Page 22 of Loving Lex

“We are,” he said, his expression going serious.

I nodded. “Don’t ever, ever lie to me. Please. I don’t care what it is or how bad. Just always be honest.”

He blinked and looked like a million things were bombarding him as he looked back and forth between my eyes. “Ditto,” he said, his gaze traveling slowly over my face. “I have one, too.”

“What’s that?”

He leaned in, his lips brushing mine softly, then claiming them as I melted into him. Shit, how did he do this to me? I barely knew him and yet—I was making deals about boundaries and lying and—fuck, the way he kissed me. Like he was drowning in me. He eventually pulled back, his forehead pressed to mine, his breath hot against my mouth.

I worked to collect the thoughts that his kiss had scattered. “What’s your thing?” I whispered.

His smile was self-deprecating and sexy as hell. “I don’t remember.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Lex

Shay had atough shell and I admired her spunk and fire, but God, I wanted nothing more than to protect the soft-hearted, vulnerable spirit I saw more of in every moment I spent with her.

I also wanted to be buried so deep inside that woman, she wouldn’t be able to tell her own body from mine, and neither of us would be able to walk for a week. And with the way her big, hooded green eyes were staring up at me right now, she wanted the same thing.

The door to the employee parking area swished open, and footsteps crunched on the gravel, headed our way.

Shay stepped back a fraction and readjusted her bag on her shoulder, her eyes tracking the person behind me.

“’Night, Lex,” a woman’s sultry voice purred as she neared, her finger running along my back as she passed. “Can’t wait to see you again tomorrow night.”

I glanced over my shoulder to find Sundae, the flirty redhead. I simply acknowledged her with the lift of my chin, then turned back to Shay, but her eyes were not on me. In fact, they suddenly seemed to be everywherebutme as her body stiffened.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Hey,” I said again, waiting until I had her attention.

She blinked back to me, something troubling in her gaze. “What?”

“Where’d you go just then?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Seriously?”

She just shook her head, and we both watched Sundae drive by in her little black Beemer. When she was gone, I took a chance and grabbed Shay’s hand. “What happened?”

She stared down at our joined fingers, still quiet.

“You’re the one who asked for honesty, Shay. Why can’t you give it?”

Her eyes darted up to mine, and she knew she’d been busted. She huffed out a breath but didn’t pull her hand away. “It’s nothing.”

“It is if it upset you.” I gave her a minute as I led us to my truck, and we settled inside, then I faced her. “Okay. Spill it, Duchess.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s just that she was... she was in the room blowing my dad’s partner. She heard the whole conversation. Saw everything. It was humiliating, which is bad enough, but then now—” She bit off her words like they were rotten.

“Now, what?” I prompted, hating that this was so hard for her and desperate to fix it. But I couldn’t do that if she wouldn’t tell me what was on her mind.

She covered her face with her hands. “God, I’m an idiot.”

---