Page 42 of Rock Giant
Happened that she liked her tent.It was hers.Her sanctuary.Her home.Shit, the cats… They obviously hadn’t been fed this morning… Nash had been here, watching Balin dipping his wick.They’d be distraught.
Nash’s hands circled her upper arms, and for a moment it seemed like he intended to shake her.Instead, he growled, “Who the fuck is he?”right into her face.
It made him ugly.Uglier for the memories it invoked of both her father and her youngest brother, Cam, yelling at her from a similar distance of approximately two inches, making sure she knew exactly how worthless, how big a nobody she was.Emphasis on big.She was so caught in that recollection, that when he demanded a name for a second time, she blurted it right out.
“Paul.His name’s Paul, but you’re not going to do anything.Nash, don’t.”
“Sounds like a tool,” Balin observed.
“You might not want to say that to his face,” she retorted, getting defensive on her… whatever he was’s behalf, and because old habits died hard.She’d never learned to shut up.She always screamed back…fought back.It was an automatic response.One she thought she’d conquered.Truth was, she’d just not been in a situation that had tested it.At least not since Valencia.
“Oh, and why’s that?”Balin asked.He was still naked; save for the socks he paused in the act of putting on to await her answer.
There were various grumbles and groans.“Who is he?”Nash demanded, still too close, looking murderous, and blasting her with stale beer breath.
“Paul Reed.His name’s Paul Reed.You might have heard of him.”
It took maybe a millisecond for the penny to drop.
“Rock Giant.”Nash blurted.“You have got to be fucking kidding me.You hooked up with Rock Giant?And you have the temerity to lash out at me for watching Balin.”
She hadn’t hooked up with him.They’d got handfasted.Big difference.But looking at her four closest friends and the disgust on their faces, all the heat drained out of her, along with her fight.She hadn’t meant to fuck things up, and now she’d made it worse.She’d meant to explain it all calmly, play it down, rather than launch it like a grenade.
“Tell me this is a fucking joke.”
If only she could.“You think I’d make something like this up?”
The F-bomb explosion Nash let off was probably loud enough to have been heard on the Black Halo bus.He peeled away from her and sat with a thump on the unmade bunk.When she followed, and knelt before him, he slapped her hands away.“Fuck off,” he said.“Just fuck off, Jodi.I don’t even want to look at you right now.I can’t believe you’ve done this.Why would you be such a thoughtless cunt?”
CHAPTER 12
Paul “Rock Giant” Reed
After Paul realised that Ginny had assisted Jodi in making a getaway, he was all ready to go on the hunt for her to make sure she was safe and to retrieve a dozen things that had no doubt ended up in her pockets.That plan was promptly thwarted by Xane, Ash, Spook, and Luthor all sitting on him, which in turn netted everyone some bruises until Alle got in on the act.He wasn’t going to risk hurting her, for all that she was hurting him by planting herself on his lap.
Jodi, his Jodi had just walked off to face a battle alone, and he ought to have been there to protect her.He’d promised he’d do that, and he kept his promises.
“You can love her without hounding her like a deranged stalker.”Alle turned sideways so she could look at him as she spoke.She was wearing a dress today, knee-length, and bare legs.“Just shaved,” she said, observing his line of sight.She rubbed a hand along one shin.“All silky smooth.Unlike you, you’re practically beardy.”
“Am not.”He tried his palm against his cheek and… And maybe he was.Leastways, his stubble had grown long enough that it was soft to the touch rather than spiky.
“I kinda like it.”
“I should shave.”He lifted his hips prompting her to move, except she didn’t.
“Do you really think I’m that dumb, Paul Reed?Any personal grooming you want to do will be happening right here.”
“I’ll fetch his electric,” muttered Ash, who alongside one of the newer roadies, was standing guard at the front entrance in case he tried to make an exit, which, by the way, was complete bollocks.Black Halo were supposed to be doing interviews right now.Xane, Spook, and Luthor had gone.Ronnie had tried to sneak off with them, but Xane had magicked his manager, Lyra, out of thin air and she’d whisked him off to keep him busy meeting his army of adoring teenaged fans.The last thing anyone needed was Captain Blabbermouth blabbing about blowjobs or bride thefts.Even Paul agreed with that, although, curiously, no one, and that included Ronnie, had mentioned the whole bro-job thing in the face of his impromptu wedding—small mercies.
“How about you tell me what the hell happened?”Alle said, stroking his furry chin.“How’d you get from the prospect of a Bushie blowjob to tying the knot with a lass you’ve just met?”
“He hasn’t just met her.”Ginny squeezed her petite derriere onto the vinyl-covered bench alongside them.“They shared a night of unbridled passion in the past, ain’t that right, Paul?”
That wasn’t quite how he’d have described it.The passion part had only taken up a fraction of the evening he and Jodi had shared.Not that he was downplaying that part.He had some very fond memories of her tits jiggling above him.He did always love a woman on top.Especially one with cushiony thighs who didn’t freak out over the fact he was ribbed for pleasure.It was too bad they’d both passed out last night before things got as far as consummation.Then again, considering how freaked Jodi had been about everything first thing, maybe that was a good thing.
He hoped her fiancé wasn’t giving her a hard time.
Actually, he hoped she was ditching the lousy sod.He fucking deserved it.Only a complete monster agreed to marry someone and then stood them up.Unless he’d been in a freak accident and was now in a hospital bed incapable of speech or motion, he had no fucking excuse for failing to honour his intentions.None.Seriously, none.
