4-Ever Theirs: Four to Score, Book 1 Read Online Free Page B

she’d grown to love, she already felt better. It beat the cold, crisp sheets and too-firm hospital bed she’d been confined to for the previous day and a half, hands down. Although she’d spent most of her time in the hospital knocked out, it had been a fitful sleep.
    On her own turf, she could pretend that the whole Flesh incident had been an awful nightmare. Except that Reed, Cooper and Simon had avoided her since they’d brought her home the night before. They’d deposited her in here, fed her some soup, then disappeared. Where were they?
    Lying there debating how long she could hold off before having to pee, she heard the door crack open. “Hello?”
    “Hey, Andi,” Reed whispered, as if afraid he’d hurt her by speaking full volume. “Sorry. Was just checking in on you since you don’t usually sleep so late.”
    “Had a rough couple of days.” Her joke fell flat.
    Reed grimaced. “Yeah, I noticed. I shouldn’t be bugging you.” He turned to go.
    “Wait.” Andi sat up, gathering the covers to her chest like a shield. What did he think of her and the things she’d done? Was this awkward tension ever going to fade?
    She supposed it would when she moved out next weekend.
    Andi sighed.
    “Hey, you okay?” Reed ambled closer.
    She patted the bed beside her hip. “I’ll be better if you’ll come here and talk to me for a while instead of acting like I caught a major case of the cooties in that club.”
    Thankfully the tests they’d run at the hospital had confirmed that wasn’t the case. But if the guys had been a few minutes later…who knew what might have happened? Andi shivered.
    “You cold?” he asked, sinking beside her. His solid bulk caused the mattress to dip and she rested against his side. Though he stiffened, he didn’t shove her away, so she made herself comfortable.
    “No.” Especially not with him to heat her up. “Jumpy, that’s all.”
    “Ah, shit.” He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. “I’ve got you, Andi.”
    She didn’t mean to say it out loud, but she did. “Only for a few more days. Then I’ll be on my own. Alone.”
    “Hey. That guy isn’t gonna go anywhere near you ever again,” Reed promised. “He’s going to have to answer to the law for what he did. And after that…”
    “Don’t do anything to get yourself in trouble. I’m fine. No one got hurt.” She patted his abdomen, noting how tense he was. The cut of his six-pack was clearly defined beneath his soft T-shirt.
    “I beg to differ.” The fingers of his free hand traced over her lips more tenderly than she knew he was capable of. The puffiness had subsided some, but her mouth still felt weirdly overstuffed. Getting decked had that effect, she supposed.
    “Okay, well, it could have been a lot worse.” She sighed and nuzzled his chest, curling up against him as naturally as if she’d been made to fit there.
    It surprised her when a growl bubbled up from his chest and he half-shouted, “Andi, what were you thinking?”
    She blinked a few times, caught off guard by his sudden outburst. Had he been bottling up his frustration with her, waiting for her to recover before unleashing it?
    Before she could respond, Simon and Cooper rushed into the room like a pair of guard dogs. Cooper slid onto the opposite side of her bed and tugged her away from Reed. She didn’t mind the loss of her comforter when he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She couldn’t help but burrow into his hold. “Hey. I thought we agreed not to harass her.”
    “Seriously, Reed. What the fuck?” Simon climbed onto the foot of the bed and rested his palm on her shin. His thumb rubbed arcs below her knee.
    “Sorry.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, which was when she noticed his bruised and scabbed knuckles.
    “Reed!” She would have flown to him, but Cooper’s arms held her tight. “Your fingers—”
    “Are fine.” A wave of them dismissed her concern. “Trust me. I’d have gladly