Thrive (Addicted, #4)(25)

Lily’s brows jump and her eyes bug. She mouths, what? Her gaze falls to the zipper on my jeans, and she blushes on cue.

I press the speaker button so she can hear her sister. And then I fish my button through my jeans, Lily’s mouth drops like I performed a fuckin’ circus trick.

I can’t help but smile. My girlfriend is beyond adorable.

Rose says, “I just want to know—”

“Privacy,” I state the one word that no one seems to understand, not even our friends and family. Maybe Poppy and Sam have their heads screwed on tight, since they both refused to sign their rights away to television producers.

“We asked to be alone on New Year’s Eve, and you’ve called us a record-breaking twenty times.”

“And Lily didn’t answer eighteen of those,” Rose notes.

“Are you dying?” I ask. “Please tell me you’re dying or suffering from a life-threatening affliction and not calling to check up on us.”

Lily mouths, be nice. But she’s ditched the peanut butter, her fingers hooked in my belt loops, drawing me nearer.

I cup my hand over the speaker. “I’m being very nice right now,” I whisper. “I could have easily hung up on her after I said my piece.” I wait for Rose to launch a grenade over the speaker, but she stays quiet, inadvertently answering me.

I groan in agitation. “Rose.” We’re fine.

Lily grabs the phone out of my hand and interjects, “You’re at a party. Shouldn’t you be having fun?”

“I’m at the Cobalt’s business party,” Rose reminds her. “Having fun at these events is never on the agenda.” She pauses. “The food isn’t terrible.” She hesitates like she has more to say. Maybe she wasn’t calling to nag us like a worried parent.

Now I feel like an asshole.

“What is it?” Lily asks, sensing the same thing.

I rest my palms on the counter, on either side of Lily. I’m still a head taller than her, and she stares up at me while she waits for her sister to reply.

I watch her chest collapse, desire blanketing her face. I just want to fuck my best friend. Hurry up, Rose.

“Connor booked the suite tonight,” Rose whispers, as though to keep the people around her from hearing. “I found out when we arrived.”

I run my hands up Lily’s thighs, her jeans soft underneath my palms. I step closer so my cock is right against that spot, the one I know is already soaked. Christ. I begin to harden, just ready to push completely inside of her. We fucked twice already tonight—but this time is killing me more than the others.

I just want to hear Lily cry out.

Her lips part in a heavy breath.

“Lily?” Rose snaps, ice returning to her voice.

I remove my hands so she can talk to her sister, but I can’t back up. I lick my lips and rest my palms on the cabinet beside her head, leaning into her.

“What’s…so bad about that?” Lily asks. She forces her gaze to the ceiling so she can focus. I press my lips to her neck, lightly and then deeply. A noise catches in her throat just in time, so soft her sister can’t hear.

Lily’s hand tightens on my waist, and when I look up at her, she mouths, do you want to get caught?

No.

Rose and Ryke—they won’t understand. All they’ll see is a list of rules we’ve been given and tally off how many we’ve broken. Nothing else will matter.

I hear Rose inhale loudly. “Yesterday, I made this grand statement about how I’m ready to have sex with him—just to shut him up—and now I think he’s calling out my bluff.”

I can solve this problem. I glance at the phone in Lily’s hand. “Just tell Connor that you changed your mind. He won’t care.”

“He’ll win,” Rose says like that’s the stupidest idea.

“So what?”

Rose growls. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Lily mouths, I got this.

Great. Because I don’t speak Rose’s language.

Lily clears her throat. “Put him in a really uncomfortable position and then he’ll freak out and you both will be off the hook.”

I can practically feel Rose shaking her head. “Trust me, he’s not uncomfortable in any position.”

“How about just castrating him?” I chime in. “You threaten my balls every day.”

“That’s because they’re hanging around my sister,” Rose snaps. I hate that she makes a good point. “And you have full right to threaten my eggs or fallopian tubes. Have at them.”

I grimace. “I’m not going anywhere near your vagina.”

Rose says distantly, “I’m just trying to be fair.”

Lily thinks hard, her brows pinched in this adorable way. “I don’t know, Rose. You may lose this one. I mean…you can’t go home with another guy…” Lily lets that terrible option drift in the air.

And her sister stays completely silent on the matter.

“Rose!” both Lily and I yell.

“I wouldn’t cheat on him,” Rose says. “That’s disgusting. He’s just staring at me right now.” Her voice lowers. “I think he can read my expression.”

“Your bitch face?”

“No,” Rose drags out the word. “…I’m scared.”