The Matchmaker's Replacement - Rachel Van Dyken Page 0,67
only we had something to do,” I teased.
Lex smirked. “Here’s a thought . . .”
My smile fell as his hands reached for my hips and lifted me onto his lap. “You know, just off the top of my head.”
“You’re right.” I cupped his cheek. “You are a genius.”
“That’s evil genius to you, Sunshine.”
Chapter Thirty
Lex
You bastard!” Gabi seethed.
I yawned as I dangled her bra in front of me. “Gabs, you better hurry and get dressed; I mean, we only have around two minutes until Ian gets home.”
Gabi’s eyes flashed. “Lex. Hand over the bra. What the hell did you do? Rummage through my dresser while I was in the shower?” Gabs was in jeans and was in the process of putting on her T-shirt when I dangled one of her bras in the air.
Hell yes. I could die a sweet, lustful death in that underwear drawer. What should have taken one minute took about four as thongs begged to be picked up. Shrugging, I took two cautious steps toward her, holding the bra over my head. “What if I hide it here for safekeeping? Kind of like my insurance policy that you’ll come crawling back across the hall and jump into bed with me?”
“You need my bra in order to get me back in bed?”
Her face met me mid chest. She was so short and flushed, it was . . . intoxicating, adorable, damn it. “Childish?”
“A bit.” Her lips pressed together in a smile.
“One minute.” I lowered the bra until it was at eye level. “Do you really have to restrain them?”
Gabi rolled her eyes. “Now you acknowledge their existence?”
“I’ve always known they existed; I suffered from forced forgetfulness.”
“Forced forgetfulness?”
Yeah, as in I had to force myself to forget what they looked like, felt like. I adjusted myself and cleared my throat.
“Lex?” Gabi wrapped her arms around my waist. “Are you turning yourself on by holding my cheap little bra?”
“No,” I lied, voice gruff. “I’m—just . . .”
“Lex!” Ian’s voice sounded from downstairs.
Gabi smacked me in the chest just as I ran over to my bed and shoved her bra under my pillow.
“Seriously?” she hissed.
“What? It’s not like I have any spare teeth I can put under there, and word on the street is, the F fairy only visits a select few.”
“The F fairy?” Gabi repeated.
I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep myself from pulling her into my arms. “The Fu—”
“Lex!” Ian pushed the door open. His face was red, and he looked ready to set Lex on fire. “What the hell? Stop bringing home sluts!”
I nodded. “Won’t happen again.”
“Damn right it won’t happen again. You can’t just sleep with someone because they look lost! Or sad! Or hungry!”
“Right.” I nodded slowly. “Or sick.”
“Yes!” Ian agreed. “Or that.” His gaze flickered from me to Gabi. “Wait. What’s going on?”
The room most definitely smelled like sex.
Ian’s eyes narrowed.
“I chased the skank out with my hair spray,” Gabi lied flawlessly. “Sprayed it in her face and told her it was tear gas. She cried, fell down the stairs, and ran into the door making her escape, so the good news is, you’re skank free. The bad news is—”
“She may sue,” I finished.
“WHAT?” Ian bellowed.
“Relax.” Gabi hid her smile behind her hand and barely managed to turn away from Ian in time to laugh.
“You think this is funny?” Ian’s voice rose. “And why the hell are you in his room? If the skank is gone, your work here is done. Damn, Gabs, the last thing you need is to be exposed to—” His nose scrunched up, and then his eyes narrowed in on the bed. “You kept her bra?”
Shit! I thought I’d shoved it completely under the pillow. “She was probably too distracted by Gabi’s screaming to grab all of her clothes.”
“Thanks, Gabi.” Ian sighed. “At least I can count on you to be the mature housemate.”
Gabi’s smile was sweet. “Oh, Ian, of course. The last thing I want is for Lex to die from some sort of incurable STD.”
“Really?” Ian and I asked at the same time.
“And have the illness steal all my glory?” Gabi started walking toward the door. “Yeah, right. If anyone kills Lex, it’s going to be me.”
There we go. I rolled my eyes like I usually did, then flipped her off. Only this time, my heart was beating so fast I could have sworn Ian was suspicious.
“So, any broken bones?” Ian turned to face me just as Gabs made her way out, her