“Mmm-hmm.” I bet she gritted her teeth every time she saw his hair. And I bet he smiled as her eye twitched, even if it was where no one else could see. “It doesn’t hurt that girls swoon over it, huh?”
“Do they?”
“You’re not that oblivious.” I tugged the handful in my fist. “You know women love your hair.”
“I might have noticed the occasional sigh when I take down my hair after a long morning.”
“You’re horrible.” I slapped his shoulder. “I bet all the girls in your classes watch the show like it’s one of those slow-motion clips in a shampoo commercial where the model is shaking out his shiny locks.”
He twisted his upper body, angling his face toward me. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
The best response I could think of was to dump a cup of water over his head, so that’s what I did.
While he spluttered and choked, I set out some towels and mopped up the mess I’d made with a spare.
“I would offer to lay out some clothes for you, but I’ve never dressed a guy. I wouldn’t want to pick boxers I like only to learn they’re the masculine equivalent of lingerie. How awkward would that be?”
“Men don’t do lingerie.” He coughed again. “We don’t dress up, we dress down.”
“Commando.” I worried the cloth in my hands. “I wonder why women heap on lace and frills like we’re cupcakes in need of decorating while men strip down like their perfection can’t be improved upon?”
“Lace and frills,” he said cautiously, “tell the person you’re with that your time together is special.”
The towel slid from my hand to slap the tile. “Speaking from personal experience?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll wait outside.” I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. “Call if you need help.”
Handsome, wealthy, powerful, brilliant. Funny, shy, kind, thoughtful.
Of course he would have had lovers. He’d admitted as much at the Faraday. I just hadn’t wanted to believe him.
Boaz had slept with half of Savannah while keeping the other half on a waiting list, and it didn’t bother me. Okay, it got under my skin. Fine. I hated it. But it was him. It was what he did. I expected it of him. I didn’t hold it against him. Mostly. And neither did the women, for the most part. They wanted a good time, and he provided.
But hearing Linus admit he had been with a woman who cared enough about him, about their intimacy, to invest in silk and lace twisted my stomach into uncomfortable knots. That type of relationship was what one friend ought to want for another one, right? The meaningful kind?
Fiddlesticks.
That was the difference.
Boaz might have gotten his itches scratched elsewhere, but he always came back to me. I never had to worry I would lose him on that front. Our friendship meant too much for him to supplant me. He didn’t invest emotionally in those girls. He was fond of them, but he didn’t love them.
Linus…must have cared deeply for the woman who taught him icing wasn’t meant for the cupcake but for the person about to take a bite.
I fell backward into Linus’s arms when the door opened without warning, and we both almost ate tile. I twisted sideways, hooking one arm around his bare waist while I gripped the countertop with the other. His arms closed around me, locking me against him. Fingers slipping off the marble, I held tight while I got my legs propped under me.
“I got you,” I panted. “You should have knocked.”
“I did,” he panted right back. “I thought you must have left.”
“No, I was just...” Slowly, I released my death grip on his person and unglued my cheek from his lukewarm skin. “You’re too naked for me to have this conversation with you.”
He kept me in the circle of his arms. “I’m wearing a towel.”
“You’re not helping your case.” Or the hot flash creeping up the base of my neck. “Let’s get you in bed.”
“What about my clothes?” He glanced toward his armoire. “If you could just—”
“I really need to get you in bed.” I winced at the instant replay in my head. “You’re a fall risk.”
“All right.” He sat on the edge of the mattress. “You didn’t strain yourself catching me, did you?” He cupped my cheek. “Your face is flushed.”
“I— No. No strain here.” I withdrew from him and fanned my face. “It was just muggy in the bathroom.” He started to rise, but I palmed the round of his shoulder and pushed him back down. “Do you have a modified pen in here?”
“In my drawer.” He indicated the nightstand. “What are you going to do?”
Knocking him out to avoid this conversation sounded amazing right about now, but that was an abuse of power, and it was also rude. I still considered it longer than I should have, though.
