“Whoa, sorry.” He pulls back and offers an amicable smile.
“Right.” He’s sorry.
And sadly, so am I.
Just as we’re about to head on out, I see a welcome sight that sends my mood skyrocketing through the stratosphere.
“Harley? Henry?” I scream so loud as I rush them, and I catch a tiny glint of fear in my brother’s eyes before he warms to me.
I wrap my arms around the two of them at once, and we spin in an awkward circle with Henry’s oxygen tank whacking me in the leg the entire time.
Henry makes a face as if holding back his enthusiasm. “I was starting to forget what you”—he pauses to take a breath—“looked like.”
I belt out a laugh and so does Harley.
“Then look in the mirror!” I turn to Knox with a laugh caught in my throat. “This is my big brother, Henry. He’s essentially my twin.”
Knox steps in with that killer grin and a part of me wishes I were introducing him as much more than a friend. “Nice to meet you.” He gives a quick glance to the oxygen tank. It’s okay. Most people need to get used to it.
Henry holds up the slender green monster. “This is”—he takes a quick breath—“what keeps me in step with my sisters. One day”—he gasps for air—“I’m going to run a marathon with this one.” He points to me.
“I haven’t hit the track in weeks,” I’m quick to confess and both Harley and Henry loosen their jaws. “I’ve sort of been contending with a bad breakup.” I give a quick rundown on how both Knox and I were lucky enough to have a set of cheating exes all on the same night with essentially the same person.
Harley gets that wild look in her eyes—she’s a lot like my mother in many ways, her wild streak being the most prominent. “I will scratch that douche canoe’s eyes out the next time I see him and shove them down his throat so when he shits them out he can see exactly what he’s full of.”
“And on that note.” I look to poor Knox whose face just went white. “I think maybe we should take off. I sort of kidnapped Knox and gave him the tour of the dark side of our mother’s gray matter. I’m pretty sure a family reunion is more than he bargained for.”
“No way.” Knox holds his hands up. “I’m in. In fact, if you two haven’t eaten, I’d love to take you to lunch.”
“There’s a Thai place next door with drunken noodles to die for,” Harley offers.
And just like that, we’re off. The four of us talk for three hours straight. Knox genuinely seems to get along well with Henry. He’s talking to him like one of the guys and not like someone with a severe life-threatening illness. Knox even offered to take him to the Black Bear so he could meet with his friends and threatened him with hot chicks as if he’s genuinely interested in getting him into the dating scene. Just the sight of their budding bromance has me melting in a puddle.
I’m melting in a puddle for Knox Toberman and I kind of like it.
And I kind of hate myself for it at the very same time.
After spending a zillion blissful hours with Knox, I jettison myself back to the black hole of Kappa G. Thankfully, when I get inside, my roommate is nowhere to be found, so I flop on the bottom bunk in hopes of sneaking in some quick shut-eye. I don’t know how much longer I can keep myself going before I drop dead of exhaustion. No matter what any airline tells you, the human body isn’t meant to sleep in an upright position. I’m beginning to suspect there’s no such thing as jet lag—it’s all a ploy to cover up the fact they severely exhaust you on those transatlantic flights.
“What the hell is this?” a deep voice barks so loud I jump up and crack my skull against the bunk above me.
“Oh my shit.” I fall back down over the comforter, which incidentally totally reeks of body odor, a malodorous offense I was willing to overlook for the coma I was hopeful to fall into.
“Get off my bed!” Sabine-the-Mean-Roommate-Scattering-Machine shouts at the top of her lungs. “I can’t have other people touching my stuff! I’m OCD! I take medication for this shit!”
I manage to roll off, hitting my forehead against the wood beam one more time just to ensure my head injury takes effect immediately. A white-hot pain bleeds through my skull and the room sways and multiplies itself before my very eyes.
“Crap.” I cradle my temples as I stagger to my feet. “Why are you yelling? Clearly you’re not taking medication for the correct shit or you wouldn’t have verbally accosted me, Sabine!” I will not call another human being a fictional cat’s name as long as I live. I may have dated Justine Cramer, but I’ve recently established standards.
