Chapter 20 #2
Maybe it was time for her to take a more active role in what Forest and she had created?
A pounding on the bathroom door startled her out of her reverie. She squinted through the fog. How had Forest put himself back together so quickly?
More pounding followed. A deep thump, thump, thump rattled the hinges.
Odd that Forest would bother to knock at all. Except for the no-touching thing, they had few boundaries. If she were taking a shower, soaking in a bath, or using the toilet, if he wanted to talk, he wouldn’t have hesitated to barge in.
Had one of the reporters broken into her house?
Naked and sitting on the floor, she was completely exposed. A paparazzo could barge in, snap a photo, and run out before she could take the breath she would need to scream.
A now familiar rich voice called out from behind the closed door, “Skye, are you in there?”
She hadn’t asked Ash to come, nor was she prepared to face him, not after walking away.
“Why isn’t she answering?” That voice didn’t belong to Ash although it seemed vaguely familiar.
“How the hell would I know?” Ash’s desperation pulsed through the thin wooden barrier of the door. His voice caressed her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
She turned off the shower and dried as quickly as she could.
“Skye, can you hear me? I came as quickly as I could.” A thunk sounded from the other side of the door, as if he’d dropped his head against the wood.
A gravelly deep voice roared out, catching her attention and making her jump, “Who the fuck are you? Get the fuck out of my sister’s house, you fucking perverts, before I tear you apart.”
Oh, shit. Forest.
“Sam?” The alarm in the second man’s voice rose an octave and cracked.
Wrapped in nothing other than a towel, she yanked the door open, desperate to stop the cataclysm that Forest could become.
Ash stood by the door, braced and facing off against Forest. To his left, Sam held his hands out in a placating gesture. Beside him, Bash’s eyes widened with fear.
Forest’s icy-blue scrutiny darted between Ash, Sam, and Bash, but they weren’t the only men in her bedroom. Two others stood between Ash, Bash, and her brother. They squared off against the six-foot-eight wild man intent on taking out two of Angel Fire’s band members.
She lowered the register of her voice to a tone she hoped would calm Forest’s aggression. “It’s okay, Bean.”
Forest shifted his attention between the five men, assessing the threat. Then, a transformation occurred, and she could guess what was going through his mind as he realized who stood before him. Ash and Bash were the front men of his favorite rock band, and he had them terrified.
Ash lifted a shaky finger. “That’s your little brother?”
As the rush of male testosterone dissipated, she made introductions. “Ash, meet Bean. Bean, meet Ash.”
“Hey, what about me?” Bash frowned at her. “What am I? Chopped liver?”
She pressed her lips together, remembering Bash’s less than friendly reception. “Bean, meet Chopped Liver.”
Bash sputtered at the insult, but she continued her introductions, enjoying the parade of shocked expressions rolling over Bash’s face. “The big guy is Sam. He’s a member of Angel Fire’s security team.” She turned to the other two men. “Sorry, I don’t know you.”
The man to her left lifted his hand. “Donald.” He looked to be ex-Marine with close-cropped hair, a square chin, and a strong jaw, and he probably bench-pressed some ungodly weight for fun on his days off.
The other one gave a chin bump. “Reggie.” He was a tall and handsome with ebony skin, six-foot-four or maybe taller, and probably used to being the largest man in the room. He eyed Forest with caution.
She guessed there weren’t many men who out-massed Reggie. Sam impressed her and held his ground, his protective six-feet-plus stance shielding Ash and Bash, but he looked small with Forest so near.
And, as she stood in a roomful of men she barely knew, she realized she was wrapped in nothing more than a damp towel. “Um, now that everyone has been introduced, do you mind leaving my bedroom, so I can put on some clothes?”
“She didn’t introduce me,” Bash complained.
“Maybe it’s because of your charm,” Ash quipped. He tapped Sam on the shoulder. “It’s okay. You can leave us alone.”
Forest stepped clear of the doorway. “Everyone, out of my sister’s room.” He narrowed in on Ash. “Especially you.”
Forest spun on his heel and took a step back down the hall. When no one followed, he turned back, using his growly voice to get everyone moving. “That was not a request.”
Sam looked to Ash, who gave a nod of assurance, before he followed Forest to the living room. Reggie, Donald, and Bash trailed on his heels.
Ash grabbed the doorknob and started to shut the door.
Forest’s voice carried from the living room. “That means you, too, Lover Boy. Don’t you dare touch my sister when she’s not wearing any clothes.”