“I’m going to ink on more healing sigils. You’re perking up, but I want to be sure we flush the drugs from your system.” I skirted him to reach the pen then flicked my wrist. “Lay down.”
He reclined on his pillow, his lashes sinking lower. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You think you’re being funny, but no Southern woman under the age of fifty wants to be ma’amed.”
He did his best to restrain his grin as I sank beside him, leaned over him, and braced my left hand on the comforter. That propped me up well enough to start drawing sigils across his chest. I was determined not to glance any lower. Especially after I noticed the towel, which wasn’t big enough for a man, had parted over one of his thighs. Thighs that happened to be below his chest level.
Argh.
“Okay, you’re all set.” I practically jumped to my feet. “I’m going to leave the door open. Between Woolly, Oscar, and me, we’ve got you covered.” I made a point not to look him in the eye in case he had caught me leering. “I’ll be downstairs studying. Ignore the smell of burning feathers. Keet and I will be working on the whole familiar-battery thing. Bye.”
I bolted from the room with a wave and made it to the top of the stairs before smacking into Oscar.
“No running in the house,” he said smugly. “Those are the rules.”
“You’re right.” A quick glance over my shoulder gave me a prime view of Linus reclining on his bed. “Those are the rules.”
But sometimes rules are meant to be broken.
Ten
“You got Hood’s tail in a twist,” Lethe called from the couch she had plopped down on. “He wouldn’t even tell me what happened. He just snarled and took off for the woods.”
“I prevented him from protecting me.” I dropped beside her and tipped my head back. “Trapped him in a protective circle, actually.”
“Ouch.” She winced. “That had to sting his pride.”
“I didn’t realize he couldn’t get out. All I needed was a head start.” I held up my hands and wiggled my fingers. “I’m still figuring out what I can do.”
“Might I suggest apologizing in the manner to which he has become accustomed?”
I quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve got ideas?”
“I’ve always got ideas.”
And then she told me how to walk the quickest path to forgiveness.
Following her advice, I placed a call that left my debit card smoking.
“How is Linus?” She cast her gaze toward the stairs. “I saw you guys shuffle in.”
“They drugged him.” I found myself staring in that direction too. “This has happened twice. Twice.”
“You healed him both times,” she reminded me. “He’s lucky you’ve got his back.”
“It’s not going to happen again.” I reached for the pad and pen I had left on the side table earlier and started drawing. “Basic healing sigils have done well flushing the toxins from his system. I’m going to modify the most effective one, and I’m going to draw it on him every time he leaves the house.”
“Rawr.”
“What?” I tore myself from the design itching in my fingertips. “I’m being proactive.”
“Fierce is what you’re being.” She clapped. “I like it.”
A pleased glow spread through me that dimmed when I remembered why I had been hoping to catch one of the Kinases currently not mad at me. “I granted permission for Boaz to visit Amelie.”
“I’ll let the guys know.”
I kicked up an eyebrow. “Let them know not to hurt him, right?”
“We will only attack if he moves to harm you.” She pouted at the restriction. “What happens to him if he breaks the golden rule is his own damn fault. You made it obvious he’s not welcome, and we’ll make it obvious you’re protected.”
“He’s cleared for the carriage house only. He can’t hang around and smell the roses.”
“We’ll show him the ropes.” Her grin edged toward feral. “Wouldn’t want him getting lost.”
I worried my smile read like encouragement for her bad behavior, but I couldn’t help myself.
She wrinkled her nose at me, and I started feeling more self-conscious than exhausted.
“This stuff is antique, right?” She patted the couch. “Should you lounge on the furniture when you’re dirty?”
“Crap.” I sprung up then whirled to inspect the damage. “Thanks for the reminder. I forgot.”
“How could you forget?” She leaned closer. “You smell like blood, dirt, and grass.”
I plucked at my stained top. “I was washing Linus’s hair and—”
Lethe fell off the couch. “What?”
Heat washed up my neck into my cheeks. “I just forgot, okay?”
The smile she flashed me was wicked. “It was that good?”
“He could barely walk, Lethe. What do you think we did?” I held up a hand. “Don’t answer that.”