Chapter Twelve
Helen
Up until Theo,Luciana was the only person I’d ever shared a bed with. I had to say, sleeping with a big, warm man who’d spent a considerable amount of time making me come was infinitely better than fighting for space and being elbowed all night by my little sister.
Which was why, as soon as I regained consciousness, I was out of bed and away from his too-comfy arms.Thatwas not something I was going to allow myself to get used to.
The sex part, I could do that. At my bathroom door, I glanced back at Theo’s long, muscular body, taking up more than his fair share of my bed, and bit my lip. Yeah, I could definitely deal with a little more of that.
I did my thing in the bathroom, scrubbing the sleep from my face and brushing the slime from my teeth. Not awake enough to shower, I slapped on some deodorant, wove my hair into a loose braid, and I was done.
The sleeping boy in my bed was awake and sitting up when I came out. As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Theo was up, crossing the room in a few steps and swooping me into his arms. He shoved his face into my neck, pressing his lips firmly under my ear.
“I need to head out,” he murmured against my skin. “Want to feed me breakfast before I go?”
“You’re going to take up my entire bed all night, then mooch breakfast off me?”
He brought his head up, blue eyes already twinkling at full force. “Yeah, I am.”
I tilted my head, sweeping a look over all his Theo hotness. “That’s fair.” I smacked his butt, which I happened to know was deliciously round and rock hard, because I’d spent a good amount of time with my legs wrapped around it. “Come on, Theodore. It’s time for a gourmet dining hall meal.”
He kissed my forehead. “Give me a couple minutes, then it’s on.”
He disappeared into the bathroom. I threw a hoodie on over my pajamas, slipped my feet into a pair of rainbow-checkered Vans, then I went into the living room to wait.
Elena lounged on the couch reading a newspaper.
Yeah. She did that. Apparently, it was her Sunday ritual.
“Is Zadie still sleeping?” I asked.
She slowly lowered the paper. “I haven’t seen her this morning.”
“Cool. I just wanted to see if she’d like to get breakfast with me.”
Brow arched, lips pursed, bitch face activated. “With you and the random ass you brought back to your room in the middle of the night?”
“Wow, you’re really interested in my life. Are you miffed I didn’t invite you to breakfast?”
Her eyes rolled. “I’ve been up since seven, Helen. Actually, that was the second time I woke up. The first time was to the sounds of what I assumed was either you being murdered or taken to pound town. I see it was the latter.”
My eyes boggled in my head. “You thought I was being murdered, and you didn’t check on me?”
Her nose scrunched. “Clearly you weren’t being murdered because there you stand, but honestly, I didn’t want to chance it. If I’d seen that horror show, I’d need to bleach both my brain and my eyeballs, and I just don’t have time for that.”
I had nothing to say to that. Except if Theo came calling again, I’d be sure to throw a pillow over my face. The idea of Elena hearing what went down between us gave me the heebie-jeebies.
“Hey.” Theo came up behind me and slid his arm around my middle. His hand splayed on my stomach like he owned me, and I liked it. It wasn’t real, but I liked it. “Ready?”
I twisted my head to peer up at him. “Yes. Let’s go.”
The rustle of the newspaper attracted both our attention. “I know you,” Elena drawled. “Theo, right? You’re Abby’s.”
Theo stiffened behind me and pulled me even tighter against him. “Right and wrong. I am Theo, but I’m not Abby’s.”
Elena’s wicked mouth curled into a smirk, and she waved the facts Theo gave her away like a pesky fly. “Oh, I guess my info is outdated. This meeting would be crazy awkward if you were still with Abby, especially since I know what it sounds like when you’re coming.”
I had to laugh, because what the fuck? “You did not just say that.”