Page 99 of Break

I’m pulled from my musings when I see Ethan help Mina to her feet, and the two of them gather up the blanket, game, and food garbage. She’s definitely not one who will stand back and watch others work around her. She dives in and works alongside her partner, pitching in where she can.

Catching the eye of the cop that tagged along for extra security, I nod at him to let him know I’ve got it from here. I hate interrupting their time together, but I rode with the officer on duty and Ethan knows my plan was to ride home with them.

The two of them make their way toward where I’m standing, her hand encased in his. She chats away about something she’s clearly enthusiastic about, completely content with the familiarity of close contact with him.

Ethan sees me before she does, but my focus is solely on her.

When she finally notices me, instant reassurance rushes through me when her eyes light up with happiness. I may not know what I’m giving her, but she does.

“Max! What are you doing here?” Mina doesn’t ask me in any sort of accusing manner. She’s simply curious.

Keeping my arms crossed against my chest, I watch as she approaches me, and I can’t keep my smile from growing the closer she gets. “Hey there, little dove.” Her fucking blush melts me. “I was in the area and thought I’d drive you two home. Is that alright with you?”

Ethan huffs out a laugh and tosses me the keys as an answer. I know he doesn’t mind that I’m poaching his time, especially now that he gets to ride in the back with her.

Mina’s teeth dig into her bottom lip as she smiles up at me. “Fine with me.” She hasn’t moved to get into the car yet. Instead, she seems a bit nervous standing in front of me, her fingers working against each other as she twists them together.

It dawns on me that she’s unsure how she should greet me since she’s technically on a date with Ethan right now. Grinning wider, I open my arms and welcome her into a hug as she steps between my spread legs and leans into my body.

Wrapping my arms around her, one hand on her lower back and the other on the back of her head, I breathe her in. Speaking low, keeping my question between the two of us, I ask, “Did you have a nice time? How was your first date?”

Her whispered, “I had thebesttime,” makes me smile into her hair where I’m resting my lips.

Trying to hold back my laugh, I tell her, “I’m going to have to draw straws with Vince to see who gets to take you out next.”

“It’s too much,” she tells me, shaking her head to deny me.

Reaching a finger under her chin, I keep her pressed against me as I tilt her face up so I can look into her eyes. They instantly fall to my lips and my heartbeat picks up. I want to fucking kiss her so badly right now, but I won’t take away Ethan’s moment with her more than I already have.

“Listen to me, dove.” Her cheeks flush, but she doesn’t look away, giving me all of her attention. “It’s not enough. It’ll never be enough. Let us spoil you.”

I can feel my cock growing with her pressed against me, her chest pressed against mine. Mina’s breathing shallows and there’s a hungry look in her eyes. “Max…” she whispers, trailing off.

Leaning down, my breath fans over her lips, but I don’t move that final inch to connect my lips to hers. “Ethan gets your kiss tonight. Why don’t you get in the car, and I’ll drive you both home?”

Swallowing deeply, she nods once and steps back from me. Ethan is waiting for her at the back door, holding it open for her so she can slide in. Thankfully, he doesn’t look annoyed with me for stealing a moment with her.

That only solidifies the fact that wecanmake this work.

The back seat is wide enough for the two of them to sit comfortably. I wait for Mina to slide inside and Ethan to follow before taking another quick look around the park, then head over to the driver’s side.

I try to give them some sense of privacy by ignoring them. Ethan leans in to whisper something in her ear, causing another blush to radiate up her neck. Whatever he’s said seems to put her at ease, relaxing her body to lean into his side like she was when they were sitting together on the blanket.

Driving the vehicle out of the park, I pull onto the highway before I look in the rear-view mirror again and see Ethan cupping her face. With his forehead pressed against hers, their eyes are locked on each other, completely absorbed.

I look away when he leans in and presses his lips against hers, giving them a moment.

My cock hasn’t gone down since I was holding her. When I hear her breathing hitch and Ethan’s low groan, I know I’m going to have to take care of this the moment we’re home.

I take back everything I said about not being jealous. Christ, I’d give anything to swap spots with my best friend.

Unable to prevent my eyes from seeking them out once more in the mirror, I blow out a breath of relief that he’s pulled back. I don’t know if I could have handled listening to them make out all the way home.

Before I pull my eyes away, I catch a dark sedan drifting to the shoulder behind another a mini-van that’s directly behind us. The moment the driver’s side is in my view, the car jerks back behind the van, out of my sight. Furrowing my brows, I do my best to keep my eye on the following vehicles and keep our car from drifting across the lines.

I have no desire to worry Mina. Letting her know that there’s a good chance Danny is behind us would ruin her entire afternoon, but I have to let Ethan know what’s going on. Against my better judgement, I slide my cell phone out of my pocket and quickly type ‘being followed’ and hit send to Ethan. He’ll be able to contact the station and Vincent, and since I texted instead of telling him, I trust that he knows I don’t want to alert our girl.

When Ethan pulls out his phone, he frowns down at it, then shoots me a look in the mirror. I watch his jaw harden as he quickly sends a text and then sets his phone face down on his knee.

---