Page 95 of Break

The two of us watch him climb inside the squad car and back out of the driveway.

“He was in a mood,” I grouse under my breath.

Mina is still staring after him, her brows pinched, and nose wrinkled like she’s thinking through everything. I don’t like the look on her face, so I move to step in front of her, blocking her view of the taillights as they disappear down the road. “What’d he want?”

“I don’t even know. He asked me a few random questions that I had already answered the last time I was at the station. Then he wanted to know about the status of my divorce proceedings. That was it.” Shrugging her confusion away, her eyes find mine. “I suppose I should go upstairs and start going through the bags and get them into the washing machine.”

Making a mental note to ask Cooper about Harrow’s visit, I flash a smile down at Mina. “There is alotto go through, but why do you need to wash it all? It’s all brand new.”

I walk in step with her as we head back into the house, and her giggle has the rest of my uneasiness from Harrow’s visit disappearing. “Vincent, you have to wash the clothes after you buy them.”

“But why?” I’ve never done that before or ever heard that you were supposed to. When I buy clothes, I pull the tags when I’m ready to wear them and throw it on.

“Because people try clothes on in the stores, and you don’t know what could be left on them. It’s unsanitary to wear them right off the racks. Skin cells, germs, hair, all sorts of body things could be hiding away in the seams or inside of them.” Her nose wrinkles in a cute way, and I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty fucking grossed out now. Her description of the nasty that could be left behind by other shoppers has me feeling like bugs are crawling on my skin.

“Fuck. Damn it, Mina, that’s going to fuck with my head now.” I let a shudder ripple through my shoulders, and she lets out a full body laugh at my reaction.

Christ, the sound of her laughter makes me want to spin her around and kiss the fuck out of her. Unfortunately for me, she’s already distracted by the mountain on her bed as we walk into her room. Planting her hands on her hips, she studies it as she tries to come up with a plan.

“I guess I should start cutting off tags and separating by colors,” she muses to herself.

Picking up a bag from the top, I peek inside and grin when I see it’s filled with panties. “I’ll take care of this one for you,” I say, not hiding the teasing tone of my words.

Stepping up next to me, she peers inside and then rips the bag from my hands. Her face is almost maroon with the blush that’s radiating from her skin as she shoves it behind her back, hiding it away from me.

My eyes automatically go to her chest, now thrust out from her position, and I look away quickly. Thoughts of what she’d look like wearing what I just spied inside that bag race through my head, and I have to turn away slightly to hide my now fully erect cock from her.

More cautious this time, I use one finger to open the next bag and peek inside, then blow out a sigh of relief when I see it’s just shirts. “I’ll do this one since you’re going to hide away the good stuff.” Looking over at her, I chuckle as she drops the bag she was holding and quickly kicks it under the bed. Her cheeks are still bright, but she’s fighting off a laugh as she grabs a couple pair of scissors for us.

We spend the next hour clipping tags, separating clothes, and her laughing while I entertain her with funny stories of the guys and me after we moved away from home.

That untouched bag stays at the edge of my thoughts the entire time. My dick, alert and looking for some attention, is just as interested in that bag as I am.

Chapter 43

Monopoly

Ethan

“Will you go on a date with me?”

The half-folded paper Mina is holding in her hands slides to the tabletop, and her eyes are wide as she looks up at me from where she’s sitting on the floor. “W-What?”

I bite my cheek to keep from smiling at her whispered question. Clearly, I’ve surprised her. Most likely because she had no idea I was standing in the entrance to the living room, watching her concentrate on her newest creation.

Moving further into the room, I squat down next to her, her eyes following my every movement. Brushing away a piece of hair that’s fallen into her eyes, I smile gently. “A date.”

Her mouth forms a small ‘oh’, then she slowly repeats to me, “A date…”

A small part of me feels proud that I’ve essentially rendered her speechless, but the other part of me wants her to feel comfortable with the idea. I have a feeling that she hasn’t been on many. Maybe I’m a little more old-fashioned, but I really want to take this woman out on an honest to God date and get to know her more.

“Yes. Would you like to go out with me?”

Her head nods up and down quickly, assuring me shewouldlike to go out. Her mouth is still hanging open in shock and I can’t stop myself from tucking my knuckle under her chin to help her snap it shut.

“Perfect. Can you be ready in half an hour?”

Her head nods again, more slowly this time, still unable to speak.

---