King Sized Beds and Happy Trails (Beds Series) (18 page)

“Hey, Ry?”

“Yeah?”

“You just beat me.”

Her hand slips under my shirt and she plays with the hair there. All the times she made fun of me for being excited that pubert
y showed up, I want to push out some wise comment about how she acts happy it’s there, too. I come up with a better idea, though.

Pulling her chin up, I give her another kiss
, soaking in the fact I can. I can lose control and be with her the way I’ve always wanted to.

My girl.

My Lexie.

My
best friend.

I’m happy here, too.

“Happy almost week anniversary, you guys!” Kaylee says, wrapping both me and Lex in a huge hug that chokes off my airway.

“Kaylee,” Lex croaks. I’d laugh but damn this girl is strong. “You don’t have to squeeze us to death every time you see us together.”

“It’s been six days since you made it official. It deserves celebrating.” She pulls back, and grabs onto Nate’s hand. I give him a look because he needs to talk to his girl
friend about her enthusiasm, but by the way he kisses her cheek and wraps his arms around her middle I know he won’t say a word.

Lex tugs on my
sleeve, pointing at the screen above the theater that says our movie starts in five. “Oh, Ry, we’re going to be late.”

She dips her hand into my back pocket and pinches, and I try to hide my reaction, but I can’t help the goofy-ass grin that forms across my mouth.

Nate spins Kaylee around so she can hop on his back. “Have fun with the chick flick, dude.” He smirks and runs off before I can beat him up. Kaylee agrees to any movie he wants ‘cause she knows if she gets bored, they’ll make out instead. I haven’t been to a movie with Lex since we got together, so I’m hoping I can try the same move once the lights go out.

Lex’s body presses against my side as she stands on her tiptoes to reach my ear. “I thought they’d never leave.”

I turn and press a kiss to the dimple I know is sitting in her cheek. “Come on, I’ll take you to this lameass movie.”

“I don’t want to watch the movie.”

My eyebrow goes up, and she kisses me on the mouth quick before I can even really kiss her back.

“Mom is at an AA meeting, and my room is so very empty.”

I smirk. “That is a problem. We should fix it.”

She wrinkles her nose in
that adorable as hell way then takes her spot on my back. For as much shit as I gave Nate for all the PDA, I think I get it. When I’m with Lex, I forget there are other people around.

“You know what?” she asks from my back.

“What?”

“I used to whine to Kaylee all the time about how when she’s with Nate they need to tone it down or get a room. But I think I get it now.” She leans over and kisses my cheek, and I laugh because damn, this girl is perfect for me.

We get to the Lincoln, and I set her on her feet, pinning her between myself and the car door. Swiping her hair from her face, I shake my head because I can’t believe she’s mine.

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I finger the ring on her pinky, then gently pull it off. She raises an eyebrow as I try to fit it on the finger
next
to her pinky, but it won’t go past the first knuckle.

“Damn it, I was trying to be romantic.”

“You’re not proposing to me, are you?”

She laughs, and I tickle her stomach as she jerks back.

“No, you goof. Just making sure you know that one day you’ll get a ring on that finger.”

“Ooh, I hope he’s hot.”

“He’s definitely that.”

“And good with his hands.”

“He’s a badass handyman.”

“And a college graduate.”

“Setting up a timeline, huh?” I slip the ring back on her pinky. “I’ll mark it in my calendar.”

“Make sure to tell him to spend more than a quarter.”

I’m about to reassure her that if and when that day ever comes, I’ll definitely be getting her something better than that ugly ring, but she twists the cheap plastic around with a smile and flicks her eyes to mine.

“On second thought, just resize this one. I’m sort of attached to it.”

I press my forehead against hers. “Then what should I get you instead?” Even though this whole conversation is hypothetical, so far in the future, I know whatever she asks for I’ll do it.

Her eyes get that sexy evil glint, and she moves her body flush against mine, making things ping and pop everywhere under my skin.

“What I want won’t fit on my finger,” she whispers, snaking her hands between my jacket and my shirt.

“I don’t care.” She can have whatever the hell she wants if she’s going to keep doing what she’s doing.

Her lips press against mine, and this time they stay long enough for me to weave my fingers through her hair and keep our mouths locked. We kiss in the parking lot till we’re both out of breath, and someone yells at us to get a room. We both laugh against each other’s mouths, because I know I didn’t think we’d be
that
couple, but we are and I don’t even care.

