Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
LIAM
“ I s it supposed to smell this bad?” The words come out muffled because I’m plugging my nose, and Lark just laughs at me.
“It’s bleach , Liam. Yes, it smells bad. Now hush, you’re almost done processing and then we need to rinse you before we do the red.”
We’ve been home for a couple of hours now, and the only part of me that regrets asking Lark to dye my hair is my nose. Watching her in her element is wildly sexy, and even though I have no idea what half of the things she’s said mean, I’m having the time of my life letting her play with my hair.
I’m on the floor of the kitchen on a short step stool, because when I sat on a barstool we quickly realized that she was still too short to reach the top of my head. I’ve got an old garden towel wrapped around my shoulders, and a plastic shower cap covering most of my freshly-cut hair.
Lark pauses her movements to look at me, and a giggle tumbles out of her pretty mouth. The sound lights me up inside, even if it is at my expense. Her joy is hands down my new favorite sound.
Grabbing her phone, I watch on in bemused silence as she aims the camera my way, snapping pictures. “You look very handsome like that, plant boy. Who knows, you may just start a new fashion trend!”
My phone rings before I can muster a retort snarky enough to keep her from knowing my real feelings, but I grimace when I see Keelan’s face flash on the screen. Bracing myself for an inquisition, I answer the FaceTime call with a smile that’s only slightly forced.
“Dude, what the fuck is on your head?” he crows, immediately laughing when he sees the state of my hair.
Lark huffs indignantly, rolling her eyes and flipping off the phone where her brother can’t see. I snicker at her, but Keelan’s sharp intake of breath quickly pulls my attention back to the phone in my hands.
Whatever I thought I saw pass across his face is gone in a blink, and he smiles widely. “Malarkey suckered you into a new style, huh? She’s good at that.”
I nod, laughing good-naturedly. “She’s persuasive when she wants to be.”
Lark’s eyes go comically wide where she stands behind the counter, but if I recant my words now, Keelan will know something’s up. “How have things been since our last call, Drac? You feeling any better now that you’re in the home stretch before the last show?”
The bags under his eyes are still prominent, but not nearly as bad as they were the last time I saw him. I hope being home will help him feel better about everything, but I’ll be here for him even if it doesn’t.
“I’m so ready to be home, man. You have no idea. I miss my parents and Lark, and I’m just so damn tired. I don’t know if it’s that I’m almost thirty, or that I’ve been doing this for eight years, but I can’t keep up the way I used to. We’re averaging eighty-four shows over a ten-month tour, and the whole band is burned out, but the label wants us to take two weeks off and then do an international leg, and I just don’t know if we can.” His voice gets quieter. “I don’t know if I can.”
Lark chooses that moment to butt in, ducking down so her head is also in frame. “Keelan Love Monroe! If you can’t finish your tour or do another leg then don’t . You’ve been pushing yourself for so long, and your record label is asking too much of you guys. Come home, take a break, and if you decide you need more time, or you’re done with touring, we’ll find a way to get you out of your contract.”
This is the worst possible time to get all moony-eyed over my gorgeous fake girlfriend, but fuck. She’s sexy when she gets passionate about something. Keelan’s sputtering and exasperated groan is the only thing distracting enough to pull my eyes away from his sister.
“Malarkey,” he whines. “I went five years without Liam knowing my middle name, and you just throw it out there like it’s nothing? How would you feel if I went around telling people your middle name?”
As they bicker back and forth about their unique middle names that I will absolutely be making fun of them for later, my focus stays rooted on Lark’s expression. The way her face lights up as she talks with her twin has a strange mixture of jealousy and longing swirling in my chest.
I’ve never known what it’s like to have someone understand me the way those two understand each other and it’s something I want desperately. After the last few days, I feel like that’s something I could have with Lark, but concern over how Keelan might react sits heavily in the back of my mind .
“That’s not the point, Keelan! You don’t get to lecture me about going home to see Mom and Dad when you haven’t been home in what, a year and a half?” Lark’s raised voice surprises me.
How long did I zone out?
Keelan’s voice is calm in comparison to his sister’s, but no less intense. “No offense, Lark, but that’s bullshit and you know it. You’re living in Echo Cove, and they have every right to?—”
Lark slams the phone down on the island and stabs a finger at it to cut the call. I doubt she wants to talk about whatever that was, so I decide to address the elephant in the room. “Hey, Red?”
