“You really mean it, man?”

He gave me a genuine smile. “Yeah, I really meant it. Since we formed the band, you’ve been my brother. One day in the future, you can be my brother-in-law.”

I returned his smile. “Fuck, yes.” I rose off the couch. Instead of shaking his hand, I reached over to hug him. “I love you, man,” I said.

Jake squeezed me tight. “Love ya, too, bro. Still wanna throttle you good but I love ya.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry—really f**king sorry.”

“Yeah, well, for now, I think it would be best for you to continue riding on Jacob’s Ladder’s bus.”

Pulling away, I stared at him in shock. “And why the hell would I want to do that?”

He scowled at me. “I just can’t hack waking up in the middle of the night and hearing you two going at it, okay?”

Oh, hell no. I could not believe after all that had been said and done, Jake was still acting this way. “You’ve got to be shitting me? We just got together. How would you have liked it if after you and Abby started dating, her brothers demanded she ride Jacob’s Ladder’s bus, rather than with Runaway Train?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Jake replied, “I would have told them to f**k off.”

I cocked my brows at him. “Oh really?”

His scowl grew even deeper. “Can’t you for one second imagine what it’s like for me?”

My mind went to Ellie and what it would be like if things were different with her. I guess Jake had a point because I sure as hell wouldn’t want to have to see or hear her getting busy with a dude. At the same time, I wasn’t ready to give up my intimate time with Allison. We’d had so few chances to really be together. “Maybe we can find a compromise. Like what if Allison came with me some nights on Jacob’s Ladder’s bus?”

Although his expression told me that he didn’t like the thought one f**king bit, he did manage to bob his head. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Since I knew how much it pained him, I replied, “Thanks, Jake.”

He jerked his chin to the door. “Think we should go out there and put Allie-Bean out of her misery? I’m sure she’s pacing the floor all worried that I’m about to kick your ass again.”

“Excuse me? Who said you kicked my ass? I thought we were pretty even,” I countered.

“Dream on, McGowan,” Jake replied, with a grin.

“You’re such a smug motherfucker.”

“Damn straight.” He then opened the door. After stepping outside, we saw Allison and Abby leaning against the wall across from us. Allison gnawed on her fingernails while Abby wrung her hands. At the sight of us, their brows rose in unison.

“Well?” Allison asked tentatively.

Jake glanced at me before he spoke. “Not that my opinion really matters, but I guess you can date this ugly bastard if he makes you happy.”

Allison squealed with happiness before throwing her arms around Jake. “Thank you, Jake. Thank you for accepting us!” She kissed his cheek before pulling away to bound over to me. As I wrapped my arms around her, Jake took Abby into his arms. He spoke softly into her ear, and by her changing expression, I knew he was making things right between them.

After they walked on ahead of us, I kept my arms firmly around Allison. She felt too good to let go of yet. “Oh Rhys, I don’t think I could ever be happier than in this moment!” Allison exclaimed, the decibel of her voice almost busting my eardrum.

“Me too,” I said, closing my eyes to savor the feeling of holding my love—the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I never imagined that I would know this feeling. Although having been around my bandmates had shown me that marriages could be good, happy, and wonderfully life-altering, I had always felt embittered by my parents’ sham of a relationship. But now that I had the right woman by my side, I no longer felt that way. I was truly and completely changed.

Pressing herself tighter against me, Allison leaned up to whisper in my ear. “I’m all for finishing what we started earlier, if you are?”

As she rubbed her pelvis against mine, I groaned. “Oh God, yes.” Just as I brought my lips to hers, a roadie cleared his throat in front of us.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Frank said he needed you guys onstage again.”

With an extremely frustrated grunt, I pulled my lips from Allison’s. “Be right there,” I mumbled.

Instead of looking disappointed, Allison only stared at me with a beaming smile. “I better go check on the twins.”

“After the show, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

She laughed. “And I don’t plan on putting up a fight.”

“Hmm, you make me so f**king happy,” I replied, before bringing my lips to hers again. Just as we were getting hot and heavy, Jake’s voice broke up our happy reunion.

“Get your lips off my sister and get your ass up to the stage!”

Still kissing Allison, I raised one hand and flipped Jake off. “Douchebag,” he muttered. Frankly, he could call me all the names he wanted to as long as I had Allison. She was my heart, my soul, and my world, and I was one lucky bastard to have her.

Chapter Twenty-One

As the sunlight streamed across my face, I woke slowly to the gentle sway of the bus driving down the interstate. Stretching in the bed, I found myself wrapped in a cocoon of sheets, along with the man I loved. For the past two days, Eli and Gabe had taken pity on Rhys and me and given us the bedroom on their bus. Well, I say pity. I think some money might have been exchanged to ensure our privacy. It was glorious getting to sleep with Rhys without having to worry about anyone barging in or Jake freaking out. Not to mention we had room to move as opposed to being cramped into a roost.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Rhys was still sound asleep. Wanting to give him a naughty wakeup call, I shifted in the bed before sliding the sheet down to his knees. While he remained dead to the world, his c**k strained with its usual morning blood flow. I took it into my hand and stroked it a few times, bringing it to full mast.

After kissing a slow, wet trail down his chest and abdomen, I slid his hardness into my mouth. Rhys’s eyes remained closed, but his brows furrowed as if he was trying to decide whether he was enjoying real life or a dream. I continued to bob up and down on his erection, suctioning the tip and giving special attention to the sensitive head. At Rhys’s groan, I felt the slickness between my thighs begin to grow. His eyelids popped open. Rising up on his elbows, he stared down at me in surprise. With my eyes, I conveyed the message that there was nothing else in the world I wanted to be doing than sucking him off. “Oh f**k, Allison. You sure know how to wake a man up,” he murmured, a pleased smile curving on his lips.