Page 80 of Wasted On You

They climaxed together and fell back onto the bed. Mike Paul immediately pulled her into his arms, and for the longest time, neither said a word. It took a bit for them to catch their breath and for their heart rates to normalize. When they did, Ivy kissed him.

“We might have to try one more time,” she murmured against his mouth.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “I’m not sure if that was better than yesterday.”

“Huh.” He hadn’t even taken off the condom and already was getting hard. “You want me to do the thing with my mouth where I?—”

“Yes, please,” she replied quickly, already reaching for him. Needless to say, he wasn’t going to get much sleep.

Hours later, when the light outside was beginning to brighten the room, he got out of bed. Ivy was fast asleep, a half-smile still on her face, and he felt like a king, knowing he’d put it there. Mike Paul pulled on his boxers and headed for the kitchen. He was hungry and thought he’d put together a spread for the two of them. Whistling to himself, he walked into the kitchen and found it already occupied.

Shit. He’d forgotten about the Yankee.

Kip Lafferty stood by the sink. Dressed the same as Mike Paul, he glanced over and didn’t seem surprised to see him. “I’m making coffee,” he said, voice a little rough. “You interested?”

Mike Paul nodded. He spied a box of donuts on the counter and helped himself to a couple before grabbing a stool at the island. Now, Mike Paul was more than a little curious as to why Lafferty and Ivy had come up with such an insane idea, faking an engagement, but no way in hell was he asking the athlete.

He was fine being civil. For whatever reason Ivy liked him, so it was the least Mike Paul could do.

Kip poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Mike Paul before rummaging in the fridge for cream. He set that on the counter along with a small bowl of sugar and stepped back. The two men sipped from their mugs, taking stock of each other from their respective corners like boxers in the ring.

“You’re still here,” Mike Paul said after a while. “Thought you’d be gone.”

Kip cracked his neck and set his mug down. “At least for a couple of days. Maybe more.” Lafferty took a beat. “Look, I haven’t known Ivy for nearly as long as you. But in a short time, she’s come to mean a lot to me.”

“Good to know.” Mike Paul kept his tone light, though his back was up. He didn’t like where this was going and he sure as hell didn’t feel like discussing Ivy with him.

“I hope you know this situation between you two isn’t something she’s treating lightly. It means something to her.”

That back of his, already up, straightened, and Mike Paul’s fingers tightened around his mug. He wanted to smash it across Lafferty’s face. Where the hell did he get off? He’d known Ivy for a minute.

“Thanks for your concern,” Mike Paul replied. “But just so we’re clear?” He leaned forward, deadly serious. “I would never disrespect Ivy. I would never hurt her. I would never lie to her. And none of that is any of your business.”

“It might not be,” Kip replied, taking a step forward. “But I’m making it my business.”

“It’s hard to breathe in here, boys,” Ivy said, walking into the kitchen. “On account of all that testosterone.”

At the sight of her, the animal inside of Mike Paul rose to the surface, and it took everything he had not to walk over to her and grab her up. To not bury his nose in her hair and kiss her until she sighed from pleasure.Tonot put his mark on her again.To not beat Kip Lafferty to a pulp and toss his ass outside.

Tarzan move, for sure, but it was looking good to him right about now.

Instead, he got to his feet and offered a smile. “Hey, you,” he said, watching her closely. Her eyes melted, and she licked her bottom lip. Was it on purpose? Did she want to drive him fucking crazy?

“Hey,” she replied.

Kip made a sound of disgust.

Ivy stretched like a cat.

Mike Paul decided he was taking her back to bed. And he would have done exactly that, except Kip cock-blocked him.

“Ivy, my grandfather will be up soon. Maybe your boyfriend should leave now.”

Boyfriend? He glared at him and took a step forward, but then Ivy was in front of him, her soft hands on his chest, those big eyes of hers asking him to stop.

“I’m sorry, but Kip’s right. His grandfather is staying here, and we haven’t told him about us. This.” She swore and looked away.

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