Page 31 of Sugar Coated

Mike dropped her off around four, and though he didn’t get out of the car, I could tell by the look on Laina’s face as she got out that the big man wasn’t too thrilled with her spending some alone time with me.

I didn’t ask her, but I assumed that meant he was still acting all grumpy when it came to her. As long as he and Laina refused to accept their blossoming feelings for the other, the dance would continue.

I held open the door for Laina, grinning widely as she turned away from the car and approached me. Her hair was a bit kinky, its pastel pink and blue lengths unevenly wavy. She wore her colored contacts, her eyes a bubblegum pink.

The first words out of my mouth were, “You look delicious.” She immediately blushed, like she wasn’t used to hearing things like that. I glanced at the car, where Mike remained; I’d bet anything he was in there, watching through that tinted glass. “Shall we make him jealous?”

“Jealous, what—”

I didn’t give Laina a chance to say more. Keeping the door open with my foot, I reached for her and pulled her in close, slamming her body against mine as one of my hands went to her neck and swept her hair aside to give Mike a better view. My top half leaned down, and my mouth crashed upon hers, kissing her so hard I stole the air out of her lungs.

Mmm. Tasting her again; there really wasn’t anything in the world like it. So sweet. Lips so damned soft. Just like that every part of me was set aflame, and I momentarily forgot thisparticular kiss was to try to make the man in the car green with envy.

It felt like it lasted forever, but in reality, it was more like ten or so seconds—long enough, coupled with more than enough passion, to make us both pant for air by the time I pulled my mouth off hers. I only smirked at her as I yanked her into my building and shut the door, locking it for good measure.

Laina’s cheeks were adorably pink, too, flushed after that kiss. “Um. Hi.”

I chuckled. “Hello, Princess.” I offered her my hand, and she, without hesitation, took it. I led her up the stairs. She could make it to the top without being out of breath, something I couldn’t have said about her the first time she was here. My girl was becoming accustomed to living her life outside of a single room, and I loved that for her.

I brought her into my loft and led her to the couch, where I sat her on the middle cushion and took the one to her right. “Would you like me to cook dinner now, or do you want to see what I made you, first? It’s your choice, always.” I couldn’t stop myself from whispering, “Or, if you’d prefer, I could eat you up before we do any of that.”

Something about her really did set me off, ignited a hunger so deep inside of me it could never fully be sated. She made me crazy in the best of ways. My inner freak wanted hers so badly, to the point where her panties at night were a poor substitute for the real thing.

Laina smiled at me, and that smile made certain parts of me warm. “I could be your dessert.”

My chest hummed as I murmured, “Then dessert you will be. Still, that leaves the question of what first?”

“Show me what you made,” she said, the words an order, one I would gladly take. Hell, if she told me to worship the groundshe walked on, I would. I’d shower every inch of that body with exactly the kind of worship it required.

I squeezed her hand before getting up. I darted over to my desk on the other side of the loft, where I’d brought up her metal prosthetic fingers and the attached bracelet. I kept it in a small box, so she wouldn’t see it, and I picked up that box and carried it over to the couch.

I was confident in my crafting abilities, but I could honestly say, I’d never made something so small and delicate before. It was challenging, to say the least, but I was a man who was always up for the challenge, especially when it was for my girl.

As I sat beside her once again, I offered her the box. The tips of her fingers grazed mine as she took it from me, splitting her time between glancing down at the box and at me. It sounded as though she held her breath as she lifted the top of the box and set it aside.

“Wow,” Laina whispered, breathless, “it’s beautiful.”

“Here, let me.” I reached into the box and carefully lifted it out. She set the box near the lid to her left before offering me her hand. I slid the two metal fingers over the stubby nubs that made up the last two fingers on her left hand, and then I clasped the bracelet around her wrist to better anchor them. “You might need some help putting it on and taking it off, and of course if anything on it should ever break, I will gladly fix it for you.”

On her dainty hand, the metal prosthetic looked feminine, a piece of jewelry with a touch of steampunk. It suited her perfectly, and I couldn’t help but grin as I watched her lift her left hand and test out its mechanical capabilities. When she moved what was left of her fingers, my metal attachments bent as real fingers would.

“This is unreal,” Laina said as she did it over and over again, unable to take her eyes off it. And then she turned thatpretty face to me and threw her arms around my neck as she murmured, “Thank you.”

I didn’t do this for money. I did it for her, because even from day one, Laina intrigued me. And, yes, I did it so I would have an excuse to see her again. I’d design anything for this girl.

“You’re welcome,” I told her, wrapping my arms around her back and pulling her onto my lap. I buried my face against the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, and the smell of her fruity body wash filled my nostrils. “You smell delicious too, Princess. I really could eat you up.”

Her left arm moved, and seconds later I felt her hand gliding along my neck. The metal from her new prosthetic fingers grazed my skin, cold compared to her flesh, but just as smooth. “What would you do if I told you you could?”

The question caused me to lift my face away from the crook of her neck and stare at her with a single eyebrow cocked.

“Okay, maybe not eat, but bite,” she clarified.

“There’d be not a single part of me that would be able to resist,” I told her as my arms tightened around her back. Having her on my lap, it was impossible not to get turned on—but I knew if we took things to the bed now, we’d never have an actual dinner. I’d get too lost in her, and she’d be too lost in me. “I’d leave a mark on you so that when you’re not with me, you’d always know you belong to me.”

Most wouldn’t like that. Most would be horrified. My princess was anything but; if anything, she was even more curious.

“Why don’t you let me cook dinner before you tempt me with dessert?” Of course, if she told me she wanted to skip dinner, who was I to say no to her? If she really wanted to get nasty immediately, I’d more than gladly go along with it.

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