Bedded Bliss (Found in Oblivion Book 1) (4 page)

Malachi didn’t respond. Just walked away and slammed the door shut behind him.

Michael locked his hands behind his neck and bent at the waist, sucking in a deep breath. Either he’d just saved their asses or they were just as fucked as before.

And his brother probably wouldn’t ever speak to him again.

“
I
still say
we could have done this as a road trip. Vegas isn’t that far from LA.”

“I could only get three days off, remember?” Chloe Adams glanced at one of her best friends. Her white-knuckle grip on the arms of the plush airline seat belied the calmness of Jinx’s voice. She wasn’t wild about letting people know her weaknesses. Flying being one of them, of course.

Personally, Chloe wasn’t worried about the massive personal jet they were on. Or keeping it in the sky. Mr. Lewis only owned the best—this ridiculous Lear jet was only one of the fleet that he owned. Seriously, who owned a fleet of planes other than an airline?

Right, a billionaire, that’s who. Something that was so far out of her stratosphere it was laughable. She’d had to work three doubles, and sell off her precious weekend to Jersey Janice to get time off for this little trip. Dude, she hated Janice.

Almost as much as she hated her job. It was a tossup, truly.

No, all her worry was at home, in her tiny apartment, with her almost two-year-old son. She pulled out her phone again.

Jinx flipped her braid over her shoulder. “If you FaceTime with the kid again, I’m going to steal your phone.”

She stuffed her phone back into her hoodie pocket, resisting the urge to pout. “There’s free Wi-Fi, it seems stupid not to use it.” And when they got to Vegas, who knew if her little prepaid phone would have a good signal. She’d paid extra for data and minutes for this trip just so she’d be available at all times.

“He’s having grandpa time. He’s fine.”

Her father had cleaned up his act a lot since she’d gotten pregnant. Then when Snake had died, he’d really stepped up. She was still waiting for him to backslide even two years later. It wasn’t like he didn’t watch Axl when she was working. She split up the babysitting between her father and her next door neighbor with a little girl the same age. And sometimes with Nick and Lila Crandall.

God, the weirdness there.

But her son loved Nick. Sometimes it felt like he loved Nick more than her on the difficult days. All he had to do was bring out his guitar, or hell, even play a pretend one, and Axl was instantly enthralled.

This was how weird her life had become. Her former fiancé’s bandmate was nearly a surrogate dad. She swallowed down the lump in her throat—hard. She hardly ever thought of Snake anymore—she’d been too busy being a mom, being a provider, being everything to a twenty-one-month-old little boy who was becoming a person more and more every day.

Axl would be fine.

Truly.

She
would be fine. Everyone would be fine.

It was just a few nights away from him. She could totally do this. She used to know how to go out and have a good time. She was only twenty-three, not forty-three.

“He’ll be fine.” Maybe if she said it out loud.

“Damn right.” Jinx hummed under her breath as the plane bounced. “Fuck.”

“Relax.” Ivy clicked back her seat until she was nearly in her sister’s lap. “I’m trying to sleep here.”

“How can you sleep?” Jinx gritted her teeth and squeaked as the plane suddenly increased altitude. “God, how long do we have to be in this tin can?”

Ivy rolled onto her side. “Tin can?” She looked around. “Do you have eyes? This is a luxury jet liner with seats the size of tricked out leather movie recliners. You know, like the theater we go to when we splurge for a movie?” The light dinged over their heads. “Oops, my cue to sit up.” A humming sound came from Ivy’s chair as she raised it back to a more upright position.

Chloe shook her head and folded her hands over her stomach, holding her phone to her middle. Okay, that jolt was a little more than turbulence.

The stewardess came down the aisle. “Bear with us, folks. The pilot just pulled up into higher airspace to avoid a storm. We’ll level off in a few minutes.”

Jinx snapped her window shade shut. “Yeah, I can’t watch our fiery plummet.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Drama llama.”

“Shut up.” Jinx slammed her head back as they veered a bit to the left then leveled out.

“See, there we go. Nothing to worry about.”

