“What?” I reached up to touch it. “No, it doesn’t.”
“It does. Makes you easy to read.”
Shit. Hadn’t Gucci told me something like that before? I seriously needed to tape that fucker down before it gave away all my secrets.
“Solo?”
“Yeah?”
“Stop thinking about it and go to bed.”
“Damn. I told you—bossy, bossy.”
“Solo—”
“You sure you don’t need me to warm up your bed?”
“I’d rather you just go to sleep.”
“In your bed?”
Panther let out a long, irritated sigh that made me smile. “Shut your face and I won’t kick you out of here, how about that?”
“Not like youcouldright now, but…okay.” I fluffed the pillow under my head and, when it still wasn’t enough, folded it in half. Then I closed my eyes and dreamed of all the ways I could torment Panther tomorrow—and win back my money.
7Panther
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
In my dream, I was in the cockpit of my plane, getting ready to take off when someone knocked on the canopy. I looked around, trying to see who it was, but there was no one there.
Knock knock knock.
Wait…no one was knocking on the canopy. And I wasn’t dreaming.
I cracked my eyes open to see Solo sitting up on the floor beside my bed, his blanket tangled around his legs.
“You expecting company this early?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep as he rubbed his eyes. Just the sight of him half-naked and so close was enough to send the erection I’d woken up with into throbbing levels.
Until the knocking on my door started up again.
“I’ll get it.” I kicked the sheet off, but as I went to sit up, Solo was already getting to his feet.
“Nah, I got it.” His eyes shot down to my hips, and when he saw what I was sporting, he groaned. “Fuck. Just…cover yourself.” As he unlocked the door, he muttered, “Words I never thought I’d say.”
I lay back down as he opened the door to deal with whoever had come to call so early, but when I heard my parents’ voices, I shot straight back up.
Oh fuck.I stared at Solo in horror. He hadn’t bothered throwing anything on over his boxer briefs, which meant he was currently shooting the shit with my parentsin his underwear.
Shit. He had to keep them out. This would look worse than it was—
Solo opened the door wide and gestured for my parents to come on in, like there was no reason to keep them out. Like he wasn’t half-naked and I was still in bed, and—
“Oh. I thought we had the wrong room, but here you are.” My mother hesitated in the doorway and then stepped inside, careful not to touch the pile of bedding on the ground.
“Let me get that out of the way.” Solo tossed the pillow on the bed, scooped up the sheets, and then set about picking up his discarded clothes. I noticed my father hadn’t moved from his spot just outside the door, watching Solo’s every move like a hawk. Probably wondering why he was here, why he was naked, and why he’d obviously stayed the night.
Shoot me. Shoot me now.
