Sinners On Tour 04 Wicked Beat (4 page)

Jace glanced over his shoulder, flushed, and changed his technique to awkwardly cutting the onions into uneven chunks.

“You can cook, and you let us starve?” Trey hit Jace in the middle of the back with his apple core.

“I’m not any good,” Jace insisted quietly.

“Better than Eric,” Brian said. “You haven’t cut off your thumb yet.”

Eric laughed. “Fuck you, Sinclair.”

“Sorry, Sticks. I save it all for Myrna.”

With an indulgent grin on his face, Sed shoved Brian’s shoulder. “Is she pregnant yet?”

Brian shrugged. “Don’t know. If not, it’s not from a lack of trying.”

Eric averted his gaze. He never thought he’d see the day when one of Sinners would talk about having kids. He caught sight of Rebekah staring at Brian as if someone had ripped her heart out. She noticed that Eric was staring at her again and turned back to the stove. She added the vegetables to the roast, covered the Dutch oven with a lid, and closed herself in the bathroom. Eric wondered what was bothering her.

“Slow down, buddy,” Trey said. It took Eric a moment to realize he was talking to him.

“Huh?”

“If you really want her, slow down.”

“What? You mean Rebekah?”

“Is there any other
her
on the bus? Just play it cool.”

“But she wants you.”

Trey winked at him. “And I’m still planning to use that fact to its fullest.”

Rebekah checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror to make sure none of the guys would be able to tell she’d been crying. So stupid that she’d been crying anyway. She couldn’t let herself turn into a blubbering mess every time someone mentioned having babies. Saving her life was more important than being able to have children. She knew that. Sometimes it didn’t feel that way. She’d always wanted to be a mom. Just another dream that had been crushed. Her latest dream, to be the best front of house soundboard operator in the business, was what she needed to focus on. She’d been given a chance. She had to use it and do her best. She prayed her best was good enough.

Rebekah let herself out of the bathroom and went to check on the roast. When she lifted the lid, five hungry rock stars groaned in unison. She grinned to herself. She could totally get used to this. She put the lid back on the pot and turned to face the guys crammed in the two booths around the dining table.

“Do you want a beer, Rebekah?” Sed asked and took a sip from his brown bottle.

“No, thanks. I need to go over Dave’s notes some more.”

She retrieved Dave’s precious notebook from the chair she’d left it in and settled in the seat with the pages of diagrams and text. How on earth was she supposed to remember all this? She’d thought the guitars would be her biggest challenge, but they didn’t compare to how many mics had to be set up and adjusted for Eric’s massive drum kit. She looked up and caught Eric staring at her. He didn’t look away. His pale blue gaze seemed to caress her skin as he watched her with undisguised interest. She didn’t understand why, but she liked the way he looked at her. It was as if she was forbidden fruit, and he was one second away from getting himself ejected from the Garden of Eden.

Rebekah glanced at Trey, hoping he might also show a bit of interest, but he was wedged against Brian in the dining booth going over something about the new song they were adding to the show. She wished she hadn’t balked back in the storage garage. Trey was the one she’d always had a crush on. Every slight movement he made was like he was playing an orchestra of sensuality. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to play with Rebekah at all.

She forced her attention back to her notebook, using a pencil to carefully scribe notes in the margins. She wished the band trusted her enough to come up with her own setup rather than emulating her brother’s, but there was no sense in redoing something that already worked. She couldn’t wait to get to the venue and work on setting up the piano and Eric’s vocal mic. Those would be her own. Maybe with time they’d let her explore more of her ideas. For now, she just had to live up to their expectations. Her big brother’s shoes were a lot to fill.

When dinner was ready, the guys crowded around the stove.

“Sed, don’t take half the roast!” Brian said.

“My woman bought it, so it’s mine. You’re lucky I let you have any.”

“Save me some carrots.” Trey poked one of the carrots on Sed’s plate and added it to his own. “They’re sweet.”

“Hey!” Sed complained.

While Sed’s attention was on trying to retrieve the stolen carrot, Brian helped himself to some of Sed’s roast. Jace saw his opening at the stove and began to divvy up the remaining food between his plate and Eric’s. Rebekah decided she’d be lucky to get the leavings at the bottom of the pan.

When the scuffle ended and all were satisfied that they had gotten everything they had coming to them, they headed for the table. The pan on the stove was completely empty. Rebekah stood there watching with wide eyes. The five of them noticed her at the same time. Each paused with their forks halfway to their mouths.

“Rebekah didn’t get any,” Eric said. He slid from the end of the bench and waved her toward his vacated seat. “Have mine.”

She heard his stomach rumble from where she stood. “No, you eat. I’ll be fine.”

