Page 46 of Passing Ships

“What, you get a girlfriend, and suddenly, you’re the expert on love?”

He grins. “I’m an expert on you, and she’s under your skin.”

Fuck, she is.

“My advice? Don’t take as long to figure your shit out as I did. It’s just needless torture.”

“Okay, Mom,” I quip as I raise my bottle to get Heather’s attention for another round of drinks.

The house is quiet, but I know Amiya’s here because her keys and phone are sitting on the island.

We didn’t get a chance to talk this morning before Avie and Eden carted her off for the day. I’m anxious to see where her head is about what happened last night, so I walk down the hall to her bedroom and knock.

“Yes?”

“Hey, just wondered if you had a minute to talk,” I say through the door.

“One sec,” she calls.

I make my way back to the kitchen for a bottle of water, then move to the living room and grab the remote. I click through the channels till I find a hockey game and settle in.

When she finally emerges, she breezes past the couch, and I turn to look at her over my shoulder. She stops at the island and picks up her keys and phone, shoving them into a beaded purse.

“You look like you’re heading out to find some trouble,” I say as I stand.

My gaze falls to her long, toned legs peeking out from beneath the hem of the sexy, little, one-shouldered black dress that clings to her curves and leaves little to the imagination. I follow the sight down to her feet, tucked into a pair of gold stilettos with delicate straps that crisscross around her ankles. Her blonde locks are pinned up loosely with soft tendrils hanging down around her cheekbones, framing her face. The tips of her toes match the deep red on her fingernails and the stain on her lips.

Her lips.

My eyes snap to those full, soft, kissable lips just as her teeth sink into the bottom one.

“You like?” she asks as she does a slow, seductive twirl.

I set my drink aside and walk measuredly toward her.

She’s fucking radiant.

“Not sure what you’re selling tonight, Legs, but the packaging is dynamite,” I answer.

The corner of her mouth curls up at the compliment, bringing my attention back to her lips.

Her makeup is light, apart from the red hue on her lips. Simple diamond studs adorn her ears. I fight the urge to reach into her hair and tug her head back so I can nip at those earlobes.

“Rein it in, Sailor,” she purrs, reading my thoughts.

“I’m just admiring the view, seeing as you manicured it so well for me,” I state.

She laughs. It’s a low, throaty laugh, meant to disguise her insecurity.

“Not for you. For all the beautiful men waiting for me and the girls at the bar.”

“Oh, those assholes,” I say as I advance on her.

She takes a few small steps back until her shoulders rest against the front door.

“They can look all they want, but I’ll be the one unwrapping the package later tonight,” I whisper against her ear.

“Awfully cocky, Sailor,” she quips, but the catch in her voice lets me know that she intends to let me do exactly that.

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