Under Locke(95)

I yawned again. “It's not a good idea.” Once again I’m sure it didn’t sound anything like that out loud.



Dex grumbled, fingers wiggling at the bend of my hip and waist. “Quit bein' a prude and go to sleep, babe.”



If I'd been more awake I would have been offended by being called a prude. Though I kind of was.



I groaned. “Dex.”



“Baby, please. Just go back to sleep. That couch is fuckin’ uncomfortable.”



Dang it!



He made another grumbling noise. “I swear I’m not gonna try to feel you up or anythin', Ritz.“



That notice didn’t exactly make me feel any better. Of course he wouldn't. I was like his... pet dog or something.



“I can just sleep, I swear," he insisted in a yawn.



Eek. Score two for Dex on the not-making-Iris-feel-better scoreboard.



“Babe, c’mon. I promise.”



And it was a Tempurpedic, damn it.



I was a weak sucker. I knew that. Even though I made huffs and puffs as I shuffled back under the covers and rolled further away from Dex, I still didn’t think staying on the same mattress was a good idea. But I did it anyway.





Chapter Twenty-Two



Waking up next to Dex had to be the most awkward experience of my life.



More awkward than the time I'd walked in on yia-yia naked.



Because it wasn't like I opened my eyes facing the wall. I woke up on my belly. Normal, right?



With an elbow digging into my shoulder and a heavy leg thrown over one of mine—not so normal.



It wasn't like there was a boner pressed up against me or anything, but the bodily contact was enough. I straightened out as much as I could before trying to slide out from beneath the limbs pinning me down. I'd barely managed to scoot over about two inches before the leg over mine locked me down.



"What'cha doin'?" Dex's incredibly husky voice asked.



I froze. "Trying to get up."



The weight of his leg lessened as his heel slid up from my ankle to my knee. He had to be sleeping on his back, I figured. "Mmm," he grumbled. The elbow on my shoulder shifted off of me at the same time I heard him yawn. His foot shifted again, the sole coming to rest on the back of my knee before sliding down my calf. Holy moly, that was hot. "What are you wearin', honey?"



Aww crap.



"I'm not wearing pants," I told him, not moving an inch while his warm foot rubbed up my leg again.



All of a sudden, a cool breeze swept over my legs and I peeked over my shoulder to see Dex holding the sheet up, his head tipped down while he looked below it.



Wait a second...



I slapped the sheet down with my hand, half shrieking and for some unknown reason, half laughing. "What the hell are you doing?"



Of the ten different ways he could have answered, Dex chose to laugh. But it wasn't a regular laugh, it was the lightest, most genuine sound I'd ever heard from him. "Checkin' out that ass," he answered breezily.



"Jeez," I groaned, rolling onto my side to face away from him. My shirt didn't cover my upper arms at all, so as long as I kept my arm clamped down he wouldn't be able to see it. Which only meant that I needed to quit testing fate and get the heck out of the room. "That's inappropriate, Dex."



"Who says?" he answered from behind me. I could hear the sheets rustling with his movement.



My brother, I wanted to answer him but seriously? What had ever given me the idea that Dex would do something he didn't want to? Oh, please.



I sighed and sat up on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. My clothes were piled on the floor and I carefully slid my pants up my legs without standing up too much.



"You wanna shower before we get goin'?" Dex's voice carried over from the opposite side of the room.



I had no idea what he was doing. Knowing him, probably not getting dressed. I had a terrible feeling he slept in only his underwear. I'd barely survived seeing him in shorts back in Austin. Seeing him in his underwear now that I realized how I—unfortunately—felt for him? Disaster.



"Where are we going?" It was Sunday and the shop was closed.



"My niece's birthday party." It sounded like he'd opened the bathroom door. "I need to stop and get her somethin' or else I'll never hear the end of it."



Now that made me laugh. Dex Locke scared of his niece's wrath? The fact was, I hadn't met his family. I wouldn't know anyone besides him at the party, and just thinking about that made me anxious.



I leaned back to zip up the tab on my pants. "I can just stay here if you don't mind."



His huff was distorted by the distance. "I want you to go."



Crap.



The recommendation just kind of came out. "You sure you don't have anyone else that already knows your family?" The stupid redhead flashed through my brain. Ugh.