Her face grows a strange shade of red, and the fact her wiry hair is all but doing the electrocution dance is rather a frightening combination. “You are not allowed to say that name to me again!” Her voice rages so loud half the girls come pouring in. “You may call me Garfield and I will answer to nothing else. Do you have a problem with that? And if you do, you can go screw yourself because I really don’t give a rat’s ass!”
“Oh my God, you are insane!” And potentially rife with a very good idea—at least Sylvia thinks so. I yank my suitcase out of the closet and toss in all of my belongings as if I were a contestant on a game show given the chance to clear the room out of whatever I can in less than thirty seconds. I scoop all of my toiletries in with a sweep of my arm and ransack the bathroom for anything I might own.
“You can have this room, Sabine!”
I’m off to screw myself.
Ava and Lucky are persona non-grata. It turns out summer is a fantastic time to do all sorts of things with your new boyfriend, like go to the beach, go to the movies, go to dinner all on a loop. I’ve never felt so left out in all my life. Before I know it, I find myself parked in front of Knox Toberman’s driveway. I suppose if I barge in with a suitcase in hand, clothes sticking out of it haphazardly nonetheless, he might be forced to entertain a restraining order. I opt to casually slip a few essentials into my purse, my makeup bag, my Kindle, a bath bomb that promises to turn any ordinary day into a paisley wonderland complete with a refreshing citrus scent. God knows I’m in desperate need to freshen up a bit after all but smothering myself in Sabine the Ogre’s night sweat. I eye the suitcase once again.
“What the hell,” I snap it with psychotic pride as I march up to the door and give a light knock. It takes more than a few minutes before Knox opens up, and to my surprise his hair is dewy from the shower, his scruff is shaved clean off—and dear God, does this boy do a naked face right—not to mention he looks dressed up for a night on the town, dress shirt, tie, jeans, and an earthy pair of chukka boots that make my engine fire on all pistons.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” My heart sinks, because if he says he’s off on a date, I’ll drive straight back to my mother’s house, crawl into my childhood bed, and never come out. Could this summer get any worse?
Those commas on either side of his face invert. “Actually, I had a hot date.”
My heart smashes through the porch and descends to middle earth with no hopes of ever coming back.
“With my sister.” He gives a wild grin as he widens the door for me to come inside. “She just canceled on me, so your timing couldn’t be better.”
“Oh, what a relief!” I say as I scoot on in and bend over to give Fish a quick scratch between the ears and freeze. “I mean—what a relief you weren’t really stood up—by a hot date. That would be lame, you know, after what you’ve already been through and all.”
I right myself and come face-to-face with those steely eyes as that undeniable spark detonates between us and my insides turn to mush. Knox is cuttingly handsome, painfully so for me at least. That sweet spot between my thighs starts in on a desperate throb and it’s all I can do to keep from dry-humping him right here in the living room.
Knox brings his hand up to the back of my head and threads his fingers through my hair in a slow, circular fashion.
That’s it.
My entire body starts in on an underlying
quiver, and in less than ten seconds, I’m going to embarrass myself by howling in pleasure. Sylvia is about to have a nervous breakdown in the very best capacity.
“What’s with the suitcase?” he deadpans as if our lives had morphed into one of those old westerns my father used to watch and we were at a standoff at high noon.
“Just taking something to the laundromat.” My voice squeaks.
The laundromat? It’s nice to know my descent into madness somehow involves the need for basic hygiene. Speaking of which…“You know”—I jet past him to the hall—“you wouldn’t mind if I took a quick bath, would you?” I entomb myself in the restroom before he can say a word.
“Did you say bath?”
I give a slight whimper in lieu of a response.
“Um, yeah, go right ahead. I’ll heat up a truffle pizza and get the buffet going!”
“Sounds good!” Too good to be true.
