Page 8 of The Twins

“Tevye! That is very personal.”

“So?” He shakes his head with a light chuckle. “Never mind, your reaction is a no.”

“Not every woman is capable of…uh…achieving climax during penetrative intercourse.”

“Fuck,” he groans, eyeing me a few times. “Didn’t know I had a nurse kink. You got one of them white hats?”

“Yeah, and a rectal thermometer!”

“I’ve had a few fingers, a couple toys, and a Persian cucumber. Never a thermometer.” I nearly choke on my spit. I can’t believe he just put it all out there like that. “Ha! Your face is so red!”

I sniff haughtily, smoothing out my wrinkleless pants. “This conversation has gotten off track—What’s a Persian cucumber?”

His toothy smile fills his eyes with mirth and it’s a sight to behold. He’s so damn handsome. “Persian cucumbers are typically skinnier and shorter than the cucumbers you normally find in our grocery stores.”

I smile to myself as a retort sticks to my tongue. Oh, what the hell, this is kind of fun. “So, you went with the Persian because the American is too much for even a big guy like you?”

We pull into the long driveway of the family compound and I’m sad to realize our time together is almost over. He parks in the roundabout in the front of the estate. “Why don’t you trymyAmerican cucumber and tell me if you prefer Pissant Pete’s Persian cucumber instead.” Tev is inches from my face, his unique eye color mesmerizing up close. The heat of his body surrounds me despite the SUV console between us.

I whisper, “His name was Logan.” Tev’s grin becomes predatory. My self-preservation finally kicks in and I snap back, fumbling with my seatbelt and the door. Fresh air fills the interior, washing over my face and grounding me. His laughter follows me, and I hate how much I like the sound. He opens the back door and pulls Arlo out of his car seat. The little guy is conked out. I don’t blame him; he had blood and urine tests performed plus a full physical exam.

I force myself to be an adult, walking to the front of the SUV as Tev comes around from the other side. “Thank you for today.”

His brow wrinkles, “What?”

“I enjoyed spending time with Arlo…and you.” I rub Arlo’s back, smiling when he sighs in his sleep. “Speaking to his doctor gave me a better insight into what he requires. I’ll have a plan put together for you shortly.” He frowns for just a second before his lips straighten and his posture stiffens. I don’t know what I did or said but something upset him.

“Of course. See you soon,NurseGibbs.”

He stomps off and I stare at him with my jaw dropped, unsure what just happened. He doesn’t look at me again, just pushes through the front door and disappears down the hall. Devorah stares after him, shakes her head, and looks at me with a slow smile. She waves cheerily, then slowly closes the front door.

My car is parked off to the side. I get in, start the engine, fiddle with my radio until my favorite playlist on my phone is blasting through the speakers, then I…sit. I can’t bring myself to shift and drive away. Something flashed in his eyes just before he walked away. Irritation? Disappointment? I don’t know. And I’m afraid it is going to haunt me until I can make heads or tails of it.

Tevye 7.

I come up behind Yakov in the hallway outside the war room of the family compound. Silent and quick, I plant my hand on the back of his head and slam it into the wall. He turns just in time, so only the side of his face makes impact. Damn, I was hoping to break the fucker’s nose.

Close to his ear, I hiss, “Couldn’t have given me a heads up, dickwad?

I roll my eyes when he replies innocently, “My, whatever do you mean?”

“Vandy Gibbs.”

He chuckles, “Ah, yes, the pretty little nurse.” Those words, his tone…I don’t like it in reference to Vandy. And the bitch of it is, I’m not sure why. I’m attracted to her, she’s fucking hot. But there’s more, something else, and that’s what I’m uncertain about. Outside, she said she enjoyed the day, and I foolishly thought she meant spending it with me and Arlo. Apparently while I was thinking that I wouldn’t mind doing this more often with her, maybe sometimes sans clothes and child, she was just thinking about her job. Her duty. And anger and frustration welled up inside me. There might have been some disappointment. Possibly some hurt? I’ll have to ask Ruthie. She’ll just show me the emotion emoji chart and make me point at which one looks how I feel.

“I’ll fuck you up.”

Yak snorts, “You’ll try.” Then he shifts his feet, sweeps his leg out and around and I’m on the ground with him kneeling on my throat. I glare up at him and his smug triumphant expression. “Told you before, I’ll mount your fucking head on my wall. Lucky for you, watching you learn feelings like a preschooler is entertaining, as is watching you flounder your way through romance.”

“No romance.”

“So, you don’t like the pretty little nurse?”

“I wanna fuck her.”

“Of course. But you want to do more than that. And you don’t like it.”

“I don’t like you.” Yak laughs at my childish retort, stands up and dusts his clothes off from our tussle.

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