Page 57 of Power Play

She balls her fists, her body shuddering in anger. Her jaw is clenched tight, and her eyes are shooting daggers at me. I don’t care if she’s pissed. I don’t care that I’m pushing her boundaries.All I know is that she’s mine, and I will never give up on her. On us.

“Follow me,” she grits through her teeth, wheeling around and heading to the kitchen. I follow her quietly, not daring to check out her place. Instead, my gaze falls on her round ass in tight black leggings, and it’s enough to make my dick throb in my pants.

Fuck, I want her.

She opens the door to the garage and walks into her workroom. The white of the walls makes it look bigger than it is. There’s one big, refrigerated storage unit standing along the farthest wall, full of flowers of different types and colors, from white to red, yellow to purple. A worktable is set up in the middle of the room, with a dozen red roses on it. What brings a smile to my face is her laptop, open and perched on the table, with a very familiar TV show playing on the screen. She’s been watchingGossip Girl. From what I see, it must be season three or four—I don’t remember for sure. I just know it’s the one where some scenes were filmed in Paris.

“How many times have you watched this already?”

She walks over to her laptop and pauses the episode, only then turning to face me. “What do you want, Clay?”

“You promised to go out with me if the Thunders won. We won,” I tell her confidently. She blinks, her plump lips parting. “I need to take my car in tomorrow, and my friend from Chicago suggested I go to his uncle. He has a car shop in Monterey. It’s about an hour and a half ride. Will you go with me? With Maya, of course. It will be fun. Monterey is a very beautiful place.”

Silence follows my words, but I don’t rush her. I wait for her to say something. Layla takes a deep breath, her nostrils flaring with barely hidden anger. “Did you get my text?”

I nod.

“Then what part of it didn’t you understand? I don’t want to go anywhere with you. Maya is?—”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with Maya. Your text, I mean.”

A loud snort springs out of her mouth, and she places her hands on her hips. “No? Wow, Clay, you’re so observant. So fucking smart, right?” She takes a step toward me, her eyes narrowing. “Maya and her happiness are the only things in the world I care about. I can’t let you swoop in and start spending time with us as if it’s so easy. She likes you, and the more you’re around, the more attached to you she’ll become. And what happens if you decide to walk away? If you meet someone and fall in love because being your friend is the only thing I can offer you?”

I know where she’s going with this. My calm mood disappears, replaced by fury.

“I already live with the guilt that her own father wants nothing to do with her, and what if you?—”

“Don’t you dare compare me to that fucking asshole,” I growl, stepping into her. We’re chest to chest, our eyes hooked on each other as I bend down to meet her gaze. “I would’ve never left. I would’ve never treated you the way he did. I would’ve never been here if I didn’t think I could handle it. If I didn’t know that that’s what I want.” I lift my hand and trap her chin between my thumb and index finger, tilting her face toward me. With how her eyes go cloudy, I know I’ve been right all along. She still likes me. “And I call bullshit on your theory that being my friend is the only thing you can offer me.”

The tip of her tongue darts out from the corner of her mouth, and she wets her bottom lip. “You’re wrong,” Layla whispers, trying to sound stern, but her body is betraying her. Her full tits are pressed to my chest as she leans into me, into my touch.

“You saw Dylan and got jealous,” I tell her. My eyes coast over her beautiful face. “But you have nothing to be jealous of.”

And I crash my mouth onto hers, kissing her hard. Our lips move together in perfect sync as if we kissed just yesterday. Her arms wrap around my shoulders as she molds her body to mine. I groan into her mouth, grabbing a handful of her ass. My tongue curls around hers, wanting more, demanding more, needing more. It feels even better than I remember.

I start moving, backing her up. My lips stay locked on hers. We kiss and kiss until her ass hits the table. I reach behind her and push the roses away, freeing up the space. Her hands sneak under my tee, feeling me up and caressing my skin with the light touch of her fingertips. I wind my hand around her waist and lift her then set her on top of her worktable.

“God, I missed this,” I murmur as I move to stand between her legs. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she whispers, and that’s all it takes for me to lose control. I grab the back of her neck and pull her into me. My lips collide with hers. It seems like the more we kiss, the more desperate we grow. My whole body vibrates under her touch; the heat of my skin is setting me ablaze.

“Mommy?” Maya’s voice freezes us on the spot.

I scoot away from Layla. Her bewildered state makes me smile, though I highly doubt I look any better. I hastily take a step back, and Layla jumps off the table. She tries to smooth her hair, her cheeks reddening as she keeps her gaze glued to the door. It slowly opens, and Maya steps into the garage. Her hair is down and messy. She rubs her eye with her little knuckle. Her other hand is clutching a plush toy to her chest. Her pink PJs with unicorns on them put a big smile on my face.

“Hey, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” Layla asks, her voice shaking a bit. Her chest still rises and falls rapidly.

Maya opens her mouth, ready to answer her mom. But then she notices me, and the look on her face is absolutely priceless. Her toy falls to the ground as she runs to me, her tinkling laughter filling the whole space.

“Clay!”

“Hey, Princess.” I catch her in my arms and lift her. She curls her hand around my neck, pressing her head to my cheek. “How did you sleep?”

“Good,” she says with delight. “You came to play with me?”

“I promised you, didn’t I?” I wink at her, making her laugh again. Her sweet scent of cotton candy swarms around me as she leans into me further. “I have a question for you, sweetie. Will you help me convince your mommy to take a little trip tomorrow? Just you, your mommy, and me. What do you say?”

Her chocolate brown eyes focus on me, studying me intently. Then she nods and swivels in my arms to get a better look at Layla. “Mommy, please. I wanna go.”

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