Author: Olivia Cunning

“We tend to nurse a lot of hangovers.” Eric’s chest constricted over her concern. No one gave a shit about him. Ever. “There should be a first-aid kit under the sink.”

Blood was now dripping down the side of his hand, but the wound didn’t hurt much. She located the kit and wrenched it open. She grabbed a can of antiseptic spray, popped the lid off, and sprayed his wound as if she was an ’80s hairdresser with a can of Aqua Net. Stinging pain shot up his arm.

“Ow! Fuck!” Eric tucked his hand against his chest to protect it from her overzealous disinfection.

“Hold still.” She turned on the water and forced his hand beneath the flow. “Let me see it.”

“Um, Rebekah!” Sed called from outside the bathroom. “I think the roast is burning.”

“Just turn off the burner!” she bellowed. “Eric is more important.”

Eric is more important? Did she really feel that way?

Rebekah inspected his thumb and sucked a breath through her teeth. “It’s not all that deep, but you practically filleted it.”

“If someone hadn’t distracted me with her seriously fine ass…”

She stiffened and lifted her guilty gaze. “I’m sorry. I’ll go put my sweatshirt back on.”

He shifted her back against the sink counter so they were facing each other and pinned her there with his body. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

He brushed her platinum and cobalt hair behind one ear, his uninjured thumb brushing over her high cheekbone. The tension drained from her body and she watched him, her lips slightly parted. She was close enough that he could feel her heart thudding in her chest and recognized that his was thudding just as hard. He lowered his head, closing the distance between their lips.

“I finished cutting the potatoes,” Jace said and pushed the door open. “Are you okay, Eric?”

Rebekah squirmed from between the counter and Eric’s body. “I think it just needs a bandage,” she said. “What do you think?”

Jace and Rebekah inspected the cut on Eric’s thumb while Eric tried to get his raging hard-on under control. Damn, this woman had him turned every which way but right side up.

“I don’t think it needs stitches either,” Jace was saying.

Another painful spray of disinfectant and a rather large bandage later, Eric followed Jace and Rebekah out of the bathroom. Eric watched her add water to the roast and set it to simmering. She refused to let Eric help her this time, but Jace, the little bastard, somehow weaseled himself into her assistant’s role. Jace didn’t need help figuring out how to peel and cut carrots. It was almost as if he’d cooked before.

“You’ve been holding out on us,” Brian accused as he watched Jace cut onions like a master chef.

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.”

Chapter 6

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.”