“What, Liam?” she snaps angrily.
“My head is burning.”
“Oh shit!” She jumps into action, carefully guiding my head back into the deep farmhouse sink and turning on the water. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten distracted.”
I shrug the best I can with the awkward angle my upper body is at. We lapse into a comfortable silence as she rinses my hair, but mostly because I don’t want to distract her again and accidentally end up with a bald spot or something.
My eyes stay closed while she does her thing, partly because the feel of her hands in my hair is fucking heaven, but also because there’s no chance she wouldn’t notice me gawking like a lovestruck fool from this position. Only a short few minutes later, the water cuts off and a new smell invades my nose. Thankfully, this one is pleasantly floral with only a slight chemical tinge.
Lark hums quietly, and then there’s pressure on my thighs. My eyes shoot open, flying to hers and immediately clocking the fact that she’s in my lap . Her focus doesn’t shift from the red goop she’s applying to my hair, but the sly tilt to her lips proves she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Red…”
The tilt widens to a smirk as she scoots further up my thighs, resting her core directly over the hardening length in my shorts. “It’s not my fault you’re such a giant, plant boy. I’m just trying to be thorough.”
Grunting, I shimmy my hips on the stool, trying with no luck to adjust myself under her ass. She giggles at the movement, but still doesn’t take her eyes away from my hair. “Problem?”
I groan, thrusting my hips. “You have me trapped in the most uncomfortable position possible and decided to make it worse by sitting that perfect ass in my lap. Do you not remember what happens to brats, Lark?”
She shrugs, setting the bowl of color down on the counter, brush leaning inside. “You know, I never did find out the answer to my question earlier,” she says playfully, sliding off my lap and onto her knees in front of me.
My mind spins from the position of my head, so it takes me a second to focus on her words. “What question?” I ask suspiciously.
Small fingers hook into the waistband of my shorts and tug, making my eyes widen in shock. “You’re playing with fire, pretty girl.”
“Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop,” she whispers. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about tasting you all day.”
As if I would ever say no to her. Instead of answering out loud, I lift my hips off the stool, giving her better access so she can pull my shorts down. She sees I’m not wearing underwear and digs her teeth into that plush bottom lip, blue eyes darting to mine. “Dirty boy. ”
It’s my turn to smirk, even as my breath goes short in my chest. The second her tongue darts out to lick a stripe up my shaft, I’m gone . Completely lost to the sensations of her mouth on me. “Jesus fuck, Red.”
Her laughter vibrates against my shaft, and my hips give an involuntary buck. “Sorry,” I force the word through gritted teeth, but Lark just moans in response before taking half of my shaft in one go and using her hand to stroke the rest.
My entire body feels like it’s on fire as she sucks me into her mouth. I’ve never been able to come from a blow job alone, but it’s only been a few seconds and already I’m worried about embarrassing myself. I’m not sure if that’s due to her skill or just the fact that it’s Lark .
Bringing a hand up, I thread my fingers through her soft hair, not pushing, not guiding, simply just grounding myself in the moment. “Red, gorgeous, I’m close.”
Humming around my shaft, she doubles down with even more enthusiasm, taking me far enough into her mouth that she gags around the head of my cock. I cry out, gripping her hair even tighter in my clenched fist. “If you don’t want me to come in that sassy mouth, you better stop,” I warn.
She doesn’t listen.
Not even a minute later I’m shouting my release as she drinks me down, never once stopping her movements or taking a second to breathe.
My girl leans back with a satisfied grin on her pretty face, mascara smudged beneath her eyes and hair a mess from my hand. I completely forget about the dye in my hair and lean forward to kiss her. “You,” I mumble against her lips, “are so fucking sexy.”
I deepen the kiss, completely uncaring that I can taste myself on her tongue. We only stop when a wet smack against my forehead interrupts the moment .
Lark pulls away with a gasp, giggling as she reaches for a paper towel to lift the hair off my face. “You’re going to have a red stain on your forehead now.”
My smile is soft as I reach up to cup her cheek in my hand. “Totally worth it.”