Page 102 of Rivals

“Bene,” she repeats.

I huff a laugh. “Maybe you should stick to your New Yorker accent, muse,” I say, emphasizing my own. She rolls her eyes, and I grin at her.

We eat our meat and cheese and reach for the wine, realizing we don’t have any cups. Luckily, he gave me a bottle with a screw-off cap. I untwist it and drink straight from the bottle. Revna holds her hand out and takes a swig, then leans back on her arms with her ankles crossed.

I scoot closer to her and lay my head on her lap. I pour over her features from a different perspective as she observes the beautiful green garden around us. The breeze lightly lifts her hair off her shoulders, and I slip my phone out of my pocket to take a picture. She takes another swig of wine and closes her eyes, tilting her head back to the sun.

I snap the photo and slip it back into my pocket before she notices. She hums. “This is perfect.”

Her fingers sift through my hair, and I close my eyes, sinking in the feeling of it. I let the rest of the world disappear. I don’t think about how we haven’t come up with an idea yet. I don’t think about what waits for us in New York. I let myself be here in the present. It’s not something I do often. But for now, my mind is calm, my girl is here, and we can get drunk on love, at least for a little while.

Chapter 61

Revna

Iwakeuptomy ear on Lachlan’s rumbling chest and listen to the combination of snoring and his heartbeat. It feels like home. He’s the first man I’ve shared a bed with for more than sex, and it feels right.

Everything about him feels good and safe. It’s not only a foreign feeling to me, but it means that things are more serious than I’ve led myself to believe. He put a label on it, leaving no room for questions. But I keep finding myself asking, what now?

I don’t know how to operate in life with someone else. I’m afraid I’ll ruin it one way or another. Hot and thick emotion crashes over me, and I don’t know if I want to cry or throw up. I take a deep breath, and Lachlan’s hand rubs up and down my spine.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he says in that cute, sleepy voice that’s a little raspy from snoring. I press a kiss on his skin, and I cross my arms to rest my chin on my hands. He lifts his head to look at me, and he frowns. “I know something is wrong, Revna,” he says.

My chest sizzles, and I can’t put the fear that swirls in my gut into words. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about our next project and how we don’t have any ideas. It’s not time to panic yet, but it feels like we should be panicking.”

He lays his head back on the pillow and resumes the calming action on my back. “I know you’re not telling me everything, but fine. You’re right. It’s not time for panic yet, but that seems to be how we work. It will come when we don’t expect it.”

“Or we do drugs,” I murmur.

He growls, and our eyes meet again. I quickly look away, embarrassed to admit I want to take something to help me deal with what’s roaring through me now. I belong to someone. I shouldn’t want to push away my feelings for Lachlan, but I do because they are overwhelming. It’s all happening so fast, and it’s so much. I’m afraid I’ll mess it up. Surely, something will happen, and it will be when I least expect it. It has to because it always does.Always.

“No, Revna, we talked about this. This was a good opportunity to try life without them.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier.”

“No, it doesn’t, baby, but that’s why you lean on me. Tell me when you’re hurting.”

“That’s easier said than done,” I whisper.

“It is, and that’s why we have to do it.”

I huff, and my throat goes tight. I’m scared of the inevitable judgment that will come from him. I hate it. “I need to make everything just stop.”

“I’m sorry, Revna. I know that must be hard.” I glance at him, and his brows are furrowed. Compassion radiates from his eyes, yet I did nothing to deserve it.

“I think getting up and going out will help, right? Staying busy?” I grunt against his chest. He surprises me and rolls over so his body is pinning mine.

“Lachlan,” I grunt, he’s so heavy.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there.” He grins. I wiggle around, and he grunts, sliding his fingers to my ribs. They slide up and down, and I can’t budge. I watch him, wondering what he’s about to do. Then he starts tickling his fingers up and down my ribs, forcing me to scream in laughter. It’s that odd edge of pain where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I shriek instead.

He chuckles and lifts himself slightly but still keeps me immobile with his thighs as he tortures me with tickling. Now that I have use of my hands, I try to fight him off, but he’s too big. Tears stream down my face with his unrelenting desire to make me laugh. I gasped ‘stop’ so many times the words slurred.

He finally relents, and I try to catch my breath. “Better?” he asks and tilts his head.

“That was cruel and unusual punishment,” I grumble. He chuckles and leans forward to kiss me. I let him because his lips always make everything better.

He pulls back slightly. “Don’t lie, you liked it,” he says in a husky voice.