by Ember Leigh
“Do you like that?”
Cobra snorted. “Sure. Kinda looks like a dick.”
She swatted his arm, a flush staining her cheek. “You should have a favorite flower.”
He slowed to a stop in front of a sloping hill of foliage behind tightly trimmed bushes lining the walkway. People flowed around them, and for a moment he was jaggedly aware that they were the only two who had stopped to smell the roses.
Patrons with huge shopping bags dangling from arms barely spared them a glance as they filed past. This shopping center was known for its huge selection of name-brand shopping. Gen hadn’t even glanced at the shops—like she existed on a different plane from the materialism.
Cobra drew a slow breath, surveying the array of colors. Hell, this was the first time he’d even looked at flowers.
“I like that one.” He yanked his hand from his pocket to point at the plant. It looked like a slug bursting from the ground. Weird and cool at the same time. Gen followed his gaze, pushing up onto tiptoes to see.
“Mmm. That’s a pitcher plant.” Her grin held a secret, but he couldn’t crack it. “Also known as a Cobra Lily.”
He snorted. “Seriously?”
“Looks like a striking cobra.” She tutted. “Just like you.”
“I don’t strike all the time,” he said, her words still cycling through him, honey warm and provocative. “Only when it’s right.”
She nibbled on her plump lower lip, looking up at him as if she wanted to ask him something. Her heart-shaped faced begged him to touch it. Maybe this was the time to go for an extra item on her list.
He cupped the side of her face without thinking, without even deciding to. She inhaled sharply, and the world around them puckered to a distant murmur. The hundreds of people who a moment ago he’d felt all around them, like the warning jab of a knife blade, faded into a neutral obscurity. Gen was the only thing that mattered.
“Red,” he began.
Her throat bobbed, and her wild gaze searched his face. His fingertips burned on her skin.
“Wh…” she began, but said nothing more.
“Can I kiss you?” Normally he wouldn’t ask. Normally he’d just do it. But this flower was different. This flower was delicate.
She stumbled backward suddenly, jolting onto a bench. A laugh escaped him. She wasn’t hurt, only flustered. She popped to her feet a second later, grabbing his hand, placing it right back where it had been.
“I didn’t mean to ruin that,” she said quietly, so quietly he almost didn’t hear. “But I couldn’t believe you said that.”
“Yeah?” He trailed the pad of his thumb over her jawline, loving the angle, her bone structure, the way her breath came out in ragged gasps when his thumb neared her lips. Stopping to smell the roses meant he could stop and enjoy these details, when normally he’d never notice. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the second I laid eyes on you.”
Her mouth parted. “That is the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
Her raw response had him hard as a rock. He glanced around to assess their surroundings. Everyone passed by without even noticing them. Just two lovebirds necking by the fountain. He ground his jaw as he searched her face, feeling the fog of arousal descend, thick and choking. He’d imagined what it might feel like to kiss her, but this nearness was more explosive and satisfying than he’d been able to fathom.
Cobra ran his thumb over the line of her bottom lip. She wilted slightly. Her breath came out tremulous.
“Please, Cobra,” she said. His cock twitched. Begging sounded good from her lips.
“Mmm.” He brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth. This teasing was killing him, but he couldn’t stop. Her hand squeezed around his bicep, as if she might drift away if she didn’t hold on. “I like it when you say my name.”
She tilted her head toward him, and their lips brushed. He snaked his arm around her waist, bringing her crashing against him. His cock pulsed in his pants. Maybe she could feel it by now. Maybe she’d get the idea that she drove him crazy in a way that didn’t even make sense to him.
“Cobra,” she breathed again.
And then he lowered his mouth to hers, claiming a kiss that sparked on his lips. She went gooey in his grip, tilted up, and opened to him, as if all he had to do was say the word and she’d be his devotee forever.
But Cobra didn’t deal in forever.
When the kiss broke, he watched her hungrily. For a sign. For a response. For permission to move a hundred steps forward as his aching cock demanded.
“Was that your first kiss?” He resumed his lazy strokes over her jawline.
She jerked her head no. “But that was my first kiss that made my insides feel like that.”
Chapter 11
“Like what?” Cobra skated kisses up and down along the side of her face. Her knees turned to Jell-O, and he steadied her by the sides of her arms. The heat of him seared through her. He was like the steadiest rock, but also the most illicit source of pleasure she’d ever experienced. Her entire body buzzed with awareness, and she could feel her clit begging for even the slightest glance from him.
She was in trouble.
“Like a volcano went off.” Her vision was hazy. She couldn’t see through the arousal. “Or maybe my blood is the lava. I don’t know.”
Cobra’s throaty chuckle sent her wobbling again. He cinched his arms around her waist. The tips of their noses brushed.
“That’s a good thing.”
It was. It was too good, though. The first kiss she’d ever had was a stolen kiss under the bleachers of the community football field eight years ago, when she was sixteen, from one of the other curious members of her religious community. It hadn’t gone further than that, though. They’d both been too afraid of what might happen if their parents found out.
Cobra’s charcoal gaze searched her face, and then he dipped his face toward hers for more. Their lips connected softly. She sighed inadvertently. It was too much to contain. His tongue surged forward, pressing at her lips. She jerked backward, surprise rippling through her.
