Page 20 of Changing Lanes

“And who exactly are you?”

“Her,” the hesitation nearly undoes me, “ex-boyfriend.”

Paige snorts loudly, causing us both to look at her.

“Oh, shit. Did I do that out loud?”

I smother a laugh ‘cause this isn’t funny. Not really. She comes home smashed and brings a random, or supposedly not-so-random, guy with her. She could’ve been hurt, or worse.

Paige relaxes into me, her eyes fluttering to a close. I’m pretty sure she sniffs me but I’m too focused on how she feels in my arms to tell. This is the first time we’ve touched aside from our fingers grazing last week when I returned her phone. She’s warm and soft, her hard edges lax and pliable in my hold. My arms slide under hers, bringing her flush against my body. She’s tall, taller than other girls I’ve been with, and I like the way she fits. I always have to bend to fit everything—buildings, furniture, people. It’s nice to have a tender body against mine that I don’t have to adjust for.

A little moan escapes her lips and I stiffen.

“Dean, thanks for dropping me off.”

Her meaning isn’t lost on ol’ Dean boy. He’s being dismissed, a fact that disappoints him. Greatly.

When he makes eye contact with me, I nod, officially releasing him of his babysitting duties. I could be more gracious but he didn’t have to share that detail about them doing whatever it is they did. She’s my roommate and I don’t want to hear that shit. Or see it. Her just-kissed lips have already been added to my overflowing spank bank material and now I have to work on erasing his ugly mug from the picture.

I wait until I hear his feet hit the bottom step, then I guide Paige inside, carrying most of her weight.

“I like the way you smell.”

I glance down at her on the way to her room, smirking. I knew she was sniffing me.

“And how do I smell, girl?”

“Like home.” Then, almost to herself, she murmurs sadly, “But not like than them.”

My smile drops. The fuck?

“Who?”

She doesn’t respond, staying silent but burrowing into my chest. A hollow chest that can’t withstand the pressure she’s threatening with such a simple gesture.

After depositing her to her bed, she reaches out, holding me in place. I’m hovering over her, only inches from her face but her eyes remain closed. Mine roam her beautiful face flushed from being over served. Her thin eyebrows furrow over delicate eyes. Long eyelashes drape across high cheekbones with a slender nose and full lips. Her chin has some powder on it, making my chest constrict.

Without thought, I swipe it with a finger and lick the substance. Sugar.

Paige’s eyes open and zero in on the finger in my mouth. I release it slowly as her breathing hitches. Want flashes across her face like a stoplight at midnight and it’s taking everything in me not to lean forward and kiss her with barely contained hunger of my own.

“Sweet,” I mumble like the dumbass I am.

She moans again, arching up, and my mind goes blank. It’s everything I thought it’d be. Paige’s back is clear off the bed like she’s being possessed yet somehow I feel like I’m the one in need of an exorcism.

I can’t take my eyes off her. Wouldn’t, even if I could.

God help me.

Perky tits strain through her thin shirt that’s bunched at the bottom, showing more of that perfectly toned stomach of hers. My fists tighten with the need to slip underneath, my fingertips aching to feel her smooth looking skin. Her signature peach scent combines with her arousal and I want more. So. Much. More.

With labored, slow movements, I run my nose along her exposed neck, inhaling as I go. I’m hard as a fucking rock and when her leg lifts, brushing my dick, I damn near explode then and there, making a complete fool of myself. Her needy gasps echo off the walls as her nails clamp my biceps with an urgency I know all too well.

Right there with ya, girl.

“So, uh, that guy’s your ex?” My staggered breath feathers over her sharp jaw. It’s been bugging me since Dean said it. Not only his admission—jerk off—but her reaction to it. I’m still not convinced she and Marc aren’t messing around either. He’s been a different person around her and she seems all too happy being in his presence, giggling incessantly. She sure as hell doesn’t act like that around me, which is insulting as fuck when you think about it, but the tension between us isn’t my imagination running wild. Her actions tonight prove that. She’s basically dripping for me and I haven’t even properly readied the pipes yet.

Wonder if Marc gets that reaction out of her, too.