I grinned. “That’s a little better.”
“It’s only a little better? I’m down on my knees here, woman.”
I shrugged and bit back my smile.
Two seconds later, my ass was in his hands and my body was firmly tossed over his shoulder. “Holy hell! Reed!”
Like a man on a mission, he strode through the kitchen, into the living room, until he reached his bedroom—that’s the moment I stopped shouting and simply let him lead. Far be it for me to put the kibosh on any mission that ended in the bedroom.
I giggled when my back hit the mattress and Reed climbed over my body, holding my arms down with his hands. His teasing smile and shining blue eyes were playful but calculating, and instantly, I knew it spelled trouble.
Silently, I hoped and prayed the trouble included clothes removal.
And sex. Lots and lots of Reed and Lola sex.
I did my best impression of a wiggle worm, but it was of no use—and who was I kidding? I didn’t have any real complaints about our current position. But, eventually, no acting was needed, his fingers finding their way into the most ticklish spots near my neck, rib cage, and belly. My body cued up like a rocket waiting for launch.
“Stop it!” I shouted through a fit of giggles.
“Just a little better?” he questioned and continued his assault.
I wriggled and fought and even bit my teeth into his left bicep, but he didn’t flinch. “Oh. My. God. I’m going to pee all over your bed if you keep this up!”
He paused, smirking down at me, while my chest heaved up and down as I tried to catch my breath.
“I’ll ask one more time… Just a little better?”
A sarcastic response flirted with the seam of my lips, but as his fingers started to inch back to my ribs, all thoughts of lashing him with the edge of my tongue receded—I knew I couldn’t handle another second. “A lot better! A lot better! You’re amazing! Oh my God, you’re so amazing!” My voice echoed off the walls of his bedroom, and he smiled like the devil.
“Aw, thanks, LoLo. I think you’re pretty great, too.” He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth and released my arms.
Finally free from all physical and emotional restraint, I shouted, “You’re such a bastard,” and slapped him firmly on the chest.
He just laughed and hopped off the bed. “Get your ass out of bed, lazybones. Let’s eat before our food gets cold,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out toward the kitchen.
Disappointment pooled in the center of my pursed lips.
Who cared about cold food? That’s what a fucking microwave was for. All that foreplay in the form of horseplay had primed my appetite—and the hankering wasn’t for Italian. The menu in my mind featured a rare delicacy that was Reed, preferably naked and inside me.
As I lay there, sprawled out over his sheets alone, I turned onto my belly and buried my face into his pillow and inhaled. Hints of his body wash and a scent that was only him hit my nostrils and I moaned.
Good God, he made me crazy.
You totally love him.
I totally did, and more than that, I even smiled at the thought.
Somehow, Reed had inserted himself into my life, and I had fallen—hard. I was in love with his existential brilliance and the way he made me want to be a better version of me. I loved that while he challenged me, he also supported me and encouraged me. And I loved his surprises and his playfulness and the way he could always make me laugh.
I even loved his stupid lies and his beautiful truths and his kind soul.
But mostly, I loved him.
I was in love with Reed, and I was ready for him to be a constant in my life. My human version of Delilah. My person. My best friend and my lover. The only person I wanted to share everything with—my mind, my soul, and my heart.
I smiled, and like a lovesick weirdo, I took one last inhale from his pillow.
Yeah. I totally loved him.
Maybe you should tell him…
Jesus. My brain needed to slow its roll.
“Come on, LoLo!” His voice echoed down the hall and into his room. “Better hurry up before I start digging into your garlic bread.”
I hopped off the bed and, ironically, silently thanked Reed for the diversion.
Yeah, just focus on the garlic bread and worry about that whole telling Reed you love him thing later…
Belly full and after-meal sleepy eyes on display, I sighed in contentment and propped my legs on Reed’s lap.
I’d made myself comfortable sprawled out on his sectional while he flipped through the channels in search of something interesting to watch, and it felt like the napping portion of the evening was set to commence.
We had consumed—more like, inhaled—the Italian takeout while making random chitchat about inconsequential things like the weather, a new Mexican restaurant that had just opened downtown, and which parks gave the best view of the city, but there hadn’t been much else.