Page 42 of Rivals

“Tell me something I don’t know, baby. Now, watch me work.”

That’s it.

I drop my pencil and launch myself over the giant canvas and onto him. The pink paint goes flying, and most of it lands between us. We wrestle, and I try to pry the paintbrush with the hot pink monstrosity on the tip away from his long fingers.

“Give it to me!” I yell. I’m on top of him, and both of his legs are wrapped around mine from behind. He tries to pin me to him so he can get the brush away from me. I use all my strength to wrap my arms around the one holding the brush and leverage my weight against him to reach for it. His fingers are holding the very end of it, so I can’t reach without lifting myself off of him. It would give him the advantage because he could toss me like a sack of potatoes.

“Revna, stop. You’re getting paint everywhere,” he growls.

“I’ll paint you with it since you like it that much. Just give me the paintbrush, and I’ll make you look pretty.” I say, spidering my body over him.

“If you can reach it, little bird,” he says way too close to my ear, and I ignore the shiver.

“Give me the paintbrush!” I yell.

“Just trust me that I’m using the right color!”

“If it was the right color, I wouldn’t be fighting you right now!” I reach one last time and can’t get him to pull his arm down, so I have to use different tactics.

I grab the closest paint next to me on a palette and swipe my fingers through it. Before Lachlan can catch on to what I’m doing, I smear it on his face. “Hey!” he yells. It was enough of a distraction for me to grab the paintbrush and vault myself off of him.

I stand a few feet away, and he’s still on the floor with royal blue paint smeared over his face, like inBraveheart. “You wasted paint!” he yells.

His eyes burst into angry flames, and suddenly, I’m not sure I calculated this very well. “Now you know how it feels.” I glare back and toss the paintbrush with the paint into the jar of water with the others. It seeps into the other colors, creating an ugly mud.

“You’re buying the next set of paints,” he says.

I huff a laugh. “Fat chance. I will be doing no such thing.”

I look away for a moment, and something hits my face. I wipe it off, and it’s green paint he had mixed earlier. “What the hell, Lachlan!”

“Now you know how it feels,” he mocks.

“You are such a child!” I scream.

“I’m not the one arguing about hot pink paint, Revna.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m not the idiot here!”

“Oh, I am?” He yells and steps towards me, and I take a step back.

“Yes,” I say, resolute.

“Or maybe I’m not the one who doesn’t want to listen to someone else’s idea because I’m too busy thinking I’m always right.”

I cross my arms and lift my chin. “I do not.”

“Now, who’s acting like the child?” He grins smugly. I realize my body language and drop it, then take my wet paintbrush with a pastel yellow on it and flick it at him. He jerks when it lands.

I lift my chin and smile in victory. His eyebrow ticks up, and he rushes me. I trip over myself and fall onto my butt. I don’t think twice as I crawl away from him, not wanting to get any more paint on this hoodie, which happens to be one of my favorites. I’ll probably never get the paint out. “I didn’t tell you to crawl for me, baby, but I like the view.” I snap my head around, and he’s standing right behind me. I flip over so he’s not looking at my butt.

Mistake.

“You are ridiculous.” He drops to his knees, and I scuttle back, realizing I’ve cornered myself between the wall and his bed. “What are you doing,” I say, out of breath.

He grabs my ankle and slides me on the floor, back to where he is. He crawls over my body, and I freeze. I wanted this earlier this morning. His weight was comforting next to mine. I felt like I could breathe. He stares at me with blue paint over half of his face and leans in. I panic and push him back to scramble to my feet. “What is this? What are you doing?” I say, confused and weirdly turned on, but I don’t want to pay attention to that.

“I like chasing you, little bird,” he grins. It’s like he has on war paint, and I’m the woman in the village he just conquered.