“So, what is it you want?” I ask once we’ve calmed down enough to talk. She yanks on the collar of my jacket to keep me close. I don’t think I’ll distance myself ever again.

She pecks my lips, still not saying anything.

I pinch her side. “Come on, you’re killing me.”

The evil glint goes back to her eyes, and I vow here and now to find ways to get her to look at me like that for the rest of my life.

“A king-sized bed.”

Now an exclusive look at book two in Ryan and Lexie’s story, coming Spring 2014

BEACH SIDE BEDS AND SANDY PATHS

I’m whipped.

I’m whipped and I don’t care. Because if being whipped means I get to spend every day after school with Lexie, then I’ll carry her bright pink purse that’s filled to the brim with nail polish on my dick if she asks. Luckily, I only have to carry it from the packed school hallway to her car—on my arm, not my junk.

“Are you sure you want to study at my house?” she pouts as we hop in. She always lets me drive, not sure why. Probably ’cause she knows I like to. “We went there yesterday.”

“I know.” I smirk, tickling the pads of her fingers as she wraps them around mine. “But Pop-pop is still sick.”

Even as I say it, my ears go up in flames and the heat beats through my face.

“You’re such a big fat liar.” Lex squeezes my hands and leans her head on my shoulder. “I’m going to get you to tell me one of these days.”

“Tell you what?” I ask, trying to pull off innocent, which has never worked for me.

“What you’ve been hiding from me. And why you’re being so weird.”

I chuckle, letting go of her hand so I can wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I can’t keep a secret from you if my life depended on it.”

“Well, you can,” she says, running a hand over my knee. “But it’s much better for the both of us when you don’t. You know, we could’ve avoided the entire Sean thing, and the…ahem…drinking thing, if you would’ve just plucked up your balls and told me how you felt in the first place.”

She’s got that two-dimpled smile on, even though I can’t see it. I tickle her side and she socks me in the upper thigh, making me jerk the wheel.

“Patience, you goof. I’ll tell you eventually. I just don’t want to talk about it right now, ’kay?”

Her lip juts out and I refuse to fall for the the puppy-dog face she uses against me all the damn time.

We pull up to her house—or I should say basement apartment—and she lets out a huge sigh. I know she doesn’t want to be here, but if she knew what was going on at my place, she’d pick recovering alcoholic over the shit I’m dealing with any day.

I grab her purse and her backpack, and she leads me straight to her room. Her mom’s not home yet, but her AA meeting ends in about an hour, so if she’s having a good day, she’ll be here soon.

Plopping down on the bed, she pulls out her Physics book while I take out History. She’s already taking notes, pencil flying across the paper. I’m still sitting here waiting to crack open the binding.

One hour is all I have, if I’m lucky. And I don’t want to spend it studying.

My hand reaches for hers, stopping her midsentence in her notes. I give her that smile I know she knows is the one that says, “
kiss me now, or I’ll make you.”

“Ry…” she grumbles. “We have finals
next week.
”

“Uh huh,” I say, kissing the inside of her wrist.

“So, you know I have to study.”

“
MmmHmm.” I work my way up her arm, pausing at the crook of her elbow.

“Then stop being so distracting!” She whips from my grasp and shields her face with her hair.

As if that’ll stop me.

“I’m not doing anything.” I chuckle as I smooth her long brown hair back to kiss behind her ear.

She growls when my lips touch her skin, and I’m smiling, knowing I’m pissing her off and driving her crazy all at once.

Throwing her pencil in her book, she turns her face to mine, big, golden brown eyes giving me the “you’re in trouble, but not really” look.

Then as I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her down to the pillows, she lets out a defeated sigh.

“I hate you sometimes.”

I grin. “I love you, too.”

My lips press to hers for the first of what I know will be a million kisses. Once we start, we usually don’t stop for a while. I hear the books get kicked to the floor as her leg hitches up around my hip. Lex’s mouth and her body are so addicting. How can she not expect me to want her every moment I’m with her?

Though, I do feel a tiny bit guilty, because I’m not in the best of places mentally at the moment. She’s the only one who makes me feel better. She always has been. And kissing her like this makes all the shit go away. I don’t want it to seem like I’m using her to escape, even though it may be a little true.

I kiss her like this because I love her. That is
all
the way true.

She breaks from my lips to catch her breath, and I travel down her neck. Her chest is flushed and moving up and down with each hitched breath she lets out, and I can’t control what my hands do when she turns me on like this.

