Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Twenty-Six

"What about this one?" Alix leaned back onto another bed. It swallowed her up, and the thin quilt sank into the middle, covering her arms and legs.

Taivon stood above her, looking at her with an extremely arrogant, cocky smile on his face. Alix hadn't mentioned anything of it, but ever since his complete meltdown in the bedroom just a few hours ago, he'd been acting a lot more...calm. Not reserved, but just a sort of serene. Yet brash and bold at the same time.

It was confusing.

"I d-don't know," he said, in a low voice that sent chills up her spine. "C-C-Can you see yourself g-getting fuh-fuh-fucked on it?"

That. Right there. Alix was beginning to notice that he got very playful and very smug whenever it came to this whole sex thing. Maybe he was making up for that bout of weakness back at his place, or maybe that was just how it was when it came to Taivon and sex, but either way, it sure got her attention.

Leaning up on her elbows, she gave him a smoldering look, purposely dragging her tongue along her bottom lip. His eyes filled with that familiar heat that was only ever directed at her, and Alix felt her center clench.

He held out his hand. "C-C'mon, darlin'. Let's fuh-find us a bed, and th-th-then we'll p-pick up where we left off."

As she walked hand in hand with him down the aisles of beds, Alix made him sit down on every single one with her. Some had quilts and pillows; others were just plain with no sheets covering the mattress. Some were so soft that she and Taivon were swallowed up, and others were so firm it felt close to lying on a rock.

"Mmm..." Taivon groaned on what was probably the fiftieth bed they'd tested, closing his eyes with his fingers laced behind his head. "Now th-th-this one..."

Alix sat down next to him. It was pretty nice. Not too firm but not too soft, either. It wasn't even going to be her bed, but she knew that Taivon would ask her if she liked it or not because that was just what he did.

"Alix," he said, opening up one eye to look at her. "Wuh-What do ya th-th-think? Do yuh-you like it?"

"Definitely."

"Are yuh-yuh-you just saying th-that so we c-c-can leave?"

She planted a quick kiss on his lips. "No. It really is nice. But the decision's yours. Not mine."

"I'll guh-get th-th-this one then." He got off the bed, checked the tag, and then took her hand again.

Apparently, the quilts and pillow shams he had at home weren't good enough either, because they went to that section, too. And stayed there. For awhile. He looked at the teal quilts, yellow sheets, and polka dot linens, one by one picking up a plastic case, looking at it, and then setting it down again.

"Wuh-Wuh-What do you l-like?" Taivon asked.

"Taiv," she said, smiling lightly. "I told you. This is your decision. Not mine."

"B-But you c-c-can st-still help."

Sighing, Alix went over to the maroon duvet that had caught her eye before. It was simple, with a pattern in clean white that really stood out. Completely opposite to the olive green of his other quilt and pillows.

"How about this?"

He stuck his hand inside the case and smiled. "Soft."

She placed her fingers over his, stroking up and down. His eyes closed, that small lift of his lips looking so content and so tempting that Alix had to sample a taste. As soon as their mouths came in contact, Taivon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer, further opening her up to him.