Page 37 of Dopplebanger

“Do you think Horny’s had enough alone-time with his rainbow?” Gwen asked, those dimples flashing. “I thought you might want to grab him. Show off to my family what I won for you so they know I’m a good provider and all that jazz.”

“Well, if he’s not done yet, he’s lost his chance,” I said, grabbing the ridiculous stuffed creature. “Andof courseI want to show it off. Plus I need to cuddle with it tonight to help keep the monsters away.”

“Oh. I kinda hoped you’d be cuddling with me.” She batted her eyes and gave me a come hither look I desperately wanted to answer.

Desire rose, hot and fast, and if only it’d burn away the conflicted sensation that’d seized hold of my internal organs, that’d turn the day back to perfect. In spite of spending the last few hours alternating between how much I sucked and was a big,fat liar and telling myself to simply enjoying being with Gwen while it lasted, I’d still had an amazing day.

Not only was the girl beautiful, witty, and kind, she’d walked us by the Department of Justice building because she knew I’d love it.

See. She knows me.

“Evan?”

My stomach bottomed out, even as everything else in me tightened to the snapping point.Everything except my name.

It was a big fucking thing, one I wished wasn’t so important. Tucking the rainbow-humping unicorn under one arm, I hiked my duffel bag strap higher on the other and rounded the hood. “Yes, Guinevere?”

Her smile lit me up inside—at least I knew her full name now, and if she was going to beam at me like that when I said it, I was going to say it a lot more.

“I asked if you were ready to go inside,” she said. “I promise it’s less scary than the lighthouse. And if you’re that scared of sleeping on a floor that’s two stories high, we can set you up downst?—”

I lunged at her and she giggle-shrieked. I buried my face in her neck and rubbed my scruffy chin over her skin and she laughed some more. Then her fingers circled one of my arms and she turned her head so our mouths aligned.

Since I sucked at following through at things I shouldn’t be doing with Gwen, I captured her lips with mine, molding her to me as I plunged my tongue inside her hot, sweet mouth. I kept telling myself if I could sneak one more taste, I’d at least have that to hold on to, but all it did was make me want to take another taste.

And another.

Vaguely I registered her suitcase tipping over and hitting the sidewalk as her other hand came up and ran across my scalp. Idropped everything in my hands in favor of getting them on her ass. I boosted her into my arms, moaning at the way she fitted against me, her warm center now lined up perfectly with my arousal and sending it to a whole new level. There was way too much material in the way, and lust took the wheel, steering me toward throwing her in the backseat of the Camaro and stripping her bare.

A bright light clicked on to my left, followed by the clearing of a throat.

My attention automatically swung to where it’d come from, the words on the tip of my tongue in the “go the fuck away” range, but then I registered the redhaired woman and a burly man who looked like the type I’d need to defend for premeditated murder one day. Only I wouldn’t be around, because clearly his murderous plans were for me.

“Mom! Dad! Hey!” Gwen’s voice was higher pitched than usual, making us seem even guiltier than we were, which, considering the circumstance was pretty damn guilty. She unhooked her ankles and lowered herself to the ground in one torturous drag that did the opposite of helping my downstairs situation.

Despite my raging erection, I quickly bent and picked up my carnival prize, glad I’d grabbed it. One horny unicorn to help cover up one horny counterfeit boyfriend.

“Your dad is intense,” I whispered once her parents left us alone at the set dinner table. Gwen’s mom had greeted me warmly, and for once I’d channeled my brother to get out of trouble instead of into it. The kind of charm that came so naturally to him and got him off the hook seemed to work on Mrs. Cosgrave, butMr. Cosgrave, who I suspected moonlighted as a drill sergeant, wasn’t having it.

Apparently, once you caught some guy groping your daughter, no amount of charm helped. Or maybe it only made him more suspicious of me. The dude was larger and gruffer than I’d expected, and while I could see the similarities between Gwen and her mom, the only thing she and her dad had in common was a high level of intensity, only his was in intimidation instead of high-speed chatter.

“He’s always been overprotective of me,” Gwen whispered back.

Perfect. And even worse, heshouldbe protecting her from me.

“What I wish he would’ve done was prepare me by teaching me life skills instead of keeping me in a bubble and making it clear he didn’t believe I could do hard things.”

Her parents returned with the dinner Gwen’s mom claimed she needed help grabbing. I suspected she’d used the aside to tell her husband to be nice to me. Judging from the steely glare he aimed my way, he’d decided to ignore it.

The urge to squirm hit me, but I repressed it. Witness Stand 101: Nothing made you look as guilty as squirming around and not looking people in the eye. I bucked against my survival instincts and met his gaze. “Thanks again for having me in your home. It’s cool seeing where Gwen grew up.”

“Thanks for bringing Gwenie home,” her mom said, passing me the plate with the roast. “We haven’t seen her for what feels like forever.”

Gwen took the plate from me, nearly dumping it since she’d kept her attention on her mom. “It’s been a busy year.”

“It’s cool,” Mr. Cosgrave said with a snort. “Kids these days. Just concerned if things are fun.”

“Dad,” Gwen said between gritted teeth. “Evan is hardly a kid, and neither am I, for that matter.”

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