Page 31 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

She curled her tongue around him when he pulled back, sucking in a deep breath through her nose as she prepared to take him deep again, when a flash out of the corner of her eye made her blink.

She tried to say something but he’d already begun pushing forward again, and the sound was smothered in her throat.

Her eyes went wide with horror as a pale, delicate hand appear behind his right shoulder, fingers wrapped around something bright pink.

She jerked her head back to shout out a warning, but it was too late.

There was a buzzing noise and a flash of blue light from the pink thing as it made contact with the side of his neck.

Simon jerked, his hands tightening painfully on her head for half a heartbeat before they fell away.

He jittered in place for a moment, his eyes wide with shock, then collapsed to the floor.

Lola gaped in shock as Ginger , a pink stun gun in one hand and Lola’s tool kit in the other, kicked him in the hip. “ Fucker .”

“Ginger?”

She gave Simon another kick then rushed over to Lola , dropping the stun gun and tool box to pat her with shaking hands. “ It’s okay, Lola . Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay.”

Lola stared at Simon . Was he unconscious? Was he dead? Oh my God , what was happening? “ Ginger , what the fuck?”

“Stun gun,” Ginger said and held it up.

Lola stared at it. “ It’s pink.”

Ginger shrugged. “ My mother said it was more ladylike.”

“Oh my God ,” Lola breathed, caught between horror and laughter. “ Why did you do that?”

Ginger frowned, laying a hand on Lola’s cheek. “ It’s okay, Lola . We’ll call the cops. It’ll be okay.”

“What?” Lola said, then gasped in realization. “ Oh , no. No , no, no, no, no.” She began struggling with the ropes on her arms, yanking and pulling in panic.

“Hey, hey, hold on a second.” Ginger knelt on the bed and fumbled with the ropes around Lola’s arms and legs. “ Fucker must have been a boy scout. These knots are ridiculous.”

“Scissors,” Lola gasped. “ On the pillow. Get the scissors.”

“Oh. That’s handy,” Ginger commented and reached up for the safety shears. “ Hang on.”

There was a brief increase in tension when the scissors pinched the rope, then they sliced through and the ropes fell away. She scrambled to her feet, darting around a confused Ginger to kneel next to Simon .

“Um, Lola ?”

Lola ignored her. “ Simon ? Can you hear me?” She laid her fingers on the pulse in his neck, going limp with relief when she felt the beat. “ Oh , thank God .”

“Lola, we should really call the cops before he comes around. And we should tie him up.” She frowned at the ropes lying on the bed. “ Maybe we could use this stuff, that’d be poetic. Do you know how to tie knots like that?”

Lola shook her head. “ Help me get him up on the bed.”

“What? Why ?” Ginger dropped the rope fragments and grabbed Lola’s arm, trying to tug her to her feet. “ Lola , honey, you’re in shock. He was attacking you.”

Lola shook her head again, smothering the hysterical urge to laugh. “ No , he wasn’t. He wasn’t,” she repeated calmly. “ He’s …he’s my boyfriend.”

Ginger’s mouth fell open, her eyes going round with shock. “ Your boyfriend? You mean, that was…”

“Entirely consensual.”

“Oh, shit.” Ginger crouched next to Lola . “ I didn’t kill him, did I ?”

Lola bit her lip. “ No , but he’s going to be really pissed off. Can you help me get him up on the bed?”

Ginger eyed Simon’s naked form sprawled out on the floor. “ He looks like he outweighs both of us together. I don’t think we’re going to be able to lift him.”

“You’re right.” Dammit . “ Grab me a pillow and blanket?”

Ginger bounced up and dashed to the bed, grabbing a pillow and the duvet. She handed the pillow to Lola and spread the duvet over Simon .

Lola lifted his head gently and slid the pillow underneath. “ Simon , can you hear me?”

His strangled groan was music to her ears. “ What . The . Fuck .”

“Just a misunderstanding,” she told him, stroking his cheek. His color was coming back, and his breathing seemed a little less strangled with each passing moment.

“Misunderstanding, my ass,” he muttered. His eyes drifted past her face to where Ginger stood near his feet.