“Miss,” Jinx called to the stewardess.

She came back down the aisle. “Yes?”

“Could I get an adult beverage? Preferably one that includes vodka?”

“Absolutely. We have a fully stocked bar.”

Jinx perked up. “How stocked?”

“Top shelf for everything. Is Grey Goose all right? Or would you prefer Kettle One?”

Her brown eyes bulged. “All right, now this I can get behind.”

“Easy, tiger,” Chloe muttered.

“Actually, I think we all need one. Time to get a little lubricated before we land. Vegas, here we come, baby.”

“No thanks, I don’t—”

“She needs one most of all,” Jinx interrupted.

“I concur,” Ivy said.

Chloe pressed her lips together. She needed to lighten up. They were in Vegas—well, currently over the Mojave if her watch was correct. It was only an hour flight.

She deserved to go and hang with her friends. Even if Nick had to practically drag her to the airport to get her to leave the house.

“You know what? Yes. I’d like a vodka tonic with lime, please.”

“That’s more like it.” Jinx clapped. “The same times three.”

“What if I didn’t want a vodka tonic?” Ivy popped her head up.

“What do you want, then?”

Ivy sighed. “Vodka tonic.”

“I thought so.”

The stewardess gave them an indulgent smile. “I’ll be right back, ladies.”

Jinx leaned into Chloe. “So, which of those delicious babes are you focusing on this weekend?”

“You’re on drugs. I’m so not interested in a rockstar again. Nope.”

Jinx winced. “Right. But you’ve been off the market for ages.” She tapped the ring on Chloe’s hand. “Even if you keep wearing that little ice chip.”

Chloe used her thumb to straighten her ring. “It’s just easier.” It didn’t even feel like her ring anymore. More like a little guardian angel against dealing with men of the opposite sex. Of course some nights at Rafferty’s, it was more like a neon challenge sign over her head, but mostly a deterrent.

“Well, this weekend isn’t about easier. It’s about fun. And it’s past time you get back on the horse. Or a studly male in this case.”

“I don’t jump into bed with people, Jinx. You know that.”

“Well, it’s time to loosen up. You have a prime twenty-three-year-old pussy that is rotting away.”

Chloe crinkled her nose. “Nice.” She sighed. “Besides, this girl has given birth. There’s nothing prime about my…anything.”

Ivy turned in her seat and peeked over the top. “Seriously, you’re a hot redhead with curves that make men drool. You’re prime everything.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Also, every one of the guys in Oblivion are married.”

Jinx slumped in her chair. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

The stewardess came down the aisle with a tray of drinks. Jinx perked up again. No plastic cups on this flight. No, these were tall glasses with garnishes and thin straws with perfect wedges of lime on the rims.

Not like the half dehydrated lime scraps from the restaurant Chloe worked at. These were fat and juicy. She could tell just from the looks of them as the woman set the drinks on their tables.

Jinx took a sip before the stewardess had a chance to step back. “Oh, we need to get married.”

The woman laughed. “I’m glad you like them. We’ll be landing in twenty minutes. Enjoy.”

“Can we have one more round then?”

The dark-haired woman winked. “You got it.”

Jinx held up her glass. “To an unforgettable weekend.”

Chloe clinked her glass with her two best friends. “To remembering I’m single.”

“Damn right.”

They all laughed and Chloe caught Nick craning his neck to check on her. She lifted her glass in his direction. He gave her the half grin that had gotten her panties around her ankles as a teenager.

Yeah, she didn’t need any lusty thoughts about a rockstar. Past or present, thank you very much.

“
D
id you see this view
?” Ivy screeched.

Chloe pushed her bangs out of her eyes. The trip in from the airport to the Mandalay Bay Resort had been a long one. Traffic on the strip had been hideous, but they’d ended up drinking a bottle of champagne during the limo ride. Two drinks and champagne was already catching up to her.

She widened her eyes until everything came back into focus. Their room was ludicrous. Two huge headboards dominated the queen-sized beds. She dropped her hand-me-down luggage onto the floor. She didn’t dare put it on the lush white bedding.

