Flanked (5 page)

“Thanks.” She hit answer and cradled the phone on her shoulder so she could go back to holding her leg with both hands. “Hello, brother dear.”

“Hey, Susan.”

“Aaron!”

“I mean Silver.” The exasperation was evident in his tone.

“Thank you.” Silver could practically hear him shaking his head at her insistence he call her by her stage name, which she’d recently made her legal name.

Too damn bad. It was horrible enough her parents still called her by her given name even after she’d asked them not to, but Aaron of all people should understand the need to follow one’s dreams. He’d gone ahead and become a damn pro bull rider for God’s sake. That made her moonlighting in a band and buying a motorcycle for herself on her last birthday seem like nothing, at least in her mind.

So why did her parents give her grief and none to her brother? He’d limped into a family dinner with one body part or another injured more times than she could count. Did they ever tell him he should stop bull riding and get a real job? That it wasn’t safe like her “deathtrap” of a bike? Nope. Still, she loved him anyway. It wasn’t his fault their parents were sexist.

Aaron sighed. “Anyway, what are you up to?”

There was no way in hell she was answering that question with the truth. How could she tell her brother there was a man with enough piercings in him to set off airport security currently between her legs while her underwear dangled off one leg? She couldn’t.

“Uh, you know. Just hanging out. Not doing much of anything.” At the lie, Rico raised his head and shot her an amused look. She chose to ignore him. “What are you doing?”

“The guys and I are already here in town. We’re checking into the hotel now. What time you fixin’ to get here?”

“Um, what time am I getting there? Well, I guess that depends on what time I get stuff done and leave here…” Silver spoke very slowly and a little louder than necessary, hoping Rico would take the hint and give her some approximation of when he’d be done. When he glanced up, she opened her eyes wide in silent warning that he shouldn’t answer too loud. She could only hope he’d take the hint.

Laughing quietly, Rico shook his head. “Another thirty or forty minutes.” He’d mouthed it, almost silently. Good man.

Silver mouthed her thanks and went back to deal with her brother. “I gotta wrap something up first. Give me an hour, I guess, so I can run home, grab my bag and then hit the road.”

“All right. Shit. Hang on a sec, Susan.” There was some mumbling and Silver could tell Aaron had covered the phone and was talking to someone there on his end. She couldn’t even yell at him for calling her Susan again since he was paying no attention to her on the line. “Listen, sis. I gotta finish checking in and frigging Garret’s still giving me shit about needing my own room because you’re coming.”

She let out a snort. Nothing was ever easy. “So then don’t get your own room. I don’t care if we have to share.”

“You’re not ready to stay in a room with me, Garret and Skeeter. These guys are animals—” Aaron grunted as if he’d been punched. “Ow! Quit hitting me, Garret. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Anyway, Susan, I’ll text you my room number as soon as I have it.”

Perhaps she wasn’t ready for what rooming with three bull riders entailed since it seemed as if they acted as immaturely as her students. Silver shook her head, without doubt ready for this phone call to be over. “Okay. I’ll see you when I get there. And if you call me Susan again, I’ll hit you so hard it’ll make getting stomped on by a bull look like a pleasure. Got it?”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah, I got it. Later.”

“Later.” She hit the button and dropped the phone back onto the table.

Rico looked up. “You planning on taking the bike wherever you’re going?”

“Yeah.” It was her only choice right now with her car still in the shop getting repaired.

He cocked one dark eyebrow. “How long’s the drive?”

“Two hours, I guess.” She shrugged. It was only in the next city, which was nice. She didn’t get to see her brother ride live and in person often. Usually she had to settle for watching whenever his events were on television, and then only when she didn’t have a gig the same time the station aired the competition, which seemed to always be on a Saturday night when she was busy.

“Nope. You can’t go.” Rico shook his head.

She frowned. “What do you mean, I can’t go?”

“Ink’s too fresh. You can’t have all that friction rubbing on it right after I finish.” The frown in Rico’s brow creased deeper.

“But…” Silver watched an unyielding expression settle on Rico’s face. She let out a breath of frustration. “Crap. It’s the only time his tour is this close to home for the entire season.”

“You can drive. Just don’t ride. Borrow a car.”

