“Are you okay?” West asks, his voice laced with concern.
“Yeah, just some cramps.” She slips past us and heads to the medicine cabinet. “I’ll be out of your hair in a few seconds.”
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I sigh. “How much of that did you hear?”
She spins on her heel and arches one eyebrow. “Not much. Just that West thinks you should show me who you really are.”
I run a hand through my hair and mutter curse words.
She grabs the bottle of painkillers from the cupboard and takes two with a glass of water. When she’s done, she stands beside West at the kitchen island and studies me. “So who are you really, Zeke?”
Nope. Not going there. “You got your period?”
“Yup. Happens every month,” she replies, one corner of her mouth curling up. “Who are you?”
“You always get cramps?”
“Not always.” One eyebrow goes up. “So?”
West watches me, no doubt enjoying this.
I narrow my eyes. “You should probably go lay down or something.”
“It’s only period cramps. I’ll be fine. They usually go away with a couple Tylenol and a little heat. Do you guys have a heating pad?”
I look at West, and he shakes his head.
“That’s okay,” she muses, then sinks her perfect white teeth into the pillow of her bottom lip and releases it with a sharp inhale. “You know what else is good for period cramps?”
West dips his head, running his nose over her hair. “Orgasms.” She turns and smiles at him, but he gives her an apologetic look. “As much as I would love to help you out with that particular problem, princess, I have to shower and get to work.”
He kisses the top of her head, and with a final pointed glance in my direction, he leaves Lily and me alone in the kitchen.
“So, what about you, Zeke?” She manages a steady tone, but her body language portrays her nerves. Body language betrays everyone. She has no idea what she just walked into, but the fact that she’s still standing toe-to-toe with me is admirable.
“You want me to help with your cramps?”
“That too much for a big guy like you to handle?” Her defiant glare makes my cock twitch with the need to be inside her. “If you’re worried about a little blood, I’m wearing a tampon and you only need to stay in the clitoral area. You do know where that is, right?”
Fucking brat. Slowly rolling my head on my shoulders, I fight the urge to grin. A thrill of anticipation travels straight to my balls. I stalk around the island and stop directly in front of her, inhaling her scent. So sweet and inviting. I curl a strand of her dark hair between my thumb and forefinger, and she cranes her neck to look up at me, a playful smile on her lips.
“You should be very careful talking like that around me, buttercup.”
“I think I can handle you, Ezekiel,” she says with a soft purr and a flutter of her eyelashes. “So are you going to help me out with my cramps or not?”
I search her face as she blinks up at me, her bright green eyes sparkling. She has no fucking idea what she’s letting herself in for. But this has to happen sometime, right? At some point she’ll see who I really am and run for the hills like all the others. Out of all of the women we’ve ever brought home, she’s the one who needs to realize what I am sooner rather than later. Before West and Fitch get more attached to her than they already are. I can’t live with them resenting me for pushing her away. Decision made, I grab hold of her wrist, and my bruising grip makes her gasp.
“Come with me.” Not giving her any other choice, I drag her toward my bedroom. She jogs to keep up with me, her breaths fluttering from her lips. Once the door closes behind us, her eyes dart toward the art adorning my walls, then her gaze falls on the super king-sized bed. She drags her bottom lip through her teeth and looks at me, wide-eyed and expectant.
I step forward, closing the gap between us. “Go take out your tampon.”
The shocked look on her pretty face has me fighting back a grin. “W-what? No. Why?”
“Because I fucking told you to, buttercup. Now go. Bathroom’s back there.” I nod toward the far side of the room.
The spot between her eyes pinches together. “I can’t do that. There’ll be blood. Lots and lots of blood.” She glances at the pristine white sheets on my bed.
I grip her jaw in my hand, squeezing hard until she focuses her horror-stricken gaze on me instead. Bending down, I bring my lips close to her ear, enjoying the way she shivers when my breath dusts over her skin. Her feminine scent fills my nose. I need her. Now. “I know how periods work, Lily. Now go take out your fucking tampon or I’ll pull it out myself.” Her breath hitches. “With my teeth.”