She followed Ivy to the window and her stomach dropped. The entire Vegas strip was in front of her. The sun was still beating down on the world. It had a different feel than look at night with all the neon. Snake had brought her there once. A long bus ride and a low-end hotel on the strip had been the highlight of their relationship.

She was pretty sure that was where Axl had been conceived actually.

Hmm. Funny how life changed in a few short years.

Now she was in a gilded showcase of a hotel that catered to the rich and famous. Her son’s godfather was a millionaire, and her fiancé…well, he was gone.

She placed her palm against the glass. Snake would have loved this kind of place. He longed for the big time, just never wanted to work for it. He was more interested in talking about being a musician than following the passion of being one. Her eyes pricked as she shut out the tangle of cars and towering buildings.

She hated to think badly of him.

Hated that he’d left her with so many questions. Just when she thought their lives were turning around, he went and died on her. He’d left her alone again, this time with a little person who counted on her for everything.

“Okay, we need to book time in the spas.”

Chloe dabbed at her eyes and turned to Jinx. She had two brochures in each hand. Each place looked more expensive than the last. “Did you gain a sugar daddy that I’m not aware of?”

Jinx leaped onto the bed closest to the window. “Live a little.”

“I have to live within a budget.”

“Actually, no, you don’t.” Ivy waved a card propped on the six-foot-long bureau. She tucked her honey-blond hair behind her ear before clearing her throat. “
Enjoy yourselves and don’t think about money. The tab is on me. Nick.”

Chloe crossed the room to snatch the note out of Ivy’s hand. “No way.”

Ivy cocked her hip and grinned, her dimples winking. “Yes, way.”

Jinx crowed. “Yes! Salon, spa, and shopping!”

“No. We are not taking advantage of Nick’s generosity.”

“Hell yes, we are.” Jinx bounced off the bed. “When the hell are we going to get the opportunity to be spoiled like this again?”

“This is being spoiled.” Chloe whirled, arms out. “This room is us being spoiled.”

Jinx came up in front of her and gripped her shoulders. “Anything we spend is a thumbnail of a fraction of what rockstars spend on their own.”

Chloe’s stomach flipped. “You don’t know Nick. He’s frugal. A penny-pincher even. There’s no way he would give me an unlimited spending account.”

Ivy lifted a notepad off the dresser. “Funny, that’s what this says.
Charge everything to your room number, that’s an order.
”

Chloe shook her head. “You’re just making that up.”

Jinx swiped the paper out of her sister’s hand before Chloe could. “Looks like a dude’s handwriting to me.”

“Would you guys stop being so fucking grabby,” Ivy groused.

Jinx shoved the paper at her. Sure enough, it looked like Nick’s handwriting. She was used to it. He sent her a check every damn month, even when she asked him to stop helping them.

Even though she needed every damn penny to keep her head above water. She hated taking it. Hated cashing the check every month. She only used the money for things for Axl and socked away the extra for the future. For her not-such-a-baby’s future.

She was determined to make a good life for him. A life like she’d never had as a child. The daughter of a crackwhore mother and an alcoholic father had not been an ideal start in life.

Her father may have come around to begin the process of father of the year, but her mother never had. She’d split long ago, no forwarding address, no letters of remorse.

Another person who had just up and disappeared in her life. Her mother could be dead for all she knew.

Fuck.

She so couldn’t drink. It always made her sad. At least if she stopped drinking. Right now all she had was a headache and a whole lot of confusion.

Jinx pushed her toward the bathroom. “Get cleaned up. We’re finding our way down to the spa on…” She raced around to the bed she’d left the pamphlets on. “If we’re going all out, then we’re going to floor thirty-six. The Golden Dragon.” She grinned. “I’m getting everything waxed. This chick is getting laid.”

Chloe escaped to the bathroom. “Holy crap.” The room was all marble and shine, with a tub, a separate shower, and a sink big enough to give her kid a bath in.

Even the toilet was locked away from the perfection of the room.

