AVA POV(⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠ ⁠)

SOMETHING SMELLED DELICIOUS, LIKE SPICE AND HEAT. I WANTED TO WRAP ITaround me like a blanket.I snuggled closer to the source, enjoying the strong, solid warmth beneathmy cheek. I didn’t want to wake up, but I’d promised Bridget I wouldvolunteer at a local pet shelter with her this morning, before my afternoonshift at the gallery.I allowed myself one more minute of coziness—had my bed always beenthis big and soft—before I opened my eyes and yawned.Weird. My room looked different. No photograph prints papering thewalls, no vase of sunflowers by the bed. And did my bed just move by itself?My eyes latched onto the broad expanse of bare skin beneath me, and mystomach dropped. I looked up, up—straight into a pair of familiar green eyes.Eyes that stared back at me with no hint of the humor from last night.He flicked his gaze down. I followed it…and realized, to my abjecthorror, that I was touching Alex Volkov’s ****. Unintentionally, and he hadon sweats, but still.I. Was. Touching. Alex. Volkov’s. ****.And it was hard.Mortification washed over me in a tidal wave. Move your hand. Move itnow! My brain screamed, and I wanted to. I really did. But I stayed frozen,paralyzed by shock and humiliation and something else I would rather notname.A brief image flashed through my mind of what Alex must be packingbeneath his pants. I had a feeling—pun intended—it would rival that of anymale porn star.Please remove your hand from my cock unless you plan on doingsomething with it,” Alex said coolly.I finally yanked my hand away and scrambled back, my heart beating awild rhythm in my chest as I tried to get my bearings.“What happened? Why am I here? Did we—did you and I—” I gesturedbetween us, sick with anticipation.Oh, God, Josh would kill me, and I couldn’t even blame him.I’d slept with my brother’s best friend.Shit!“Relax.” Alex rolled out of bed, lithe and graceful as a panther. Sunlightstreamed through the windows and illuminated his sculpted frame, casting hisperfectly carved chest and abs in a pale glow. “You fell asleep during thatdog movie and it was raining, so I brought you up here. The end.”“So we didn’t…”“Fuck? No.”“Oh, thank God.” I pressed a hand to my forehead, relief a cool balm tothe heat on my cheeks. “That would’ve been awful.”“I’ll try not to take offense to that,” Alex said dryly.“You know what I mean. Josh would’ve murdered us, brought us back toclean up the mess, then murdered us again. Not that I want to sleep with youeither way.” Liar, an annoying voice in my head whispered. I shoved it aside.“You’re not my type.”Alex’s eyes narrowed. “No? Then who, pray tell, is your type?”It was too early for this. “Um…” I scrambled to think of a safe answer.“Ian Somerhalder?”He let out a derisive snort. “Better than the sparkly vampire,” hemuttered. “Newsflash, Sunshine, you and Ian aren’t happening.”I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, flinching when I saw my reflection inthe mirror. Wrinkled dress, tangled hair, pillow creases on my cheek, and wasthat a line of crusted drool on the side of my lips? Yeah, I wouldn’t win abeauty contest anytime soon.“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I said, discreetly wiping the drool from myface while Alex pulled a T-shirt over his head. His bedroom was as sparse asthe living room, with nothing except his massive bed, a nightstand with alamp and alarm clock, and a dresser decorating the space. “Don’t get yourpanties in a twist. I’m not your type either, remember? Or maybe I am…” Iraised my eyebrows at the obvious tent in his pants.He wanted to be a jerk again? Two could play this game.“Don’t read too much into it. It’s morning wood. Every guy gets it.” Alexran a hand through his hair, which of course was still perfect after a night’ssleep. “And my panties are not in a twist.”“If you say so,” I sang. “Also, stop calling me Sunshine.”“Why?”“Because it’s not my name.”“I’m aware. It’s a nickname.”I released an exasperated breath. “We don’t know each other well enoughfor nicknames.”“We’ve known each other for eight years.”“Yes, but we don’t have that type of relationship! Plus, I’m sure you’remocking me, bleeding heart and all.”Alex raised an eyebrow. “Enlighten me. What type of relationship do wehave?”We were treading dangerous ground. “We’re neighbors. Friendlyacquaintances.” I racked my brain for more because those terms didn’t seemright. “Movie buddies?”He closed the distance between us, and I gulped, holding my ground eventhough I wanted to run. “You always sleep in the same bed as youracquaintances?” he asked softly.“I didn’t ask to sleep in the same bed as you.” I tried not to stare at theregion below his waist, but it was difficult to ignore. My nipples hardenedand scraped against my bra, and my skin flushed with arousal.What the hell was happening? This was Alex, for Pete’s sake. TheAntichrist. The asshole. The robot.Except my body must’ve not gotten the memo, because I was suddenlyfantasizing about pushing him on the bed and finishing what my hand hadinadvertently started earlier.No. Get it together. You are not sleeping with Alex Volkov, now or ever.