“Get her a plate,” Sed said. “We’ll all share.”

“That isn’t nec—” The eager looks on their faces stifled her protests.

Eric retrieved a plate and set it in the center of the table. Each gave her some of their food until her plate was fuller than any of theirs. She didn’t know why it touched her so much. “Thank you.”

“Sit,” Eric insisted. He picked up his plate and moved to the living area. He sat on the sofa and balanced his plate against his chest so he could shovel food into his mouth with his free hand.

There was a narrow spot beside Trey on the bench. He glanced at her and then at Eric in the living room. Instead of scooting over to give her more room, he moved further from Brian so that there was no place to sit. Rebekah decided he didn’t want her to sit beside him. She bit her lip, not sure why Trey’s rebuffs hurt so much. She took her plate from the table and went to sit next to Eric on the sofa.

“That was rude,” Sed commented.

“Shut up,” Trey murmured.

Rebekah ignored him. It wasn’t hard when Eric gifted her with a brilliant smile. She’d rather sit with him anyway. Otherwise, he’d be eating alone.

“God, this is good,” Brian said with a full mouth. “I think Reb deserves a raise.”

Rebekah flushed with pleasure and set her plate on her lap. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Love it,” Sed said in his deep baritone.

“Thanks for cooking for us,” Jace added with an adorable smile.

Trey silently shoveled food into his mouth, but Eric nudged her gently with his elbow. “If you feed them good food, they’ll love you forever.”

She supposed she could handle that. “Well, since I can’t drive the bus, I guess I’ll take the cooking duties.”

Several hollers of appreciation came from the dining area.

“But you guys get to wash the dishes,” she added.

The appreciative cheers turned to grumbles.

Someone’s phone rang. There was a scuffle as Trey snatched Brian’s phone out of his hand and answered. “Hi, Myrna. Watcha doin’?” Trey said in a teasing tone. “Oh, he’s much too busy to talk right now.”

“Give me the phone,” Brian insisted.

“Are you knocked up yet?” Trey asked. His face fell, and he hurriedly handed the phone to Brian. “She’s crying.”

“Great,” Brian grumbled and shoved Trey out of the booth with both hands. Brian headed toward the bedroom with his phone. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he said to his wife. “We have plenty of time. We’ll keep trying.”

Brian closed the bedroom door behind him.

Rebekah pushed her food around her plate, her appetite suddenly lacking. She doubted she could swallow around the knot in her throat anyway.

“Dipshit,” Sed grumbled at Trey.

“I didn’t mean to make her cry. How was I supposed to know she started her period?”

“She told you that?” Sed cocked an eyebrow at him.

“How else is she going to know she’s not pregnant?”

“Was she really crying?” Jace asked.

“Yeah…”

“Maybe we should ask her to come on tour with us again,” Sed said. “How is she supposed to get pregnant if she’s in Kansas City and Brian is touring all over the country?”

“He could always jack off into an empty beer bottle and FedEx it to her,” Eric said.

While everyone else rolled their eyes at him, Rebekah burst out laughing.

“He can put it on dry ice, and then she can warm it up in the microwave when it arrives.”

Rebekah laughed harder, almost dropping her plate in
the process.

“Oh my God, Rebekah,” Sed grumbled, “would you please not encourage him? He’s bad enough already.”

She glanced from Sed to Eric, and her smile faltered. “That was not funny, Eric,” she said seriously. She turned her head so no one but Eric could see her expression. “Yeah, it was,” she whispered.

Eric grinned. “Are you going to eat any of that?” He pointed at her plate with his fork.

Her appetite had already returned. “Yeah. Making me laugh won’t earn extra food from me.”

The guys around the table had already finished their food and were picking at Brian’s. Rebekah couldn’t blame them. The roast was tender and juicy. The flavor rich and savory. It was one of the best meals she’d ever cooked.

“Hey, what’s that?” Eric pointed to the back of the bus.

While her attention was elsewhere, Eric attempted to steal from her plate. Her hard stare stopped him with his fork hovering millimeters from one of her potatoes. “Busted.”

“You’re just picking at it, and it’s so good,” he said. “I wouldn’t want it to go to waste. Can’t I have just a little bite?”

She considered him for a moment. She really didn’t mind sharing, but he was so fun to tease. “How about a trade?”

“I don’t have anything you want.”

He had plenty she wanted, but she didn’t want to be too greedy. “Foot massage.”

“For one potato?” He shook his head. “That’s worth a bite of roast, two potatoes, and a carrot. At least.”

“You’re a master negotiator. You’d better do a good job.” She fed him off her plate, knowing there was no way she could possibly eat it all anyway, but hey, she got a foot massage from the man with the magic hands out of the deal. She was definitely getting the better end of this bargain.

