Tease Me (Private Listing #4)

I hug Kayla back. Not sure what to say to that. Do I hate what he did to me? Yes. Am I mad that he shot Coop and Blake? Also yes. Do I wish him dead? That’s complicated. He has children who love him. I definitely want him locked away and for them to throw away the key.

Hunter didn’t deserve to die, and Patrick deserves to pay for that with his freedom.

“Are you okay?” Kayla holds me at arm’s length and studies me. “And Coop, please tell me he’s just as beautiful as ever.”

“I’m good. Coop will recover.” I glance at Blake who rubs my shoulders.

He smiles and I’m grateful that both he and Coop made it through. I hate that they were in danger because of me.

Noah comes in the apartment door, this time with Hope.

On seeing Hope, I stand with tears in my eyes and we collide in the middle of the entryway. We hug each other tight. What we went through together was unimaginable. The fear and the terror made it hard for me to sleep, even surrounded by my men. I can’t imagine what Hope is going through even now. Sara and Kayla come and join us in one big hug.

“I’m feeling a little squished,” Hope admits and we all back away a step. She smiles. “So we’re only allowed to drink at my brother’s bar from now on.”

“That’s fair.” Kayla wraps her arm around Hope’s shoulders. “We definitely won’t let you go off alone any more. How are you sleeping?”

“With the lights on. At Jason’s.” Hope shrugs. I’m glad she has her brother. “I start therapy next week.”

“What’s on the agenda for tonight?” Sara sits on the couch and we all join her.

“How about a Magic Mike marathon and pizza?” Kayla offers. “Man candy and carbs.”

I draw in a breath and realize this can be my new normal. These girls as my friends. My men as my lovers. Now, if we could figure out how to do this without the media circus, that would be perfect.

Coop

“You could come home with us.” Mother stands next to the window, looking down upon the peasants. I keep expecting her to wave like a princess to them. “Your room is always clean and waiting for you whenever you need it.”

It’s been three days and I’m ready to explode if I can’t get out of here. Patrick fucking Beck got in another hit. The fucker. Media is staged around the hospital entrance and outside our building.

My mother keeps nagging me to come to their house instead of back to my life. She doesn’t understand how I could want to be with a woman who’s also with my friends. I don’t try to explain it.

The guys and Madison are basically on lockdown and haven’t been in to see me. Seth has, but the others are busy with damage control and keeping an eye on Madison.

“When I get out of the hospital, I’ll be returning to my apartment.” I poke at the food they brought me for lunch. My father hasn’t come in yet. I set the fork down and look at my phone.

Madison:

Video chat later?

This is the worst part. I can’t see Madison. She’s once again locked in the tower because of Patrick Beck. There’s nothing we can do to stop this. My publicist tried. It’s out there and too saturated in the media to pull back.

We’ve talked about releasing a statement, but we can’t decide on what to say. Besides the coercion, there’s nothing wrong in his statement. We did enter into a sexual arrangement with Madison. It grew into something more.

“Hey.” Seth walks into my room with a white bag.

My mother glares at him like she’s done every day since the news got out. In her mind, these guys corrupted me, but honestly, sharing a woman was my idea in the first place.

I straighten on the bed. “Hey.”

My gaze goes behind him, hoping he brought Madison, because fuck, I need to touch her and know that she’s okay. I miss her.

Seth shakes his head to tell me she’s not here. He pulls out a container from the bag and sets it in front of me. I open it to find his homemade chicken parmesan, still warm.

“I love you, man.” I push the hospital food to the side and dig in.

“I’ll get a coffee.” My mother sweeps out of the room.