Lola swallowed. “ Um . Remember my neighbor, Peter ? This is his house sitter. Ginger .”

Ginger gave him a tentative smile and a little finger wave. “ Hello .”

The raging disbelief in his gaze made Lola bite her lip. Hard . “ She thought you were assaulting me.”

Ginger blushed when his gaze darted back to her. “ I did. It looked…well. Like assault.”

“She tagged you with a stun gun,” Lola explained.

“Fuck,” Simon groaned, then glared at Ginger . “ Stun guns are illegal in Illinois .”

Lola choked back a laugh. “ I told her.”

Simon shifted his glare to Lola . “ You’re laughing?”

She shook her head and bit her lip again so it wouldn’t be a lie. “ I’m relieved,” she explained. “ I thought for a minute you were dead.”

“So did I .” He reached a hand up to the back of his head with a wince. “ I hit my head.”

Lola leaned forward, concern tightening her face. “ Did you cut yourself?”

His carefully probing fingers came away clean; no blood. “ Doesn’t look like it,” he grunted. “ But my head hurts like a bitch.”

“Do you think you can get up?”

He looked annoyed at the question. “ Yes .”

He gritted his teeth, levered himself to a sitting position, then got painfully to his feet. Lola stood with him, wrapping her arm around his waist for support.

The duvet fell to the floor.

“Um.” Ginger turned wide eyes on Lola as her cheeks flooded with color. “ Maybe I should go.”

Since Simon was busy glaring at Ginger , Lola let the grin loose. “ Okay .”

“I’ll call you later, just to check in.” Ginger cleared her throat and chanced a glance back at Simon . He glared back at her, and she quickly looked away.

Lola took pity on her. “ Thanks , Ginger . Can you see yourself out?”

“Sure,” Ginger said, backing toward the bedroom door. “ No problem. I’ll just…” She slammed into the door frame, bouncing into the wall before she caught herself. “ Go ,” she finished, and fled.

Lola bit her lip, waiting until she heard the front door slam before she spoke. “ You scared her,” she accused gently.

Simon turned incredulous eyes on her. “ I scared her? She fucking stun gunned me.”

Lola nudged him toward the bed, her head down so he wouldn’t see how hard she was fighting not to laugh. “ She thought you were hurting me.”

His only answer was a grunt as he made his way painfully to the side of the bed.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

“I’ll be fine,” he muttered. “ It’s not the first time I’ve had a few hundred thousand volts. But fuck, it hurts.”

“Is there anything I should do?”

“No.” He sat and swung his legs onto the bed. “ It just has to wear off.”

“Okay.” She smoothed the sheet over him, then trotted back to the floor where the duvet lay in a heap. She pulled it over him, fighting the urge to tuck him in. He probably wouldn’t appreciate it. “ How about I go warm up the pizza and get us something to drink?”

He leaned back against the pillows, a frown marring his brow. “ I guess,” he grumbled, and the grumpy tone had her fighting back another laugh. She ducked her head and fussed with the duvet until she had it under control, then leaned down to kiss him.

“I’ll be right back,” she assured him.

“Put something on first,” he told her, and she looked down.

“Oh. I forgot.”

She scrambled to the closet, snagging a summer weight caftan in scarlet. She slipped it over her head. “ What would you like to drink?”

“Any of my beer left?”

He’d gotten into the habit of stocking a few bottles from his favorite microbrewery in her refrigerator. “ I think so.” She started to turn, then frowned. “ Should you have alcohol?”

“I got stun gunned in the middle of a blowjob,” he told her, his voice dangerously close to a whine. “ I want a damn beer.”

“Okay, I was just checking. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She hurried out to the kitchen, pulling open the fridge and snagging his beer first, then turned on the oven. While it was warming up, she took him the beer.

Satisfied he was as comfortable as she could make him, she went back to the kitchen.

She pulled out a baking sheet and lay several pieces of pizza on it, sliding it in to heat when the oven signaled it was ready.

Then she opened a bottle of red wine, poured herself a generous glass, and drank half of it down in one go.

Finally, with nothing left to do but wait for the pizza, she laid her head on the counter and laughed until tears ran down her face.