Page 34 of Ice Cold Rival

I dropped my head to his shoulder while I caught my breath, but I couldn’t help peering up at him. Reece met my eyes with a wicked grin as he withdrew his fingers and licked them clean. My inner muscles clenched, and aftershocks rippled through me.

“You know,” he drawled. “It occurs to me it’s not a repeat hookup if I’m helping you check things off your list.”

I snorted out a laugh. “Purely business?”

“Ididpromise you we’d do it together. Out of curiosity, how many things on your list are sex-related?”

“Way more than there should be considering I was in a long-term relationship.”

A gleam of challenge sharpened his expression, but before he could expound on his idea, a deep, unfamiliar voice had me leaping back to my spot on the couch while pulling my shirt back into place.

“Reece, you have a room. We’ve talked about this.” A giant, tattooed man sporting only a frown and a pair of gray sweats stood by the basement stairs. The annoyance stamped across his face seemed focused on Reece, but I still felt like I’d been caught doing something wrong.

Reece adjusted his shorts and sent me an apologetic look. “Kenzie, this is my basement-dwelling roommate, Mase.”

I sent him a feeble smile, praying he couldn’t see my intense discomfort. My chest heaved as I tried to draw in air and disappear at the same time. I shouldn’t have bothered. Mase gave me a distracted nod then scowled at the couch.

“I don’t need to see your naked ass again,” he muttered.

Red hot mortification heated my cheeks, and it took me a second to realize he was talking to Reece. A very long second in which I considered diving out the closest window.

Right when I planned to stammer out an apology and call a car, Reece met my eyes with a clear plea.Stay.Without meaning to, I relaxed, and he wrapped his long fingers around my wrist, anchoring me in place.

Guess I was staying.

He gave me a squeeze then stood up, blocking my view of Mase. The action felt protective, but also weird because why would he need to protect me from his roommate?

“You could make more noise if you didn’t want an eyeful.”

“I’ll make sure to wear a bell next time.” I could hear the eye roll in his voice, but Reece stayed between us as he moved into the room.

Belatedly, I realized my shorts were still wide open. I cursed under my breath and made sure nothing else was out of place before I resolved tonotfall back on my usual position of pretty decoration. After meeting an entire house full of people, I’d only really spoken to Eva.

No more quietly standing in the background waiting for my boyfriend to speak for me.

Reece glanced down at me when I came to stand next to him, then surprised the hell out of me by linking our fingers together. He drew me in front of him and used our joined hands to hold me close.

Front and center, I found my voice. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I nearly winced at my own dull conversational attempt. Okay, so my voice was lame, but I’d work on it. Mase didn’t seem to notice as he stepped farther into the room searching the floor for something.

Reece squeezed my hand in a show of support. “Mase, this is Kenzie, mygirlfriend.”

The last word finally earned me direct eye contact. “My condolences. If he’s holding you against your will, blink twice.”

Reece coughed out the worddick,and I laughed. For a split second, Mase’s lips curled into a half-smile, then I blinked and he was back to what I assumed was his default scowl. Even grumpy, he was attractive with sharp features and a strong chin. Like a superhero who mostly hated people.

I couldn’t blame him. I mostly hated people right now too.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Reece stage-whispered to me. “He knows who you are. He’s just being an ass. As usual.”

When Mase narrowed his eyes, Reece addressed him instead. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping in your coffin right now? The sun’s still up.”

Mase shrugged broad shoulders covered in tattoos as he walked past us toward the kitchen. “Your vampire obsession is becoming concerning. Where’s Sunny?”

“Where else? Upstairs with Cole and Henry. Everyone else left to eat. I didn’t expect to see you again until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I mistimed my entrance. Thought you’d be upstairs. Sorry for interrupting.” He didn’t sound sorry, but I didn’t particularly care.

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