Trials and Tiaras (Untouchable #7) - Heather Long Page 0,25

time. Yet some of the darkness in his eyes had receded, and his smile had softened again. We managed showers, still playing with each other, and I did get to suck him off, though I swore he never once let go of my gaze as he fucked my mouth. The desperation and need in every touch weren’t lost on me.

We ended up taking our coffee in travel mugs, which we finished before we stopped and grabbed breakfast with real coffee along the way. The lab was a private one, and it took us a bit to get there. We had an appointment and were shown in immediately. I really had no idea how to explain what we needed, but Archie didn’t miss a beat.

“We’re doing genetic matching for an assignment at school,” he told him. “We need to do a full profile on both of us, demonstrating how we are not siblings.”

I could have kissed him all over again. That was the most plausible explanation ever. I did not want to have to tell someone that I needed to prove that my boyfriend wasn’t my brother. I just…couldn’t make myself say those words.

“We can do buccal swabs and we can do blood. Do you have a preference?” The technician didn’t seem to give a damn one way or the other.

“I’ll pay for both,” Archie told him. “We’ll also pay any rush fees required.”

“It can take anywhere from forty-eight hours to two weeks to run the full panel. But if you want us to rush, I can try to get you full results in seventy-two hours.” He glanced from me to Archie. “That enough time for your assignment?”

Three days?

“Twenty-four would be better,” Archie said. “And I’ll pay whatever I need to to make it happen.”

“Best case is forty-eight hours. But I’ll see what I can do.”

It was the best we were going to get.

So he used swabs to get the inside of our cheeks and marked the information down. “Can you tell me about the numbers on those?” Because our names weren’t on the tubes. There were numbers instead.

“It’s patient privacy and to eliminate any possibility of mixing up names. Everything is done by number. Even your results will be logged by numbers. Then when the reports are sent to you, the computer will add the name and we can access it by name only with your permission. Otherwise, no one knows who the samples are.”

I glanced at Archie.

Great.

The technician had changed his gloves and had Archie roll up his sleeve and took the blood sample from him first.

“What if someone is submitting the samples?”

“There are home collection kits you can run, but if they weren’t submitted by a physician or a technician, then they are generally only categorized by the information cards provided.”

Information cards provided.

“So I could do a sample and just say it was from anybody?”

“Technically, although if you submitted several samples that were clearly different under the same name, that would probably raise flags. Then again, home collection kits don’t usually have legal standing, so…I suppose. We don’t process those here.”

It wasn’t long before it was my turn. And he was quick and almost painless about getting his blood sample. Once again, everything was marked with numbers. Archie paid him privately and paid the clinic. I didn’t say anything as the technician promised to get the results within forty-eight hours or as close as he could.

“Though if you want finer detail work for the assignment, you may need the final report after that.”

“That’s fine,” Archie said. “Just make sure you mark everything that proves we’re not siblings. That’ll be a great start for us.”

Would it ever.

Outside, it was still drizzling as we walked to the car.

“Lunch and dress shopping?” he asked once we were in the Ferrari.

“How much money are you planning to spend on this dress?”

“Probably a lot. Then there are shoes and jewelry to go with it.” He grinned. “I can play the pity card to get you to let me do it, but I’d rather you just say yes, Frankie. Let’s go play for a while and let me spoil you.”

“Dress shopping isn’t exactly spoiling me.”

“Ha,” he said, and then his grin grew. “That’s because you’ve never gone dress shopping with me. And I know a challenge when I hear one.”

Chapter Six

I Have to Go Shopping Now

The waiter stopped at our table with an entire side of flank steak that he began to cut and add to my plate. It was probably my third helping