Page 68 of Rivals
I lift my head, leaning into the kiss. My hands grip her hips and squeeze her thin body. She rolls her hips against me, and I slide my hands under her giant hoodie, skating my fingertips over her smooth skin. She whimpers into my mouth as she paints her sadness against my tongue. I drink her in, taking every bit of sorrow she gives me.
Her fingers pull at the hem of my shirt, and I sit up to let her take it, and her hoodie goes next. The messy bun on her head loosens, and the strands fly around her face. I lay back with her, and she moans into my mouth. Her hands slide over my abdomen while mine reach up to squeeze her chest.
I tweak her nipple, then slide my hand between her legs beneath her leggings, and she presses down on my hand. I tease her, sliding them around the edges of her underwear. She swivels her hips to get my fingers to go where she wants, but I keep moving them right before she can. Then I pull my hand away and leave it on her hip. She groans, frustrated, and opens her eyes.
“This is where this ends, Revna. You’re high.” She purses her lips and rolls her hips against me again, dragging a groan from me. “Revna,” I grumble.
She grins down at me. “I am of sound mind, Lachlan McKay,” she says in a terrible Scottish accent.
“You aren’t now, but I’m sure you will be in about two hours.” She grumbles in protest, and I grab my shirt on the floor next to the bed to put it on her. She fits her arms through it and lays across my chest.
“Italy is going to change everything, Revna. It will be a catalyst.”
She yawns and rubs her cheek against my naked chest. “And that’s what scares me.” I’m not sure I heard it right, but her breathing turns deep, and I realize she passed out on me. How could winning this next round be scary? I mean, other than the exposure part of it, it’s our way to the next level. I don’t know what she’s so scared of or what’s bothering her so much. But I will find out. If I am anything, I am determined.
***
Revna’s alarm goes off, and she vaults out of bed. We slept wrapped around each other, and it felt good to sleep the whole night. I feel like a new man. “Crap, I’m late.”
She runs around her room, pulling my shirt off and throwing it at me. I look at her while she’s getting her uniform and see another one of my shirts on her floor. “Did you steal one of my shirts?” She glances at me and finishes buttoning up her uniform.
“Oh, yeah, because you don’t have six, just like it.” I look at the shirt again and decide she can keep it. Maybe I’ll steal something of hers. I look around and see an old Def Leppard t-shirt I’ve seen her wear. It’s too big for her, so I grab it and pull it over my head. She frowns and finishes getting her socks on before rushing into her bathroom to brush her teeth. I watch her pull her hair up into a high pony, long enough to wrap around my fist.
“I’ll walk you.”
“Suit yourself,” she says, grabbing her bag and hightailing it out the door.
I follow Revna to work, and I can’t tell if she’s in a good or a bad mood. I’m afraid to ask, but it’s killing me.
I grab the door for her, and she hurries to the back. Betty grins at me and gestures to the bar for me to sit. She’s already pouring me a cup of coffee. I’m pretty sure she’s wearing Chanel No. 5 as it wafts into my nose. “Did you figure out why she’s been so…cranky?”
I shake my head. “She told me about her past, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on.”
She frowns and nods her head. Revna bursts from the back door and shoots a glare at Betty. I just watch her as she pours herself a cup of coffee and takes a sip. I hope she didn’t toss back another pill. I would never rat her out, but it would prove that this is becoming an even bigger problem than I thought it was.
“Why are you still here?” she asks. I shrug and level her with a stare.
“I was hungry, and I like the breakfast here.” Her lips purse into that tasty pout I’ve come to love. I almost stand up to pull her over the small bar that stands between us.
“Fine.”
I nod, and she goes to help a man in a suit who just walked in. I ordered my breakfast with Betty and decided not to stay for her whole shift. I don’t have my appointments until later this afternoon, but last night was overwhelming for both of us. I’m doing my best not to smother her, so maybe some space will be what Revna needs to understand that she can trust me. Sure, I’ve done some things that aren’t probably moral or good, but I did them for our benefit. Plus, she’s too stubborn to see that what we have is a really good thing. I won’t let her be the one to ruin it. I just won’t.
Chapter 43
Revna
Lachlanwalkedoutthedoor, and I felt like I could breathe a little easier. I wanted to take OBA, but I knew he would know and I didn’t want the judgey stare. I can’t take that. He was so vulnerable with me. For once, it felt nice not to feel like I was talking to a solid wall. But I guess I could say the same for myself.
I know he asked me a valid question, and I know that I should probably stop popping pills so I can deal with life. I’m not hurting anyone, and I don’t actually want to deal with life, so my next best alternative is this.
Lachlan and I have to bust our butts to get this money together in time. The deal we made makes me nervous. Even when I get the best tips on my good days, I don’t think I will come up with a third of what we need. I think he told me it was at least fifteen hundred dollars to book tickets. That’s half of my rent. Maybe I should get another job. It would keep me busy, but it won’t leave any time for us to brainstorm. But sacrifices have to be made, right?
Betty keeps sending me weird looks. I know it’s for my attitude, but I don’t care. She won’t fire me. She needs me. “Your boy walks you to work, yet still you act like you’ve got a stick up your butt, and you’re very uncomfortable.”
“I mean, wouldn’t you be with a stick up your butt?” I ask her.
She gives me a look. “I wouldn’t be if I had that Scottish eye candy walking me to work.” I roll my eyes. Yes, he’s hot, but I don’t know what we are and I don’t have the bandwidth to have adefine the relationshipkind of discussion. Plus, I am not high enough for this conversation right now.
