Page 79 of The Dollhouse

“I mean, what’s a little food poisoning on top of getting shot?” I spoke it jokingly, and I got a full-blown smile in return. I’d do anything to make her smile, to hear her laugh… she probably didn’t laugh too much with those other guys, and everyone needed a good laugh every now and then.

“It’s funny,” she said, “I’d rather not be bent over a toilet, throwing up my guts, all because you couldn’t cook chicken properly.”

“Hey, that was just one time, and you didn’t throw up—Idid.” I grinned. “Who knew my stomach was weaker than yours?”

Zoey giggled, playfully shoving me with her injury-free arm. “Let’s change the subject, please.”

“As you wish,” I said. “What do you want to talk about? I think it’s like four in the morning, and we haven’t gotten any sleep yet. We could always take a power nap? Naps, I hear, are very good for you. I mean, it has to be better than not sleeping at all, right?” I felt exhausted, felt it deep within my bones, and yet I knew, as I said it, there would be no nap-taking right now.

Who could sleep when your world had been rocked and your girlfriend nearly died?

“Can you just hold me for a while?” Zoey asked, and I nodded, all too eager.

Now that was something I could do, and it was something I would do gladly. Probably the only thing I was good at, really. Her other boyfriends—still not used to thinking that—could be the gangsters, and I could be the quirky but cute and ridiculously loveable boy next door. We all had our roles to play, and as long as Zoey never got tired of me, I’d deal with the other guys.

I mean, I might not be happy about it sometimes, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Only for Zoey.

I lay back, holding my arms open and inviting her to snuggle against my chest. Zoey crawled to my side, leaning back, lying down on her uninjured arm. She set a hand on my stomach, her head on the crook of my shoulder, a sigh escaping her. I held onto her gingerly, careful of that bandage on her arm.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, staring at the ceiling. The light was on, the curtains of the room drawn closed. It was a small space; this cabin only had two bedrooms. The other one on the property looked bigger. I did wonder how that was going to work—I would not share a bed with Carter or Roman.

Zoey? Sure, but not either of them.

But of course, it was as I thought about that when memories of the night I’d agreed to, uh, put on a show for Roman with Zoey resurfaced in my head. What was I thinking? And then when Carter crawled onto the bed… I should’ve called it quits then. That was, I mean, that was just too much, wasn’t it?

Zoey had liked it, and, sure, it had felt nice on my half—er, third? But I wasn’t sure if I could ever do it again. It was weird, wasn’t it?

Oh, jeez. Listen to me. It’s the same thought process I went through again and again when we started this whole arrangement, when I’d started seeing Zoey while knowing she had other boyfriends. Boyfriends who did not really like me and who had another woman try to seduce me after they’d kidnapped me.

Yeah, things were problematic with those two, okay?

It took her a while to whisper, “Me too. Ruby was shot in the stomach. Crystal’s going to text me updates—as long as I have signal out here in the boondocks.” Zoey paused as she nestled deeper into my arm. “It could’ve been so much worse, Lake. We were lucky—and that’s not something I ever thought I’d say. Me, lucky.”

I couldn’t tell if she was laughing at herself or not, and I knew she referenced the whole debacle with her sister and ex-boyfriend.

She tilted her head up to look at me. “Have I mentioned how happy I am that you decided you can suck up Roman and Carter to be with me?”

Thinking on it, I settled with saying, “Not lately, no.”

“I am,” Zoey said. “I’m happier than you could ever know.” She moved so she laid across my chest, her legs against mine. She fit so nicely there, perfectly. She winced a little bit due to her arm, but she didn’t let it stop her. Her other hand went to my face, running down along my cheek. “I love you.”

“Say it again,” I whispered.

A grin broke out on her face. “I love you, Lake.” And then, before I could make more of a fool of myself by telling her to say it a third time, she kissed me. Her mouth collided with mine, heat and passion behind every move she made.

Even after all this time, I could never get over how good it felt to kiss her, how easy it was to lose myself in her. If this was how Roman and Carter felt, well, I couldn’t exactly blame them. Zoey was addicting in the best way, and I would forever be at her mercy. Never thought I’d be the mushy-gushy type, but here I was, mushy-gushy and proud of it.

For her. Anything for her.

Zoey broke the kiss, trailing her lips along my neck, and I fought the urge to moan, forcing myself to say, “Zoey, I don’t think now is the best time for this—”

She lifted her head off me, blinking as she stared down at me. “If we waited for a good time, we would always be waiting. I want…” Zoey swallowed. “I just want to feel you, Lake.” Her seriousness faded away as she added, “So you better help me take off your clothes and mine, otherwise I’m going to be stuck doing it, and it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”

I knew Zoey, and I knew she meant every word she said. If I didn’t help us both out of our clothes, she’d do it for us, and with her arm as it was, I pretty much had to. Not that I would complain about it; I was like a horny teenager anytime I was around her. We could go at it all hours of the night and day and I’d never get tired of it.

She rolled off me, blue eyes twinkling. “Your clothes, first.”

I tried to whip them off as fast as I could… but I only ended up getting stuck in my shirt, somehow. Zoey giggled, and then she used her good arm to help me out of it. I gave her a sheepish smile. At least I could take my pants off without help.

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