Page 66 of Sugar Baby Mine

My tongue swipes over my lip, brushing his. There’s still peppermint toothpaste lingering on his breath, and I’m acutely aware that I haven’t brushed my teeth at all. But he doesn’t seem to care as he presses our lips together in a kiss that tastes as sweet as it is slow.

When we part, he lifts a piece of bacon from his plate and holds it up to my mouth.

I take a bite, savoring the smoky crunch.

“Never have. Started in high school when my mother wanted me to lose weight all the time, and it was the easiest meal to skip. Carried on in college when skipping it saved me money, though I’m sure I spent more on all the junk food I was never allowed to have to more than make up for it.”

“Well, expect me to feed you breakfast from now on. It’s the most important meal of the day.”

I squint at him, taking the rest of the bacon from his grasp andwatching as he takes a bite from another strip. “You’ve said that before, in a different context, though.”

He lets his gaze drop to where his shirt covers my body, legs entirely bare to him. I’m so tempted to spread my knees and let him have his fill of my pussy, too.

But I’m actually sore, like he shoved a battering ram inside me last night.

“Like I said,” Ben takes another bite, “most important meal of the day.”

I roll my eyes and turn back to my plate, finishing my eggs.

Ben’s phone buzzes on the counter next to the stove where he left it, and we both look up. He starts to stand when there’s a knock at the door, and he changes direction.

“That would be your coffee.”

I blink. “My coffee?”

“I ordered some coffee for us. We both have to get going soon, I’m sure,” he says, all nonchalant like that isn’t one of the single most panty-dropping sentences he could have said. And I’m not wearing panties.

He greets the dasher at the door and retrieves the drink carrier. I’m so focused on the fact that there’s a precious iced coffee walking toward me, that I don’t even see that Pebbles has jumped up onto the island, trying to steal the rest of my bacon until Ben shoos him away.

“One cold brew with three pumps vanilla and three pumps caramel.”

I take the drink as he hands it over, staring down at the cold foam on top.

“When you asked about my coffee order the other day, I don’t know why I didn’t expect you to remember it.”

Ben returns to the seat beside me, taking the lid off his drink, the steam rising from it in an inviting way. He throws me a confused look, brows bunching together as he finishes the rest ofhis food.

“Why not?”

Taking a drink, my eyes flutter as the sweet drink hits every one of my taste buds and has me sitting up straight. I lick my lip before taking another sip.

“Well, I’ve said before I’ve only dated—been—with dumb boys. I don’t have the best track record of choosing prospects, even when I go from one extreme to the other. And one has to think, maybe it’smethat’s actually the problem.” I shrug, pushing my empty plate forward and setting the drink down only to drag his cup closer so I can steal a sip from it, too. “But when we’re standing in line at a coffee shop and I’ve just said what I’d like to order only for him to repeat the entirely wrong thing to the barista, maybe it’s not just me.”

His eyebrows fly up, jaw going slack before it tightens up and his gaze smolders with intensity as he places a hand on my knee. The warm press of his palm somehow makes me shiver, my skin tingling with anticipation as he grips my leg with strength and comfort.

“You deserve to be heard—to be remembered. Know your worth, little bird.”

The words swirl in my brain and when I take a sip of his drink, the sweetness and warmth wrap tightly around me.

“I’d like to say I know, but I’m not sure I do. I never seem to learn my lesson.”

“And now?”

“Now what?”

“Now that you’re here—with me. What are you learning?” His thumb drags up the inside of my knee, climbing higher on my thigh until my heartbeat ticks up a notch, my mouth running dry.

Ben leans in, taking the cup from my hand to set it out of the way. His nose brushes over mine, lips ghosting over my jaw upto my ear. His breath blows over me and I nearly convulse off the stool, but his other hand spreads over my waist and he catches the movement of my body with ease.

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