Page 14 of Pucks and Coffee

“Huh?” I say with a laugh.

“It’s all breathy and cute. I don’t know. I’ve never heard someone say it like that, and you do it all the time. It’s as if you are so worried I’ll say no.”

I am. “Oh.”

“Let me get the cake.”

Without thinking, I tease, “Yes, please.”

His shoulders flex as he lets out a long sigh and then heads back to the kitchen while I giggle to myself. I’m awful. I gather our plates and put them on the side of the table, out of the way, as he comes back with the cake. It’s small, like a personal-sized cake, with delectable-looking frosting. He sets it between us with two forks, and he hands me one. I take it eagerly, and my mouth waters at the sight. I should be full—and should be ashamed—but I’m not. I dig in and moan once the sweetness of sugar, cinnamon, and cream cheese hits my tongue.

“Lord, it’s better than the pie,” I groan raggedly. When I look over at him, his bite is inches from his lips and his eyes are locked on me. Heat flushes my skin under his heated gaze as I clear my throat. “It’s really good.”

“Thank you,” he says before stuffing his mouth with his bite. As he chews, I take another bite. I’m about to swallow when he asks, “How would you like to take over ownership of my coffee shop?”

And, of course, I promptly start choking.

CHAPTER 9

Coleson

I watch as McDavid wheezes, her face turning red as she coughs and chokes on the bite she just put into her mouth. My eyes widen as I get out of the booth, knocking into the rack, sending the potpie flying. Plates crash to the floor, but I ignore them to help McDavid. I pull her out of the booth as she clutches her throat, and shit, my wife is going to die before I can even convince her to be my wife.

I lift her to her feet with ease. She weighs nothing as I turn her and press her back to my front. Her head comes to the middle of my chest, so I have to bend down farther to wrap my arms around her middle. I thrust my clasped fists hard into her middle, and I guess it’s too hard, causing her tits to pop out the top of her dress.

Jesus fucking Christ above, are you kidding me?

But she’s still choking.

I want to protect her modesty, but I have to save her. I press again, her breasts bouncing with each thrust I give her, until finally, the piece of cake—which seems to be mainly the walnuts I added—that was lodged in her windpipe flies across the room to land on the table. Relief floods me as McDavid slumps against my chest. She gasps in air, and the motion reminds me how close she is. Her ass is curved against my middle from where I’ve surrounded her, and when I look down over her head, her pretty pink nipples are on display. I look away, breathing just as hard as she is.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m alive,” she groans. “Oh my God, don’t look. My boobs are out.”

“Not looking.” Which isn’t a lie since I’m not looking right now.

“I’m sure you got an eyeful.”

I ignore her comment. “You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah,” she says, moving out of my arms and adjusting her dress. I try not to react to the loss of her warmth as she turns to look at me. Her makeup is streaked down her face, and I can’t stop myself from swiping my thumbs over her cheeks. Her cheeks are so full, warm, and soft. I don’t want to stop touching her, but when she goes still at the touch, her watery gaze locking with mine, I pause.

“Sorry. Your makeup is all over the place.”

I move back a bit, stepping on the broken dish of the potpie. I steady myself when I almost slip, and then I crouch down to clean everything up. When she crouches too, I look over at her. “I’ve got this. Get a drink.” She waves me off, but I stop her, grabbing her wrist until she meets my gaze. “McDavid, get a drink.”

She hesitates only for a moment before she slides back into the booth, doing what I asked. I pile everything back onto the tray and then fix the rack so I can place it all on top. This is going great. As I slide back into the booth, her voice is low, shy, as she says, “Sorry about that.”

I shake my head, hating that she’s apologizing. “Hey, no worries. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Maybe I should go?”

I give her a look. “Why?”

“Because I choked on a piece of cake!”

“It had nuts in it.”

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