Ash shifted from foot to foot. “Is he for real?” He lowered his voice. “He does know we’ve had sex, right?”
Yes, if the most fucked up fuck of fucks could be called sex. She laughed at the memory of their first time because to acknowledge how bad it had truly been would mean facing a past still torturing her present.
“Unfortunately, yes,” she said.
“And that we’re married?”
“Right now, that’s your biggest problem.”
Ash ran his fingers through his hair, curling the dark strands around his knuckles. With a flex of his neck, the dragon sitting astride the web arched its wings. “Damn it, Skye, why did you leave?”
Before she could answer, Forest’s bellow ripped through the air. “Get your fucking ass out here right now, Lover Boy. You do not want me to come get you.”
She shook her head. “You should go.”
“I’m not afraid of him.”
“You should be,” she warned. “Remember what I did to Bash at the airport?”
He gave an almost imperceptible nod and shifted toward the door.
“Who do you think taught me? Now, imagine an irate Bean doing that to you or Bash? Don’t think for a minute that Sam, Reggie, or Donald would be able to stop him.”
“He and I are going to have a problem if I can’t touch you.”
“Just go. Don’t worry about Bean; you’ve got one up on him. You’re the lead singer of his favorite band. He’s more bluster than anything else. He’s acting tough and trying not to be the starry-eyed fool. Use your rock-star charm and win him over. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Before Ash left, she tugged on his sleeve, pitching her voice low, careful so that it wouldn’t carry to Forest in the living room. “Bean’s a few days shy of earning his sixty-day abstinence coin. I emptied all the alcohol in the house, but I’m worried.”
“Alcohol or drugs?” Ash asked.
“More drugs than alcohol, but the last couple of hours have been rough.” Really, all it had taken were those few fleeting seconds of touch to send him over the edge. “I’m worried he’ll relapse.”
With Ash’s history in rehab, he’d understand the pitfalls her brother faced.
“If you’re not out in five minutes, I’m coming for you. I’ll keep my hands off you for as long as I can, but I’m not making promises.” Ash headed down the hall.
She shut the door and crumpled to the floor, her insides twisting in a sick knot. Ash hadn’t kissed her. He’d barely touched her.
She dragged herself to her feet, dressed in sweats, and pulled on a loose-fitting shirt.
All the while, she yawned, physically and mentally exhausted by the last twenty-four hours.
And, while she’d expected a tense standoff between the men, when she emerged from her room, raucous male voices filled her living room with deep bass rumbles and guttural laughter.
The arrival of the sole female in the house silenced the men.
They stared as she entered, making her feel self-conscious.
Ash was the first to move. He jumped off the couch where he’d been sitting with Bash and strode toward her, wrapping her in a hug and finally giving her that kiss.
The three bodyguards had seated themselves in her dining room chairs, having pulled them out in a staggered semicircle facing the living room.
Forest lounged in the leather recliner, kicking back, with ankles crossed and fingers steepled under his chin. His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move as Ash smothered her in one of his passionate kisses.
Her heart rate tripled with the heated press of Ash’s lips against hers. Tentative to start, it didn’t take long before he tugged her tight and displayed his possession with a bite to her lower lip.
Forest cleared his throat. “Do you mind? That’s my sister you’re manhandling.”
Ash swept his tongue across her lips, teasing her with his tantalizing taste. He lifted his head, breaking the kiss. “Get used to it, dude.”
“The name is Bean, not dude.” Forest’s glare knifed across the distance.
She gripped Ash’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Boys, let’s not fight.”
“Oh, we’re going to have it out if he keeps that up,” Forest said.
It hadn’t escaped her notice though that Forest had yet to move a muscle. Her brother was testing Ash, measuring the mettle of the man she’d unwittingly tied herself to through the scratch of a pen.
“We’re not having anything out, dude.” Ash kissed her cheek and winked. “I think Skye gets to decide who does and doesn’t touch her.”
She held herself perfectly still, waiting for Forest’s reaction. There was a time when she’d had no choice at all, when they’d both been coerced to perform unspeakable things, but Forest didn’t flinch although a flash of anger flickered beneath his icy blues.
“Don’t do this.” She disentangled herself from Ash and went to sit on the armrest of the recliner, careful not to touch her brother. It was nearing midnight, and she needed to trust she could leave them alone while she slept. Although, if Ash stayed, she’d get very little rest.
“Look, I have work tomorrow.” She returned to Ash, curling her fingers in his. “Thanks for coming. It means more to me than you can know, but it’s time you leave.”
His eyes widened. “I’m not leaving.”