Lick Is A Four-Letter Word

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013 Erin M. Leaf

 
ISBN: 978-1-77130-394-1

Cover
Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor:
JS Cook

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
 
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a
work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For my husband: you're my favorite candy.

LICK IS A
FOUR-LETTER WORD

Four-Letter Word, 3

Erin M.
Leaf

Copyright
© 2013

Chapter
One

“This
is a bad idea.” Josh fidgeted with the paper sheet thingy spread over his lap.
It barely covered his junk.
“Seriously.”

“Oh,
stop being such a baby,”
Troy
retorted, adjusting his own paper sheet. “Laura said women like it when you
trim the forest. And besides, we lost the bet, remember?”

He
doesn’t seem to be having any trouble with his little paper dress
, Josh thought bitterly.
Troy
lounged on his table as though hanging out naked in a small room with his best
friend was entirely normal.
Which it totally is not.
To make matters worse,
Troy
’s
cappuccino-colored skin wasn’t sporting even one goose bump and Josh was
shivering. He wished he could bang his head on something. Like a wall.
Or
Troy
’s
skull.

“And
you listen to my sister when she talks to you about sex?” he asked mulishly.

Troy
frowned, looking down at his lollipop thoughtfully. “When you put it like
that…”

Josh
sighed.
“Dude.
She’s married to your brother.
Your older brother.
Who stuffed you in a closet when you
were eight, remember? He could kill us both with his little finger.” Josh
shifted his weight on the table, wondering once again how he and
Troy
got themselves into
these disasters. His butt was numb from sitting and waiting and he could barely
keep himself from shredding the stupid paper drape.
I’m going to kill Laura
for setting us up for this. This is all her fault.

“Now
you’re just being a
wuss
. If we ganged up on David,
we’d be fine,”
Troy
said and stuck the cherry candy back in his mouth.

Josh
glared at his friend.
Troy
was an idiot. He had been driving Josh crazy since they were kids. “He’s a
cop.”

“So?”
Troy
asked, the side of
his cheek sticking out from the round candy.

Josh
scowled.
Troy
’s
lips were pulled to one side by the lollipop. His hazel eyes twinkled over his
distorted cheek, daring Josh to say something. How he managed to look so
put-together while naked and sucking on a lollipop was beyond Josh’s
comprehension.

“You’re
ridiculous,” he finally said, putting all of the withering contempt he felt for
his best friend right now in the words. “Also, my sister would take David’s
side. She could kick your ass, too.”

“I’m
not afraid of Laura,”
Troy
declared.

Josh
laughed. “I had no idea you turned into a moron when you took your clothes
off.”

Troy
glared at him and pulled out the candy. “For God’s sake, Josh, man up. You’re
twenty-seven years old. You own your own business. You have a black belt in Tae
Kwon Do.”

“I own
half my own company. You own the other half. And my sister has a black belt
too, so it cancels mine out. Also, she’s my sister. I haven’t won an argument
with her since she turned five, and neither have you.” Josh shifted again,
then
froze when the paper ripped under his thigh. “Shit.”

Troy
snorted. “You can’t even sit still.
Pathetic.”

Josh
gave him the finger. “I’m freezing.”

Troy
licked his lollipop insolently, leaning back on his table. “It’s not my problem
if your skinny Korean ass has no insulation.”

“Half-Korean.”

“Whatever.”
Troy
rolled his
eyes.

“That’s
like calling you a white boy.” Josh knew that particular statement would get
his friend riled up and he grinned in anticipation. He didn’t have to wait
long.

“Fuck
you,”
Troy
said, spitting the lollipop out. He was half-smiling. This was an old argument.
“I’m half black.”

“Your
mom is white and she raised you. And you hate rap music. That’s just weird.
That cancels out all your blackness.” Josh leaned back, giving up on the stupid
paper. It
gaped
open over his leg, giving
Troy
an eyeful of his
hip, but he didn’t care anymore. If something poked out, oh well.
Not like
Troy
hasn’t seen a dick before. He’s got one
of his own.

“I
simply prefer more refined music, like the blues. Or jazz,”
Troy
stated, nodding his head emphatically.
“Unlike you, my tastes are more developed.”

Josh
grinned. “At least I have taste.”

Troy
sat up. A loud rip signaled the demise of half of his paper drape.
“
Shitballs
.”
He stared down at the
rip that left him clutching two pieces of paper over his groin. “You did that
on purpose.”

“Your
lollipop is sticking,” Josh said, pointing.

Troy
cursed and pulled it up, ripping the paper even more. A scrap stuck to the
candy. “You suck, Josh.”

Josh
laughed, watching his friend try to juggle two scraps of paper and a lollipop
while trying to keep his cock covered. It was way too late for modesty, though
he didn’t tell
Troy
that. He eyed the line of his friend’s body, admiring the way his muscles moved
under the skin, not for the first time. He was careful to look away before
Troy
caught him. He liked
women, but a few years ago he’d had to come to terms with the fact that he
seemed to be something less than straight, not that he’d ever acted on it. Not
that he ever intended on doing so. He wasn’t afraid to admit that he might be
just a bit bisexual, but it wasn’t that big a deal. He liked girls just fine,
too. Besides, it was easier to date women.

He
watched, amused as
Troy
cursed again, finally getting the last of the paper off of his lollipop. He
licked it triumphantly, flicking the sticky bit he’d picked off toward Josh.
Josh ducked, the paper on his lap sliding again. He grabbed it and missed.
That’s when the door from the bathroom opened and a small blonde woman walked
in wearing nothing but a paper sheet, nerdy glasses, and long, wavy hair.

Chapter
Two

Felicity
stopped dead in her tracks as the door to the bathroom shut behind her with a
solid thud.

“Uh—”
she said, staring at the display of gorgeous male flesh in front of her. One of
the men had his paper sheet clutched to his groin, lollipop dangling
precariously from his mouth. He was a warm brown all over. He had the most
delicious set of muscles she’d ever seen and eyes that flashed from hazel to
gold and back again. His short, light hair was done in small, soft dreadlocks.
It looked fluffy. She wanted to run her hands along his head, see if it felt as
soft as it looked.

He
smiled cheekily at her, licking his lollipop as he readjusted his paper drape.
She blushed, tearing her eyes away only to have them land on the other man. His
hair was a shiny dark brown, longer in front so that it flopped over his
forehead. He stared back at her as he sat there, cupping his hands over his
groin, crumpled up paper haphazardly arranged over his hips. He looked just as
amazing as the other man: smooth light brown skin, sleek muscles, and
exotically tilted brown eyes.

“Oh
God,” she muttered, feeling for the doorknob behind her. She curled her toes in
her socks and tried to figure out what had just happened. Her bad ankle ached,
warning her not to tense up, but it was already too late. She ignored the stab
of pain in her foot, used to it after the past few years. She didn’t know where
to look that wouldn’t land her in trouble. “I’m sorry, I must have picked the
wrong door,” she mumbled, mortified, still fumbling behind her. When her hand
closed over the knob, she breathed a sigh of relief. She tried to turn it,
wanting to back out of here as quickly and painlessly as possible. It didn’t
budge. “Crap,” she muttered, clutching the paper drape closed with her other
hand as if her life depended on it. “Double crap,” she said more loudly as she
tried again to get the handle to move. It clicked futilely in her hand.