Page 29 of Hired By the Enemy
I use the leaf to try to sweep the spider off him, but all it doesis encourage the spider to explore, taking off toward Matthew’s neck.
Fuck. I don’t think Matthew will cope with hairy legs touching the bare flesh of his neck.
Even though I’m not that enthusiastic about large tropical spiders myself, I do what needs to be done.
I use my hands to cup the spider, trying not to cringe at the feel of the hairy legs, as I remove it from Matthew and drop it onto the path.
Matthew looks down at where the spider lies stunned on the path. Then he takes some rapid steps backward.
The spider recovers enough to scuttle off into the undergrowth, probably to find a good rat or bird to digest for its next meal.
Matthew’s eyes fly to my face. “You call that small? That’s not small!”
“My sense of proportion might be slightly skewed.”
“I’ll say it is.”
“When you’re as well-endowed as me, you can often get proportions wrong.”
Matthew stands there, seemingly speechless for a few seconds.
“Did you actually just compare your dick to a spider?” he asks finally.
“Both are amazing feats of nature,” I say.
Matthew snorts, and I’m pretty sure it’s in amusement.
Then all traces of amusement leave his face. He stares into the undergrowth where the spider has retreated to and shudders, then raises his gaze to me. “Thank you.”
I shrug, trying to stop my face from heating. “I was really doing it for the good of the group. I think your shrieks from when you found that Daddy Long Legs in your shoe still echo somewhere inside my brain.”
“Why am I not surprised things get lost in your brain?” he retorts.
Despite the insults flying between us, we’re still locked in each other’s gazes. There’s an emotion flickering in Matthew’s bright-blue eyes that I don’t quite understand.
One side of Matthew’s mouth quirks up, and now I’m staring at his lips, the same ones that kissed me last night.
I’ve had a lifetime of knowing Matthew, but how is it that today is the first time I’ve contemplated his lips?
How pink they are, how the bottom lip is slightly fuller than the top, like it’s specifically designed to be nibbled on.
I wrench my gaze away.
Luckily, everyone else in the group is too busy trying to get selfies in front of the waterfall to notice what just happened.
I pull out my phone and nod toward his colleagues. “We should get a photo of us.”
Matthew stares at me like I’m the brother of the spider who was just on his shoulder.
“Do you think I want to immortalize this moment?” he asks, but as he says the words, he takes a few steps toward me.
“It will look suspicious if we don’t. Come on, you need to get closer.”
“I think I might take my chances with the spider instead,” he mutters.
I try to repress my grin as I stretch out my arm. Matthew reluctantly tucks himself under my arm.
“I’ll take that for you if you want,” Paul says, wandering over to us.
