“Sharks work for me.” Sky did his business and brushed his teeth.
“Sharks it is.” He ducked in to share the sink. He could stand to brush his teeth too.Yuck.“Wad-r-you in da mood to eat?” He asked around his toothbrush.
Sky shrugged, winked at him, and kept on brushing. “Wadever.”
He stuck Sky hard with his elbow. Giggling with a toothbrush in his mouth was not a good idea. Not. At all. He was very close to spraying the mirror with toothpaste.
Sky snorted and spit, rinsing out his mouth. “You look like a rabid dog.”
Sky was going to be sorry he said that. Beck turned his head and started growling, going for Sky’s neck. Sky started cackling, pulling away with happy laughter bouncing off the marble.
“Uh-huh.” He spit and rinsed, grinning like a fool. “Do you want me shaved for tonight or roguishly scratchy?”
“I like the scratchy. You can leave marks tonight.”
“You know I’m going to take you up on that.” He never went scratchy at work, only on the weekends, and he’d noticed Sky’s interest. So funny the things you could still learn about someone years into a relationship. “I guess I should pull Parker into the family area with me, so he doesn’t feel too sorry for himself tonight, huh?”
“If he’s not so far into his little rookie of the year. That boy’s on fire.” Sky grinned, looking utterly tickled that Park had someone to play with.
“Well, if he is, then good for him. I’m sure he has lots of wisdom to pass on, since he’s twenty-five now. The old-timer.” He finished up in the bathroom and went to find sweats.
“Mmhm.” It took Sky a little longer, and he tugged his workout shorts on, looking like he felt old today.
He didn’t want to help every five minutes and make Sky anxious, so he found reasons to hover, to touch, to make sure Sky knew he was right there.
“How about I get some ice for that ankle for you since we’re sitting around?” Worth a shot.
“That’s a good idea, I think. Before tonight.”
Whoa.
Okay.
Okay, good.“I’ll fill the ice bucket. Why don’t you order room service?” Twenty-on, twenty-off, for the afternoon and Sky might be in better shape. Beck would slip him a painkiller, but it would knock Sky out and that didn’t seem like a great idea.
“You want an omelet and a fruit plate or waffles today?”
“Waffles. And sausage. A vat of coffee. Strawberries.” He picked up the ice bucket and grinned. “Whipped cream on the side.”
“I knew there was a reason I loved you.” Sky’s laughter followed him out the door.
So that was Beck’s plan. Feed Sky, talk him up, get that ankle small enough to get into a cowboy boot. Make sure to say “I love you” five or six times. Or ten. Make sure Sky didn’t hurl. Or change his mind.
He got back to the room and set Sky up on the couch, feet up on the coffee table and the bad ankle packed in ice.
It was going to be an adventure tonight.
But first, waffles and sharks.
29
“We want you to ride one bull tonight, man. We’ll give you an easy ride, but we need the photo shoot.”
“What?” No. No way. Not on this ankle. It wouldn’t hold. He was hanging on by the skin of his teeth. “I’m on the injured roster. Ask Doc.”
“But—”
“I’ll go to the ER right fucking now and fuck your announcement. I’m not faking it. I don’t have clearance to ride.” He’d retired, dammit. He was done.