Page 63 of On a Fault Line

“Can you run to the store and pick up supplies to make homemade popcorn?”

“Like the microwave bags?”

“No, the…” I glance back at the screen before the commercial disappears. “It’s a maker thing, and you buy kernels.”

“Dude, you’re having a midlife crisis, aren’t you?”

“What? No.”

“It’s okay to tell me.”

“Shut up. I knew I shouldn’t have called you.”

“You always think of everything,” Penny says breathily, after she sees me end the call with Chris.

“I enjoy taking care of you, Princess.”

“Then why not tell me the truth?”

My eyes narrow in on hers, clueless as to the direction she seems to be taking this conversation. “What truth are you referring to?”

She shrugs. “Something happened at the Rose City Cafe, and I need to know.”

I feel a lump forming in my throat. “I honestly don’t know.”

“You mean that?”

“Yes.” I pull Penny into my arms, cradling her as the television buzzes on in the background. “I am a man who uses my instincts to keep me out of danger. And there’s something about that cafe that rubs me the wrong way. I can’t put my finger on it, and I have a team of men looking into the possible cause for my paranoia. But until we understand why I feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck every time I enter that building, it’s best that we just avoid it entirely.”

“Mark,” she whispers, “promised me he would get to me.”

“That fucker is in prison. That much I know.”

“But there’s other ways to infiltrate my brain.”

I kiss her on the forehead. “Which is precisely why I hesitate to share any of this information with you at all.”

“But I need to know.”

“No, you don’t, Penny. Let me handle this. It’s probably nothing and just me being overly cautious.”

She nods reluctantly. “Yeah. You’ve been known to overreact.”

I tickle her sides, enjoying the way she squirms in my lap. And when she tries to reciprocate, I rotate us so she is pinned to the cushions with me on top of her. Snaking a hand between us, I give her pussy a squeeze, feeling her body twitch with pleasure.

“It’s almost as if you enjoy being my little fuck doll.”

“Oh, I do. Just don’t forget the purpose is to play with me.”

“You are insatiable.”

13

PENNY

If living my best life means being snuggled up in Collins’s arms while his warmth surrounds me at all angles, then I want to stay in this bubble that we’ve created forever.

He’s easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. It should be no surprise that I want to relish in his protective embrace and his expert touch.

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