Freaks Under Fire - Excerpt Only

Freaks Under Fire (Excerpt Only) - Chapter Four

Freaks Under Fire

Book 3 of the Freaks series

By Maree Anderson

Chapter Four

Jay poked her head out of the shower cubicle and pressed a finger to her lips to indicate Tyler should remain silent.

What the—? He shot her a quizzical glance and then the light bulb went on. "Caro's eavesdropping isn't she?" he hissed. Brat. His sister was gonna be very sorry for a very long time.

She shook her head. "It's your father."

Tyler gulped, scrambled back into his pants, and shot a glance at the bathroom door. A few minutes later and.... He shuddered. What his father would have heard didn't bear thinking about. Bad enough getting caught in the bathroom fully dressed while Jay was naked as the day she was born. Uh, make that created.

"Do I have time to get out of here without being spotted?" he asked.

"No. But if you're looking for an excuse to be in here while I am unclothed, simply tell the truth—that the pup urinated all over me and you were bringing me fresh clothing."

Tyler nodded enthusiastically. Yeah that'd work.

"It'll be more convincing if you zip the fly of your jeans," Jay murmured, and then she ducked beneath the shower spray, shutting the cubicle door behind her.

Jee-zus. Tyler fumbled with his zipper, and nearly jumped out of his skin when his dad asked, "Jay, you in there?" The question was followed by a soft knock that was a token politeness at best, because his dad didn't wait for an answer before trying the handle of the bathroom door. "I need to speak to you. It's urgent."

Tyler flipped the lock and opened his mouth to present his excuse, but before he could speak, his dad said, "You're here, too? Good. Saves me coming looking for you."

His father strode up to the cubicle to tap on the door. "Keep the water running, Jay," he ordered. "Less chance of being overheard that way."

The cubicle door cracked a couple of inches, and Jay stuck out a hand. "Pass me a towel, please? I can hear easily enough over the running water if you lower your voices, but it will be difficult for you to reciprocate."

Tyler's dad passed her a towel, and she emerged a few seconds later with it wrapped around her torso.

The steam had turned her hair to ringlets. Droplets of water clung to her eyelashes and glossed her skin. Tyler knew Jay's looks were primarily the result of her creator's vision and skill rather than solely a happy genetic accident, but despite all that, despite everything he knew about her, at times like this Jay's beauty was like a sucker punch to the gut that left him breathless. It had been this way ever since he'd glimpsed her on her first day at Greenfield High, waiting for her class schedule. And the fact she'd chosen him, Tyler Davidson, ex-jock-god fallen from grace relegated to the bottom of the pecking order, when she could have crooked her little finger and had any guy she'd wanted? Yeah. It still amazed him. As did the fact she'd chosen to stay.

Tyler wasn't the only one affected. His dad's eyes had a glazed look about them. And was that—?

Yep, his jaw was agape.

He blinked, and shot a gaze at Tyler that seemed to say, "Sorry, my bad. But hell, you're one lucky sonuvagun."

Tyler had to agree. And he couldn't fault his dad for being gob-smacked. Each time he spotted Jay wandering around partially clad, Tyler nearly swallowed his tongue. Or walked into a wall. Or spilled a drink down himself. God only knew how Allen and McPhee and the rest of the all-male painting group managed to put brush to canvas when Jay modeled for them.