Over the Hills and Far Away (NOLA's Own #1) (56 page)

In my upbringing, we had eaten what we were given. If my parents had made burgers, we’d gotten fucking burgers. There had been no special orders.

“Okay.” She handed me the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey,
Baby Girl.” His smooth voice had me creaming my jeans.

“Hey, babe. So…burgers for dinner tonight?”

“That sounds pretty fuckin’ tasty.”

“There’s the grill at my place. We can use that.”

“Naw, we got one.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“What else do we need? We got all that ground beef. Will that be enough?”

“Depends on who’ll come for dinner. We can count on Alys—”

“That’ll make X’s day.” He chuckled.

“And Lili. Jason won’t be able to eat a burger, but we’ll make him something else. Maybe chili?”

“Damn, you’re gonna make dinner for all of us?”

“I guess. You guys can help, you know.”

“Too fuckin’ right. Just get whatever you need, and Sheri will pay for it.”

“It’s not a big deal. I don’t mind pay—”

“Baby Girl, don’t fuckin’ start. She gets reimbursed by the band, all right?”

“All right,” I conceded.

We ended up getting a few more packs of ground beef, a brick of cheddar cheese, a huge bag of big, fat soft white rolls, and potatoes to make potato salad for us and mashed potatoes for Jason. Everything else we needed was at the house already.

Making a quick sweep through the beauty product and soap aisle, I picked up some stuff to have in Phil’s shower, so I wouldn’t have to keep using his soap. I went all out and bought a pouf, too.

“Organic shampoo?” asked Sheri, looking skeptical.

“Yep. I only use all-natural organic stuff on my hair and skin and rock-salt deodorant.”

Sheri shot me a startled look. “Oh.”

“Personal preference. I don’t like the chemicals in regular cosmetics.”

She ended up buying herself some body wash, shampoo and conditioner, rock-salt deodorant, and organic coconut oil for a moisturizer.

Sheri paid for everything, except for my personal purchases. My cleanliness was not to be reimbursed by the band. She was their employee, so if they wanted to pay for
her
personal goods, that would be up to them.

We dumped the grocery bags in the bed of the truck and jumped into the front. My phone started ringing, and I fished it out of my bag.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Baby Girl.”

By the gods, I’ll never get tired of hearing this voice.
“Hey yourself. What’s up?”

“I didn’t tell you
I love you
when I spoke to you.”

My face burned, and my crotch tingled. “Oh.”

“I love you,” he said, his voice caressing into my ear and snaking its way to my groin.

“I love you, too,” I whispered, a little embarrassed to say it in front of someone else. “We’ll be home in a bit.”

“Sweet.”

Sheri’s face split into a huge grin as I stuffed my phone back into the Burlap Beast, but she said nothing, and for that, I was grateful. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed of how I felt about Phil, but I wasn’t used to publicly announcing my feelings, no matter what they were. It was just something else I’d have to work through.

Or maybe Phil is just a little
too
comfortable with letting the world know exactly what is in
his
heart,
I thought dryly.

As the reigning Grill Master of our household, Alys got the monster grill fired up. Even though our grill back home was charcoal and she wasn’t an expert with gas, she didn’t blow a crater in the backyard when she lit it up.

Bonus!

Fishing an iPod out of a pocket in his baggy shorts, Phil plugged it into a sound system and ordered me to choose the music. I came across Flogging Molly’s
Swagger
, and I couldn’t resist. It was the Celt in me. Dancing around the kitchen with Lili and Sheri, we got the rest of the food underway as Alys flipped the burgers. Lili actually
offered
to mix up the potato salad.

“Who are you? And what have you done with Lili?” I asked in mock incredulousness.

She just shrugged and smiled, dumping in the already chopped white onions, boiled eggs, and celery into the potatoes. I busted Phil checking me out from the patio as he hung out and smoked a spliff with Flipper. X was harassing Alys on the grill, his head looking as though it’d caught some of the flames.

Lili and I were shaking our asses to “Every Dog Has Its Day” when I spun and opened the fridge to grab some mustard. Closing the door, I got the shock of my life when I saw Jason standing there.

“Augh! Shit!” I shouted, my hand flying up to press against my shaken heart.

Oh, fuck, I’m going to cry, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. This is all my fault. I did this. I know it!

Huge, fat tears welled up in my eyes. “Oh, Jason,” I whispered.

Both of his sapphire-colored eyes were black and purple, especially the inner corners, and his once aquiline nose was taped, swollen to three times the normal size. His mouth was badly bruised black and blue, and it was scabbed up and crusted. He attempted a smile without showing his teeth, and I could see he was in some considerable pain, even as doped up as he was.

Behind me, I heard the violent scraping of patio furniture and the sliding glass door being wrenched open, the glass rattling a bit. I could
feel
the huge presence of my man, like a gravitational pull, but I forced myself to ignore him.

“Jace—” Phil’s voice bit out.

“Will you join us for dinner?” I asked Jason quickly before Phil could do otherwise.

Reaching out, I took his hands in mine. He looked down at them and squeezed my hands in return.

“I’d like that,” he replied.

Swallowing hard past the lump in my throat, I told him, “Good. I made you some chili and mashed potatoes. I hope you like it.”

“I love chili,” he said, his voice hoarse, gravelly.

His own eyes seemed to be filling with tears, but it was kind of hard to tell.

“Kenna…I’m so sorry.” He sounded like he had the worst case of a head cold imaginable.

