyes met. She wanted him to become so aroused that he couldn’t help but touch himself.

  She used her toes to yank her curtain open farther. She then pulled her top down in front until both breasts were fully exposed. Pretending she wasn’t putting on a little show for Eric, she pressed her breasts together, rubbed them with her palms, and plucked at her nipples until they were both standing at rigid attention. She licked her fingers and slid the wetness over her pebbled flesh. She wondered what Eric’s strong fingers would feel like against her nipples. The memory of his thumb against her lower back and the instep of her foot had her attempting to copy his technique. She cupped one breast in each hand and rubbed her thumbs over both nipples in firm, repetitive circles. While no substitute for the real thing, it did feel good. Knowing he was watching her made it feel a thousand times better. Her eyes drifted closed, head tilted back, mouth dropped open. “Oh, yes,” she whispered.

  Across the aisle, Eric gasped brokenly.

  Did he think she was sexy? Or just pathetic?

  “Eric. ” She hadn’t meant to say his name. She bit her lip and peeked at him through one half-closed eye.

  His blue eyes were glazed with desire. For her? She slid a finger into her mouth and sucked. He pressed his tongue against his upper lip then eased his curtain open, revealing a hard-muscled, long, and lean torso. He had perfectly sculpted arms, shoulders, and chest. A drummer’s body. She could see the hint of his washboard abs. A small ring pierced one nipple. Unfortunately, the curtain obscured his lower body. Was he entirely naked? She wished he would open his curtain and let her see the rest of his body. His cock. She wanted to see it. Was he hard?

  She slid her finger into her mouth to wet it. She then rubbed it over her aching nipple and down the center of her belly. Eric’s chest rose and fell with excited breaths. He shifted and fumbled with something behind the curtain below his waist. He sucked a breath between his teeth, and his eyes drifted closed in bliss. Oh God, was he touching himself now? She couldn’t see what he was doing below the waist, but his arm was moving rhythmically.