“Yeah, right. Whose do you suggest? The band’s broken-down old van full of equipment or my parents’ shiny new Mercedes?” Neither was going to happen as far as Silver was concerned.

“Your cousin’s car?”

Silver shook her head. “It’s her only transportation and she needs it for work. Beckie works weekends, remember.”

Rico sighed. “Okay, I’ll put extra antibiotic ointment on it, wrap it in cellophane and then tape on a double thick gauze pad. Maybe if I protect it real good you won’t totally ruin it. But you have got to promise to keep it moist. I don’t want it scabbing up.”

“I will. I promise.”

“And once you’re there, don’t be riding any more than you absolutely have to. Get that brother of yours to drive you around.”

“Yes, sir.” She nodded.

He scowled and bent over her crotch again, twisting her thigh back into position with a bit more force than before. Uh oh, a pissed-off tattoo artist wielding an ink gun in your crotch was not good.

“I’ll be careful, Rico. I swear.” Silver made sure she sounded as sincere and apologetic as possible.

“You better be.” He shook his head again. She didn’t miss the unhappy expression on his face.

In this surreal non-relationship of theirs, Silver wondered if this counted as her and Rico’s first fight. Though fighting was no fun without the prospect of make-up sex afterward.

One day, in between the teaching, practice, gigs and keeping her family convinced that she wasn’t going to end up a homeless musician living on the streets or a spinster with no husband and twenty cats, she should really find herself a boyfriend. If only she could order one at the drive-in window along with her usual fast-food combo meal, she’d be all set.

The tinkling of the bell above the door sounded and broke into Silver’s lament. The girl walking in raised Silver’s spirits by her mere presence.

“Beckie. You came.” Silver’s cousin and best friend was a welcome sight.

“Of course I came. Sorry I’m late though. I got hung up at work. I didn’t miss it did I?” Beckie, as dark haired as Silver was, looked more like a sister than a cousin. Her blue eyes cut to Rico. “Hey, Rico.”

He straightened up and treated Beckie to a sexy smile. “Hey, there. Good to see you again.” Rico’s dark gaze swept Beckie from head to toe, sending Silver’s eyebrows up in surprise.

At the same time, Beckie’s cheeks pinked as she switched her focus to Silver’s tattoo in progress. “That looks great, but of course I knew it would. You do beautiful work, Rico.”

“Thank you.” He grinned wide and sent Beckie another sizzling-hot glance before bending down to get to work again.

There was definitely something here. Silver should have suspected it after Beckie kept asking when she was getting this tattoo done and offering to be here. She’d assumed it was because Beckie wanted to be here for her, but now it seemed more like Rico’s hard and well-inked body was the attraction. Interesting. Beckie had only met Rico once when Silver had brought her in for her consultation, but apparently once was enough to whet the girl’s appetite.

Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Silver wasn’t sure. This attraction between her tattoo artist and her best friend could go either way. If Beckie and Rico got together and it worked out, Silver would enjoy having a pro in the body-art industry in the family. If they dated and it ended badly, did she get to keep Rico in the break-up? Or would he be collateral damage and she’d have to look for a new guy? Silver didn’t want a new guy. Cranky as he was when she didn’t obey his instructions, she liked Rico. More importantly, she trusted him and his work was superior.

She was going to have to talk to Beckie about this. Set some ground rules. A good tattoo artist was too hard to find to risk losing him. Meanwhile, Silver might enjoy hearing Beckie’s first-hand account of that Jacob’s Ladder Rico’s cock was sporting.

Beckie cleared her throat and yanked her gaze away from watching Rico’s hands on Silver. “So, you still going to see Aaron ride this weekend?”

“Yup.” Silver decided to torture her cousin just a bit. “You sure you don’t want to come with me? There will be something like forty hot young bull riders there. It’ll be like a buffet of man flesh.”

As Beckie’s gaze cut to Rico then back to Silver, she let out a light laugh. “I’m not really the buffet type, but thanks anyway. Besides, I’m working this weekend.”

She couldn’t help thinking her cousin’s lack of interest in this weekend’s man buffet had more to do with the entree currently working between Silver’s legs. Rico and Beckie…this was quite the turn of events.

Her life was definitely more interesting than most people’s, but hell, who wanted to be totally normal and boring? Certainly not her.