“No worries, Jason. Forgive and forget, yeah?”

He drew in a deep breath through his mouth. I doubted he could use his nose at all.

He replied, “Thank you.”

Phil’s gravitational pull grew even stronger. I suspected he was right behind me as it was extremely warm on my back. Jason’s gaze shifted to the spot just above my left shoulder.

“I needed to leave the room,” he said. “It was driving me crazy. I miss you guys.”

Phil swallowed loudly. “We miss you, too.”

Jason swayed a little and asked, “Where’s the Nut-Chucker? That woman deserves a medal for the coolest ball-bustin’ in history. I only wish I…” He blinked a few times, trying to focus his vision, and he sucked in another breath. “Wish I had seen it rather than been on the receivin’ end.”

“She’s here,” I told him with a smile. Turning to look up into Phil’s face, which was full of his own pain and guilt, I said, “Babe, he needs to sit. Can you help him?”

Phil reached out, snaking his arm around the guitarist’s waist and anchoring him to his side, as Jason grabbed on to Phil’s massive shoulder. Flipper came up and assisted them, helping Jason into a chair on the patio.

“Holy shit,” whispered Lili from next to the stove. “He looks…”

“Yeah, he does,” I agreed quietly.

Sheri got busy with fixing Jason a glass of iced tea with a straw and hurrying it out to him.

Lili and I both leaned back against the kitchen counter, side by side. We witnessed the shock register on Alys’s face as she shoved the grill tongs into X’s hands. Hurrying over to Jason, she squatted down, and he reached out a hand, lightly rubbing his knuckles along her cheek. He was saying something to her, and she gave him a luscious-lipped smile, showing her even white teeth.

“Well, I guess getting your face mashed in makes you less of a douche,” Lili said quietly.

“Yeah, but he’s also heavily doped up,” I said.

Phil ducked back into the kitchen, and our eyes connected.

At the very least
, I thought,
the man looks like he needs a hug.

“Lili, you think you can handle the rest of the potato salad on your own?” I asked.

“No worries,” she replied, turning her back on us.

Looking at him, I tilted my head toward the archway. I headed out of the kitchen and deeper into the house. When I turned around, he pulled me into his arms, his body trembling.

“Oh God…” he groaned in defeat.

“It’s okay,” I told him, hugging him with all my strength. “It’s going to be fine, better than fine. Everyone is getting along and has forgiven each other. Done is done. You need to let it go.”

“I didn’t want you to see what I had done to him,” he admitted.

“I know.”

“I told myself he deserved it. He even said he did. Why do I feel so bad?”

“Because you broke his face?” I hazarded a guess.

He exhaled long and loud. “I swear, Kenna…I don’t hit people.”

“I know that.
Everyone
knows that. So…just let it go.”

He swelled with his breath and then let it out. Again and again, he did this until his trembling ceased, and he relaxed around me in my arms.

“My other half,” he said softly. He kissed me on top of my head.

“Your
better
half.” I laughed.

“Too fuckin’ right.”

Phil crashed hardcore. Exhausted from the stress of the day, he’d nodded off the second his head touched the pillow.

Outside, the wind was picking up. The weather forecast had warned of some severe storms rolling through for the next couple of days. Being a true lover of this sort of weather, I quietly crept over to the windows and cracked one open, so I could listen as I snuggled into bed with him.

When next I opened my eyes, I found myself looking into Phil’s, his face just inches from mine. He was sporting some decent stubble, and it made him look—the gods forbid—even
sexier
. With him smiling at me, I felt his fingertips stroking down my spine.

Thunder rumbled through the cracked window, and by the sound of it, it was quite close. The room was still pretty dark since the sky outside was thick with the storm.

“Stay with me?” he asked sweetly.

Those wonderful words had me grinning. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” he replied. His warm gaze smoldered. “You’re absolutely beautiful when you sleep. I haven’t been able to see it before today.”

Rising up on his elbow, he leaned over to kiss my cheek, his fingertips trailing over my rear, down my thigh, and up again.

My crotch was starting to deliciously tingle and throb.

“Mmm…” he hummed. “Lay down on your belly.”

I complied.

Burning lips pressed to my shoulder, his stubble scraping over sensitized skin. Kissing and tonguing, he slowly made his way down my back and over a butt cheek.

Spreading my thighs slightly, he slid an arm beneath my hips, propping me up, and suddenly, I was nervous as all hell
.

What’s he doing?

His face was awfully close to
all
of my secret bits. Taking a deep breath in an effort to stay relaxed—
yeah, not happening
—I screwed my eyes tightly shut. I was so embarrassed, yet…I really wanted to let him do whatever it was he wanted to do to me.

His warm breath caressed over possibly the most intimate view of my body. His mouth pressed against me
there
. His hot wet tongue probed my slit, dipping into me.

Oh, damn…he’s going down on me from behind.

My intestines tingled, and my poor asshole puckered.

For the love of all that’s holy, don’t fart!

Stubble rasped wondrously against my skin as he kissed and licked over my lips, sliding his tongue in and out.

Wow. Just…wow. I am
so
loving this. This is so…hot!

As mortifying as it was, it felt so good.

“Oh, damn,” I moaned.

Phil kissed his way back up my spine until his lips caressed over my ear.

“I think you’re wet enough now,” he whispered. He lifted my hips, pulling me up onto my knees. He rubbed the fat head of himself between my tingling lips and slowly pushed in.