Jace took a deep breath. Everything was a joke with this guy. Jace pushed forward with what he had to say, even though he knew Eric would use it to make fun of him in the future. “You are the reason I am who I am today. You, Eric. You turned my life around. So if you think you don’t matter to anyone, you’re wrong. You matter to me.”
Jace pushed off the side of the bus and walked back to the entrance. He blew into his hands and clenched them into fists for warmth. The tips of his ears tingled, and his butt was numb from the cold. There was a warm and willing woman waiting for him inside. He wondered why he’d stayed in the chill for this long.
“Wait. Jace?” Eric called after him. “What do you mean I turned your life around?”
Jace had already said too much. He lifted a hand in farewell and climbed the steps to enter the bus. He was looking forward to crawling into bed with Aggie. Or he had been, until he saw Jon sitting on the floor outside her bunk with his back pressed against the wall. He was talking quietly through the curtain and toying with her discarded panties with one finger.
Jace didn’t need this shit right now. He didn’t want to fight Jon anymore. He wanted him to go away—for things to go back to the way they used to be before he got shot—before he met Aggie. Everything had been a hell of a lot easier to deal with back then. He just had to regress inside himself, and everyone left him alone. Back when he’d played with the band, but not as one of them. Yeah, easier.
But lonely.
He sighed. He didn’t want to go back to that place. Things weren’t easier now, but they were better.
Jon noticed Jace standing at the top of the steps. He said something to Aggie, stood, and brushed past Jace on his way outside. Jace wondered what kind of lie Aggie would fabricate to explain herself. The traitor.
She pushed the curtain back and peeked into the aisle. When she spotted him, she smiled and beckoned him closer with a wave. Like everything was fine. Everything was not fine. She knew how much Jace f**king hated that guy.
On his way down the aisle, Jace passed Trey watching his Greatest Moments in Baseball DVD. Jace could hear the quiet rumble of Brian’s voice from his bunk as he talked quietly on his cell phone. Sed and Jessica had fallen silent in the bedroom, which meant everyone would hear him when he confronted Aggie about Jon.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Waiting for you.”
“With Jon?”
She covered her lips with one finger. “Get in here,” she whispered. She shoved the curtain back, giving him a glimpse of her curvy, naked body. His thoughts grew thick with lust, but not so thick that she’d get off the hook that easily.
“I want a straight answer, Aggie.”
“And you’ll get one. Get in here with me.”
He sat on the edge of the bunk, slumped forward so he didn’t hit his head. “Why were you talking to him?”
“Take your boots off.”
“Aggie,” he said impatiently.
She sat up and leaned close to his ear. “Just get in here, and I’ll explain.”
He kicked off his boots and climbed into the bunk. It was a tight fit for two people, so after scooting and rearranging he ended up on his back, with Aggie on her side next to him, her back to the wall, her warm breath against his ear.
“I didn’t really want to talk to him, Jace,” she whispered. “I knew you wouldn’t like it, but I was trapped in here naked. He wants to ask you something, but he’s too afraid, so he wants me to ask you.”
“He’s afraid? Of what?”
“Probably that you’ll punch him in the face again.”
“Smart dude. So what is it?”
“Eric told him you were playing piano on the new album.”
“A couple songs. So?”
“So if you’re playing piano, who’s going to play bass?”
“I’ll record the two tracks separately, and then they’ll mix them.”
“But who will play it live?”
Jace’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t thought of that. “I don’t know. The album isn’t even done yet. Why is he asking about this now?”
“He doesn’t want to lose the band. Not entirely.”
“So I’m supposed to extend a hand of welcome?”
“That’s up to you. He said he didn’t want to go to the rest of the guys. He wants you to make the decision.”
“That’s weird,” Jace said. “Why should this be my decision?”
“You’re the bassist. He said after he heard you play live that he knew he was grasping at straws. He was hoping you might give him one last straw to cling to.”
“I’ll bring it up with the guys,” Jace promised.
Aggie snuggled against him. “I love you.”
Jace wasn’t sure why throwing Jon a bone had her all sentimental, but he’d take it. He touched her soft breast with his fingertips.
She yelped. “Your hands are freezing!”
“Then warm them up.”
“I’ll warm you up,” she said in a threatening tone.
He chuckled. “That’s the idea.”
Apparently, his idea of the best way to create warmth and her idea weren’t quite the same. She tickled him until he laughed and squirmed himself off the bed. He hit the floor with a thud. Still laughing, he rolled over to climb to his feet. Unexpectedly, he found himself airborne as someone lifted him off the floor and tossed him back into the bunk.
“You lost something, Aggie,” Eric said with a grin.
“Thanks, Eric. I wouldn’t want him to get away.”
“Keep him on a shorter leash.”
Aggie’s devious smile instantly had Jace warm and his pants tight. “Now there’s an idea,” she murmured.
He was glad she was already naked. It made it easier to fill his hands and mouth with warm, inviting flesh.
“I guess there’s no room in there for me,” Eric said and drew the curtain closed.
“Is Eric going to be okay?” Aggie whispered.
Jace released her nipple and slid up her body to look her in the eye. The light in the closed bunk was limited, and he couldn’t gauge her expression. “He’ll have to be. Call me selfish, but I’m not sharing you anymore. I’ll have to be enough to feed your insatiable sexual appetite.”
Aggie grinned, buried her fingers in his hair, and kissed him hungrily. When he tried to pull back to ask her about her lustful enthusiasm, she held him fast, her lips sucking on his, fingers digging into his scalp, mound gyrating feverishly against his rock hard cock. All rational thought escaped him. He immersed himself in the delight of Aggie’s curves. Well, as best he could with the f**king sling pinning his arm against his body.