“I think so.” The two of them stared at him for several minutes. He’d gone so still, Jessica wasn’t sure he was still breathing.

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth until she couldn’t stand idly in the doorway any longer. She grabbed Sed’s elbow. “Sed, check him.”

Sed leaned over and shook Trey’s shoulder. “Trey. If you’re going to sleep, go back to bed.”

Trey took a deep breath and lifted his head. “Yeah, okay,” he murmured.

Sed helped him to his feet and Jessica stepped aside as they moved out of the bathroom toward one of the queen-sized beds. Sed dumped Trey onto the bed. Jessica wet a washcloth in the sink and wrung out the excess water before going to sit on the edge of Trey’s bed. He started when she touched the folded washcloth to the back of his neck.

“This used to make me feel better when I was sick,” she said. “If it bothers you, I’ll leave you alone.”

He relaxed slightly. “It’s fine.”

She left the cloth on the back of his neck and lightly rubbed her hand back and forth over the soft T-shirt along his back. He blinked his eyes wearily. “Feels nice,” he murmured, his eyes drifting closed.

She glanced up at Sed, who was watching over them like a mother hen.

“Save some of that for me,” he said, grinning.

She nodded, still rubbing Trey’s back. “I won’t be able to keep yours platonic though.”

“I can probably live with that.”

“When’s he supposed to start feeling better?”

“His dad said as long as a week, so at least a couple more days. I should probably call the guys. I’m sure they’re worried.”

“Yeah. We did sort of kidnap him and disappear.”

“If we hadn’t, they’d have caved and given him more meds. I mean look at him. He’s a mess. And he’s always been very good at getting his way.”

“Because he’s a sweetie.” Jessica brushed his long bangs out of Trey’s face with her free hand. He hadn’t shaved in days. Scruffy wasn’t a good look for him.

“And I’m an asshole, so I get stuck with all these crappy jobs.”

“I already told you. You get stuck with this kind of stuff because you’re strong, Sed. Dependable.”

“Nope, he’s an asshole,” Trey murmured. “He’s trying to kill me and he gets off on it.”

Jessica swatted Trey on the butt. “You behave.”

Trey squirmed beside her and curled into a fetal position. “Rub back,” he requested in an exhausted, yet impish voice.

She rolled her eyes at him, but rubbed his back gently. His body slowly relaxed again. She turned the washcloth to the cool side and looked up at Sed. He was watching them with his cell phone in his hand and a puzzled expression on his face.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head as if to clear it of cobwebs. “No. I’ll be back in a few.”

Jessica watched Sed leave the hotel room, wondering what had him so introspective.

Chapter 33

Sed stood on the landing outside the hotel room and stared out at the parking lot. What did Jessica want from him? He couldn’t figure her out. Didn’t she hate his overbearing nature? The way he took charge without even considering what anyone wanted? She’d said that was the entire reason she’d left him. But when he exerted his will over Trey, she praised him for it. Like it was a good quality to have. How could she praise him for it and hate him for it at the same time?

He sighed and wiped a hand over his face. If there were a Jessica Chase instruction manual, it would be written backwards in Arabic Pig Latin and twelve thousand pages long with random pages missing. Sometimes he wished she wasn’t so damned complex. He couldn’t puzzle this out right now; he needed to call Brian and get reamed for snatching Trey from under his nose.

He checked his phone. He’d had it turned off for a reason. Twenty-three missed calls. Ten voice mails. Sixteen text messages. All from Brian and Myrna. Even a couple from Eric. He dialed Brian.

“Where the fuck are you?” Brian answered on the first ring.

“Nice greeting,” Sed murmured.

“Is Trey with you?”

“Yeah, I’ve got him. We’re weaning him off his pain meds. If it works, you might actually recognize him the next time you see him.”

“What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just take someone off narcotic painkillers without medical consultation. Myrna said he’ll go through all sorts of horrible withdrawal symptoms.”

“I consulted his father. Dr. Mills entrusted his son to me and told me how to do this properly. Trey doesn’t want the media to find out about his little addiction, so we’re discreetly taking care of it on our own. If anything goes wrong, I’ll say to hell with what he wants and check him into a hospital, but for now, we’re trying this.”

“Let me talk to him.”

“No. He’ll have you over here doling out Percocet like its jellybeans in ten minutes flat. I just called to let you know he’s safe with me and Jessica. I’ll call you in a couple of days with an update.”

“Don’t turn off your fuckin’ phone again, Sed.”

“Have a nice day.”

“Sed!”

Sed ended the call, turned off his phone, and tucked it back in his pocket. He supposed the next time he saw Brian, Brian would punch him in the face. Eh, he probably deserved it. Pissing people off was Sed’s forte.

Now what was he going to do about Jessica? He thought she’d freak out when he told her that he loved her, but she’d frozen up on him. Her body had gone all stiff and she hadn’t said a word. That couldn’t be good, could it? He shouldn’t have told her how he felt, but it was too late to take it back now. Maybe she’d forget about it.

Not fuckin’ likely. If Trey hadn’t cried out in pain right after he’d said it, she’d probably have already dumped him.

“Why am I such an idiot?” he asked aloud before returning to the hotel room. Their friends with benefits relationship worked just fine and he had to go and mess it up with a love confession. Dumb, Sedric. Real dumb.

Jessica still sat beside Trey on the bed, rubbing his back with a soothing touch. Sed almost wished he were sick so she’d take care of him like that. He loved this tender, caring side of her. It was such an important part of who she was and she worked so hard to cover it up. As if it were a weakness instead of one of her greatest strengths. Sed closed the door and crossed the room to sit facing Jessica on the free bed.

“Well, we can add Brian to the list of people who think I’m an asshole.”

“That’s not a list, Sed. It’s called a phone book,” Trey quipped, his eyes still closed.

“Apparently, you’re feeling better,” Sed said.

“I’ve never felt worse in my entire life, but Jessica has a magic touch.”

Sed grinned crookedly at Jessica, who blushed. “I am very aware of that.”

“A little lower, please,” Trey murmured.

Jessica shifted her hand to his lower back.

“Lower.”

Just below the waistband of his jeans.

“Lower.”

“Trey!”

“Now move your hand around to the front and rub,” he said, sounding like he was on death’s door. “Rub.”

She spanked him instead. “You are so naughty, Trey Mills.”

“Oh yeah, spank me, baby. I’m naughty.” He scowled suddenly and emitted a pained whine. His body curled into a tighter fetal position. He gasped as he tried to breathe through the pain, his fists clenched. “Please, Sed. I need… I need… You don’t know what this feels like. Please, give me a pill. Half a dose. Whatever. Just make it stop hurting.”

“You’ve got an hour and a half to go,” Sed reminded him, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to watch Trey suffer for that long.

“I can’t wait. Please. I feel like I’m dying. Like someone is hammering nails into my bones. I can’t… Can’t…”

Jessica took the cloth from the back of Trey’s neck and mopped the sweat from his face. She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

“How long can you wait?” Sed slid his hand into his pocket where he had half dosage pills in a small envelope. Dr. Mills had told him never to cut Percocet in half, because they would dissolve too quickly and might cause a fatal overdose. So he’d called in a low dose prescription for his son and they were supposed to space them apart until Trey didn’t need them anymore.