Page 67 of Oblivion

She glared daggers, and rightly so. I’d just taken the piss out of her and now wanted to take charge.

“Take a hike.”

“No can do, Lemon Drop. We’re roomies now, remember?”

Penny rolled her eyes and shoved the door open. “I hope he’s in there waiting for you.”

I gave her a warning look, then pushed into the quaint entrance. Penny strode into the house without heeding my warning, and went straight into what I assumed was her room. I stalked in behind her and immediately recognized the bed cover from the photo we received after her abduction.

That wasn’t the only element that got my attention. Christ, the amount of pink in here made my head spin. Right down to the framed mirror on the wall and plush rug filling the space between her bed and a large white dresser.

“So, you like pink, huh?” I murmured, eyeing what she was wearing because there wasn’t an item of pink clothing on her body. Unless her panties…

“Get out if you can’t handle it.”

I frowned. “You’ve got thirty minutes, and that’s me being generous. Get packing, wildcat.”

“Thirty minutes?”

Ignoring her protest, I turned. “I’ll be in the living room.”

I didn’t deal with tardiness well. Call me set in my ways, but I expected people to be organized and ready on time.

The sound of luggage being hauled around and hissed curses flowed into the living room.

“Need a hand?” I called from the couch.

“Nope!”

I kicked back and clicked on the TV, scrolling through until I found the music channel. Impatience had me jiggling my foot and checking my watch. Twenty-six minutes to go. Stupid really, since once we got back to my apartment, there wouldn’t be a helluva lot to do apart from trying to sidestep the sexual tension.

Penny marched to the bathroom, rattled through drawers, then returned with an armload of whatever-the-fuck chicks need. She gave me a sassy look before entering her bedroom again, which caused my pulse to kick.

Reactions like those shouldn’t occur within a guy like me. Feelings and emotions got locked way down. I turned them off like flicking a light switch. It was a coping mechanism of war, and one that left me cold and distant at times.

Besides, a girl like her and a guy like me could hardly work. Twelve years was a long time when the comparison was made; she had just entered the world when I was reading my mom’s lady magazines for the pictures of celebrity women in bikinis.

It made me cringe, but at the same time, I didn’t give a fuck. She had provided the escape I’d sought. The rebound after cutting ties with Sadie. But, shit, Penny had awoken something foreign deep within me.

I jumped up and locked the front door, then kicked back on the couch again and closed my eyes. Sleep came easy after years of snagging naps whenever I could while on active duty. When the opportunity arose, it had to be seized with both hands.

She’s thoroughly off-limits,I reminded myself as my body relaxed and grew heavy.

Somewhere within the lucid dreaming, Penelope appeared. Beckoning me closer with a single manicured finger, while the other hand toyed with her hair. In my dreams, I could do whatever I wanted with her. I could lick her tits and slide my fingers through her arousal. Have her ride my dick while I laid back and watched.

A minty cool breeze flowed over me, creating a shiver that pulled me from sleep. My eyes opened to find Penny’s vibrant blue ones right in front of my face.

I went to stand only to receive a hard shove to both shoulders.

“What the hell, woman?”

She set her hands on her knees and leaned into my space. “I’ll figure you out,Dante Bateman.Find out which is the real you: the one I met in Vegas, or the conceited, self-righteous asshole with a mood imbalance.”

My teeth ground together as I fought against the urge to reach up and pull her mouth to mine.

“Get out of my face, before I do something we’ll both regret.”

Her gaze dropped to my dick, still conspicuously alert from the dream. “Uh huh?”

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