Page 42 of Touch Me Not

Nikoli noticed the flinch. She’d been around him all day, and she’d stopped flinching when he touched her. His plan was working. The longer she was around him, and the more he forced her to get used to his touch, the less it scared her.

Odd that Adam scared her, though. They’d been around each other since they were little kids. She had to know the feel of him better than anyone else. She even admitted that Adam had tried to help her in the beginning. Maybe the key was she hadn’twanted to be helped back then. She wanted help now. Either way, it was a win-win for him.

Lily was pale when she closed the door. Nikoli had wanted to try to push her a little farther, but he knew that was probably out of the question now. “You want to come over for a while? Luther would love to hear all the details of how you kicked my ass today.”

She smiled but shook her head. “No, I have some stuff I need to do, and I promised some of the girls we’d watch a movie later. Besides, I’m not sure I want to go to your place…ever.”

“Why the hell not?” he asked indignantly. What was wrong with his place?

“It can’t be at all sterile.” Lily shuddered at the thought. “I mean, I’ve heard the stories about your furniture.”

Nikoli grinned his lazy grin. “We are going to have some fun on that furniture too.”

She shook her head. “You plan on having me sit, yeah?”

“Sit, bend over, lie down,” Nikoli purred. “On the couch, the table, the bed…yes,Milaya, you are going to become very intimate with my furniture.”

“Not in this lifetime.” She grimaced. “God only knows what kind of fluids are still there. You want me to come over? Get some new furniture, especially the table.”

“You want me to get rid of perfectly good furniture just so you’ll come over?”

“I want you to get rid of the nasty furniture covered in countless diseases.”

“It’s not covered in diseases.” He rolled his eyes. The chick was being ridiculous.

“How often do you clean your couch?” she countered. “Do you scrub your table in bleach afterward? Do you realize you could be eating nasty fluids?”

He frowned. “No.”

“So gross, Nikoli. I’m not stepping foot in that place until you clean it. There, or your other place, for that matter.”

“Lily, you were just there last night.”

“I wasn’t thinking about it then!” she yelled. “If you think for one second I’m getting into a bed other women have been in, you’re insane!”

He laughed. “I’ll buy new sheets.” He didn’t think she even realized what she’d said and where her thoughts were taking her. If she was talking about getting into bed, his chances just got a whole lot better.

“Not gonna happen, buster!” She pointed at him. “It’s the principle of the thing. Every time I look at it, I’ll think about all the women who’ve been in it before.”

Nikoli laughed out loud at her offended expression.

“It’s not funny!” she fumed.

“Yeah, Lily Bells, it’s funny as hell.” His grin only made her more furious, but he didn’t care.

“Trust me, Kincaid, I’m not stepping foot in there until you buy some new furniture.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Dead serious.”

“How would you even know if it’s new or not?” he asked.

“I’ve been to your apartment before,” she told him smugly.

“When?”

“Remember when I tutored Luther?”

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