Page 74 of Bedhead

Oh dear God.An absolutely monstrous replica of a snake.

No, not a snake. Aviper.

Levi chuckled at our wide-eyed reactions. “That’s not too on the nose, is it?”

I nodded. “Appropriate, if not a little terrifying.”

“Agreed,” Drew said, backing away. “I think I’ll sit over here by the tail end.”

For a moment I started to follow, until it occurred to me that it might be better not to get too close to Drew. We were competitors right now, after all.

I took a seat on the opposite couch, shifting uncomfortably at the viper’s hissing face pointing directly at me.

That wasn’t intimidating at all. Really.

“So,” Levi said as he took a seat in one of the throne chairs. “What did you guys think about the chapters I sent over?”

I choked on my swallow of club soda, covering my mouth with my fist as I coughed.

What did I think about them? I was pretty sure Drew and I hadn’t been able to keep our hands off ourselves or each other while reading.

“It was…” Drew glanced at me like he too was struggling to give an appropriate answer. “A fascinating insight to Viper’s world.”

Levi let out a low chuckle. “That’s unexpectedly vague.”

Vague was better than telling him we hadn’t finished the chapters because we’d been too busy getting each other off.

Drew blew out a breath, took a long swallow of his drink, and said, “Fine. It was seriously fucking hot, and something that will have every reader desperate for an orgasm or five.”

“Oh really?”

We looked over at the door to see Viper sauntering into the room. He took up residence in the other throne chair and lifted an amber-colored drink to his lips, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Do tell me more.”

23

DREW

WELL. NO ONE ever said I was subtle.

As Viper sipped on his drink, he looked at us expectantly, but after that admission, I didn’t think either of us knew what to say next.

“You said every reader, huh?” Viper gestured to the two of us with his glass. “That include you?”

“What? No, of course not,” Hudson said too quickly, and I shot him a look.

Way to draw suspicion.

Hudson’s face was a dead giveaway too. He’d turned about five shades of red, which was unlike him, but hell, mine probably looked the same.

“Well, I won’t complain about those reactions,” Viper said. “Giving orgasms to the world feels like an act of service. You’re welcome.”

“I think I can speak for Hudson when I say that no matter who you choose to go with, both of our companies are ready, excited, and able to tackle your subject matter.” Once the words came out of my mouth, I paused, wondering why I’d advocated for both of us instead of just me.

Hudson seemed surprised too, and added, “I agree with Drew. The preview you gave us is exactly what our readers are hungry for. So thank you for having us here this weekend.”

“This place is fantastic,” I said. “I can see why you’d want to escape the city to come here.”

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