Page 82 of Mark my Words

“You have to be on a plane first thing tomorrow,” Isobel said as she pointed at the both of us. I guess Sam was out of the rescue squad.

“It’s fine, Sam. Nathan and I got it from here. Thanks for helping us narrow the field.”

“We’ll let you know once we’ve got him,” Nathan assured, casting another guilty smile at Chase.

“Please call and let me know he’s alright.” She sounded exhausted. It was time to get her to bed.

“Alright then. Up you go,” Talia urged Chase with an arm around her waist. She leaned heavily on her, and I followed as they headed toward the elevator. She rambled a little as we rode the elevator up, clearly very concerned for her partner. Talia and I helped her into her suite and cringed when we saw the rose petals on the bed.

Dammit, Evan... Fucking romantic gestures.

“Okay. It’s time for the bathroom.” Talia led her through the suite toward the open bathroom door. Chase didn’t fight her, aimlessly following. “Can you grab her something to slip into?”

I nodded and walked toward the two black suitcases in the open closet. Luckily, they were unlocked. So, I hoisted them both up on the bed and unzipped them.

The first bag had men’s clothes, but I saw something pink sticking out of the corner of the stack of clothes. I looked to the bathroom quickly and then lifted the shirt covering it.

“Damn, dude,” I breathed out as I took in the bright pink rabbit sitting in Evan’s suitcase. That book really did bring him out of his shell.

The second bag was Chase’s. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank before re-zipping it and heading to the bathroom. Chase was standing in her underwear, swaying slightly as she brushed her teeth. The shock of the evening had finally hit her. I just hoped she could hold herself together because our schedule for the next few days had extraordinarily little wiggle room.

“Thanks. I got it from here if you need to get some rest,” Talia assured me, pulling the clothes out of my hands.

“You’ve got to see what’s in Evan’s suitcase,” I whispered in her ear. She gave me a quizzical look. “Bright pink vibrator.”

“Oh! I know which one you’re talking about.” Her eyes lit up. “Good for him. I’ll send you the information about it. You’d like it. It’s the updated version of that blue one I sent you last year.”

“Alright. You know I’m up for your recommendations,” I laughed, remembering the night that Sam had used that very model to make me come harder than I ever had in my life.

Quickly saying good night to Chase, I returned to my room down the hallway. Sam and I were sharing a two-bedroom suite. Adrian had done something nice for once, but it only made my resolve to avoid Sam crumble. It’d be easier to stop thinking about him with more locked doors in between us.

The lights were off when I returned to the room, so I thought he’d gone to bed. Boy, was I wrong. He came out of the bathroom shirtless right as I walked past his door. Water droplets dotted his chest and slowly ran down the exposed skin as they disappeared into the dark fabric of his low-slung pajama bottoms. His hair curled slightly at the ends, still damp from his shower.

My mouth went dry as I stared openly at the tan, muscular chest on display. I’d seen and touched that chest dozens of times over the last several months, but damn, that was a fine-looking man.

Fuck. I was screwed. I was never going to be able to resist Sam.

SAM

BOSTON

Sleep had been elusive, especially knowing Kristine was in the next room. She’d seemed startled to see me standing in the doorway shirtless when she’d gotten back from dealing with Chase last night, but I wasn’t sorry. She may be determined to put space between us, but I wouldn’t make it easy. It was hard—so very hard—to go from constant sex to nothing in the span of a few weeks. She could suffer for a bit like I’d been suffering.

My dick was bound to start chafing if I had to keep whacking off to be able to stand in the same room with her. What drove me nuts was when she acted like we’d never been more than just colleagues. Besides the occasional lingering glance, she’d reverted to pre-collaboration Kristine, and I was left trying to keep up with these platonic interactions like I didn’t actively imagine her naked.

It was even harder—yes, I was fixated on that word lately—with Chase and Evan mauling each other at every opportunity. I knew we’d thought his imagination had improved while they were collaborating, but judging by how they behaved around each other while we were doing the press training, I was convinced those two had done some very hands-on research.

I wasn’t sure what I expected last night when I’d been introduced to her friends Emory, Talia, and Nathan, but it was clear those three had imparted quite the kinky sexual education on Evan. He didn’t seem like the same person from six months ago who’d come to the office to take care of his last set of contracts under major duress.

Until the party, he’d been funny and social—and completely smitten with Chase—until Simone had shown up. She’d pushed him right back to where he was when he went into hiding. He was nervous and shaky as I’d tried to catch him before he jumped in the cab, but he was too fast.

My phone was filled with text messages, a few from Isobel letting us know that he’d been found, but as far as I knew, he still hadn’t shown up at the hotel, and we needed to leave shortly to head to the airport. This tour was waiting for no man, and I hoped Chase was up to the challenge of flying solo because all our futures depended on this tour going well.

It was already bound to be strained if Kristine and I continued to be forced to share hotel rooms. At least we were supposed to be in separate rooms for the rest of the tour. Knowing a thin wall was the only thing keeping me away from her last night was torture. I’d had to talk myself out of knocking on her door at least a dozen times.

“Hey, you awake?” Kristine’s voice carried through the door, pulling my attention away from my messages. I’d packed last night, so all I needed to do was put on my shoes, and I’d be ready to go.

“Yeah, just give me a sex... I mean, sec.” God, Sam, could you be more obvious?

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