“Unbelievable.” She dropped onto the edge of the tub and pulled out her phone. She flicked her phone awake and shot off a text to Nick.

C
A
: Are you sure? Were you delusional when you wrote that note? It’s too much.

T
he little bubbles
on her screen came up right away.

N
C
: I’ve been waiting for this text. Yes. Have fun. Pretend you’re Princess Chloe for three days. Don’t fucking argue with me. Now buzz off, I’m busy.

C
hloe laughed
. Only Nick could say something so sweet and so rude in the same breath. She was about to switch her phone off when she tapped on the top of her sparkly red case. “Just one call,” she said quietly.

She thumbed over the FaceTime icon and her father’s number. It rang three times before he answered, a harried look on his face.

“Hey, Dad. How’s my kid?”

“He’s currently covered in peanut butter.” He panned the phone away to show her son with his russet hair sticking to the side of his face along with a smear of his snack. His cheeks were covered, and his two teeth gleamed from his bow lips.

“Pee butter, momma!” He slapped his hand on the tray of his high chair, peanut butter and jelly spraying the front of his bib.

“Wow. I see.”

“Miss you!”

Chloe’s belly flipped and her heart shuddered to a stop. “I miss you too, pal.”

He covered his mouth and made a sucking kiss sound and blew her a kiss. “Pee butter!”

Chloe laughed and blew his kisses back.

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

“You are not using FaceTime in there, woman! You’re peeing so we can go!” Jinx called through the door.

Chloe scrunched up her shoulders. “Everything okay there, Dad?”

“I’m going to go dump him and his peanut butter-scented self into the tub. Then we’re going to read books.”

“Books!” Axl screeched.

Her dad laughed. “Yes, books. We’re just fine, cupcake.”

Chloe swallowed down a lump. Her boys were doing just fine without her. Was it bad that she wished they weren’t so put together? She made herself laugh because that was what her father intended. “Okay. Call me if you need me.”

“Have fun, Chloe Bear. Don’t worry about us. Axlsaurus is having a blast. Right, dude?”

“Axaserres is a-okay.”

Chloe laughed at Axl’s bastardization of her dad’s nickname for him. “I love you guys.”

Her dad swung the camera around again. “Say g’night, Axl.”

“Niy-nites, mama.” Again, his sticky fingers made kisses over his lips.

She blew back kisses. “Night, little man.”

Her dad came back into the frame. “We’re fine. Have fun. Pretend you’re young and carefree for a few days.”

“Come on. We’re burning daylight here!” Jinx hollered again.

Chloe sniffed back a few tears. “Gotta go, Dad.”

“Love you, Chloe Bear.”

Man, the mushy stuff was going to kill her, but she liked it too. She blinked back tears and smiled. “Love you too, Daddy Bear,” she murmured, using the old nickname she’d had for him. Every now and then, it made a reappearance, usually when she was feeling out of sorts.

This weekend qualified.

“There’s my girl. See you on Sunday.”

She nodded. “I’ll check in tomorrow.”

“Lori next door invited us to a picnic. So we’ll be gone all day. But you can check in at bedtime.”

“Right. Wow. Got it all planned, huh?” They didn’t need her even a little bit. She tried to push aside the hurt. She wanted them to have a great time, just not
too
good a time.

So stupid.

“Yes. We’ll have a full day. So text me later and I’ll see if he’s even still awake.”

“Right.” Chloe nodded. “I will.”

“Bye now.”

“Bye.” She thumbed over the end button and rubbed her phone against her jeans. Yeah, she definitely couldn’t spend the whole weekend thinking about how little her boys needed her.

Nope, not even a little. She stood up and dashed the tears from her eyes. In fact, she was going to make sure she had one helluva time this weekend. She went over to the sink and splashed cold water on her skin. Her golden brown eyes were free of makeup, thanks to a very long day already.

She used the ultra-soft towel hanging from the ring by the sink and blotted her face. “You’re going to have all of the fun, girl.” She opened the door. “All right, bitches! Let’s get this party started.”

