A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men 5)

“Oh, whatever.” Zoey snorted and rolled her eyes at me. “Not every girl out there is as callous as Libby, the slut, Lawson. One day, you’re going to meet an amazing girl—that I can actually stomach—and she’s going to love everything about you, even your colorful pecker.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I was actually hoping I could get as much pussy as possible before the one came along and I had to settle down.”

Zoey gasped and grabbed a wadded napkin that had been sitting in the center console before she flung it at me. “Don’t you dare end up being such a player, Oren Michael Tenning, or I’ll—”

“Watch out,” I shouted as we entered an intersection. The vehicle to the left wasn’t obeying their stop sign.

Zoey slammed on the brake, but it was too late. She screamed my name, and I screamed hers.

I was still shouting her name when I woke, thrashing in my sheets. “Zoey,” I choked out, only to jump out of my skin when a pair of hands grabbed my arm.

“Ten. Hey, Ten. Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

I jerked upright and panted, out of breath as my two roommates backed up a step from my mattress, eyeing me as if I was rabid. Sweat rolled down my temples and bare chest.

I gaped up at Ham, remembering every detail of the last conversation I’d had with my twin. The first moment I’d met him, I’d almost shit my pants with disbelief. He’d been the very image of the guy Zoey and I had described. I think my sister would’ve actually liked him too...if she’d ever gotten the chance to meet him.

The fact that he’d ended up with a woman named Zoey had almost been too eerie to take at first. Blondie was the antithesis of how my sister had been, but still...with the same name and the way she’d hooked up with Hamilton, I hadn’t been able to brush off the brotherly feelings I’d grown for her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, climbing onto the bed with worried eyes to sit beside me. “You were yelling my name.”

I shuddered. “Was I?”

“It freaked us out.” Ham sat on the corner, his expression matching his woman’s.

I cleared my throat and glanced away. “Yeah, well...sorry about that.”

“You were dreaming about your sister, weren’t you?”

With a glare at Ham for even asking that and an internal cringe at myself for once admitting to them that I’d had a sister named Zoey, I then glanced away and gave a nod.

Blondie took my hand. “Do you want me to change my name? I would. For you.”

“That’s sweet,” I said and sent her a small smile as I squeezed her fingers thankfully. Then I pulled her toward me and gave her a hug. “But, no. I’ll just keep calling you Blondie.”

She nodded. “Okay. I like Blondie. It’s way better than Milk Tits.”

I pulled out of the hug to scowl at her. “Milk Tits is a kick-ass nickname.”

She laughed and shook her head. “No. It’s actually really awful.” But as soon as her smile started, it settled. “Do you want to talk about it? Your nightmare.”

God, no. The last time I’d talked about this shit, I’d ended up with this very nightmare. I was done talking. I shook my head. “No. I’m good. You guys can go back to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” Ham asked. “Can we get you some water or anything?”

Damn. These two. Their sweetness was beginning to make my teeth rot. “Mom. Dad.” I lifted my hands. “I’m fine. Seriously. I’m sorry for waking you. Now get back to bed.”

And finally, they relented. Blondie had to give me another hug and Ham patted my shoulder, but once they were gone, I couldn’t get back to sleep. I tossed and turned and before I knew it, I was grabbing my phone off the nightstand and zinging a text off to Caroline.

After writing, Nobody puts baby in a corner, I sighed and tossed the phone back onto the counter, only for it to immediately ding with a response. Not expecting her to write back at this time of night, I picked it up, thrilled to see it really was from her.

Why are you sending me a Dirty Dancing quote at two in the morning?

I grinned, and immediately, my chest felt looser. I could breathe easier, and the headache that had been forming behind my eyes abated completely. I’ve been studying up. I wanted to wow my sexy movie-expert girlfriend with my new knowledge of movie one-liners.

Well, I’m not wowed. Everyone knows THAT line.

So, I typed, Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.