Page 80 of Rivals Next Door

Alex laughed. “Obviously, I don’t hate it or we wouldn’t be here naked and sweaty. I have to admit, Liv, the sex is spectacular. Do you think it’s all the discontentment from past hurt that spices things up so much?”

There was humor in his tone, but I wanted to cry not laugh. He kept making it clear that he still resented me for what I did. Each time I was reminded of how much I hurt him, I hated myself for it. I sucked in a breath as nausea rippled through me. I guess my guilt was starting to make me physically ill now.

“Who knows?” I sighed, trying to keep my emotions in check. “If there’s so much resentment, we should barely be able to tolerate each other, hence we shouldn’t be fucking like rabbits.”

His deep chuckle resonated in the room. Even I, in my misery, snorted my amusement.

Alex turned to me and propped himself up on his elbow. “Maybe we’re both messed up in the head. What a pair we make, huh?”

“Maybe,” I grumbled.

“Or maybe we simply can’t help ourselves…” he purred as he gave my bare breasts an appreciative stare. “People don’t have to like each other to have sexual chemistry.”

I rolled my eyes and sat up as my stomach roiled again. “That’s not funny.”

“Come on, lighten up,” he said. “Hey, are you okay?” Alex watched me with a frown as I scrambled out of bed. “You look pale.”

“That’s because I’m about to lose my dinner.” I grabbed my robe from the back of a chair, barely getting it on when I gagged. I took off toward the bathroom before I embarrassed myself in front of Alex.

I was on my second round of hurling when he burst through the door. I gawked at him before ordering, “Get out!”

He gave me a look of impatience. “Let me hold your hair.”

As he took a step toward me, I held out a hand to stop him. “Hold it right there.”

He froze.

“Have you ever heard of a thing called privacy?” I growled.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen you sick before.”

“When you were my boyfriend eons ago. There’s a difference between hurling up my guts in front of a boyfriend and in front of the guy I’m just fucking. Now get out.”

Alex’s jaw dropped as disbelief and then amusement flitted across his face. He held up both palms. “Fine. I’m going. Don’t bite my head off.”

When he left, I locked the door so he couldn't barge in again.

Planting shaky hands on the counter, I leaned over the sink, trying to steady myself. The remnants of nausea still churned in my stomach, but at least I wasn’t actively hurling anymore. I splashed some cold water on my face, hoping to wash away the lingering queasiness.

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, noting the dark circles under my eyes and the pallor of my skin. It was a terrible sight. Sleep hadn’t been my friend lately and the whole affair with fighting to keep BioTech and everything with my corrupt almost-business partner was taking a toll. However, I had to keep my shit together.

I wasn’t sure how long I stayed in the bathroom, but it must have been a while because when I finally composed myself and opened the door, Alex was leaning against the wall, holding a steaming mug. He handed it to me, and I took it without a word. The smell of ginger filled my nostrils and sent me spiraling into the past.

He used to always make me ginger tea when I wasn’t feeling well. He said that’s what his mother always gave him and it worked like magic. Having him take care of me like this only made me feel worse because it drove home that we weren’t actually together.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better, thanks.” I sipped my tea as my mind worked up a way to tell him that we should have some boundaries. “I’m going to need you to not be sweet to me,” I blurted.

He dropped into the armchair facing my bed, which I had perched on. “Um… I’m sorry, am I supposed to be a dick to you around the clock?”

He looked at me as if I’d gone crazy and my face heated up several degrees. “That came out wrong. What I mean is… You’re not… You don’t have to take care of me, Alex. Don’t offer to hold my hair while I vomit and…” My voice quavered and I had to swallow and pull in a deep breath. “Don’t make me tea when I feel sick.” It was just too much having him perform the actions while resenting me. “We should have boundaries since we’re only having sex on occasion.”

He lifted his eyebrows and I felt more heat flood me as I corrected, “Okay, we have a lot of sex.”

He snorted. “Boundaries are fine by me.”

“Good. We’re still rivals after all.”

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