Page 111 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

Thank God. There was only so much I could fucking take before I broke.

“I can’t find anything, but at least they’re not aggressive.”But they do bite. Since they’d only do that if provoked, I decided to keep that little fact to myself.

“I don’t care! They’rehuge.Where the hell could it have gone?”

Nothing on the floor or walls either. “Could you’ve been dreaming?”

She shot me a dirty look. “No, I wasn’t dreaming. I just said I was awake. But there’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep now with that thing wanting to bury itself in my hair.”

“You can’t blame it.”

“What?”

“You can have my bed, Perry. I’ll sleep in here.”

She seemed to consider it for a moment then shook her head. “No, this bed looks too small for you.”

“Bigger than the couch.”

“If anything, I’ll take the couch. I’ll try hunting it down for a while yet, and if I can’t find it, I’ll go downstairs.”

“Maybe that’s where the spider went.”

She threw a pillow at me. “Shut up. You’re not helping. Now go to sleep. I’ll be fine.”

I laughed, leaving her room and going to mine. I didn’t bother getting undressed in case she needed something again. And I sure as hell wasn’t sleeping with her tits on my brain.

I heard shuffling around in her room for another fifteen minutes, and then she went downstairs. That lasted thirty seconds before coming back up. I expected to hear more pillow abuse, but instead, she stood in my doorway.

“Thanks. You have me all paranoid now.”

“I take it Wolfey’s still at large?”

“Yep.” She walked over and flopped down at the end of the bed sideways, hitting my calves. I moved up, propping myself against the headboard.

“Look on the bright side. At least it wasn’t a spider monkey. Then you’d be sleeping in your car. I’d never get you in the house again.”

She elbowed my leg and laughed. “I’m usually not afraid of spiders. I just don’t like them trying to crawl on me in bed. ” She rolled over on her side and faced me. “It doesn’t seem fair. You know more about me than I know about you. Tell me something.”

“What, the vomit story wasn’t enough?”

Her lips curved up. “Nope. How about listing some of your turnoffs?”

“Asshole fathers. Oh, and running out of my favorite crackers. Ihate that.”

I loved her smile. “Turn-ons?”

“It’s pretty basic. Family, loyalty, friendship.”You.

“Those are good ones.” She looked down, twisting the sheet around her fingers. “Can I see your tattoo?”

Her brown eyes glanced up at me, and I hesitated a moment before pulling the edge of my shirt to the top of my chest. The moon shining through provided enough light to give her a good enough look. She scooted closer, and I heard a tiny gasp. Her reaction made me suck in a breath as well. She was fucking killing me with her gaze.Tread carefully, my friend.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

Her hand lifted as if she wanted to touch it. I braced myself, suddenly feeling very, very weak. My body fuckingcravedthe contact. I needed it badly. Needed her.

With a low exhale, she dropped her hand and rolled back to face the ceiling. I lowered my shirt.

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