I stared at the ceiling and tried to get my wits about me.
I heard his voice even though I was ignoring his presence (kind of, it was hard to ignore, I was really just not looking at him).
“I like it, baby.”
“Unh-hunh,” I said to the ceiling.
I felt his beard against my jaw, his nose flicking my ear. “It’s hot.”
“Mm,” I mumbled.
“Never had better,” he muttered in my ear, my head jerked from his and twisted so I could look at him.
“Never?” I whispered.
“Nope,” he answered, his arm curving more fully around me, he pulled me to my side and into his body. “Woman detonates like that for man, fuck, Ace.” His mouth touched mine before he pulled away. “That’s how I know you didn’t give it to that asshole the way you give it me. You did, no way in hell he’d ever…”
He stopped speaking, his head came up and it tilted.
“No way he’d ever what?” I prompted.
Tate’s chin jerked and his eyes narrowed.
I wasn’t paying much attention to what Tate was doing. I was intent. I wanted an answer because that answer was important. Almost as important as me finding out he’d never had better, not with Neeta, not with anyone.
“Tate, no way he’d ever what?”
“Shit,” he clipped suddenly and rolled off the bed. “Stay there,” he ordered as he grabbed his jeans and started dragging them on and I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest. “Don’t move, I’ll be back.”
“What?” I asked, looking around the room. “Tate –”
But he was exiting the room still buttoning his jeans.
“What on earth?” I asked the door he’d shut behind him.
I sat there, staring at the door and wondering what just happened.
Then I heard the voices. Tate had company. He must have heard them approach the house. I’d only been to his house once, I didn’t know the noises and I was focused on what he was saying. I hadn’t heard a thing.
Then I heard the voices get louder, they were male, one Tate’s and one…
Then I heard Wood shout, “You are fuckin’ shitting me!”
Then I heard a loud crash.
Without thinking, I threw the sheet back and jumped from the bed. As alarming noises came from the living room, I searched frantically for anything to cover me. I grabbed Tate’s t-shirt and pulled it on. I found my undies and stepped into them, hopping, skipping and running while I tugged them up on my way to the door.
I ran down the hall (three bedrooms, one bath, Tate’s room had a master bath, none of which I’d had time to explore) and hit the living room to see Tate and Wood locked in mortal combat and the living room had been turned into a warzone.
Until that moment, I had never in my life seen two men fighting, not even pansy-assed ones.
But neither Tate nor Wood were pansy-assed and neither of them, from my unpracticed eye, were holding back.
There were grunts of effort and there was blood.
“Stop it!” I shrieked, Tate connected with Wood’s jaw and blood flew from his cut lip, turning my stomach with nausea at the same time my lungs froze. I sucked in oxygen and repeated a screeched, “Stop!” when Wood connected with Tate’s bared ribs, Tate’s body jerking from the blow.
Again without thinking, I ran into the fray just as Wood swung wide, Tate ducked and Wood’s blow landed on my temple.
I saw stars, the pain radiated throughout my skull and I fell straight to my hands and knees on the floor. My head was swimming so much, I had to go down to my forearms and I rested my head on the back of my hands which were palms down on the floor.
“Laurie,” I heard Wood say from far away, his voice barely penetrating the fog which formed around the acute pain.
“Get her ice,” Tate ordered.
“Baby –” Wood said gently.
“Ice!” Tate bit out.
Then there was a hand on my back and I felt fingers pulling my hair away from my face, sweeping it across my neck.
“Ace,” Tate called.
I didn’t answer, I was busy blinking.
“Babe, sit up,” Tate demanded quietly.
“Um…” I mumbled just to be nice and let him know I was alive.
“Laurie, baby, do me a favor and sit up,” Tate insisted.
I pulled in breath and sat up, settling my behind on my calves as my left hand went up to cradle my temple.
I saw Tate’s face in mine.
“Take your hand away.”
“Um…” I mumbled again, confused even though the fog was lifting and the pain was dulling.
“Laurie, I gotta see.”
I dropped my hand. His came to my cheek and carefully tilted my head to the side. His hand slid up and his thumb probed my temple gently.
I winced at his touch because it darn well hurt. Outside of the pain, all I could think was that those two taking repeated blows with that kind of power behind them and staying standing was a fucking miracle.
“Ice,” I heard Wood say and I tilted my head back and blinked at him.
He looked both concerned and pissed. His lip was cut and still bleeding. There was redness around his cheekbone. He’d have a shiner the next day.