Rico hit a painful spot and she cringed. Glancing down at the delicate petals of the pink blossom he was filling in, she had to think it would be totally worth it. Maybe that’s how Beckie thought of Rico—taking a chance on a relationship might hurt, but it could be worth the pain.

Something for Silver to think more about in her own life…one day.

Chapter Four

After grabbing a nice steak and a few beers with the guys Thursday night, Garret dropped his bag on the floor of the hotel room. It landed with a thud as he glanced around him. One hotel room was pretty much like another. Some were a little bigger than others. Some had cool kitchenettes and fridges to keep their beer and soda cold. This one did not. Its claim to fame seemed to be the free buffet breakfast in the lobby and the ugly-as-hell bedspreads on the two double beds in his and Skeeter’s room. They could win top prize in a hideous décor contest.

He sighed. At least the breakfast would save them the time, effort and money of going out to get food in the morning. Free flowing coffee in the lobby was definitely a plus. Particularly the morning after a night out.

“Stop that.”

Garret looked up to see Aaron standing in the doorway that connected their adjoining rooms. “Stop what?”

“Throwing your shit down onto the floor, huffing and puffing and making a face while looking around the room like I made you stay in some shithole.” Aaron scowled.

“Well, if the four of us were all splitting a room like we used to, we could’ve stayed in that nicer hotel down the street. The one with the suites and the good bar in the lobby. But they only had one room left and we needed three.”

“It wouldn’t be the four of us in only one room anyway. Remember? Chase needed his own room because his girl is coming for the weekend.”

“Still would’ve been three of us.” Garret shot Aaron an unhappy look.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “I told you, it’s only for this weekend. Next week, when my sister’s not here, we can all cram into one room again if it’ll keep you happy and you’ll quit your bitching.”

“Sharing one room instead of paying for three separate rooms for four guys? Wow. What’ll we do with all our leftover money?” Garret cocked a brow and hoped his annoyance wasn’t lost on Aaron.

“How about with some of
your
money you pay for fuel for my damn truck since I seem to be the one driving us all over town since you got here?”

“Your truck has the extended cab with a back seat. I’ll drive if you want to ride outside in the bed. Fine with me.” Garret didn’t see the problem. They didn’t drive that far out to eat or to bars. It wasn’t like Aaron was taking them cross country or something. Then, of course, they’d all chip in for fuel.

Aaron shook his head and turned back toward his room, slamming the connecting door shut behind him.

Skeeter, who’d been silently watching the exchange, unzipped his duffle bag but didn’t comment.

“You got anything to say about this shit?” It would be nice if at least his roommate agreed with him.

“Nope.” The younger rider shook his head. He moved the sheer curtain and glanced out the window next to him.

“Fine.” Garret blew out a loud breath as Skeeter let the drapes drop back into place and went back to digging around in his bag.

Garret unzipped his own bag and rooted around until he found his shaving case with his toothbrush and toothpaste in it. He should brush his teeth before they went out drinking, just in case he got lucky. He brought the small black bag into the bathroom.

Running his hand over his chin, he glanced into the mirror. Should he shave before they went out barhopping tonight? Women usually liked stubble, and his made him look a little older. At twenty-three, with a baby face that routinely got him carded at bars and when he tried to buy liquor, older was a good thing. But his scruff was getting a little scraggly looking.

Maybe he shouldn’t bother worrying what he looked like and avoid girls tonight altogether. He was still feeling a little gun shy after his recent encounter with Marci and Greg. Besides, he knew from being here last year, and from their trip to the restaurant tonight, this town wasn’t all that promising in the suitable-chick department anyway. Yeah, there’d be plenty of women at the arena who’d come to watch the competition, but that was tomorrow. Tonight, with Aaron’s sister hanging around them, chances of hooking up with a hot townie wasn’t looking too good, even if they did stumble on one.

He gave his razor stubble one more glance in the mirror. Eh, what the hell. He should clean up for the television cameras tomorrow anyway. His sponsor had given him and his scruff kind of a dirty look at the last autograph session. Gotta keep the sponsors happy, and nowadays just staying on a bull for eight seconds wasn’t enough. There were ads and photo shoots and signings and all sorts of other publicity shit.