Page 63 of Vipers & Roses

“Rae, there’s no way Lucy is screwing Lyons, besides they just got engaged,” he tells me, rubbing his tired eyes with the base of his hands.

“Really? But they’re our age, aren’t they? Nineteen or twenty? Jeezus, why ruin your life so young?” I sound so pessimistic, but I genuinely don’t get why some people rush marriage.

“Some guys just know the woman they want to spend the rest of their life with fairly soon after they meet them,” his voice strains a little as he speaks.

I turn my focus onto the man before me, whom I sympathize with since he sacrifices so much for training. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Not really,” he says honestly, handing me a pink rose that had fallen onto the ground.

I smile when I take it from his large hand. “Romance is not dead around these parts. Did I keep you awake?”

“You could say that,” he mumbles.

“Why?”

He shrugs his broad shoulders. “Life as a man.”

I snort in laughter. “What do you mean?”

Those baby blues scour the area to make sure we’re alone. “Go to bed hard and wake up hard and forbidden to touch the stunning woman next to me, who happens to be half naked. It’s like placing an Oreo in front of a four-year-old and telling them they’re not allowed to eat it.”

“That sounds like a hard life,” I mock, and he responds by wincing at my bad joke. “You know one thing I really like about you, Cormac?”

“Well, not my hard cock, since you won’t go near it. So…I have no idea,” he sounds like a grumpy old man, which makes me laugh.

“Your blunt honesty. Apart from when you and Blake strung me along for kicks. That part I didn’t appreciate,” I say, intending to rub it in for a while or use it as a weapon against them.

“We didn’t think it would get that far, or at least one of us would surrender. I guess Blake and I have the same taste in women,” he yawns again.

“I guess you do. Anyway, what are you doing now?” I ask, hoping to make his day and unsure how he will react to Blake and me screwing on the couch.

“Working on an assignment in the science library, but if you have a better offer, I’ll reconsider,” stating the quiet part out loud.

“You seem worn out, Cormac. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” I suggest genuinely open to giving the man some therapy.

His nostrils flare, and I’m sure dirty thoughts flood his mind as we speak. Thanks to Blake, I have a new sense of confidence when it comes to intimacy, but only with these two men. And maybe with Cormac’s dad. Jeezus, Cormac’s dad kissed me, and it was so good. I can’t think about that now.

“Well…” those blue eyes have a newborn sparkle to them as mischief claims his thoughts. “I wouldn’t mind a quickie.”

“Here?” I gasp. A liaison amongst the flowering plants wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but hey, there’s no time like the present.

“Yeah, why not?” He moves in closer, catching my waist with his hand.

“I was thinking more along the lines of a massage,” I smile, gazing up at his smooth, handsome face, waiting for him to crack a smile. He doesn’t smile much, but when he does, it’s a gift that lights up his face.

His eyebrows cock, becoming animated, lifting out of tiredness. “Yeah? A full body massage? I’m keen, but later. For now, I have something else on my mind.”

“And what would that be?” I play dumb, burying my nose in the pink rose he gave me. I'm curious to hear his suggestion, provided it doesn’t involve an action that will trigger me.

He answers my question by peppering kisses all over my neck and nibbling on my earlobe, making me giddy with desire. Again, instinctively, I pull away a little, only for Cormac to hold me tighter, and my heart slams against my ribcage as my breath hitches.

“I can’t,” I stress, placing my hands on his chest and pushing, but he’s a brick fence, and I make minimal impact. “Take it slow, Cormac. Or else I’ll scream.”

He backs away this time as I hunch over amid a panic attack, gasping for breath. My head feels like it’s about to explode, and the surrounding plants and humans walking by seem surreal, as if made of transparent smoke. The last few days have been more stressful than I realized, and I thought I was managing my anxiety well, but instead, I’d shoved it to the crevices of my mind only to come out with avenges another day.

If I die right now, at least I’m with nature.

“Rae, I didn’t think it was this bad,” Cormac sounds apologetic and steps towards me in an attempt to comfort me, but I show him my palm at arm’s length to keep him away.

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