Oh lordy be.
“Mace, I need to get up and see to Juno.”
“I wanna see your wound.”
Why on earth would he want to do that?
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “Daisy gave me some ointment that’s supposed to make it heal and help the scarring. She cleaned it, treated it and then she redressed it. It’s fine.”
“I wanna see it.”
“It’s fine.”
His arm got a fraction tighter. “I’m the reason it’s there, Kitten, and I wanna see it.”
What could I say to that?
Except nothing.
So I said nothing.
I lay there awhile, my new plan being if Mace was exhausted, if I stopped yapping, he’d probably fal back to sleep. Then when he did, I’d get up and get the hel out of there.
This plan was shit therefore it failed.
Once I thought he was asleep, I tried moving away again and his arm got even tighter.
“Mace –”
“Stel a –”
Effing, effing, hel .
“I want to talk to Buzz,” I said. I didn’t know why (wel , I knew why, because I wanted to talk to Buzz).
His body went stil for a beat then he rol ed away.
I took that opportunity to attempt an escape. I was sitting on the side ready to push myself up when one of Mace’s arms went around my waist, stal ing my progress. His other hand came up in front of me. It was holding my phone.
I pul ed in a breath then I took the phone.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
He moved as I flipped it open and scrol ed down to Buzz.
I couldn’t get up because he kept his arm around me. He straddled me on a diagonal with one long thigh the length of mine, foot on the floor, his other leg stretched out beside me on the bed.
Juno was up and nuzzling the both of us, in a tizzy of excitement, not knowing who to al ow to lavish affection on her. I hit the go button to cal Buzz, put the phone to my ear and scratched Juno’s head. Mace moved the hair off my shoulder and rested his chin there.
I closed my eyes trying not to feel how good that felt.
“Stel a Bel a.” I heard in my ear.
“Hey Buzz,” I said softly. “How you doin’?”
“Not good, Stel .” The words were an understatement which, for Buzz, was a miracle. Let’s just say Buzz could be dramatic.
“I figured that,” I replied, stil using my soft voice.
Mace pressed closer to my back.
I went on, trying to ignore Mace and how good it felt, his strong presence surrounding me (another one of the seven hundred, twenty-five thousand things I missed about him most of al , FYI), “I wish there was something I could do.”
“Nothin’ to do. You got your own worries anyway. Mace told us at the band meeting yesterday.”
Erm, excuse me?
My back went straight and I didn’t have to ignore how good Mace felt anymore.
“The band meeting?” I asked, my soft voice not so soft anymore.
Mace’s arm tensed.
“Floyd cal ed an emergency meeting. Mace came with him, told us what was goin’ on,” Buzz said.
I turned narrowed eyes to Mace. His head came up from my shoulder, he took one look at me and his eyebrows went up.
Buzz kept talking in my ear. “At least it’s good you two are back together.”
My mouth dropped open and my eyes popped out.
Mace did a heavy sigh.
I looked away.
“Who told you we were back together?” I asked.
“Mace did, yesterday,” Buzz answered.
Okay, I was going to kill Mace. I just hoped my jury was made up mostly of jilted women but at that moment I was happy to do my time.
The bastard!
“We are not –” I started to tel Buzz but he interrupted me.
“Linnie would have been beside herself with fuckin’ glee.
She loved you two together. Think she was more upset when you two broke it off than you were.” I doubted that.
I also again had no way to respond. It was better to think of Linnie beside herself with glee than lying in a bed with half her head blown off.
Buzz finished up, “Keep safe. Don’t worry about me or the band. We’l be okay.”
I doubted that too.
“Buzz, I… um…” I didn’t know what to say. What could you say? “Do you need anything?” I finished lamely.
“Linnie’s parents are coming in this morning. They’re planning everything. I’l let Mace know what’s goin’ on.”
“You’l let Mace know?” I asked, my eyes went back to narrowed and this was a different kind of narrowed, a dangerous kind of narrowed.
Juno caught my look, read my look, knew my look, sat on her doggie heiny and woofed a “What now?” doggie woof.
“Yeah, he told us you were incommunicado and we should talk through him to you. We’re cool.” Erm, ex-kah-use me?
“Buzz –”
“Later, Stel a Bel a.”
Disconnect.
I flipped the phone shut. Then I took a deep breath. Then I wondered where the mel ow, laidback, I don’t have time to be pissed off Stel a Gunn disappeared to.
Then I tossed the phone aside, shot from the bed breaking free from Mace’s arm and turned on him.