Page 100 of Their Greatest Strength

It’s such a delicate quirk of her mouth. Something special, just for me.

“Nice coat,” I drawl, letting my legs draw me to her.

She glides a serving spoon into the pan of roasted potatoes and steals a look at her white coat. “Clyde gave it to me after I got the job.”

“You got it?”

“I got it,” she breathes out, pushing her way into my chest. “Today counts as my first day.”

I hold her against me and squeeze her tight, kissing all over the top of her head. “I never doubted you, Bandit.”

“Thank you, Jamie. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Yes, you could have. Cooking is your calling. I just helped find an opening for a chef as amazing as you.”

She rubs her cheek against my chest and inhales deeply. I’m not in any hurry to end our hug, so I keep my mouth shut and keep her close.

I’m fully aware that this isn’t helping me accomplish the whole “don’t mess with a good thing” act. It was pointless to begin with. All practice, I was thinking about her and how she was doing in here. I’ve become addicted to her, and the worst part of it is I don’t think she’s aware of how interested I am in her.

She thinks this is all a big game when that couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality of the situation is that I want Blakely in a very unfriendly way.

I want her, and I’ve yet to find the bottom of the list of things that I’m willing to do to win her over.

“Hi, Blakely. We didn’t have much of a chance to chat at the wedding, but in case you forgot, I’m Chase.”

Forcing myself away from Blakely, I eye my buddy with an obvious warning. He doesn’t pay it any attention and waits until she’s extracted herself from my hold before offering her a grin.

“I remember. Chase Hudson, right?”

“The one and only.”

“He’s the second-best wide receiver on the team,” I jab.

Blakely leans a hand against the buffet table, giving my teammate her full attention. I’m tempted to toss Chase over my shoulder and drop his ass outside.

“Well, I hope you’re hungry, Chase,” she says.

The asshole attempts to lay it on thick. “I’m assuming you cooked this? Everything looks phenomenal.”

I scoff, and Blakely glances at me with her lips rolling to hide a smile. Chase winks, purposefully stretching his arms above his head.

Maybe he has bigger biceps than me, but if he thinks that’s going to win Blakely over, he’s got another thing coming.

My wife doesn’t fall for his bait, keeping her eyes fixed on his face and not the bulging muscles. “Clyde was showing me the ropes. We cooked together, but it’s a pretty simple meal. I suppose all of them must be that way.”

Chase nods. “High protein is always simple unless you have the time to make something pretty out of it.”

“If anyone could make boring meals more interesting, it would be you, baby,” I say, snaking an arm around her back to palm her hip.

Chase fails to hide his entertainment, watching me act like a fool. Blakely moves a hand to rub my stomach in round, soothing motions.

Tilting her head back to look at me, she says, “You should eat before everyone else gets here. I have to go talk to Clyde some more. When you’re finished, you’ll come get me, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll get you.”

She hesitates to move, darting her eyes between my eyes and my mouth. It’s enough of a signal as I need.

Slanting my mouth over hers, I kiss her deeply, not giving a shit about Chase. The first taste of her has my cock stiffening and straining in my not-so-loose shorts.

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