Page 12 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

“You’re welcome.” The issue of Anna’s selfish, self-absorbed, always-has-to-be-the-main-character mother addressed, Lola switched gears. “ On to happier topics. When do you want to go wedding dress shopping?”

“How about Saturday ? I’m going to look for ideas online, so I’ll know what to look for before we hit the stores.”

“Sounds good.” Lola eyed the remains of the pizza lying in the middle of the patio table. She really wanted another slice, but what was left had jalapenos on it. She settled for a breadstick.

Simon reached for the pizza, his brawny arm stretching past her. She eyed the way his biceps bunched under the skin when he tugged a sliceonto his plate. He had really great arms. Great arms, great hands…

“Lola?”

“Hmmm?” Still thinking about biceps and hands, it took her a minute to realize everyone was looking at her. “ What ?”

Grant chuckled as Anna looked at her quizzically. “ Are you okay?”

“Sure.” She managed a smile. “ Champagne is making me sleepy.”

“Maybe you should spend the night here,” Anna suggested.

Lola laughed, shaking her head. “ Oh , no. You guys are going to have makeup sex, and I’m horny enough without having to listen to that.”

Grant let out a chuckle. “ After effects of Friday night?”

Lola’s eyes sparkled with amusement, and she was careful to look only at Grant . “ Yeah . I’d forgotten how much of a buzz I get from topping. I crashed hard when I got home, but…”

“Yeah, I get it.” Grant grinned. “ Great scene, by the way.”

Lola blinked in surprise. “ You watched?”

“For a few minutes,” he said, wrapping an arm around Anna’s shoulders. “ Anna started turning green pretty quickly, so we only got to see the beginning. You look like you know what you’re doing.”

“It was fun,” she said and wiggled in her chair. The alcohol was only making the horniness worse—everything was starting to tingle.

“You missed the best part,” Simon commented, and Lola finally looked at him.

His eyes met hers with a jolt, and she realized she’d avoided looking at him most of the night because she’d known this would happen.

Suddenly , she was right back in the medical play room, looking up at him in the dim light of the gallery, heat and desire blooming when she realized he’d watched. And wanted.

“You stayed for the end?” Grant asked.

Simon nodded, his eyes still on Lola . Intense , heated. Filled with so much lust she was surprised the air between them didn’t burst into flames. “ Jamie seemed to have a good time. And it sure looked hot.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in needle play,” Lola said, her voice showing only the mildest of interest while her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

“I’m not,” was all he said. And kept looking at her.

They stared at each other until Anna’s voice broke them apart. “ So what happened in the rest of the scene?”

Lola looked away first, smiling at Anna . “ Are you sure you want to know?”

Anna shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “ Well , I don’t want to hear you describe the…things going…in.” A visible shudder ran through her, and Lola suppressed a chuckle. “ But I guess I just don’t understand what else you’d do. Once the things are in.”

“Oh, there’s a lot you can do once the things are in.” Lola grinned. “ Probably you don’t want to hear some of them.”

“Probably not,” Anna agreed.

“But in the most general of terms, what I did was apply pressure. To the things.”

“Pressure?” Anna’s eyes were huge. “ How ?”

Lola waggled her fingers. “ With these.”

“But…you aren’t supposed to stick yourself with the things.”

Lola snorted. “ I didn’t. I applied pressure to the area of the body that was over the thing.”

“Oh. Oh !” Anna gulped, and her eyes got even bigger. “ Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Yes,” Lola said with such relish that both Simon and Grant laughed.

“She did that yoga move,” Simon put in.

“Yoga move?” Anna asked with a frown. She practiced yoga as well, often attending class with Lola when their schedules meshed.

“Crane,” Lola explained, the memory making the tingles more tingly. “ Modified .”

Anna gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “ You did crane? With your hands on the…”

“Things?” Grant put in dryly.

“Holy crap,” Anna breathed, looking at Lola with astonishment. “ How did I not know you were a sadist?”

“I’m not,” Lola said and giggled. Her head was swimming nicely with the wine. “ I could’ve done a lot more stuff that’s a lot meaner, but it was his first time. I went gentle.”

Grant held up a hand. “ Wait . What’s crane?”

“It’s a pose in yoga where you crouch with your hands on the floor, then kind of roll up so your knees are tucked into your arms and all your weight is on your hands.” Anna grabbed her phone and tapped the screen. “ Here ,” she told him after a moment, and handed him the phone. “ That’s crane.”

Grant stared at the screen for a moment, then back at Lola . “ Shit .”

