Irresistible Refrain

14

The airbrakes on the bus suddenly hissed, making me jump as the tour bus lurched to a stop. I was tense as fuck struggling to come to terms with what Lace revealed.

Heroin.

Could it be any worse?

“What the hell?” War exclaimed.

Apparently it could.

At the sound of his voice, I dropped my hands from around Lace’s shoulders and took a step back. Lace pulled the gaping edges of her shirt back together. Then we both stared at him, looking guilty as shit.

War obviously had no trouble putting one and one together. Without pause, he came right at me eyes narrowed and hands fisted tight, but Lace slid in front of him.

“War,” she purred seductively lids lowered to a placating half-mast. “It’s not what you think. Bryan just saw my arms. He was just getting up in my face about my using.”

War’s gaze flicked to me for confirmation.

I nodded, though I was feeling sick to my stomach, mind and guts swirling with the toxic mess of all of it. The drugs were a game changer. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t just stand on the sidelines anymore.

War leaned down and laid a wet one on Lace’s mouth. The mouth I had just thoroughly explored. “Go on to the back,” he told her in an authoritative tone. “Bullet and I need to talk.” Eyes on me, he dismissed her with a pat on the ass.

She hesitated, glancing out the window. “But I want to go into the hotel. Get a shower in a real bathroom.”

“You will, babe. I promise. Just give me a minute with Bullet, alright?”

She nodded and headed to the back without looking at me.

Good plan.

War pressed the button to close the door as soon as she passed through, the atmosphere between us instantly supercharged with threat.

War’s eyes were narrowed with accusation when he turned back to me. “We’ve been through a lot together, brother. So I’m having a difficult time understanding why I should find you alone with my woman again, only this time her mouth tastes like fucking cigarettes.”

Shit.

I scrubbed a hand over my face.

“I get she’s beautiful. And I’m not blind. I know you’ve had a thing for her since high school.” War continued voice low and menacing as he took a step toward me. His chin dipped and his gaze leveled with mine. “But you know the code, she’s,”

a hard shove

“off,”

another hard shove,

“limits.”

The last shove was punctuated with an exasperated exhalation.

I’d taken what he’d dished out, standing my ground while my body vibrated with restrained anger. The only reason I didn’t retaliate was because I felt that I probably deserved that much.

But not more.

Nostrils wide I pulled in air and leaned in. My hands balled into fists. I was revved up, too, just as furious about the drugs as he was finding out that I had kissed Lace.

He studied me for a moment. The contact seemed to have taken his anger down a notch, but a wall of distrust had risen in its place.

“War,” I wanted to try to explain. My hands loosened as I stood down realizing the situation wasn’t going to escalate further, at least not tonight. “Listen, I…”

“No,” he cut in. “You listen to me, Bullet. Next time you’re feeling horny.” War’s face twisted. “You go and get your own pussy.” He turned and moved toward the back, but stopped in the doorway. “Tell me this though.” His head dipped, turning slightly in my direction, but not all the way. It was almost as if he didn’t want to look me in the eye. “You come on to her or was it the other way around?”

“It was all on me, brother.”

Some of the tension drained from his rigid stance, and he turned to face me. “I’m serious about not wanting to find you alone with her.” He let those words hang in the air for a minute between us before hitting me with a look. “And don’t hassle her about the drugs anymore either. She beats herself up enough about that. I’ve got the situation under control.”

I had major doubts about that and a lot of other things now, but I decided to keep that to myself. I was clenching my jaw so tight my teeth ached. I needed some time to think things through, and I needed to talk to Lace.

“Don’t fuck with me, brother,” War warned just as the door closed. “Or I promise you friendship aside, Bryan, I will mess you up.”

I watched War throw a couple of things into an overnight bag, his movements abrupt. His muscles were taut beneath his red tee. He’d yet to look at me. I wondered what had happened. The door to the front lounge had been closed so I hadn’t been able to hear. Nerves frayed with unease, I pulled on some jeans but left War’s shirt on. I figured things would go better if I was wearing the team colors so to speak.

“Come on, babe.” War’s voice sounded jarringly loud after the protracted period of silence. He grabbed my hand and led me off the bus. I didn’t see Bryan or any of the others. Their curtains were open and the bunks had been vacated. Apparently, everyone was just as eager to be off the bus for some down time and a bit of space.

War didn’t say anything as we picked up a key and headed to our room. He slid it in the door and I entered ahead of him walking straight through to the sliding glass door on the other side of the room. The surrounding forest was almost completely shrouded in fog. In the early dawn, the Appalachian foothills were a fuzzy purple shadow in the distance.

I heard the door click closed behind me, and then a thump as the overnight bag hit the dresser. I wrapped my arms protectively around my waist. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I’d had enough of this tension and imagining the worst. I turned to face him. “What’s going on War?”

“I know what happened. Bryan told me.”

My stomach did a major flip and a roll when I saw the hurt written all over his face. That’s not what I wanted. I was such a screw up. I just couldn’t seem to control myself when it came to Bryan.

“I can’t believe he pulled something like that with you while I was sleeping just a couple of feet away.” War continued moving across the room until he was even with me. He reached toward me, his fingers threading into my hair.

Wait, back up the conversation. I thought. What exactly was he talking about? I’d been afraid Bryan had told him about prom night. Was this just about today?

War held my head in place, brown eyes probing mine. “I warned him to back off, but I don’t trust him anymore, babe. Not with you.” His chest expanded as he took in a deep breath. “I love you, Lacey. Maybe I don’t say it enough, but you got to know I do. I need for you to tell me that you feel the same because I have a feeling that this is gonna come down to choosing sides. And if it does, I want you to know, right here, right now, that I’d pick you over anyone else.”

My eyes closed. I leaned a cheek into his hand. This was why I’d fallen for War. The surprisingly demonstrative things he did like this. I’d be an idiot to screw this up. He’d just said exactly what I needed to hear. Unlike Bryan, War didn’t seem to have any problem putting me first.

It was time I did the same.

I covered the hand War had in my hair with my own, before pulling it down to my lips. I turned it over and kissed his palm. Then I told him that I loved him too and stood on my toes to press my lips against his.

He took my hand and walked me to the bed, moving my hands out of the way when I started to unbutton my shirt. “Let me.” Eyes intent on his task, I watched him slowly work his way down to the last one. His warm hands brushed softly against my bare shoulders and the shirt fluttered to the floor. He bent down and took one of my breasts into his wet mouth. Staring at the landscape painting on the wall across from me, I held his head to my breast, both my hands entangled in his silky hair, wishing I felt more than I did, wishing I had a magic wand to banish thoughts of Bryan Jackson forever from my mind.