Carr, Cassandra - Cold as Ice [Buffalo Intimidators 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)
Page 14
“It says it’s three to one with about ten minutes left in the game. The Intimidators are losing.”
Luc sighed. “Not too surprising. The guys are distracted.”
“With good reason.” Eva’s eyes filled with tears.
“Hey, hey, baby, what’s wrong?”
“I knew those supplements were bad news. I knew it and I didn’t do anything about it.”
“Now hold on,” he replied, squeezing her hand. “For one thing, we don’t know for sure if the supplements are responsible for this.” He took a deep breath and was amazed when he was able to do it without difficulty. Maybe whatever they’d given him was already starting to work. “And two, what were you gonna do? Why would anybody believe you even if you’d tried to warn them? Doc’s been practicing for twenty-something years and he’s well respected in this town.”
“I should’ve said something, though.” She wiped at her eyes, and he wished he could take her into his arms, but they were currently occupied being hooked up to a million different machines. “I’m so sorry, Luc. I feel terrible.”
“None of this is your fault, Eva. None of it.” He lifted his hand enough to cup her chin. “Do you understand me? None of it.”
She nodded, but he doubted she believed him. He’d just have to make her see there was nothing she could’ve done about this. Luc hadn’t even taken the whole thing seriously until a few hours ago. How could he have expected her to?
They sat in silence. Well, silent except for the beeping and whining of the machines around him, the announcements over the PA system, and the constant, low chatter of voices. Luc hated hospitals. They visited area hospitals at least a couple of times a year, and though he always went—he was the captain, after all—he felt nervous and shaky the whole time.
A while later the ER doctor came back in with the team trainer in tow. “We’ve gotten the blood work results back. There’s nearly twice the amount of Madol, the so-called ‘designer’ steroid that forms the basis for this supplement, in your system than is supposed to be there according to the directions. Were you taking more than the recommended dose?” Luc shook his head, and the doctor’s expression darkened further. “In fact, with the recent news about Madol, there shouldn’t be any at all in your system, but I saw Madol is one of the ingredients in the supplements your team doctor prescribed. He should’ve known better. The trainer has brought a sample of the drug here, and we’re going to test it. One of the problems with drugs like these is that the FDA isn’t able to keep good tabs on what’s in them or how they’re being produced. You’re sure you were only taking the recommended one pill a day, Mr. Fletcher?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s the case, it appears likely the concentration of Madol in those tablets is far higher than indicated by the manufacturer.” The man ran his fingers through his hair and frustration fairly radiated from him. “Anyway, we’re going to admit you and kick up the saline drip to try to flush the Madol out of your body as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you.” Luc looked at Eva, who was sniffling and trying her damndest not to cry from the looks of it. “Hey, baby. Come on, don’t cry. I’m in the hospital and they’re gonna get this shit outta my system.”
“I know.” She sniffled again. “I just…”
Luc let her think for a moment and then prompted her, “You just what?”
“I just wish I could’ve done more. I wish I could be doing more now.”
“You’re doing the most important thing you could be. You’re here with me.”
He and Eva talked quietly until Jake and Carter arrived. “Hey, man, how’re you feeling?” Jake asked, giving Eva a kiss on the cheek.
“All right. Apparently Madol is the steroid that forms the basis of the supplement and the doc said my blood had twice as much as it was supposed to.”
“Yeah, that’s what Tom and Keith said after the game. The whole team is here. They’re gonna do EKGs and blood work on all of us,” Carter told him. He pulled Eva out of the chair, sat down, and settled her on his lap. “How’re you holding up, chica?”
“I’m not the one in the hospital bed.”
“I know that. But this has to be hard for you. I mean, it’s hard for me, and I don’t even like the guy that much.” That comment got a genuine smile from Eva, and though it was at his expense, Luc was grateful to Carter for lightening the mood a little.
He pointed at Carter. “I can have you replaced on my line, you know.”
“You could try to replace me, but then who would score all the goals?”
Luc grinned. “Me and Jake would, no problem.”
Jake stroked the side of Eva’s face. “Could you give us a minute, honey?”
Eva looked from man to man. “Sure. I’ll go grab a cola. Looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”
She left and Jake faced him and Carter. “I dunno about you guys, but I’m pretty nervous. This is fucking dangerous. I didn’t even want to play. I couldn’t help feeling like as soon as my heart rate got up the stupid thing would burst.”
“I know what you mean,” Carter answered. “But hopefully they’ll test us and flush us out and it won’t be a big deal.”