While Knox takes off to whip us up a feast worthy of kings, I start up the bath, giddy to dip myself into the gorgeous, freestanding, clawfoot work of wannabe vintage art. No sooner does the water level rise than I drop my bath bomb in and watch the water turn a rainbow of blues and greens with sparks of pink and orange. My clothes practically jump right off my body in anticipation of the good time that lies ahead for me. I dip my toes in and let out a deep, hearty groan. I haven’t experienced this kind of satisfaction since that food we indulged in last week—scratch that. Those kisses we indulged in. I sink my body into the hot, steamy Technicolored waters and settle in with a sigh. Now this is something I can get used to. My toes flirt with the fixtures as if threatening to let all the water out. I can’t believe how roomy it is in here. I’m betting it’d fit two nicely. A vision of Knox comes to me as he straddles me in these murky waters with that lewd grin budding on his lips, those wing-like pecs spanning out in front of me that I crave to claim every inch of with my tongue.
Oh, holy heck, I’m just working myself into a frenzy rather than taking the edge off. I go to reach for my Kindle and cringe at the fact it’s all the way over by the door in my purse.
“No, no, no!” I give a quiet moan. My all-time favorite pastime is reading in the bath. Honestly, it’s the only time I can steal a little study-free fun in anymore.
I glance down to see my phone peeking out of my jeans and I snap it up and shoot a group text to Ava and Lucky.
I’ve infiltrated Fort Knox and am currently enjoying a nice, hot bath in the most beautiful restroom known to man. Be jealous. I hit Send. I may not be out on a hot date with the love of my life like they are, but I’ll be damned if I’m keeping myself out of the hot date mix.
Ava texts back. Are you alone in the bath?
I make a face. Would I be texting you witches if I had company? Not only am I alone, but my Kindle is out of reach. All dirty books are officially off-limits. How the heck is a girl supposed to have fun around here?
Open the app? Lucky doesn’t miss a beat. On second thought, put the phone down and Jill off. That should make you feel better. Then when you’re done with that, find Knox, pull out his man sword, and tell him you’d like to apply a little lip-gloss. You know you want to!
It takes a few seconds for me to decode the graphic verbiage Lucky has set before me. Crap! I toss my phone back onto my jeans and sink into the tub a little. As if. I’m not big on that whole Jilling off thing. I mean, wasn’t that the point of having a serious relationship? Even if it was one-sided. Bastard.
I shoo all thoughts of Justin out of my mind and in pops Knox without warning. My hand glides over my thigh like a reflex, and I can practically see Sylvia waving it in like an airline traffic controller. Damn pervert. But it’s Knox who has my full attention. That muscular chest of his, the definition is mindboggling, really. My hand slips between my legs and I don’t stop it. He almost looks as if he belongs in one of those fitness magazines with all the oiled up, tan beefcakes that strut the catwalk flexing and straining their neck muscles trying to impress the masses.
My fingers find a home over that swollen part of me that’s ready to detonate, and I follow the friendly advice that Lucky gave. Much to Sylvia’s delight, I Jill off, all the while envisioning my limbs wrapped around a very naked Knox Toberman. I see his face behind my lids, and just like that, I tremble to a body-jolting conclusion. Sylvia and I exchange a hearty high five for something that was long in coming—namely me.
Slowly, I blink to life once I catch my breath and assess the sad state of my being. Not only did I show up with a suitcase, but I barreled right into his bathroom and gifted myself an orgasm. God, I’m some sort of perverted barbarian. I’ve gone from revenge-filled ex-girlfriend of one boy—to a masturbating stalker of another one in a single summer.
I sink under the water line a moment just as Knox gives a brisk knock over the door. “Pizza’s done!”
Great. I reemerge and hook my toe over the drain stop in haste. How many more ways can I possibly humiliate myself tonight?
“I’ve got a T-shirt you can borrow,” he shouts. “You know, keep yourself fresh.”
I roll my eyes. “Sounds good!” That is, if you want the Pointer Sisters staring at you all night. The only possible way I can keep things fresh is to eschew everything else I’ve got.
