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“Really?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.
“I was known to mangle a few bodices in my day.”
“I bet you did, you libertine, you.” I chuckled.
“Do you read often?”
“Whenever I can. Most nights, I can’t go to sleep unless I do.”
“It seems out of character. You’re always running, running, running,” he said. “Frankly, I can’t believe you’ve been still this long. I feel I must sit here and witness such a miracle of behavioral suppression.”
“Your plan is to sit there and stare at me until sunup?” I asked. “Not creepy at all.”
“I have a book,” he said, waving the thick linen-bound volume at me.
“It’s not a book on taxidermy, is it? 101 Ways to Display the Corpses of Humans Who Annoy You?”
“Of course not.” He opened it, licking a finger before carefully selecting a page. He added softly, “I left that particular title at home.”
I barked out a laugh, flopping onto my other side to try to evade the weird dent in the middle of the mattress. It felt as if it might drop out from under me at any—
Ker-RAANK!
The metal leg supporting the foot of the bed bent and collapsed, and I slid to the end of the mattress with a thump. Groaning, I climbed up the mattress, only to slide right back down so my feet touched the floor. Accepting that I would have to sleep at a twenty-degree angle, I pulled the blanket over my arms and made the best of it.
“Don’t laugh,” I grunted into the pillow.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
MC HAMMER RUINS AN OTHERWISE PLEASANT EVENING
6
I’d almost dozed off when the dancing started. I didn’t know people still danced to “U Can’t Touch This.” But when they did, it caused a lot of damage. The paint drifted down from the ceiling in a near blizzard. The dusty domed light fixture above my head rattled like a loose pot lid. I watched, mesmerized by its rhythmic jiggle.
Suddenly, Collin shot to his feet.
I blinked blearily at him. “What—”
He dove for me, sliding his arms under me and rolling off the bed. We landed on the floor with an “Oof!” OK, the “Oof!” was mine, after Collin landed on top of me. After the initial breathless shock of the landing, I froze. His nose was a few scant inches from mine. I could practically feel his eyelashes brushing against my cheeks as he gazed down at me, lips slightly parted. I could smell the strange mix of herbs, citrus, and mint on his skin, the cool sweetness of his breath. A rush of blood heated my skin, drawing his fangs out with a little snick as the blush spread to my chest. He seemed to be able to track its progress with his eyes, trailing down to my heart and watching it pulse beneath the skin. I squirmed under the weight of his hips wedged between my thighs.
His nostrils flared as he inched closer, a purring noise rumbling from his chest and through my own. His lips traced a cool path down my jugular, and my eyes rolled up, just catching sight of a huge black spider scuttling under the bed. Acute arachnophobia snapped me out of my hormone-fueled daze.
“What the hell?” I yelped, just as the glass globe from the light fixture dropped and shattered against the bed, right where my head had rested just a minute before. Collin threw his arm over my head as glass tinkled down against his shoulders, the carpet around our heads.
“It worked!” he exclaimed, grinning down at me. It was like the moon breaking through storm clouds, white and brilliant and welcome. His eyes slid down my skin to assess any damage.
“Yes, throwing me to the ground was a very effective method of getting me out of bed.”
“No, the light, I saw it—” He seemed so relieved that a tacky light fixture had nearly crashed into my head. “I saw it.”
My brow furrowed. “I’m … glad?”
He grinned down at me, and suddenly, I was acutely aware of the fact that he was sprawled between my unclad thighs. The silky fabric of his suit chafed pleasantly against my skin as his legs tangled with mine. He leaned in close, the faintest stirring of air against my lips.
He leaned down, brushing his lips across mine tentatively, then pulling my lip into his mouth.
“What are you doing?” I blurted out.