“Anyway, I—I have to go. Volunteer. Pets,” I stammered, barely makingsense to myself. “Thanksforlettingmestayoverseeyoulaterbye!”I beat a hasty retreat down the stairs and ran home.I needed a cold shower, ASAP.PHASE SADNESS STATUS: FAILEDYOU TOUCHED ALEX’S ****?” Bridget’s eyes widened. “What did itfeel like?”“Shhh!” I glanced around to see if anyone was listening, but everyonewas too busy with their duties to pay attention to us. Bridget had volunteeredat the shelter long enough the staff didn’t blink an eye at the princess in theirmidst, and we were always the only volunteers on the days Bridget came in,per the royal family’s request. “It’s unbecoming for a princess to say theword ****.”Especially in Bridget’s posh, lightly accented voice, which sounded like itwas made to discuss fancy galas and Harry Winston diamonds, not malegenitalia.“I’ve said worse things than ****.”As someone who’d been friends with her for almost four years, I couldconfirm. It still sounded wrong though.“So?” she prompted. “What did it feel like?”“I don’t know what you want me to say. It felt like a *****.” A big, hard—nope. Not going there.Not now. Not ever.Bridget and I were cleaning and sanitizing the cages at Wags andWhiskers, a pet rescue shelter located near campus. She was a huge animalperson and had been volunteering here since sophomore year. I accompaniedher when I had time, as did Stella. Jules was allergic to cats, so she stayedaway. But this shelter was Bridget’s baby. She came twice a week withoutfail, much to Booth’s consternation.I stifled a smile at the sight of the burly, redheaded bodyguard eyeing aparrot with suspicion. Despite its name, Wags and Whiskers took in all sortsof animals, not just cats and dogs, and it had a small but robust bird section.Booth wasn’t scared of birds per se, but he disliked them; he said theyreminded him of giant flying rats.“Hmm.” Bridget seemed disappointed by my uninteresting response.“And the movies really didn’t make him sad? At all?”“Nope.” I rolled up the newspaper from my cage and dumped it in thegarbage can. “Well, I fell asleep before the end of Marley & Me, but I doubthe cried or anything like that. He looked bored the entire time.”“Yet he continued watching both movies.” Bridget raised a perfect blondebrow. “Interesting.”“He didn’t have a choice. I was already at his house.”“Please. This is Alex Volkov we’re talking about. He’d throw someoneout in a heartbeat if he wanted.”True.I frowned and considered her words. “He’s nicer to me because I’mJosh’s sister.”“Right.” Bridget let out a soft laugh. “Which phase is up next again?”Ugh, the stupid Operation Emotion, or OE as I’d started calling it. It wasthe bane of my existence.“Disgust.” I had no clue what I’d do, but that phase seemed easier. I had afeeling lots of things disgusted Alex.“I’d pay good money to see that.” Bridget tossed a laughing glance inBooth’s direction. “Are you all right, Booth?”“Yes, Your Highness.” He grimaced when the parrot squawked, “Ooh,yes! Spank me, master!”“I am not your master,” he told the bird. “Go away.”The parrot drew itself up and ruffled its feathers in indignation.Bridget and I burst into laughter. Apparently, the parrot’s old owner hadbeen quite active sexually…and kinky. Its outburst today was tame comparedto its previous tirades.“I’ll miss you.” Bridget sighed. “I hope my next bodyguard has a sense ofhumor.”I stopped scrubbing the cage. “Wait, what? Booth, you’re leaving us?”Booth scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “My wife isgiving birth soon, so I’ll be on paternity leave.”“Congrats.” I smiled, even though I was pretty sad. He was Bridget’semployee, but we’d accepted him as an honorary member of our group. He’dbailed us out of many dodgy situations in the past, and he gave pretty goodboy advice, too. “We’ll miss you, but that is so exciting!”His face flushed with pleasure. “Thank you, Miss Ava.”He was unfailingly polite and insisted on calling me “Miss” no matterhow many times I told him he could use just my first name.“We’re throwing you a going away party when the time comes,” Bridgetsaid. “You deserve it for putting up with me all these years.”Booth’s blush deepened. “That’s not necessary, Your Highness. It was—is—a pleasure serving at your side.”Bridget’s eyes twinkled. “See, this is why you deserve a going awayparty. You’re the best.”Before Booth could explode from how red he was turning, I added,“We’ll make it parrot themed.”Bridget and I collapsed into laughter again while the bodyguard shook hishead with a half-resigned, half-embarrassed smile.It was almost enough to take my mind off Alex.

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