Page 56
“Shilo?”
Ah, jeez.
My smile vanishes instantly at the sound of his voice, and my gaze jerks upward to meet a pair of intense hazel eyes.
Ryann. My stomach flips at the sight of him after so many weeks. He’s in basketball shorts and a tank top, his muscled biceps on full display, and his neck glistens with sweat.
I want to lick him. See what he tastes like.
No. Bad Shilo.
His eyes shift from me to Carpenter, who’s still sprawled beneath me, and the realization hits me like a slap—I’m straddling him. Oh, shit.
Scrambling to my feet quickly, I dip my head, offering Carpenter a hand. He groans dramatically when I help him up, one hand cupping his crotch.
“Are you alright?” Ryann asks unevenly, lifting a brow.
“No, Shilo made my balls ache.”
My eyes nearly bug out of my skull as I gape at him, cheeks heating. “Wait, no, that’s not what–”
“Seriously, I think you broke my dick by how hard you sat on it.”
What the hell?!
Slapping my forehead, I squeezing my eyes shut to hide Ryann’s reaction to those words, warm embarrassment spreading down my neck.
Behind me, KC clicks his tongue. “TMI, Carpenter. Ry here doesn’t want to hear what you two do in the bedroom.”
Parting my lids, I glare at his smirk, while Carpenter scoffs. He looks ready to fire off a comeback, but Tina grabs him by the arm and drags him away before he can confirm or deny anything. Panic sparks in my chest.
Ryann’s jaw tightens as he watches Carpenter go, his posture stiff. When his gaze swings back to me, I’m shocked by the emotion swimming in his golden-green eyes.
“R-Ryann.” I clear my throat, mouth dry. “That wasn’t…Carpenter and I aren’t—“
“I don’t need to hear it.” He cuts me off with a firm, flat tone. “It’s none of my business. I just saw you across the gym and thought I’d come over to ask how you like your new position with Liza.”
“Oh.” Disappointment has my shoulders sagging. “Um, it’s been good. She’s nice.”
He waits, silently prompting me to elaborate, but I have nothing else to say. When it becomes clear that’s all he’s getting, he nods once, running a hand through his damp hair.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.”
Turning on his heel, he heads back toward the weight room, and my eyes can’t help but follow him, drifting down to the tight muscles of his ass in those shorts. I tear my gaze away with effort, only to find KC watching me with an accusatory stare.
He doesn’t say anything, just rolls his lips and leads me to his car.
It’s much later, when I’m perched on his kitchen counter and he’s dyeing my roots, that he finally brings it up.
“So…what was all that stuff with Ry earlier?”
I squint at him, shrugging as I keep my focus on the TV in the living room where Carpenter and Tina are slaying zombies. “What stuff?”
KC makes an impatient noise as he dries my freshly washed waves with a diffuser. “I don’t want to get all up in people’s business, Shi, but—“
“Since when?” Carpenter scoffs from the couch, earning a sharp glare from KC.
“I’m not talking to you, especially after you ruined my yoga class today.”
