Ty shook his head slowly back and forth. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do something so giving for a woman without expecting something in return, especially one that was sick and out of sexual commission.” What the fuck? Even Ty?
“You know, I’m really starting to get tired of the ‘Barrett the Bastard’ theme that seems to be running rampant tonight. First, Addison questioned my motives about caring for her, and now you’re floored that I showed an ounce of compassion outside of sex.”
With an apologetic look, Ty said, “I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean it to come out like that. More than anything, I don’t want to give you shit for it. I want you to know I’m proud of you.”
“Get real.”
“I am,” he argued. When I turned to stare incredulously at him, Ty smiled. “Whether or not you want to admit it, you have always been a fucker when it comes to women.”
I scowled at him. “I’m mature enough to admit I’ve been an asshole to the opposite sex.”
“You know, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.”
“Thanks, Dr. Phil. I didn’t realize you were staging an intervention.”
“I’m not. Addison is.”
“Excuse me?”
“She’s changing you.”
I snorted. “Whatever.”
“It’s not a bad thing, Barrett.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“You didn’t have to say anything. Your body language says it all.”
“Give me a break,” I huffed. Since I didn’t want to hear any more bullshit theories from Ty, I pulled my computer back into my lap. Thankfully, he got the message and took out his iPad. Within a few minutes, I tuned out the world around me and became engrossed in the world of The Callahan Corporation. I didn’t know how much time passed, but it was probably close to an hour or two.
All of a sudden, the bedroom door flung open, banging against the back table. A few seconds passed before Addison came staggering out. “Oh my God! Why is it so hot on this bus?” she screeched as she weaved up the aisle. Hiking one of her legs up on one of the seats, she began stripping off her leggings. She balled them up and through them in a guy named Ed’s face. “There you go, sweetie.”
Ed’s cheeks turned several shades of red as he scrambled to push the leggings off his lap and into the empty seat next to him. Thank God she was wearing a tunic top that covered her ass—not that they hadn’t seen it before on television. Even so, I knew Addison would be even more mortified when she came to if she had flashed most of the aides on the bus.
Ty and I exchanged a look. “Is she drunk?” Ty questioned.
“Considering she just took her pants off, I’d say completely wasted. A better question would be where the hell she got the booze.”
“It’s not booze. I gave her a little medicine about an hour ago,” Sutton piped up.
I sighed and glared at him. “What medicine?”
“Just some of my cough syrup.”
I widened my eyes in horror. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
“She’s sick as a dog and needed to kill off whatever heinous bug she has,” Sutton argued.
“What’s wrong with some cough syrup?” Ty asked.
“Maybe the fact that it’s made with moonshine?”
“You’re shitting me.”
“Sadly, no.”
“It is a tried-and-true mountain recipe,” Sutton countered.
“She’s totally plastered!”
“Hey man, that’s not my fault. I told her just to do a tablespoon or two.”
“How much did she have?”
“Half the jar.”
“Oh fuck,” I muttered as I jerked my hand through my hair.
“Do you think she needs her stomach pumped?” Ty asked.
“Hey, I always buy from a reputable source with a clean still,” Sutton said.
“How comforting,” I bit back sarcastically. As I was contemplating what we needed to do, Addison lumbered up to my seat. She flashed me a wicked grin while wriggling her fingers in greeting.
“Hey Bare, how’s the Bear?” Her voice had taken on a husky tone, which I wanted to believe was from the all the coughing she’d been doing and not from coming on to me.
“Addison, I think you need to sit down.”
With a wink, she replied, “If you insist.”
Instead of taking a seat across from me, she straddled my lap. The heat emanating from her bare thighs scorched the skin beneath my pants, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized the temperature was too intense; it wasn’t normal. I brought a hand to her forehead. “Jesus, Addison, you’re burning up.”
A sexy grin spread across her face. “It’s cause I’m so hot for you.”
“No, you have a fever—a high one.” Turning to Ty, I asked, “We don’t have a thermometer in the first aid kit, do we?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Pete, start mapping to the closest urgent care or hospital.”
“I’m on it,” he replied.
Addison slid her arms around my neck, drawing me closer to her. At the same time, her hips began to rise and fall, rubbing her pussy against my crotch. “Wanna initiate me into the mile-high club? I hear you’re a frequent flyer.” Oh hell.
“We’re on a bus.”