He chewed each bite slowly, as if trying to avoid his task.

When he’d finished, she continued to eat and he rose to put his empty plate in the sink. Returning a moment later, he knelt on the floor at her feet. He took her socked foot in both hands and looked up at her. Their eyes met and her heart began to race. When his uninjured thumb rubbed her instep with just the right amount of pressure, she moaned.

Eric got a strange look on his face, lowered his nose to her foot, and took a hesitant sniff. “Jeez, woman, are you trying to kill me?”

“My feet do not stink,” she said indignantly.

“Must be the sock.” He stripped it from her foot and tossed it aside.

His thumb against her bare skin was almost too wonderful to bear. She stretched her toes and closed her eyes to relish the sensation. After a minute he stopped and moved to sit beside her on the sofa. She opened her eyes to look at him. “What about the other one?”

“You said foot massage, not
feet
massage.”

She scowled. “But my other foot wants some attention.”

He looked at her plate pointedly.

“You can’t possibly still be hungry,” she said

“I am,” Sed said in his low baritone. “That was fucking fantastic. I’ll massage your other foot for second helpings.”

Eric’s eyes opened wide, and he flopped down on the floor again. “Jessica will kick your ass if you touch another woman.”

“Worth it. Have you tried Jessica’s cooking?” Sed made a face of horror.

Rebekah giggled. Eric Sticks and Sed Lionheart competing to massage her feet? She didn’t remember dying and going to heaven, but it could be the only logical explanation. If only Trey would show some interest. He was sucking on a red lollipop and staring at the bedroom door where Brian had disappeared moments before.

“I’ll make more next time. I’m not used to cooking for five men.” Or anyone but herself since she’d broken up with Isaac.

“When we catch up with the other bus and the equipment truck, you’ll be cooking for seventeen men,” Eric said.

“Seventeen?”

“And one very adorable woman.”

“I’m not adorable,” she insisted.

“And also for yourself.”

“There’s another woman on tour?” She said it before she realized he was teasing her again. “You better get busy massaging, or I’ll be sharing this delicious piece of roast with Sed.” She pushed a large piece of roast to the edge of her plate.

“I’m so there,” Sed said.

“Hey, Sed,” Trey said around his sucker. “Come here. I need to tell you something.”

Sed hesitated and then returned to the table and leaned close to Trey who said something in his ear. Rebekah lost concentration when Eric stripped off her other sock and massaged her neglected foot. She speared her meaty offering with her fork and fed him. He grinned while he chewed and passed Sed a smug look. Sed had settled at the table next to Jace. Apparently, he’d changed his mind about competing for the rest of Rebekah’s supper. When she finally finished, Eric took her plate and set it in the sink.

He then settled next to her on the sofa. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the smell of Reb foot off my hands.” He sniffed his fingers and made a face of displeasure.

“Hey!”

“Do you play video games?” Sed was suddenly standing over her and handing her a controller.

“A little,” she admitted. She took the controller from Sed.

“Awesome.” Sed handed a second controller to Eric and then plopped on the sofa next to him. “You playing, Jace?” he called to their bassist.

“Yeah, why not?”

Jace squeezed in on Sed’s opposite side. “Scoot over, Sticks. I can’t breathe,” Sed complained.

Eric moved closer to Rebekah. His arm and thigh rested against hers. She scooted toward the arm of the sofa to give Eric a bit more room. Sed’s massive frame shifted into Eric again. “What part of get the fuck out of my personal space don’t you understand?” Sed said to Eric.

By the time Sed was satisfied with his personal space, Rebekah was halfway on Eric’s lap. Eric hesitated and then wrapped an arm around her back. Her heart thudded as she shifted completely onto Eric’s lap. His arms circled her as he gripped his controller in front of her body.

“That’s better,” Sed said. He and Jace exchanged devious grins.

Rebekah wasn’t sure what was going on, but she decided trying to shoot aliens was twice as hard when she was engulfed by Eric’s body heat and his masculine scent. She couldn’t concentrate with him this close. Not that she minded.

Brian came out of the bedroom and sat next to Trey in the booth. Rebekah’s attention was cut in half again as she tried to follow their conversation. Even Eric’s attempts to protect her from the enemy aliens in the game didn’t save her avatar from certain death.

“Everything okay?” Trey asked.

“Myrna’s pretty upset,” Brian said. “I told her I’d fly to Kansas City and see her in ten days or so. You know, when she’s fertile. Maybe no sex for ten days will up my sperm count or something.”

“Too much information, bro.” Trey chuckled.

“One of these days you’ll be in my shoes, and I’m going to give you a hard time.”