“I kept my feet down,” she explained. “ I didn’t want to lose my balance and fall on the kid.”

“Then why do it?” Anna asked.

“Because while I’m strong, I’m not that heavy. I wanted more pressure on the needles, so I had to put all my body weight into it.”

Running her tongue over her teeth, she angled her body toward Simon . “ How’d it look from above?”

His eyes darkened at the question, narrowing slightly before a small smile curved his lips. “ Good . It looked good.”

Her lips quirked. “ Damned by faint praise.”

His smile widened. “ Judging by all the buzz I was hearing afterwards, I’d be surprised if Michael doesn’t ask you to do a beginner’s class.”

She smiled into his eyes, enjoying the curl of desire in her belly, the little hum of anticipation. “ He already did. We’re going to set it up for sometime this summer. Should I sign you up?”

“I prefer private lessons.” His smile widened. “ In certain circumstances.”

“Hmm.” Her tongue came out to wet her lips, and she watched his eyes follow the motion. “ We could probably arrange that. If you’re ever interested.”

Silence hummed for several seconds, thick as molasses, then Lola pushed to her feet. “ Well . I should get going.”

Anna, who’d been watching the exchange between Lola and Simon with her mouth open, started. “ Are you sure?”

“Yep.” She leaned over to press a kiss to her friend’s cheek. “ Don’t worry, I’m not really drunk. Just slightly tipsy.”

“And horny,” Grant put in.

“And horny,” she laughed and kissed him, too. “ You’re a nice guy, Grant .”

“Not really,” he told her with a grin, and she laughed again.

“No, stay put.” She waved them down when they started to stand. “ I can see myself out. I’ll call a ride share.”

Anna frowned. “ Maybe we should drive you home.”

“I’m fine, sweetie. Really . I’ll call you tomorrow about a shopping schedule.” Not wanting to give Anna another chance to protest, she waved over her shoulder as she walked toward the house.

She was almost at the front door when she realized someone was behind her, and it didn’t surprise her at all to turn around and find Simon standing there.

“You headed home?” she said casually, pulling her phone out of her bag.

“Yeah. I’ll drive you home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she began, and bit her tongue to keep from smiling at the thunderous look on his face. “ I’m sure I’m out of your way.”

“Oh, you’re definitely out of my way,” he drawled, and she knew he wasn’t talking about the location of her apartment.

“You don’t like detours?” she asked with an innocent flutter of her lashes.

“Not as a rule.” He reached past her to open the door and laid his hand on the small of her back to steer her out. “ But it appears I’m making an exception for you.”

Twenty minutes later, she opened the door to her apartment and stepped back to let him enter. “ Make yourself comfortable.”

He nodded, hands in his pockets, and looked around.

The space was configured into one large living area, airy and open, the furniture arrangement defining the spaces.

The kitchen sat at the near end, with stainless steel appliances and sleek white counters.

She strode to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, holding it up with a question in her eyes.

“No, thanks,” he told her, and turned to look at the rest of the room.

The living area held a sofa in bright red leather facing a large screen television on the wall.

Comfortable looking chairs piled high with pillows flanked the sofa, and a coffee table that bore what looked like the scuff marks of many shoes sat in center.

Shelves lined the walls, filled with books and what his mother would call dust catchers—little statues and figures, framed photographs and small mirrors.

The floors were a dark, warm hardwood, covered here and there with area rugs in bright colors and patterns. Art hung on the walls, modern abstract sharing space with prints of old masters. The effect should’ve been jarring, but instead it was vibrant, interesting, and somehow soothing.

“Nice place.”

Lola poured herself a glass of water and leaned against the counter. “ Thanks .”

She was so tiny. “ How tall are you?”

If she thought the question unusual, she didn’t comment. Merely sipped her water and watched him over the rim of her glass. “ Five feet, two inches.”

He snorted, and her lips gave a little twitch. “ Okay , five feet one and two-thirds inches.”

“Little,” he commented. “ Fierce .”

“I have a t-shirt that says that,” she commented, and he chuckled. Of course she did.

“You need better security.”

Her brows shot up at that. “ Excuse me?”

He nodded toward the front door, which she’d unlocked with a single key and had no alarm. “ You need an alarm system. And a deadbolt that works on a separate key from the door lock. And a chain,” he growled, realizing she didn’t even have that. He scowled at her. “ What’s the matter with you?”

“You mean besides whatever brain spasm led me to bring you here?” She smirked as his scowl deepened. “ It’s a secure building, Simon .”

“A doorman does not make it secure.”