Page 43 of Liar & Champion
“Everything okay? What do you want for breakfast?” he asked then came over and put his arms around me, pulling me in for a slow embrace that went with his slow smile. He was almost obscenely handsome. “Do you want to order in or go out? Do you want to eat in one of the hotel restaurants, or go somewhere else?”
I smiled at him. “I need to get a new phone, so we can eat somewhere close to a phone place. Do you not ever cook? That’s going to be a problem, Nix. How can you be healthy if you’re eating out all the time?”
He sighed and ran his hand over my hair. “There are surprisingly healthy options, particularly in this hotel. Show people are always watching their carbs. I do have a kitchenette with a blender and all the spinach and frozen fruit you could want. You know, Sunshine, you look so neat and tidy, so respectable, so ready for public attention. You’re too beautiful to resist.” He tilted my chin up and slowly kissed me, then his lips slid down my neck including the slightest scrape of his teeth that sent a dizzying rush of awareness through me.
“Nix?” I whispered, leaning against him. “You sweet talk me, and my knees go weak. You’ll have to carry me around everywhere if you keep that up.”
“Or carry you to…” His frown almost convinced me that he wanted to carry me to a bed or bathtub. With a sigh, he kissed my hand and then led me out into the hall.
I cleared my throat and tried not to look disappointed. “When do you have to go in to work? You have three jobs, right? So you won’t be around much? Just when I was getting used to you.”
He hesitated as he studied me, his eyes thoughtful. “I should go in tonight, actually.”
I patted his arm at first to be motherly, but then, his arm was so incredibly fascinating, I studied the muscles as we walked, running my fingers over him like he belonged to me. Silly. But I didn’t stop. I sighed heavily. “The honeymoon is over and real life begins. I need to contact the school and get transferred. Or maybe I’ll just lounge around painting your naked body. Oh! Your friend who does jewelry. Do you think he could give me lessons?”
He slipped his hand around my waist and pulled me closer as we walked down the hall. “She could, but she’s a little intimidating.”
“Oh. Is she pretty? I’m not sure I approve of you having pretty friends.”
He smiled and kissed my temple, then nibbled on my ear, his breath sending shivers all over me. “Trixie is more stunning than pretty, a real show-stopper, but I’m not her type, and I’m very married.”
Another shiver went over me until I turned in his arms and kissed him, right in the hall where anyone could see. For a second, he was still, but then he picked me up and pressed me against the wall while my legs came around his waist and my skirt rode up my hips. His lips burned into mine, hot and hungry, like he wanted me more than he could possibly resist. His body was so strong, pressing against me until I started shivering and aching for more of him.
When he pulled away, I was dizzy and disoriented. He stood there in the hall, my legs still around his waist, his hands gripping my hips like he’d never let me go. “I heard an elevator,” he whispered.
Then I heard it, people chatting down the hall. I gasped and slid down him, straightening my skirt and then smoothing down my hair right before the couple came around the corner. I tried not to feel like I’d been caught doing something scandalous, I mean, we were married, but nice girls didn’t just make out in public halls like that. Even though it was really, really delightful.
The couple started with smiles when they saw us, but then they saw Nix, really saw him, and both of them started staring. I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought he was exquisitely made.
“Morning,” he said with a polite nod before taking my hand in his big strong grasp and leading the way down the hall to the elevator. I wanted to kiss him in the elevator too, find a way to stop the box between floors and really savor his kissing, but instead, he leaned against one wall, arms crossed while hestudied me with a peculiar expression that did nothing for the butterflies in my stomach.
Once we got out of the hotel, we walked to a nice little café a few streets away where we had organic omelets with only egg whites and vegetables, no cheese, fresh juiced wheat grass, and fresh fruit.
I ate like a starving person and everything tasted absolutely heavenly. My good mood was back, because I was with Nix, the handsomest man in the world, who liked kissing me in hallways even if he was nervous about hurting me. I mean, I couldn’t really fault him for that. And he was so beautiful. I wanted to keep looking at him forever, to touch him and taste him until I passed out every day for the rest of my life.
Which would be short.
Bummer. I needed to text Beastie so he could send me zombie emojis.
“There’s a skate park in walking distance of the hotel,” Nix said, taking my hand as we were leaving the café. We walked a few shops down to the phone store.
“You’re trying to sell me on the location, but there’s no kitchen. How can you live in a hotel without a kitchen?”
“I don’t cook. Why would I need a kitchen?”
I poked his stomach, and his flexing abs were a wall of desire that made my mouth water even though I was perfectly full but not too full, and feeling oh so healthy. “How can I be the cute little wife if I’m not cooking for my big strong husband? I guess you’re never going to be home, probably eating with your coworkers while you’re on jobs and stuff, but I don’t want to spend that much on eating out. I guess I could get one of those coils for a cook top, and a crock pot, but what about an oven? I make the nicest peach pie, but you’ll never know. You’ll die without ever tasting it.” I sighed dramatically. “What a shame.”
He leaned over and kissed my hair, then pulled away, kind of blocking me when an enormous truck with a huge engine squealed and someone in the cab yelled something suggestive at us. Did the guy have a mohawk in five different colors? How interesting. Also, his face was pierced so many different ways.
“Las Vegas gets weirder every year,” Nix muttered and then ushered me into the phone store.
“You don’t actually need to do this with me,” I said in all seriousness. I needed to have a long conversation with my Aunt Willie without anyone else involved, particularly him.
“Of course I do. I’m paying, and while I will let you have my credit card, it’s Las Vegas. Traffic is terrible, and the sexual deviants are worse every year.”
I poked him again, wiggling my eyebrows. “Really?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Really. What kind of phone do you want? The newest, obviously, but what size? Big is coming back.”