A coy grin waited for her. “Too much?”
She dug her fingernails into his arms. He was steel and heat beneath her, a pressure she hadn’t counted on reassuring her. Blinking rapidly, she finally took stock of their surroundings. They were in the middle of an outdoor shopping mall. She was being ridiculous.
“Maybe we should cool it,” she said, her voice sounding weak. “There are so many people here.”
His jaw flexed, and he didn’t back off. She was grateful for it. Anything to keep him this close. Even if her rational mind counseled the opposite.
“Let’s go back to your place, then.”
His words were loaded with sin. She squeezed her eyes shut. That’s exactly what she wanted to do, too.
“I don’t think my roommate would let you through the door,” Gen said with a small laugh.
“I can sweet talk my way past her,” he breathed into her ear. She swallowed a knot of desire. Every inch of her body trembled with want.
And maybe that should be a warning to her. This was what she wanted…but she needed to be level headed about it. She needed to be smart.
She shifted against him, fishing her phone out of her pocket. After eight. With goodbyes and traffic, she’d make it home around nine. Her curfew. Her brakes on this crazy ride.
“I think I should go home alone today,” she whispered, sad to say the words. “I don’t want to…rush this.”
Cobra’s fingers bit into the sides of her hips, and she wilted again. She might not survive the completion of her list with him. She’d probably pass out the second he saw her naked. Forget foreplay or orgasms.
She should find someone less sexy. Less eager. Less explosively hot.
“I won’t rush it unless that’s how you want it.” His breath came out hot against her chin.
She shook her head, looking up to the heavens. Like God might send an angel to help her stay a
bove water with this one. “Why is everything you say so hot?”
A grin stretched across his face. “I guess you got lucky with me.”
She drew a cleansing breath, flattening her palm against his chest. She watched him for a reaction. It was like she could put her hands anywhere and he wouldn’t mind. Lord, that was dangerous. More than that…it would be fun.
“Listen, I think we should, like…make some rules or something,” she blurted. She stepped away from him, hoping the distance might bring her clarity. “I know you’re just helping me out.”
Cobra stuffed his fists into his pockets, that jaw flexing. There was a bulge in his pants, but maybe it had been there before. She hadn’t thought to check. To compare the mound of his crotch in a before and after. What did a real male penis even look like when it was up? She only had flashes of nudity from that terrible softcore porn she’d watched and eerie medical diagrams found on Internet searches to reference.
“Okay. That’s fair.”
“So, I guess the first rule is…I make the rules.”
His smile was pure cockiness. It sent heat racing through her again. “Okay.”
Her mind raced as she struggled to think of the things that had made sense to her last night while envisioning this very date. “And maybe I don’t want you to help me with everything.”
“Well, some of it I can’t help you with,” he said.
“Right. So it’s my discretion.” She gnawed at the inside of her lip, looking him up and down.
“But some of them I might not want to help you with,” he added. His eyes were shadowy as he met her gaze. “So, I don’t have to do the ones I don’t want to, either.”
“Mutual agreement, then.”
“We should make a cut-off date, too,” Cobra said. “That makes things easier.”
“Does it?”
“Yeah.” He stiffened as a guy with spiky blond hair sauntered by. The blond’s eyes were on Gen, but his interest dissipated once he caught sight of Cobra.
The male world had a whole different language. One she couldn’t hear, couldn’t understand. It was practically sonar.
Gen’s heart raced. A cut-off date seemed wise. But how long was too long? “Let me think about that.”
“Fine.” Cobra squinted out over the gardens behind them. In the distance, the fountain had come to life, lit up in neon pinks and purples. The water shot out in time to the music, a version of Fur Elise.
“Well, I guess that settles it.” Gen felt for her car keys in her back pocket. Preparing her escape. Ready to go back to her apartment and relive every second of these steamy kisses. The sexy words. “Strangest arrangement ever.”
“Nah. Sounds like two smart people who know what they want.”
“And what do you want out of this?”
“Duh, Gen.” He leaned in close again, his rough hand scraping against the side of her face. “You.”
Butterflies swarmed her belly as he pressed his lips against hers. He drew out a long, sloppy kiss, one that left her stumbling forward when he pulled away. She drew a ragged breath.
His cocky smirk was the last thing she saw before he sauntered away. “See you at work, Red.”
Cheeks ablaze, Gen basically ran to her car. There was so much to process. But for now, she wanted to hang in the blissful aftermath of those upending kisses. Before she squashed it with worry, with second-guessing, with doubts.
She was a brave woman who went after what she wanted.
Gen hummed along to the radio the whole way home, the perma-grin unshakeable. Dusk was just about to steal the last ochre rays from the horizon as she stepped into her apartment. Sophie was on the couch, reading a book with a highlighter in one hand. An eyebrow arched as Gen stepped in.
“You’re actually back before nine.” She almost sounded disappointed.
“Of course. I believed you when you said you’d call the cops on me.”
“It was a joke, but I’ll be sure to be clearer next time. Obviously, it went well. You’re smiling like you won the lottery.”
