“Ohhh, you mean like the giant ‘fuck-off’ you have written on your forehead? Yeah, now that you mention it, it’s looking a little faded. You might need to re-up.”
He presses a finger between my eyes, nudging my head back, and we laugh a little, both of us trying to keep the mask from slipping, and doing a terrible job.
“Shut up,” I snap back.
He chuckles, pinning me down on the bed.
“Go to sleep, Ashbourne.”
I hug the pillow beneath my head, rolling on my side to get comfortable.
“You’ll wake me up when Dame gets back?” I ask, with a deep yawn.
“Yes, Iris.”
“You promise?”
His hand rests on my back as he returns to his reading, but I barely catch his answer as my eyes slide shut.
“Nope.”
Chapter20
Just Friends
ELLIOT
She’s goingto kill me.
At least, she will if she ever finds this photo.
I snap it as quickly as I can, not caring much for the angle. I’m only interested in the evidence of the phenomenon before me.
I am staring at the same soft, brown skin and rounded cheeks, and she smells like the same spiced honey I’ve grown so fond of, but the woman beside me cannot be Iris. She simply can’t be.
Iris was wearing pants when she fell asleep last night.
This woman is not.
Iris wouldn’t be caught dead cuddling a man, let alone me. And this woman is fisting my tail in one hand and has the other splayed across my chest, the mere sensation sending little jolts of electricity straight to my heart each time she moves.
So, this can’t be Iris. And if it’s not Iris, that would explain why I can’t stop touching her.
My hand has been absently stroking her head since I woke up. I’ve tried several times to keep to myself, but my fingers have developed a mind of their own in the night, and really, she looks like she needs it.
Her signature frown is plastered on her brow, and she doesn’t even look like she’s asleep. She looks like she’s clinging to rest, begging it to embrace her. But I’m not surprised she is so restless. She’s such a nervous thing, and trying all the time not to be. It must be exhausting.
It’s a shame she won’t let me kiss her. I think it might help.
Were I allowed to, I’d kiss her now. But knowing I can’t, I brush a thumb over her bottom lip as I had last night, just to feel the soft warmth of her mouth on my skin.
I snag my book from my bedside and open to where I left off, prepared to sit here for as long as she requires, but it isn’t long before I hear the signature thump of Dame’s footsteps heading in my direction.
I’m on my feet and at the door before he can even knock, and he has the gall to look startled when I open it.
“What?” I ask, confused by the shock on his face.
My eyes track back to see what he’s staring at, only to find them fixed on Iris’s long legs and left ass cheek, peeking out from under my shirt.
