Page 50 of Rivals

“Really?” she says.

I shrug. “I can’t help myself, baby. You should see it through my eyes.” I grab her camera and readjust it to take a picture from my perspective. Her big eyes stare at me through the lens, and her lips are slightly parted. I know she’s flushed because it is warm in here. But I don’t think the shower is making her feel that way.

I snap a few more, and she loses her balance, placing her hand on my thigh to steady herself. I take another picture and then give the camera back without looking at the pictures. I’ll get them later. She hits the button on the camera and flips through the few pictures. “Oh,” she says.

“Yeah,” I mutter and draw my hand over her lips. She takes a few more photos of me, telling me to look away, lift my arm, and place my hand at the edge of my waistband.

“Alright, we’re done,” she says and steps out of the shower. I grab her waist to stop her and pry the camera from her hands to set it outside of the shower so it doesn’t get wet. Before she has a chance to ask what’s happening, I yank her back in and push her against the wet wall. “Lachlan!” she yelps. I grip her throat, and her jaw drops a little as I nip at her lip before shoving my tongue down her throat.

She moans and tugs the loops of my jeans like she’s trying to attach herself to me. I draw my hand from her throat to push it up under her clothes, and she groans into my mouth with the contact. I almost dive deeper, but then she takes both of her palms and pushes me away. I like the fight with her. I morbidly enjoy the push and pull. I step forward again, and she shakes her head no. I pull up short, waiting for an explanation.

“We have work to do,” she says, and her eyes drop to my lips.

I groan, knowing she’s right. “We only have a couple of days.”

I take another step and hold her chin in my fingers. “I know, baby. We’ll get it done.”

“I’m afraid we won’t.”

I kiss her gently, then pull away to unbutton my jeans while she watches me in rapt attention as I tug them off, leaving them in a sopping pile on the floor. “We will,” I say, leaving her staring as I walk out of the bathroom to grab another pair of pants.

She emerges from the bathroom with her camera and puts it away. “Don’t you need to edit those?” She nods.

“I don’t have a computer. I have to use the one at school.”

“Now I’mreallyinterested in your final grade,“ I grin.

She shakes her head, and her top teeth catch her bottom lip. “Don’t be so smug. Just because you’re the subject doesn’t mean I will score better.”

“AmIyour muse, muse?“ She shakes her head, smiling.

“Get back to work,” she barks, but it’s half-hearted. She can’t hide that blush on her cheeks. We both get back to it, and it hardly takes any effort. It doesn’t feel like she’s in my way, and I don’t feel like I’m getting in hers.

As the second canvas base layer dries, we move on to the third canvas. I can tell Revna is dragging; the exhaustion is heavy on her face. But one of us needs to keep working, or we won’t finish. “Go take a nap,” I tell her. She sits back, shaking her hands out.

“I need something else.” She glances at me quickly, avoiding my stare. I can only assume she wants OBA, but I don’t have any. Then it hits me, she must have bought her own. When she came back running from that piece of shit that went after her, she was coming down. My blood surges all over again. I want to go out there, find him, kill him, then toss his body into a dumpster where it belongs.

“Fine, go get some.” She hops up, maybe a little too eager. She bounces over to her bag and grabs water from the kitchen. She holds out the light purple pill and tosses it back, chasing it with water. I do the same, and she hands me the cup. I down it, hoping this trip is much better than my others. My mind feels split between what’s hurting us and what she thinks she needs. I know this only makes it worse. But I don’t want her to trip alone, either. That’s no fun.

My stomach growls, but I’m on a roll. The drive is strong, so I don’t stop. I don’t want to stop. Revna has her attention on the first canvas, painting the final details. I carefully add the appearance of a Corinthian-style pattern of leaves carved into the marble. Then I blend the clouds and people with the rest of the background, making it appear as if it’s coming off the canvas.

***

We are high as kites because Revna is dancing while she paints, and I am thoroughly mellowed out. The anger isn’t so bright and singeing my veins like it usually is.

I smile at Revna, spinning around, lost in her little dance routine. Her messy bun is half out, and she doesn’t seem to notice or care. Light looks like it’s bouncing off her as she spins around with a paintbrush. It’s like one of those moving picture carousels. Every time I blink, there is a shift in her movement. I’m tripping hard, and I can’t look away. She stops spinning and looks at me with a wild and free smile. I’ve never seen a smile like this before. My heart twists in my chest, and it feels like she’s stabbing it with the blunt handle of a paintbrush. I might be seeing things, but I hate that it’s not me that has made her feel this way. It’s the drugs.

I take a deep breath and choke on it, trying to let it all go.

Give yourself some credit. That smile is more for you than you think. Her walls are so high that she can’t scale them herself. She will need you to help her with that.

The voice is back; I shouldn’t be surprised. It didn’t scare me this time. It might be giving me more insight into Revna. It’s right, though. Her walls are so high she drops them barely an inch, even when we were together. I lost track of mine and let her see more than I intended. It doesn’t matter now. She snuck her way into me and latched on. I don’t think she has figured that out yet. It doesn’t matter because I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to let her go.

Don’t.

Chapter 34

Revna