“Fuck yeah!” Jinx leaped off her bed. “I just made us appointments.”

“Of course you did,” she said with a laugh.

“So fancy.” Ivy drew her fingers over the leather cushion of the creamy wingback chair in the corner of the room. “I could get used to this.”

“Don’t get too used to it,” Chloe muttered.

“Live a little.” A little wrinkle formed between Ivy’s eyes. “You used to know how to have fun.”

Before the baby. Before Snake died. Before Snake…

No.

She shook her head. There were good times with Snake. Lots of them. She was just swimming in the crappy memories today. And she was tired of it. “I’m so ready to live it up this weekend. This weekend I’m not a mommy, not an ex-fiancée, or a responsible member of society.”

“Now this is more like it.” Jinx linked her arm with Chloe’s.

They all marched toward the door. Chloe meant to stop to get her purse, but Ivy and Jinx hauled her out of the room. They linked arms with Chloe in the middle as they strutted down the hall, and laughter bubbled out of her chest.

God, when was the last time she laughed? At least when it didn’t apply to Axl. He was the light of her life and made every day bearable. But she’d rarely taken time to do anything for herself. Everything was for her little boy.

Nick honestly wanted her to have some fun this weekend, and she would not feel guilty about it.

Ivy slapped the down button on the elevator. The big car was gilded and over the top. The back of the elevator had a huge painting that depicted the shark tanks that were part of the hotel. Everything about this hotel was over the top.

Hell, everything about Vegas was over the top.

For once, she wasn’t going to feel like the little red and gold fish at the bottom of the picture. She was going to be the shark this time.

Ivy and Jinx poured over the pamphlet, picking out things for them to do. She tried to block out the mud masks, and sea wraps. She would do it all.

The doors opened to the thirty-sixth floor. The entire floor was the spa.

Her eyes bulged as Jinx dragged her through the doors.

“Welcome, ladies. Room number?”

“Forty-one-oh-eight,” Ivy said.

Jeeze. She already had it memorized? She wasn’t even sure she had the room key in her pocket, let alone know the number.

A very perky, very tiny blond smiled from behind the jade desk. Chloe was pretty sure it was actually jade, or at least marble of some kind. A large gold and red dragon covered the wall behind her. “Miss Adams, and Miss Johnson…both of you?”

Jinx smiled. “That’s us. Sisters.”

“Perfect. I’ll just need you to scan your room key here.” She pushed out a little reader.

Crap. She didn’t have her purse.

Jinx pulled a spare room key out of her ass pocket. “Here we go.”

Well, at least someone was prepared. The little machine beeped and the woman’s smile grew wider. “Excellent. You have full access to the facilities. Janet, Suzanne, and Emily will be your technicians.”

Three woman seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They all wore seafoam green smocks and khakis, along with discreet gold name tags over the establishment’s embroidered logo. Suzanne came forward, her smile wide in her exotically beautiful face. She had bright gray eyes that seemed to glow from her mocha cream skin. “We’re going to fix you right up.”

God, did she look that bad?

“Don’t even think that thought.” Suzanne clutched Chloe’s fingers. “I can see it in your dark eyes. Really pretty eyes, by the way. Just need a little shaping of those brows.”

She immediately smoothed the pad of her finger over her brows. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually remembered to tweeze.

“Stop. That’s what we’re here for. To pamper you and make you feel as beautiful on the outside as you do on the inside.”

Chloe straightened her shoulders. “Pamper away. I’m not going to argue.”

“My kind of client.” Suzanne led Chloe down a hallway. The walls were a lighter color than their uniform smocks. The air was…odorless. A far cry from the small spa she’d been treated to for Mother’s Day. That had been full of chemicals and an underlying blast of bleach.

She’d appreciated the bleach for the clean factor, but man, the crisp perfect air in this place was to die for.

Chloe looked over her shoulder as Jinx and Ivy were taken to separate rooms.

“Don’t worry. We know that spa days are much more fun as a group. We’re just going to figure out what you need and then you’ll be back in the same room together.”