Page 43 of Centering Kaos

My dick instantly hardened at the sight. She wasn’t a fucking salad; she was the steak and potatoes my body kept craving. And I was so damn starving I had no hopes of resisting her.

Thankfully, I didn’t appear to be the only one suffering.

I’d neglected to put on a shirt after my shower, and she was staring at my chest like she wanted to lick it.

Good. Let her be in agony alongside me.

Besides, even if I wanted to end her misery, standing was out of the question. I wasn’t wearing underwear, and the minute I stood, the tent in my sweatpants would be obvious as fuck. I kept my ass on the stool like a rude motherfucker, just trying to will away my boner.

She halted, taking in the space. I had no idea why she was there. She’d never come up to my lair before, and I sure as hell hadn’t been expecting a visit tonight. It couldn’t be Dylan. He fell asleep mid-sentence before I left his room. Judging by how exhausted the kid was, he was down for the count.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, hoping Matt hadn’t found a way to contact her.

Dragging her gaze up to meet mine, she nodded uncertainly. “Oh. Yeah. Everything’s fine. Great, even. I just… I came up here because I wanted to thank you.”

I tried to focus on the pink of her cheeks, rather than the pebbling of her nipples beneath her thin shirt, but it was a struggle. “To thank me?”

“Yep.” Another nod, this one more vigorous. “For helping Dylan today. Taking the time to work with him on the ice… it means the world to him. And to… to me. I know you said there’s no charge for coaching him, but I will pay you. Once I get back on my feet, I mean.”

God, her lips were fucking perfect. Every word they formed made me want to taste them. To see how they’d look against my skin. To watch them sliding up and down my cock. If she wanted to pay me, I could think of a few ways she could do it.

And fuck, I couldn’t believe my mind had gone there. But I couldn’t help it, either. I was so fucking desperate to touch her, I would have lied, stolen, or murdered for the chance. Extortion seemed like a drop in the bucket, comparatively.

“You never have to thank me for that. I enjoy hanging out with the kid.” I needed to shoo her ass back downstairs, but I didn’t have that kind of strength or self-preservation. Instead, I gestured at my glass. “Can I buy you a drink?”

I expected her to refuse—hoped and feared she would—but she didn’t. Instead, she perked up. “Do you have wine up here? That’s what I’ve been drinking, so I should probably stick with it.”

A little voice in the back of my mind kept pointing out that drinking with Tina was a very bad idea. Having never cared much for restrictions and limitations, I shut that little bastard down and nodded. “I’ve got just the thing.” Spinning my barstool to face away from her before standing, I tried to be discreet and not give her a show as I slipped behind the bar and poured her a glass of my favorite red blend.

When I turned back around, Tina had settled onto a barstool, looking like she planned to be there awhile. Accepting the glass, she sipped and beamed a smile at me.

A real smile.

It was the first one she’d ever blessed me with, and it stole my goddamn breath away.

Tina was gorgeous on a bad day, but that smile… holy shit, the woman was fucking radiant. I had to fight the urge to take a page fromWayne’s Worldand bow at her feet, chanting, ‘I’m not worthy.’ Instead, I calmly got myself together, refreshed my drink, and sat beside her. The clean, fresh scent of her soap wrapped around me, teasing and threatening to bring me to my knees.

“This is really good,” she said, angling her wine glass toward me. “Thank you.”

I nodded. “You’re welcome. It’s my favorite. I hide it up here so Carisa can’t find it.”

“She doesn’t clean up here?” Tina asked.

“Oh, she does, and I’m sure she knows about the wine, but she… she respects the power of the man cave.”

“Ah.” Tina’s eyes lit up with laughter as she looked around again. “I hope my presence here isn’t somehow disrespectful to the power of the man cave.”

“Not at all,” I admitted. “Strong, beautiful women only enhance the power of the man cave.”

She frowned at her glass. Not exactly the reaction I was going for.

I nudged her with my shoulder. “What’s that look for?”

She shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Come on. I’m the bartender tonight, which means you can tell me anything. Falls under bartender – patron confidentiality.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “It does, huh?”

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