The Matchmaker's Replacement - Rachel Van Dyken Page 0,66
can’t decide if you’re a genius, a horrible human being, or a little bit of both.”
“Turn around.” He gripped my hips and slid me so that my back was against his chest. His lips grazed my ear. “A little bit of both, I suspect.”
I didn’t have to hide my grin since I was staring at the wall. “So I’m the lucky one, huh?”
“How do you figure?”
“No fake story?”
“I can’t fake burn down the house you live in, Gabs, and I think we both know that if I had a fish, the poor bastard’s survival rate would be, like, point one percent.”
His hands moved smoothly across my back and then down my sides before he reached around my body and cupped me. “Are you sore?”
I froze. “I uh, no, maybe. I’m not sure. I can’t really think right now.”
“I’m sorry.” His mouth hovered around my neck. “You may be a bit over the next few days . . .”
“I’ll be sure to tell Ian it’s because I went horseback riding,” I joked.
Lex about died laughing, his mouth touching my neck, his lips sliding across my wet skin. “I guess you did ride, sort of, but next time I’ll give you a better lesson.”
My ears perked up. Down, girl. Sleeping with the enemy, sleeping with the enemy! “Next time?”
“I didn’t burn the house down, Gabs.”
“Ri-ight.” I drew out the word. “Because I live here.”
“That’s not my only excuse. I have hundreds, thousands, but with you my only excuse is a mutual friend who may cut off my balls if he discovers I breathed in your direction.”
I let out a breathy sigh. “Our secret, then?”
“For now,” he agreed, turning me back around so we could face each other.
I don’t know if I leaned in first, or if he did, but suddenly we were kissing again, his mouth covering mine as his hands slid across my wet body.
“Lex!” Ian shouted from just outside the bathroom door.
I shoved Lex away as water sloshed over the sides of the tub. “I thought the door was locked?”
“Bastard picked it. He’s done that a few times, but only when he’s feeling prickly.” Lex hissed out a curse. “What, Ian?”
“Are you with someone?” Ian asked.
“Yes,” Lex answered.
I smacked him in the shoulder.
He mouthed an “ouch.” “But she’s really . . . naked.”
I slapped my hand against my forehead. Idiot.
“And sick.”
“Sick?” I mouthed.
“What do you mean, sick? And what the hell, man? You know the rules about girls in the house at night!”
“Puking all over the place.” Lex shrugged and then went, “It’s okay, baby, let it out.”
“Oh, good grief,” I grumbled, and then made a whimpering noise, causing Lex to crack up and lose all composure.
“Like the flu?” Ian sounded horrified. Then again, Ian was one of those people who believed in quarantine if someone had as much as a head cold. He carried wet wipes with him everywhere.
“Yeah, maybe the swine flu. She doesn’t look good, man, not good at all. I wouldn’t come in—oh shit!”
“What?” Ian yelled. “What happened?”
“You didn’t touch the doorknob, did you?”
Ian started cursing. “How else am I supposed to break in, you jackass? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I need to? You’re the one breaking and entering!”
“You weren’t answering your phone, and it’s important.”
Lex shoved me, mouthing the word “cough.”
I started coughing wildly and moaned.
“Dude, whatever it is, it’s going to need to wait. In fact, if I were you, I’d go to the store and get some vitamin C mixes for your water.”
“I can’t get sick.” Ian groaned. “I was just sick a few weeks ago. I nearly died from the plague, Lex. What the hell? You know the rules about girls in our house!”
“What did you want me to do? She was shivering!”
“Don’t bring in strays!” Ian yelled. “Shit, I’m going to Walgreens. I’ll be back and then we can talk, but I’m getting you a mask.”
“Bye, Ian!”
“Son of a—” Ian could be heard cursing until a door slammed.
“Want to know another useless fact?” Lex asked.
“I’m listening.” I ran my hands over his buzzed hair.
Lex leaned into me and pressed a kiss against my mouth. “The closest Walgreens is three point seven miles from our house. With traffic, it’s a good fifteen minutes there and back, and then add in possibly ten minutes of Ian trying to locate what he needs. You know how he gets distracted.”
“Are you telling me we have close to forty minutes until he’s back?”