Brick shifted again, settling in deeper and wrapping his arm tighter around me. He wedged his knee more snuggly into the apex of my thighs, making my sex weep harder. The skin-to-skin contact was excruciating in its sheer beauty.
Yes, it hurt so good.
And it was hard to think, let alone act, when the sensation between my legs was only rivaled by the very obvious, very generous, morning wood stabbing me in the hip.
I couldn't do this. I couldn't stand one more minute. Not one more touch. Not one more whiff of his scent. I might never live this down, but as soon as the tour was over, I wouldn't ever have to see him again, so I figured I could handle the momentary humiliation.
"I can hear your gears turning."
I froze. He was awake? He was awake and he hadn't moved? "How long have you been awake?" I seethed.
"Not sure I should answer that."
"I'm not sure you shouldn't." I pinched him, barely making purchase on his fat-free flesh, but I got my point across.
"Ow," he grumbled into my neck.
"Get off me." I feebly shoved at his shoulders.
"Mm." He tightened his hold on me. "How 'bout I get you off instead?"
I wiggled my hips in an effort to dislodge him but only ended up torturing myself with the sliding of my most intimate flesh against his hard frame. I cursed myself as a moan slipped out.
Brick flexed his bent leg. "I can feel how wet you are, Marni."
"Seriously, Brick, get off me."
Proving that he wasn't a total dick, he pulled his head out of my neck and met my eyes. "Is that really what you want right now?"
No! Fuck no, in fact. What I wanted was for him to spread my legs wider, scoot his ass down my body, and plant his mouth on me. I wanted to feel his tongue licking me clean. I wanted his lips wrapped around my clit. I wanted to thread my fingers through his hair and tug just hard enough to sting his scalp while I rode his face. "Yes, that's what I really want."
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded once and planted his hands in the mattress, pushing up. I took a deep breath, grateful for the inches that were now between us, and clamped my legs together until my thighs burned with the effort and tugged his t-shirt down as far as it would go. It would definitely be stretched out when he got it back.
I rolled off the opposite side of the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom, closing the door and sinking back against it in relief. I did my morning business, wanting very much to brush my teeth but refusing to use the one and only toothbrush that I found. I couldn't afford any more perceived intimacy with Brick despite the fact that our skin-to-skin contact that morning was already way over the line.
I finger-combed my curls as best as I could before throwing the unruly locks into a messy topknot. One -okay, fifteen- deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth, and I was ready to face my nemesis once more.
I opened the door, wholly unprepared for the sight that greeted me.
Three
Brick
"Who's a good little nugget? You are. Yes, you are."
If anyone asks, I absolutely was not cooing. Nor was I employing baby talk, no matter how fuckin' cute the damn marmot was.
Too late, I realized I had an audience.
Simon, in his neon green harness, scrambled from my hands and bounded across the bed. Standing up on his hind legs, he chattered in his squirrel language that apparently Marni understood, for she scooped him up and snuggled him against her chest.
I glared at the furry bastard. I wanted to be snuggled up to Marni's chest.
I vowed, like a B-movie villain, to have my day.
"Hi, baby boy," she whispered before planting a soft kiss on the top of Simon's fuzzy head.
It really wasn't fair that the squirrel was getting all the attention. Hell, she wouldn't even have that squirrel if it wasn't for me.
"I think he missed you last night. You should see the inside of your cab." I winced remembering the nest Simon had made out of stuffing he'd torn out of Marni's sleeping bag.
"Yeah, well, I missed him too, and I wouldn't have had to if someone had not been a juvenile delinquent."
I ignored the barb; she'd said worse to me in the past. "I think he has separation anxiety."
"I wouldn't know," she murmured. "Last night was the first night I'd been away from him."
"How do you manage to sneak him in and out of hotels?" I chuckled at the visual of Simon hiding in her purse when she checked in with the concierge.
"I don't. We sleep in my cab."
"You do what now?" I needed my hearing checked because I could've sworn she just told me she spends every night in her cab rather than in an actual room with an actual bed and an actual shower. How did I not notice that? "Wait, I've seen you leaving hotels in the morning."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Usually one of the guys lets me use their bathroom in the morning before checkout."
By 'one of the guys' I assumed she meant one of the various roadies, and putting a stop to that was item numero uno on my to do list. "Who? Gary? Jeff?"
She smirked, refusing to answer.
"Marni," I warned.
"Brick," she mocked.
A silent battle commenced in which my glare eventually fell to her smug smile.
Reveling in her victory, the little imp proved she wasn't above issuing another challenge and fighting dirty in the process. "Unless you want everyone to know you baby talk to squirrels, I suggest you hand over my duffel bag."
I hesitated, calling her bluff. She didn't have any proof after all. But I admired her tactics, so I caved. Besides, I could use all the brownie points I could get, and maybe, just maybe, I could get Marni to soften up toward me a little. "Fine." I reached down and snagged the duffel off the floor, tossing it on the bed. "You win."
"Just out of curiosity...where was it?"
It was my turn to smirk. "Oh, no. I'm not giving away my secrets."
She pursed her lips, likely to keep from kissing me, and set Simon down on the bed.
"Don't you dare pee on that," I warned with a wag of my finger. Wasted Breath was long past its days of hotel room trashing, and the last thing I wanted was the tabloids running with a story of the band's bassist wetting the bed.
Simon chirped in a way that sounded suspiciously like, 'fuck off, my dude.'
"Behave, you two," Marni ordered before taking her selection of clothing into the bathroom and emerging minutes later fully clothed, much to my dismay.
She tossed my t-shirt on the bed, grabbed Simon's leash, attached it to his harness, and scooped him up before slinging her duffel over her shoulder, all in short order.
"Wait, where are you going?" I stood, poised to block the doorway.
Her eyes darted between me and the door. "To my truck," she said slowly.
"But...why?"
"Why?"
"Yeah, why? We have a perfectly good bed right here with plenty of room for Simon to run around. And we can order room service," I blurted when it appeared she was going to rebuff me. Again. I was tired of her telling me no.
She looked down at the tiny ball of fur in her arms and waged war with herself. She wanted to say yes, I could tell. She just needed a little nudge.