Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(14)

“Wait,” she said. “Let me get you a coaster.”

I nodded. Nice. A small place, but she took pride in it. Bed made. Coasters.

She set down the coaster and then sat beside me. She pulled a small amount of weed out of the jar and placed it in the pipe. Then she lit up.

I held off inhaling for as long as I could. I detested the smell of weed. To me, it hovered somewhere between roasting green chilies and blue cheese. I loved the smell of roasted green chilies. I hated the smell of blue cheese. Totally ruined the smoky scent of the chilies.

But I’d come here to get laid, and if a few tokes put her more in the mood, all the better. I’d deal.

The smoke from her pipe rose above our heads.

“So what’s your story, Bob?” she asked.

“Just looking for a good time. You?”

“Same.” She inhaled, holding the smoke inside her lungs for several seconds.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“Does it matter as long as I’m over eighteen?”

She was way over eighteen. “Just wondering.”

“Thirty-three. You?”

“Thirty-eight.”

She nodded, taking another toke from the pipe.

“Ever married?” I asked.

“Twice. Both losers. The last one nearly put me in the hospital. Had to get a restraining order.”

Shit. What had I walked into?

“You?” she asked.

“Once.”

“Got kids?”

“One. You?”

“Nope. Can’t. Bad endometriosis.”

A little TMI there, but at least I didn’t have to worry about knocking her up. Not that I was worried anyway. There would definitely be a condom involved in this little fuckfest.

She set her pipe down, emptying the ashes onto a ceramic plate and grinding them out. Good. The smell would start to dissipate now.

“Here’s the deal,” she said. “I’ll blow you for twenty-five. You can fuck me for fifty, and you can fuck my ass for seventy-five.”

I shot my brow upward. She was a hooker? A fucking hooker?

I stood, my groin still tight. “Not exactly what I had in mind.”

She let out a raucous laugh. “Kidding, Bob. Just kidding. Do I look like a prostitute to you?”

She really didn’t want me to answer that honestly.

“You think any hooker worth her salt would let you into her apartment without seeing the money first? Oh, man. You should see the look on your face!”

“Uh…”

“And by the way, no one fucks my ass, so if that was your plan, you can go quietly.”

Hadn’t been my plan, but I remained standing. “I think I changed my mind, Heidi.”

“Bob, I was fucking with you. Can’t you take a joke?”

I was four-plus bourbons in with a hard-on for another woman. All I wanted was a fuck. This conversation hadn’t been part of the bargain.

But she stood, forwardly cupping the bulge in my jeans. “Sure you want to go?”

I wasn’t sure at all. The only thing I was damned sure of was that she was a poor substitute for Marjorie Steel.

But she was a substitute, and she was willing to let me fuck her.

I walked toward the bed. “Coming?”





Chapter Nine





Marjorie





“Talon!” I banged on the door of his bedroom. I could hear the whoosh of the shower. I turned the knob on the door and then banged again on the bathroom door. “Talon! I need you!”

The shower shut off, and Talon appeared at the door, a towel around his waist. “What is it?”

“Jade. She’s in pain in the kitchen. I’m scared.”

“Shit!” He grabbed his robe while I turned away. Then he followed me to the kitchen.

Jade was still doubled over.

“Baby? What’s wrong? Tell me.” Talon knelt beside her.

“I don’t know. It hurts.”

Talon scooped her into his arms. “We’re going to the hospital.”

That meant a trip to Grand Junction. Talon could get her there before an ambulance made it out to the ranch.

“I’m going too,” I said.

“You have to stay with the boys,” Talon said. “Call Jade’s doctor and have her meet us there.”

Right.

“Talon, the baby…” Jade sniffed back tears.

“The baby is fine,” he told her. “Think good thoughts.”

“Tal,” I said. “You can’t take her to the hospital in your robe.”

“The hell I can’t.”

“Lay her down on the couch in the living room and get changed. I’ll stay with her.”

“All right. All right.” He easily lifted Jade, walked through the foyer to the living room, and laid her down gently before taking off for the bedroom.

“Are you bleeding?” I asked.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Let’s check.”

“The boys…”

“I sent them outside for a few minutes. Can you sit up?”

She nodded.

“Stand?”

She nodded again, and I handed her a tissue and then turned my head.