Page 58 of Reverb
“I think we all want to get this out of the way. Half hour. I can shower in my room and get my shit together.”
She relayed the info to Ray. “Mmm,” he said. “Let’s make it forty-five minutes, to give everyone time. And come to my room.”
“Sounds to me like someone else isn’t quite ready for a meeting yet,” she teased.
Ray’s chuckle was soft and devilish. “Something like that.”
“Okay, kiddo. See you in a few.”
By the time she’d hung up and relayed the time and meeting place, David had completely dressed and packed away his dicks and his toiletries. All that was left was Marly. She picked up the bear and hugged it, pressing her face into the top of its plush head.
“I don’t suppose I can get a hug like that, too?” David’s voice was gravelly.
Heat raked through Mish, and something else—the need for more beyond their sexual chemistry. To know the man this bear belonged to, to build up that friendship. To let herself explore this new relationship.
What had Zavier said? Friendship, trust, and fucking? They were on their way.
She pulled David into a hug. Rather than the top of his head, she kissed and nuzzled his hairline, breathing in a scent that was all David. Raw and spicy and human.
“I wanna spend more time with you.” She whispered the words against his hair.
“Same, sweetheart. Same.” He pulled back a little. “I still owe you a beer, don’t I?”
“You do,” she purred. “Maybe after this meeting we can lounge by the pool?”
He went up on his toes and pecked the tip of her nose. “Deal.” He stepped away. “I should go and get ready.” He’d fallen back into his business voice.
Mish tightened her fingers around Marly. “Don’t forget your best friend.” She held the bear out for him.
His smile was so quirky and fond when he looked at Marly, Mish’s legs nearly buckled from the sheer cuteness. And the utter unabashed, pure moment of David. “Why don’t you hold on to him for the day? I have a feeling I’ll be back later.”
God, she hoped so. “All right.”
That same fond, unguarded expression fell on her. For such dark eyes, David’s practically glittered when he smiled. “See you in a bit, Mish.”
He sauntered out of the room, then the suite door opened and clicked shut. Mish pressed her face against the bear again. “I really like your dad, Marly. I trust him. I want him as a friend. Think you can help?”
Marly, as all plush bears tended to be, was silent. Mish felt connected to David anyway, as if an invisible thread had been wrapped around her and tied off to him. David would keep her safe.
And for the first time in her life, Mish didn’t resent that.
David found it strange not having Marly in his room when he returned there to shower and dress. But a jolt of excitement ran through him at the thought that Marly was with Mish. Maybe she was holding him. Maybe he was back on her bedside. Didn’t matter that the bear was an inanimate object—he was a piece of David’s heart, one that still clung to the wonder that hadn’t been scrubbed out of his childhood by bigotry and war.
Marly would watch over Mish and keep her safe when David couldn’t. Because that’s what bears did.
A foolish thought, most of his mind said. He gave that part a giant mental middle finger.
As he’d predicted, he was out of the shower and dressed in about fifteen minutes. He took some time to more thoroughly clean the cock they’d used because he hated putting those away without doing so. Once that was complete, he turned his attention to his laptop. He’d been reading most of Adrian’s forwards on his phone, but if he was going to share this stuff, a bigger screen was better.
He took some time getting reacquainted with the material. It was grueling, especially now that he and Mish had hooked up. All of it felt personal, and that twisted guilt into his chest. Thelastthing Mish wanted or needed was a man being possessive with her or makingherpain about him.
Wasn’t right. Wasn’t needed. And was why he’d wanted to review the stalker’s communications—so he could rid himself of these toxic reactions.
He’d been hired to protect the band, to watch over her. Nothing more. That he cared for her didn’t mean he got to own her pain or problems. She’d kick his ass for doing that, and rightly so.
By the time he reached Ray and Zavier’s suite, he was centered. Focused on business.
The rest of the band, plus Adrian and Marcella, were spread out in the living room part of the suite. It only took one look at Mish to throw David off-kilter. The visceral memory of her flooded back into him. The way they’d fucked, his own taste in her mouth, the feel of her skin against his lips, their moans in the air.
