Bedmates Soulmates

A Bear With A Sore Head

When Austyn asked him to go for a jog, Jesse relented.

It was good to get some exercise, he thought.

But after the jog came basketball, where he was slayed by Austyn's slam dunks.

After the basketball came archery.

Jesse watched Austyn pull on the drawstring so hard that the arrow penetrated the target board.

And now, kickboxing-

Austyn called it sparring.

Jesse called it a one-sided slugfest.

'I'm going to end up as a patient at my own hospital, Stamford General's chief physician grumbled.

"Get up. His friend from hell said in a flat voice.

"Man, what's gotten into you today?' Jesse refused to move. "Not only are you flogging yourself to death, you are also flogging your dear friend-yours truly-to a premature death."

His idea of a leisurely Saturday was lounging on a beach chair and soaking up the sun, not participating in the decathlon.novelbin

Austyn looked away.

Then he swung a long leg over the rope and left the ring

Something was definitely up.

Jesse did a kip-up and chased after his friend. 'Hey, come on, Austyn, talk to me."

He was about to hook an arm around his buddy's shoulder.

Austyn shoved his hand away.

"Just blowing off steam,' he said in answer to Jesse's question.

"What kind of steam? From where?" Jesse stared at his friend's back.

Austyn had already disappeared into the locker room.

Jesse scratched his head.

The best way to unwind was to spend time with a woman.

His friend had come to the wrong place.

Luckily, he knew just the right place.

An hour and a half later.

At the Attica.

'Sit back, put your feet up, relax. Do whatever you want My treat today."

Jesse caressed the thigh of a beautiful girl in a bodycon dress sitting on his lap.

He winked at his friend, seated on the sofa opposite.

They were in a lavishly decorated private box of one of Stamford's most exclusive nightclubs.

A Bear With Sore Head

"You've been keeping your nose clean all this time. How long has it been? A year? Time to let your hair down."

Austyn was leaning back against the backrest, eyes closed.

His face was masked by a dim, pink light from the ceiling.

'Do you think I'm like you?' he put one hand on his forehead and said quietly.

Jesse rolled his eyes.

If his friend was in a better mood, he would not have let go of that insult so easily.

Another woman was perched on the sofa next to Austyn.

Her eyes were fixed on his Adam's apple, made more prominent with his head tilted back.

Jesse whistled.

The woman looked up.

He gave her a wink.

She got the message, stood up and leaned in closer to Austyn. 'Sir, let me entertain you."

Austyn didn't move.

She bent over to pick up a glass of wine on the coffee table, presenting a tantalising view of her backside.

Austyn's eyes were closed.

The woman in a sparkling blue slip dress rested her ample bosom on Austyn's arm and cooed in a coquettish voice, 'Sir, have some wine. I could offer some help if you'd like." She licked her lips suggestively.

Austyn spared her a glance. 'Go sit over there before I get angry."

His emotionless monotone sent a chill down her spine.

The girl shivered, bit her lip and looked to Jesse for help.

The doctor shrugged and tipped his chin.

She got up, moved away from Austyn and sat down in a corner.

Some men preferred to act like upstanding citizens when the lights were still on.

But she could usually tell, by the bulge in their pants when she sat on their lap, that she had them.

Not this man.

His eyes were cold.

He was impervious to her inviting touch.

It was better to lose her tips for the night than risk incurring that man's wrath.

Agitated, Jesse pushed his companion away.

"Spit it out, what's bothering you? You've been acting like a bear with a sore head all day."

Austyn ignored his friend.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to talk, but Jesse the debauchee was the wrong kind of audience. He wouldn't understand.

DRAH INOS HAD NORDJEV

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Jesse threw up his arms. 'Fine, don't tell me then. Be like that. But I suggest you go and see a head doctor and get a handle on whatever it is that you keep bottled up before it explodes. I don't have to tell you how many patients end up in my hospital with brain aneurysms because they finally blow their top."

A head doctor?

Austyn opened his eyes. 'Where's Luca?"

'Where else? At home, keeping his wife company. You know what Isabel is like. She rules the roost with an iron fist. She'll allow Luca to come to this kind of place over her dead body."

Jesse clicked his tongue. 'The wild stallion, fast-living third son of the O'Neill family, is now weighed down by the old ball and chain. I shudder to think about his miserable life in the "tomb of love.""

Austyn stood up. 'See you."

'Wait, where are you going?

Austyn was already out the door.

Night had descended over the city.

Sitting in his Hummer with the window half-down, Austyn smoked.

He tried working off those feelings, but it was in vain.

The thought of Kira was like a hostile takeover that refused to leave his mind.

He finished one cigarette.

His mood did not improve.

Austyn removed his phone and, after hesitating for a while, finally dialled the number.

Luca picked up the phone after what felt like an eternity. 'This is strange

Why are you calling me?' Both he and Jesse were aware of Austyn's jam-packed schedule after he took over as the M Group's president.

They refrained from harassing him with calls unless it was something important.

'Where's your wife?' Austyn asked flatly.

'What?' Luca shouted down the line. 'You're calling me to talk to my wife?"

'Cut the crap. Just give her the phone."

'Hey! Luca protested, 'She's MY wife now! Anything you want to say to her, you can say to me."

Austyn sneered. 'If you don't give Isabel the phone right now, I'll ask Kai to send her flowers for the rest of the year, starting tomorrow."

'Shit.'

Luca knew his old friend was crazy enough to actually make good on that threat.

He hadn't forgotten the humongous crush Isabel had on Austyn before they got married.