“Why aren’t you guys getting tested now, by the way?” Luc asked.
“They only have six EKG machines, so they’re staggering us,” Jake explained. “We should probably go get our blood drawn, though. Before we do, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page with Eva. If some serious shit goes down I don’t want her wondering what the fuck is going on or who she can depend on.”
Luc cleared his throat. “I told her I loved her.”
Both Jake and Carter’s eyes widened. “You did?”
“My situation is different from yours. Neither of you are having symptoms, are you?” Both men shook their heads. “I was scared. But I meant what I said. I love her.”
“So do I,” Jake echoed. “That leaves you, Carter.”
Carter blew out a loud breath. “I’m in this thing, guys. I’m all in. This stuff’s been a wake-up call for me. A totally shitty wake-up call, but a wake-up call nonetheless. She’s it. She’s ours.”
“Glad to hear you say that, bud,” Jake replied, slapping Carter on the back. “When she gets back I think we should all tell her we love her and see what happens.” He looked at Luc. “What did she say when you told her?”
“She said she loved me back, of course.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Of course.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking between his two teammates. “We’ll need to talk about living arrangements. I think we should buy a big house for all of us to live in. None of us have the room right now.”
“Agreed,” Luc said.
“Sounds good to me.”
Eva returned and Carter settled her on his lap again, winding his arms around her waist. Jake took one of her hands and Luc took the other.
She looked around. “What’s going on?” Her gaze settled on him and Luc gave her an encouraging smile.
Jake spoke first. “Carter and I need to go get our blood work done. They’re taking us six at a time for the EKGs so that might be a while, but before we do that we wanted to say something.”
“Okay. You guys are scaring me.”
“Shhh, don’t be scared,” Luc heard Carter whisper in her ear. Carter pulled her even closer. “Listen to what Jake has to say.”
Jake shifted his weight again. Luc had never seen his teammate and friend so nervous. “We love you, Eva. All of us. And we want a life together. All of us.” He kissed her knuckles briefly before saying, “What do you think of that?”
Tears gathered again and Jake reached up to swipe his thumbs over her cheeks to clear them. “I love you guys, too. I’m sure Luc told you about what happened with us earlier. I didn’t mean to exclude either of you when I told him I loved him. If you’d both been there my answer would’ve been the same. I love you all.” Jake closed the distance between them and claimed her lips. Eva pulled aw
ay, saying, “I can’t let you guys get carried away until I know you’re all safe and healthy. No making out, no sex, no nothing until you’re given the all clear.”
“We can live with that,” Carter replied. “But I do want a kiss.”
She laughed and turned to him, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “You guys have made me so happy. I feel like I’m finally home.”
“Us, too, baby, us, too,” Luc replied, and he meant it.
Jake and Carter left Luc’s room to have their EKGs while Eva kept Luc company. She wanted him to sleep but he adamantly refused until he knew all “his guys” were okay. When Jake and Carter returned a few hours later with clean bills of health and portable IVs with saline drips, his eyes closed briefly in sheer, overwhelming relief. He still wanted to hear about the rest of the team, but at least his best friends weren’t in danger.
“So now that we know what’s been going on and we’re dealing with it, how about we talk about something more fun, like where we’re all going to live and how big a bed we’ll need,” Carter teased, leaning down to give Eva a kiss.
“All I know is, I’m not sleeping next to either of you,” Luc replied with a shudder.
“I know,” Eva piped up. “Whoever plays best gets to sleep with me and the other two can sleep alone in their own rooms.” She grinned and Luc poked her.
“How would we determine who played best?” Carter asked.
“I would decide. Or maybe I’ll just choose based on who’s not giving me grief that day.”
Jake groaned. “We’ve created a monster.”
“Sexiest monster I’ve ever seen,” Luc told him and then couldn’t stifle the yawn that escaped.
“Come on, guys. Luc needs to rest, and you guys need to sit down while your IVs finish,” Eva said. “Everybody in for a hug.”
They gathered around Luc’s bed, and as he looked into the happy faces of his lover and his best friends, he had a bone-deep belief everything would work out.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cassandra Carr is a multi-published, award-winning erotic romance writer with Siren who lives in Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out on Twitter. One of Cassandra’s books was recently named Best BDSM Book 2011 by LoveRomancesCafe.
For more information about Cassandra, check out her website at http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com, “like” her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr.
Also by Cassandra Carr
Ménage Amour: Buffalo Intimidators 1: Head Games
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