The next morning, Gia thought she heard something unusual, tromping outside the cave. A cow wandering by? Are there deer out here? She dismissed it and continued her drowsy wake-up. Nestled in a survival blanket, tucked by Marco’s side, her ankle had ceased its whimpers, her heart was happy, and her pussy... I have no words for you, Miss Kitty, she said to her lower region. Except yum. Contentment rolled through her like sunshine.
The air smelled damp and smoky, the fire extinguished long ago. Gia snuggled into Marco, who hugged her close to his warm body. She tried to recall when she’d ever woke up so happy and hangover free.
A throat cleared. It wasn’t Marco. Confused, Gia opened her eyes, blinking at the feeble morning light.
Dante stood in the opening of the cave, his mouth quirked into some kind of “I can’t believe my eyes” rigidity, his posture stiff. His grayish green gaze bore into her.
Shit. She glared right back in defiance, nudging Marco.
He awoke with a snort. “Good morning, beau...”
As if he was on patrol, he scrambled to his feet, automatically standing at attention. There he stood in all his naked glory, his well-used cock dangling innocently between his legs, his powerful body a sight to behold.
Gia wanted to laugh. The words, “At ease, soldier,” hung in the back of her throat until Dante barreled into the cave like a mad bovine, slamming into Marco.
“I’m not paying you to screw my drummer,” he roared.
Marco let out a breath as he wrestled with Dante, his arms around Dante’s shoulders.
“Dante! Stop it,” Gia yelled. She scrambled to her feet, and pain laced through her ankle. She fell to her knees.
Both men pulled away from their fight and rushed to her side.
“What happened?” Dante crouched on one side of her.
“Baby, are you all right?” Marco said, kneeling on the other.
She should have felt comforted that her two favorite males were tending to her needs. She wanted to feel that way. Instead, she felt torn between her growing feelings for Marco, her annoyance at Dante and the horrible recognition that this beautiful moment was crashing all around her, the way relationships always seemed to do.
Dante scowled at Marco.
Marco glared back.
Suddenly, Dante seized Marco’s throat with his uber strong lead-guitar playing fingers and began to throttle the shit out of him.
“You’re fired, asshole,” he yelled.
“Wait, I can explain,” Marco said, easily prying Dante off of him. He thrust Dante’s hands away from him. “And I don’t appreciate being assaulted. We can come to an understanding here.”
“Don’t I have a say in this?” Gia said, pushing the two apart. “Damn, D! Since when do you get to come in here all Lone Ranger and tell me how to live my life? This was my idea.”
“You stay out of this,” Dante snapped. “I got a call at two a.m., telling me you two hadn’t returned. I got frantic, thinking your car ran off the road. We’ve been combing the area for hours. And when we finally found the sedan...” He shook his head with obvious annoyance “And then this.” His arm punched the air, flicking his hand in an angry, impatient gesture. He got to his feet and said, “Put some clothes on, Monroe.”
“Yeah? Fuck you, Vega. I’ll put my clothes on when I fucking feel like it.”
Marco stood and snatched his damp jeans off the floor of the cave. He tugged and pulled the moist fabric over his legs, looking more and more frustrated as the soaked denim refused to glide along his skin. When he finally got them over his hips, he buttoned them, encasing his sexy yumminess in what had to be ice-cold misery.
Gia had never seen Marco angry. I’m glad his anger isn’t directed at me.
“So where were you when Gia was out of her mind with the DT’s, huh? And where were you when she started to relapse?” Marco towered over Dante, jabbing him in the chest with his finger. Dante cowered a little as Marco continued his rant. “And where were you when she took off in the dark last night, in the pouring rain with lightning striking all around? Were you here, huh? Were you?”
Dante took the offensive, yelling, “I was paying for your fucking service, that’s what. A contract you, me, and Gia all signed. With all the rules and guidelines clearly stated. You were to be her sober companion, not her fuck-buddy.” He placed both hands on Marco’s chest and shoved.
Marco barely budged. Instead, he took a deep breath, slowly blew it out, and said, “I get it. I deserve this. You have every right to fire me.”
“You’re damn straight I do. You’re fired.” Dante’s breathing began to slow. The veins throbbing at his neck began to calm.
“Dante, no! You can’t fire him! I have to have some say-so in how I get to recover. I want Marco as my sober companion,” Gia said, feeding on the anger swirling around them.
“He’s right, Gia. I blew it. I let emotion get in the way of reason,” Marco said, back to Mr. Reasonable.
“Oh, oh, oh, is that how it is? We have mind-blowing sex, I let down my guard, and you’re just going to walk away from it, walk away from me, because of some dumb rules?” She scrambled to her feet, heedless of the sharp pain lancing her ankle. She seized the survival blanket, wrapped it around herself, and hobbled toward the mouth of the cave. “It’s been real, Brutus. Both of you can go fuck yourselves.”
“Gia, wait,” Dante said.
“Gia, stop,” Marco said.
They both fell into step beside her as she limped toward the car.
Her ankle screamed, but she refused to slow her step, as she made her way through the misty green landscape. She blinked hard to keep the tears at bay.
“Honey, stop, you’re making your ankle worse,” Marco said to her.
“I’m not your honey,” she snapped. “I’m no one’s anything. Wait...I’m his drummer. At least I’ve got that going for me,” she said, unable to keep the pity-party at bay. “But I have no band to play in, I forgot.”
“Gia, stop. It looks like you’re in pain,” Dante said.
She whirled to face him. “You have no idea what kind of pain I’m in at the moment, D. None. Marco’s been the best thing ever for me, and now you’ve gone and fired him. You’re acting like you own me and you don’t.”
She pressed her lips together as hard as she could and rattled her head like a snake as her tears leaked free. Throwing up her hands in despair, she pivoted and began her steady march down the hill.
Marco caught up with her, spun her around, and scooped her up.
Her legs wrapped around his hips while her arms encircled his neck. Already, Miss Kitty begged for him to be inside her.
He murmured soft and low into her ear. “I know you hate me right now, but at least let me take care of you for a few more minutes. You shouldn’t put any weight on that ankle.”
“Is that all you’re worried about right now?” she asked. “My fucking ankle? What about my heart, huh? It’s breaking to bits right now, Marco.”
“Mine, too. This is all my fault. I’m supposed to have steered the boat. I shouldn’t have yielded to my impulses. I’m an idiot.”
One lone tear tracked along his cheek and fell on her face. Her tongue slid from her mouth and captured it, savoring the salty morsel of him.
“I’ll miss you, Brutus,” she said through her silent tears.
“I know. Me, too,” he said. His face looked stoic and determined as he strode down the hill.
Dante trailed behind, his face appearing tormented. When they got to the vehicles, he said, “Put her in here with me.” He pointed to a green Landrover. “I’ll have the paperwork drawn up for your dismissal. You can ride back to Gray House with Daphne.” He pointed to the silver sedan across the street. “We’ve already got Gia’s belongings.”
Marco nodded, looking like a soldier being unjustly discharged from the Marines. He refused to make eye contact with Gia as he set her on the passenger seat, securing the blanket around her.
“Good-bye, beautiful drummer. Thank you for awakening my heart,” he said, softly kissing her on the lip.
She couldn’t manage a single word as he stood and backed away from the SUV, from her life, for good.