Page 68 of Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake

Rake shot her a confused look as he gathered his clothes in his hands, still refusing to speak.

“You have an ‘I masturbate a lot’ type of vibe, and I can’t believe I haven’t walked in on you sooner.”

Rake blew out an angry breath, slamming his underwear drawer and heading back toward the bathroom, clothes fisted in one hand.

“I feel like I could toss a tomato at you and you’d hump it,” Lizzie continued, practically running after him in her pursuit to apparently be the most annoying person on the planet. “You look like—”

The words died in her throat as Rake spun on his heel, splotchy patches of red staining his cheeks, annoyance flashing in his beautiful eyes.

“Do you ever stop talking?” he growled, before taking her face between his hands and placing a rough kiss on her lips.

It was the kind of kiss that stole the air from her lungs. Like dropping down the largest hill on a roller coaster, losing yourself to a free fall, and hoping you never touch the ground. It was a kiss that made her skin prickle and her heart stutter.

On instinct, she molded herself against him, pleasure points sparking in her breasts, her belly, her hands—every millimeter of her body that touched his coming to life. He tasted like citrus and sin, and she couldn’t get enough of it as he deepened the kiss. She felt like a raw nerve, something coming unhinged in her chest as he sipped at her lips, pressed her for more as his tongue explored her. It felt like every moment of want and lustand hunger over the past few weeks clicked into place, weaved into a beautiful tapestry of this kiss.

And just when she thought she might fracture apart from the magnitude of it, he pulled away.

And took two steps back.

His chest heaved as he stared at her with something like bewilderment and fear, while she, on the other hand, swayed forward as though he were a magnet she couldn’t fight.

“We won’t talk about this again,” he said, his voice low and rough.

Lizzie didn’t know if he meant the kiss or the masturbation or the fall, but she was too dazed to ask, her skin still humming. She nodded numbly.

“I’ll see you at the launch party,” he said, fixing her with a final, level stare before turning around, walking into the bathroom, and shutting the door behind him.

Chapter 31

LIZZIE pounded her fist on Indira’s door. She pounded and pounded and pounded like maybe she could take an ounce of her built-up horniness and confusion and expel it through her fist. She was more likely to punch a hole through the wood than solve her ailment.

“Jesus Christ, Lizzie,” Indira said, swinging the door open and gracefully sidestepping Lizzie’s rogue fist. “Who died?”

“Indiraaaaa,” Lizzie whined, propelling herself into the familiar apartment and flopping onto the couch face-first. “I have a very real problem.”

“It’s nice to see you’re being so stoic about it,” Indira said, pressing her lips into a firm line in a failed attempt at hiding her smile.

Lizzie turned her head to glare at her. “I’m serious!”

“What’s your problem, sweet Elizabeth?” Indira asked, sitting on the coffee table and stroking a motherly hand over Lizzie’s hair.

“It’s Rake.”

“What about Rake? Do I need to kill him?”

“No. He’s killingme,” Lizzie said, rolling over and draping a dramatic arm across her eyes.

“Could you try actually telling me what’s going on, or doyou want to keep going like this? I just need to know if I should start drinking.”

Lizzie pushed up onto her elbows, fixing Indira with the most serious expression she could muster. “I’m so horny, I think I might die.”

Indira stared at Lizzie for five long seconds, her face inscrutable, before she burst out in explosive laughter.

“I’m serious!” Lizzie said, collapsing down. “It’s like this cold war of sexual tension. I mean, you’ve seen his face. But then that body? Holy. Fuck. I accidentally walked in on him spread-eagle in the shower this morning and nearly swooned.”

Despite Lizzie’s serious tone, Indira kept whooping with laughter.

“It’s not funny! I want to run my teeth down his thighs like a cheese grater. I want him to spank me so hard, my soul leaves my body. I want to gnaw on him like a piece of Laffy Taffy then shrink my body down so I can build a permanent residence in between the muscles of that hot V thing he has. And I’ve never,everwanted to suck dick so bad in my entire life. He’s making me feral.”