CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
COLTON
“Did you hear that?” I tried to lift my arm but lacked the energy to do so; my superhuman strength had been completely spent. I seriously wasn’t sure I could even get up to get a drink of water if I wanted to.
Milo was an animal.
I’d be proudly sporting bruises come morning. I couldn’t wait to point at my arm and smirk at Jason. Ah yes, his good eye was going to get its fill.
“I’ll make love to you,” a male voice crooned, “like you want me to.”
Milo sat up, causing the sheet to fall to her waist. My body, tired as it was, suddenly felt like it had gotten a shot of adrenaline. “Did you hear that?”
“No,” I lied, as the sound of music trickled into our room. “Nothing.”
“I’ll make love!” the voice started screaming and the music was turned up louder.
“Someone’s singing.”
“You’re dreaming.” I laughed nervously so I wouldn’t cry. I reached out to pull her back down into the bed, but she got up and walked over to the door.
“Milo, it’s probably some drunken guest hanging out in the hall.”
She looked through the peephole in the door and laughed. “Close.”
Please don’t say Max, please don’t say Max.
She turned around. “It’s Reid.”
“Thank God.”
“With Max.”
“Damn it!” I smacked my hand against the pillows and pouted.
“Aw, they look tired.” She giggled.
“Step away from the door!” I shouted. “They’ll hear you!”
“Our boy band rocked,” said a muffled Reid.
“Dude!” Max chuckled. “We had all the girls rockin’ to our swaying hips. What, what?”
I groaned into my hands.
Milo turned and put her hands on her hips. “We can’t just leave them out there!”
“We can.” I nodded emphatically. “We will. We can and we will.”
She smirked and stretched seductively next to me. “You have those crazy eyes, the same ones you had when Jason told you his pee-pee was bigger.”
“Damn it, woman! I was seven! And can we not talk about your brother’s”—I waved into the air—“when we’re both naked?”
“Aw.” She sauntered toward me. My eyes glazed over as they took their fill of her gloriously naked body. “I love you.”
Irritation forgotten, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her swiftly across the mouth.
The singing got louder.
My kisses turned into a string of curses against her lips.
“Colt,” she whispered. “Let’s put on some clothes and let them in.”
“No,” I pouted and crossed my arms. The last thing I wanted was Max and Reid on my honeymoon! “I won’t do it.”
“I bet I could make you.” Her one eyebrow arched. I looked at it, then at her lips, then back at that damn eyebrow.
“How?”
She shrugged. “If you don’t let them in, you’ll find out.”
“Damn unfair life.” I reached for a bathrobe and pulled it on. Then pointed at Milo. “Put on your dress and a bathrobe and like a towel or something.”
“So I sweat to death?”
Yeah, I was losing it.
“Er, um, just put on lots of clothes.”
She winked and stepped into her dress, having it zipped and looking presentable within seconds.
At least now I’d get to take it off again, right?
Someone pounded on the door.
Muttering a curse, I opened it up and came face-to-face with hotel security. “These boys belong to you?”
I painted what I hoped was a mystified look on my face and shook my head. “No.” Behind me, Milo’s scream of delight rang through the room, damn near shaking the walls.
“Yes!”
“Betrayer,” Reid seethed from his drunken spot on the floor while Max kept singing Boyz II Men.
Milo stepped under my arm and greeted the security guard. “Thanks for finding our friends.”
“Sure thing,” he grumbled. “Just make sure they sober up and sleep it off. We don’t want them driving in their condition.”
I wanted to say that Max was always like that, but bit my tongue.
Milo nodded, thanked him again, and helped Reid off the floor while Max and I had a stare-down in the hall.
“So,” Max asked smoothly. “How’d things go?”
“You bastard.”
“Ah.” He put his hand over his heart. “Harsh words for the man who got you laid.”
“Don’t ever”—my voice shook—“repeat that sentence . . . ever again.”
Max opened his mouth.
“Ever,” I interrupted.
He shrugged. “Can I come in now?”
“Sure, cock-blocker, have at it.”
“Whoa!” He started laughing, uncontrollably swaying a bit on his feet.
Oh, good, I’d get to clean up puke in the morning. So much to look forward to. No more naked Milo. Nope, most likely it would be me and a naked Max in the bathroom. The joys of adulthood.
He leaned forward and squinted at me. “So you didn’t get any.”
I smacked him on the back of the head and sent him stumbling forward a couple of steps. “Oh, I had plenty. Tell me, how’s Jayne?”
Max muttered something under his breath while Milo helped Reid to the chair.
“How’s Jason?” Milo asked. “And Grandma?”
Reid started screaming and scrambled for the door. I literally had to hold his shaking body in the chair. It took him a few seconds to calm himself before he nodded and closed his eyes.
Max cleared his throat. “We, uh, we don’t use her name anymore on account that Reid nearly ran in front of two cars while crossing the parking lot to get to the hotel. He was spurred on by my utterance of her name and ran around the hotel screaming for a good ten minutes before I knocked him out.”
“Hmm.” Milo laughed. “I thought I heard a dying dog or something. So that was Reid?”
Reid opened his eyes and glared. “I panicked, okay? I mean, what if she had followed me?”
“In her walker?” I asked. “Plus she doesn’t have a driver’s license.”
Reid shook his head. “She’d find a way. Believe me.”
“So . . . this is cozy.” Max sniffled and looked around. “Damn, I’m a good friend.”
“Yes, I was saying those exact words until I heard singing in the hallway.”
Max rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t singing—it was crooning. Half my cousins were conceived by Boyz II Men.”
“And when you say conceived, you mean to the song.”
Max laughed. “Or do I?”
I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. “You guys can’t stay here.”
“Colton!” they all said in unison, including my blushing bride.
She punched my arm. “Where else would they go? Reid’s terrified and it’s not like they can go back to the house. They aren’t even fit to walk, let alone drive!”
I glared at Max—in fact I had an entire conversation with him in my head. It went something like this.
I narrowed my eyes, meaning, I hate you.
He narrowed his right back, meaning, I know, but deal with it, bitch.
I bit down on my lip and made a cutting motion across my neck with my hand, saying, Look, you touch her, I’ll kill you. Yeah, we were married and she was mine, but still, the vision of him being with her was still fresh in my mind. His hands had been on her, my woman.
He lifted his hands in the air and waved a bit as if saying, It’s cool, dude. I don’t like her in that way.
I nodded once in understanding.
He nodded twice.
We exchanged a fist pump.
And suddenly all was well in the world again.
Men—we’re easy.