Page 51 of Static

We were quietly eating and I marveled, as I usually did, at how much he could pack away and still remain so fit and strong. Sean was like a mini black hole, so I knew it was a male thing, but I usually had to double the portion sizes on the nights when I invited Static over for dinner. That had happened a lot over the last six months. Once I started coming out of my shell I began feeding him as a thank you for helping me with things. Or so I told myself. Really, I just wanted to be around him. He made me feel whole again. As much as another person could anyway.

He shoved his empty plate away and sat back against the couch, watching me. "You want to watch a movie?"

"Sure," I said, covering my mouth since it was full.

He grinned. "You would have reprimanded Sean for that," he teased.

The things he picked up on. He was so observant. "I'm an adult," I said, voice prim and proper. "If I want to speak with my mouth full I can. But I have to teach him basic manners before he decides to break them."

He reached out and tugged on my hair before he picked up the remote from the table. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Whatever you want." His eyes bored into the side of my face, and I looked over at him.

"No. Your choice." The teasing tone was gone. He was watching me with a serious expression now.

I swallowed my bite and nodded. Too many times, I'd done whatever Trent wanted because it kept the peace. Static didn't know about that, at least not specifics, but deep down, he did. He was setting a boundary right now. I didn't get to do that with him. "I'd love to watch a rom com."

"Rom com it is."

Muscles I didn't even know were tense, loosened at his easy answer. It wasn't fair to him that he had to deal with the fallout of a bad marriage, and subsequently what happened after that, but I had warned him I wouldn't be the easiest woman to date. Yet there he was, studying each movie description as though he didn't have a care in the world that he was about to watch a chick flick.

I pushed my plate away and caught him side-eyeing it. "What?" I asked.

He looked over at me. "You don't eat enough."

My mouth dropped open. That was definitely true after the attack, but I was getting better. "I'm full," I told him.

"That's not enough to keep a bird alive," he argued.

"Static. I ate plenty." I wasn't a tiny stick of a woman. I had a healthy frame, and though I lost some weight after the attack, I'd put it back on again.

"Okay," he replied with a nod. "What about this one?" he asked, pointing with the remote to the screen.

"Die Hard?"

"Yeah, it's both a Christmas movie and a rom com."

"Not even close!" I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, though.

"Fine…" He kept scrolling, watching my face until I agreed to a real rom com.

We were only about five minutes into the movie when muscled arms snaked around my body and lifted me. I gasped, but he deposited me into his lap too quickly for me to argue about him picking me up.

"That's better," he declared, looking down at me.

I didn't bother to argue because it was so nice to be held. I made myself comfortable and laid my head on his shoulder. This was something else we'd done before, so it wasn't as nerve wracking. Granted I'd never snuggled up in his lap before, but often I'd press against his side and he'd wrap an arm around my shoulders. Now that I looked back over our time together, I was able to pick up on how we were acting together and see that we both were very into each other. It made me smile. I was comfortable with him in a way that I wasn't with many others.

His large hand was on my thigh and the further the movie played, the less I was paying attention to what was happening on screen. I swallowed as he started sliding it up and down my leg, only a few inches up, then down again. It was distracting. Which was probably why he was doing it. I snuck a peek up at his face, but his eyes were glued to the screen.

I'd almost broken my rule with him the other day. After he found me with David and lost his temper, I'd thrown all caution to the wind. It would have given me a temporary satisfaction, but I was glad Dani had interrupted, though I didn't like that my babies had been sick. Her call had kept me from rushing into something with him and then agonizing over where we stood. Instead, I'd gotten that part, and my expectations out of the way to begin with, before it all got messy with sex.

My nipples tightened, both from his movements and thinking about sex with him. I was desperate to be touched, but also a little afraid he'd make a wrong move and send me into a panic attack. But every time he touched me, he woke my body up and made me want to arch into him like a cat.

"Any reason you're breathing heavy, Baby Girl?" he rumbled in my ear.

"No," I snapped back, too quickly. His chuckle vibrated through my whole body.

"You sure?"

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