When I undo the button on her jeans, she snaps her fingers around my wrist.

“Sorry,” I pant in her face. Because I am. Damn, I gotta cool it.

She gives me that gorgeous two-dimpled smile. “It’s not that.” Her laugh shakes her body as she loosens her grip on my wrist. “I thought I heard someone knocking.”

I sit straight up, ready to bolt under the bed. “Did you?”

She laughs again, yanking me down next to her. “No. I think it was my heart or something.”

“Oh.” Because that’s the genius word that pops out. I should say, “Or mine” or something equally as good as that, but she shuts my mouth with more kisses.

I give myself credit for going right back to her pants. Because I know that moment was ruined, but I can’t help it. I want to touch and feel more of her, be a part of her, and I’m turned on so much I don’t think I really know what I’m doing.

The zipper goes down and her hand is only resting on my forearm, not stopping me. And her lips are working miracles on mine.

When my hand goes under her panties, her breath catches and her fingers grasp my arm, but they don’t push me away, they pull me closer.

I’ve been with Lex for four months. Our relationship stumbled from best friends to lovers so fast I’m not sure if we knew how to handle the transition. There seemed to still be rules to follow, steps to take even though we know each other inside out. But for a while, it was “Am I okay to touch you here?” or “Hell! I’m kissing my best friend!” and we never got into all the physical stuff besides kissing—okay, heavy kissing—and holding hands, and yeah, I’ve grabbed those stunning boobs of hers probably more times than I’ve attended Auto Shop this year.

But this…is new for us.

“Ryan,” she breathes against my lips. I can’t even kiss her because my own breathing is too hard and fast to close my mouth for a second. She says my name again, and I tuck against the crook of her neck, placing kisses when I can, but concentrating more on her. How she’s breathing, how she’s moving against my hand, how hot her body feels against mine. How
good
it feels against mine.

We fit together. I’ve always known that—hoped for it—and having her like this seems like a major step. One I wasn’t sure we were ready to take, but I took it anyway.

That prick of guilt pops in my head again, about using her, but I shove it away as she breathes my name again.

Does she know how beautiful she is right now? How damn sexy?

This time, there is a knock on the door.

“Lex? You home?”

She shoves me off, my hand sliding out from her pants, and I land with a thud. With practiced skill, I roll into my spot under the bed—the one that has lines of clothes, shoes, and boxes in the shape of my body.

“Uh, yeah, Mom!” Lex shouts, and I hear the zipper go up and see her hand dip down for her Physics book. “Come in!”

Her door creaks as Ms. Boggs steps in. The smell of alcohol—the cleaning kind—filters through, even in my hiding spot under the bed.

“Just wanted to let you know, I’m picking up a late shift.”

“You sure you’re okay with that?” Lex’s voice sounds heavy still, but if her mom notices, she doesn’t say anything.

“Yes. My sponsor thought it’d be a good idea to keep busy.”

“Roger?”

“Um, yes. Roger.”

It’s quiet for a little bit, and I get shakier every breath I take. Lex and her mom are both in relationships the other doesn’t approve of. Her mom hasn’t exactly said that she has a thing for her sponsor, but by the way she says Roger’s name, I’m gonna agree with Lex on this one.

“Okay, well, don’t stay up.”

The door closes just as Lex says, “I never do.”

I pop my head out from under the bed, just as Lex pops hers out from on top. We both cock a smile at each other.

“You better get running. I can drive you home.”

“Nah, walking’s healthy.” And she can’t see who’s at my house.

She pouts. “Okay.” Then she puts her hands on either side of my head and does a kissing push up.

I wish I could stay here forever, as lame as that sounds it’s true. I don’t want to go home. It’d be Lex and me and no one else. No finals, no recovering alcoholic mother, no shit.

I wish we were back up at that ski lodge, and I had told her how I felt on day one. Not day six.

She pulls away, and I pack up my stuff. Before I climb out the window, I pull her in to give her another kiss.

“Hey,” she whispers at my back once I’m crouched on the ground outside her room. “Thank you for the distraction. I liked it.” She puts on her big smile, and her cheeks flush.

I smirk. “Me too.”

Hitching my backpack on my shoulder, I take off across her yard and get to the street without anyone seeing.

Each step feels like a giant knife digging deeper in my gut the closer I get to my house.

To him.

My brother.