A thought comes to me. I think I’ve just discovered how to one-up myself in the humiliation department, and shockingly, every last part of me says go for it.
“I’ll be right there!” I shout with glee as I get out of the warm tub only to meet with the brisk cool breeze. I tiptoe across the bathroom floor in haste, and without giving it a second rational, perhaps much-needed thought, I swing the door wide open.
Knox drops his gaze up and down my body like an elevator stuck on a loop.
That conversation I had with Laney comes back to me like a slap in the face.
What the hell am I doing? This isn’t me. I don’t ambush men by moving into their rental houses, Jilling off in their bathtubs, and demanding they see me naked. What’s next for God’s sake? Falling down and applying a little lipstick?
Just like that, I wake from my stupor and one hand reflexively covers my boobs while the other claps over the Amazon rainforest I’m sporting below. As if to add insult to humiliating injury, I’ve actually exposed him to the fact I have a proficient amount of bush that has never been whacked. I’m pretty sure girls these days are supposed to look suspiciously hairless, and here I’m blatantly showing off the fact I’ve hit puberty.
Fish comes up and wraps himself around Knox’s leg before circling back and gawking up at me. His eyes grow large and his little cat jaw falls open.
Great. Not only have I horrified Knox, I’ve also shocked the hell out of his poor little cat.
“Here’s the shirt.” Knox holds it out and I snatch it before doing an awkward dance and slamming the door shut between us.
Kill me.
Knox
Naked.
Harper Shelton just stopped my beating heart. She has for several reasons as of late with that kiss, her warm laugh, her obsession with pie that rivals my own—but that body I was just exposed to has sent my adrenaline skyrocketing, my balls aching, my dick anxious to have her. The obvious fact I’m left to contend with is that I am in trouble around this girl.
I head into the living room where the pizza waits and I eye that suitcase sitting in the corner. I wasn’t buying that whole laundromat song and dance, so I did the only thing I could think of and texted Lawson earlier to see what the deal was. He didn’t know. But what he did know, and was very much amused by, was the fact Lucky just told him Harper was having a little fun in my bathtub without me. I’ve never felt so turned on by a woman in all my life. It took more natural restraint than I had not to break down that door and join her.
Harper pads over in bare feet, her skin glowing like a fresh summer tan, hair slicked back, face fresh scrubbed, and my heart skips right out of my throat. Holy hell, here we go. She’s opted for just the T-shirt. I can see the outline
of her tits underneath it, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s opted out of the panties too. Damn, she’s beautiful. My body starts to shake as if demanding to have her. I have to. I’m hoping she feels the same. But what the hell is happening between us? In an effort to avoid the classic rebound, did we just jump in with both feet without realizing it?
“I guess you got an eye full.” Her gaze hooks to mine and the room picks up its own heartbeat around us. She is something to look at with those eyes, with that hot as fuck mouth. She makes her way to the sofa and I land next to her with the pizza between us.
I give a wistful shake of the head. “That body alone is revenge enough.” Not sure what to say to relieve the tension between us. “Has he called?” I hadn’t planned on bringing up her ex, but unless we plan to further explore her naked body, it’s probably time we get down to brass tacks.
“Nope.” She snaps a picture of the two of us with a slice of pizza next to her open-mouthed smile. She taps something out on her phone before showing me.
When your boyfriend makes you a truffle pizza because he knows you love it! #foreplay #doesntgetbetter #truelove
A dull laugh escapes me. “It’s perfect.”
She hits all of her social media sites with it. “You know what else is perfect? The fact the river rat you dated is now following me on Instagram. She’s so blonde she probably doesn’t realize I’m privy to that info, but nonetheless, I’m hoping to ruin her night in any way possible.”
“I do what I can to help.” A thought comes to me as we indulge in the truffle cheesy goodness. “You know, a year ago, I would have never imagined that I would be deliberately trying to make her feel bad.”
Revenge Kisses (3:AM Kisses Book 14) Page 11