“We speak of this never.” I jabbed a finger in her direction and earned a megawatt smile from her as she leaned in like I was going to whisper hum.
I cleared my throat and then started humming the Star Wars theme, and sure enough, Little G bobbed his head from his position between her breasts and seemed to smile at me.
Weirdest lizard ever.
“Aw, you like that little buddy,” She patted his head with one finger.
I stopped humming. “Any creature would be happy as shit sitting between two Double D’s and listening to Star Wars, just saying, all men are the same, apparently even across species.”
Olivia shot me an amused glare. “So you’re saying you’re jealous of a gecko?”
“One hundred percent.”
Her eyelashes lowered like she was embarrassed, and then she very carefully pulled Little G out from her top and held him on the palm of her hand. “I’ll wake you up if I need anything. The couch’s comfortable, you know.”
Damn, I was hard.
“Yeah,” I croaked. “And it looks like it’s wide enough for someone to spoon so, bonus points for that.”
What the hell was coming out of my mouth right now?
“Right, and we promised to test everything.” She agreed, standing and putting Little G back into his carrier, then closing the lid.
I stared at the spot she’d just vacated.
It looked inviting.
Warm.
And clearly, I was insane because I barely stopped myself from diving into the couch in an effort to feel the fleeting warmth of her body against the blanket.
“Mark?” She came up behind me.
I jumped a foot and turned. “Yeah?”
“You can go to sleep now.”
“Hah, right, sleep, like that’s going to happen…” I forced myself to walk slowly over to the couch and sat, grabbed the blanket then lay down, realizing that it really was big enough for two. “C’mere.”
“Why?” She crossed her arms.
“Just do it.”
With a huff, she made her way over. When she was close enough, I grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her into the couch, wrapping my body around her and settling in to cuddle.
Something I rarely did with anyone.
“What’s happening right now?” she whispered.
“I’m testing the couch.”
She wiggled her ass a bit, leaning back into my arms. “Right, then…”
She moved again.
I groaned. “What’s happening right now?”
“I’m testing the self-control of the other intern…” I could feel her smile. “You know, if you break first, I get the job.”
“So you’ve decided you can’t get it on your own, ergo, you’re going to stroke my dick until I pass out, then tie me to the couch and show up by yourself, showing Max that you’re more punctual?”
“Good story.” She moved again.
I braced an arm around her, my teeth nipping her ear. “I’d stop if I were you before I actually decide to tug down those leggings.”
A whimper escaped her lips.
She kept moving.
And I kept wondering why I needed so much self-control in the first place? I mean, we were alone, and technically we needed to test the, uh, durability of all things in the apartments, right?
“I mean, we don’t want to fail a test,” she whispered.
“I hate failure,” I agreed.
She sighed. “Is it weird that the gecko is watching us from the living room table?”
“Super weird,” I said. “It’s like he’s making eye contact.”
“I wonder if this is like porn to him?” she asked.
“The more you stare, the more he stares. It’s like he froze and— what the hell are you talking about? Do you watch lizards fuck and get your rocks off?” I laughed, and then I couldn’t stop as she squirmed against me.
I held her close as tears slid down my cheeks.
“Damn it, Mark! Now I’m thinking about lizard sex!”
She elbowed me dangerously close to my dick and tried to scramble away.
I grabbed her again and pressed a kiss to her neck. “I think I like hating you.”
“Feeling’s mutual— And… now my erection’s gone because Little G just winked. I swear he winked at us.” She scrambled back. “You think there’s a mic or a tiny camera or something in his cage?”
We both froze.
Little G stared at us as if saying, “you’ll never know.”
“At least turn his cage around,” I suggested.
She leaned in, his mouth opened.
I sighed. “He’s hungry again, demolished a few of those Zoo Med snacks that came in the bedazzled bag.”
“The instructions said to feed him a worm.” Olivia looked over her shoulder at me. “He has snacks?”
“He’s the most spoiled gecko on the planet, so yes, numerous snacks, lots of variety, quite interesting. I left the worms for you. Don’t worry, though, I Googled all the snacks just in case that was part of the test, and now, even though I’m thinking about taking off all your clothes and putting duct tape over your mouth… you know, just in case I make you scream too loud, and someone thinks I’m murdering you in here… I need to sleep and get ready for our first test or game or whatever it is tomorrow, fucking Emory games.”