Page 17 of Fuse

It might also be a mistake because of how I’m hefted right off my feet, despite my outraged shriek, and then flung over the ox’s shoulder right out of the room—as my sister and Joany replace their fist bumps for applause and their huffs for approving laughter.

“Spell it all out for her,” Lydia yells as Reece heads for the stairs leading to the master bedroom. “And be sure to start with A!”

Chapter Five

Reece

Oh, I’ll start with A, all right.

Why even wait until we get to the bedroom?

I’ve never wasted a chance to pay special attention to this woman’s fine ass, and this moment is no exception. Despite my irritation with her—perhaps because of it—a small thrill jacks my blood as I bring my free hand down across the perfect globes that are lodged so ideally against the side of my face.

Hard.

All right, I’m a little more than jacked.

Damn, how the woman can squirm when she wants to.

Smack.

“Ahhhh!” Her second yelp is more perfect than the first. “Damn it! What the—”

“Hush,” I admonish.

Smack.

“Seriously? Reece!”

“I said hush.”

I emphasize with one more spank, because I did send that promising nod to Lydia about covering the whole alphabet. And B stands for beautiful butt. And on to C, because her crazy curves are perhaps only matched by her crazy mind, seeming to pour out of her skull via her throaty screams as I clear the landing and kick our bedroom door shut.

“Are you kidding me?” she yells as I deposit her on the bed. She props herself up on her elbows to gash a fresh glare into me. Her irises are a vibrant, sexy cobalt through the tousled mess of her hair. “The grunting caveman treatment? Today? Now?”

“Yeah.” Good thing we’re at D, because all that fight and fire in her face has absolutely spoken to the swelling dick between my thighs. “What can I say? Your timing sucks ass, Bunny.”

“My timing?” She pushes out a bitter laugh. “Excuse the hell out of me? For what?”

“For trying to toss aside Joany’s valid point.”

“About what?”

“About what you’ve done to me, woman.”

I brace my stance, letting her drop her jaw as far as she damn well wants to. Doesn’t change a thing. She may still be considering my sister-in-law’s point as some trivial comment made during girl talk, but that’s what I’m here for. That’s exactly what I’ve brought her up here for. So she’ll see—with every fucking letter of the alphabet to help me out, if need be.

“You think she was just being nice, Bunny? Making girl talk? Spinning up compliments to make you feel better?” I fold my arms across my chest and tighten my jaw until I feel it tick. “Let me tell you something about our little Joany. She’s a tigress in the guise of a kitten, okay? She doesn’t say anything she doesn’t mean, and what she always means is the truth.”

“Fine.” Emma’s lips twist. She shores up her balance on her elbows, her chest undulating in mesmerizing ways against her cotton dress. Thank fuck her tone adds a brat factor to balance the heat in my libido. “But she was meaning the truth in a private conversation that—”

“Had everything to do with me?” I cock my brows. “So who was the one really sneaking around, Emmalina Paisley?”

Using her full name gets me two places at once. I’ve hurdled the E requirement and jumped into the next level of her comprehension. Though she’s still fuming, I can see she’s at least taking me seriously. She recognizes that I’ve hauled her up here because I mean business about addressing this. About addressing her blind spot to this goddamned important point. Making her see exactly how much light she’s really brought to me—especially on a day that’s been as dark and unbearable as this.

But with her here, I’ve been able to do it. To bear it.

With the promise of her light in my tomorrow, I know I’ll be able to get up and grow again. To live again.