Gen sighed, sinking into the armchair by the couch. “You know I don’t gamble. But you know what? I feel like I did. Because I did win the lottery. Instead of money, I got to taste life.”
A smile crept across Sophie’s face. “So what was your favorite flavor from today’s sampling of life?”
Gen splayed back on the chair, tossing her hand back dramatically. “The fact that every single thing he utters is sexy. Can that be a flavor? If it is, I am only ordering this flavor from now on.”
Sophie snorted. “You’re in love.”
“Am I?” Gen furrowed her brows. “I’m pretty sure I’m not.”
“I’m kidding, hon. So, you gonna keep seeing this guy or what?”
“Uh, yeah. He’s helping me with the list. We made ground rules and everything.”
Sophie nodded. “Smart move. Like signing a prenup.”
“What’s a prenup?”
“Like a contract people draw up before they get married.” Sophie snapped her book shut, setting it aside. “Prenuptial agreement. To protect them when things go awry.”
Gen nibbled on her lip. She’d wanted the rules to protect herself, as a small fish in the infinite pond of LA. But why did Cobra want to protect himself? What did he have to worry about?
“He said we should put a time limit on it. What do you think about that?”
Sophie shook the foot dangling over the arm rest, squinting at the wall as she thought. “I think that makes sense.”
“But how does a time limit help anything?”
“It helps you two not fall in love.”
Sophie’s words settled like dead weight. “Oh. That’s not even a possibility. That’s not why I’m doing this.”
“Well…it could happen. I mean, once you have sex with him, you’re gonna think you’re in love.”
Gen picked at the hem of her shorts. “Who says we’re having sex?”
Sophie’s laugh tinkled through the living room. “Oh, come on, Gen. That’s what this is about. For him, at least.”
Heat shivered through her. She felt like she should be upset about that, but she couldn’t be. Sex was an end goal. “And for me, too.”
“Exactly. Making a time limit is a nice way to wrap things up. Makes things less complicated.”
“What should I say then?” Gen threw her hands up in the air. “A year?”
“Oh, come on! A year? You might as well ask him to marry you now.” Sophie snorted. “Think shorter term. How long are you trying to stay in LA?”
Gen squeezed the arm rests. It was harder to organize a hookup than she’d expected. When she’d imagined last year what it might be like to find a lover, it had involved a quick verbal agreement and maybe a handshake. Yet another relic of her naïve former self.
“At least a few months. If all goes well, Holt Body Fitness will be the launch pad for my trip to Europe. But if I can’t get it together…I could be here indefinitely. Or maybe even go back home early.”
Sophie nodded. “There you go. The end date can be when you want to go abroad.”
Gen drifted through the apartment as if she were full of helium, both Cobra’s and Sophie’s words rattling around inside her. There were so many things she had to do still, but traveling abroad was one of the highest items on her list.
She’d spent her girlhood wondering about the rest of the world. In her homeschooling, she’d learned about America’s neighbors on the globe, but only as far as being able to identify continents on a map. Sure, Greece and Denmark existed, but what were those places like? What did they eat? Did they have bunkers, too? These questions had plagued her childhood.
Answers finally began trickling in in the form of daytime travel programs that held her captive during her rehabilitation in the hospital. Anthony Bourdain had led her to choppy, stinky coves in Asia, while Rick Steves had murmured appreciatively about the rolling hills of Italy.
The promise of ancient ruins and quie
t, marbled museums held an allure she couldn’t shake. Cobblestone streets leading to adventures; lazy boat rides down rivers with names she couldn’t pronounce. Traveling alone—as a woman—was another mountain she had to conquer. The sooner she got abroad, the better.
Gen got ready for bed but dug out her flip phone before settling in. She tapped out a quick message to Cobra.
GEN: I’ve been thinking. About the time limit.
COBRA: Oh yeah?
GEN: Let’s say 3 months.
He didn’t reply for so long that she worried she’d misjudged. Three months seemed reasonable…to her. It seemed like enough time to get experience at Holt’s before moving on for even more experiences. Besides, it wasn’t like they could run through the list in a few days.
Cobra sent back a text that had three boxes in the body.
GEN: What do the boxes mean?
COBRA: They’re smiley faces. Emojis. Can’t you see them?
GEN: I have a flip phone, remember.
COBRA: Girl you need to upgrade. Put it on the list.
GEN: So what do you think?
COBRA: You’re mine for 3 months.
Gen smiled so hard her cheeks hurt. You’re mine. Such simple words that felt so good.
Chapter 12
Cobra grunted, sweat drizzling down his temples. Fifth round of push-ups. He glared up at Travis as he paced the front of the gym.
Working out had seemed like a good idea when Travis brought it up, but now he saw it for what it was: an ass-kicking. Just shy of punishment.
“One more round.” Travis barked orders in a way that grated on Cobra always, but even more while his biceps were shaking and body threatening collapse.
“Jesus,” Cobra managed to grunt as he dove into the killer final round. Travis smiled.
“You want to train, you need to be trained.”
Cobra’s heavy breathing rang in his ears as he counted down the last of his push-ups. At the last one, he collapsed to the ground.