Page 37 of Puck You Very Much

“What do you think you’re doing?” Dax hissed in her ear.

She was free to ignore him. Instead, she slumped heavily into the forced embrace so that Dax couldn’t just shove her off his lap, and continued, “Brandy! What a pretty name. Oh, it’s so nice to get out again. Life just hasn’t been the same since the twins were born last year.” She laughed, reaching for the Coke on the table in front of Dax and taking a sip before shifting on his lap to get into a more comfortable position.

Goodness, Dax’s legs were hard, just as hard as the chest she was leaning against. She swallowed and kept her gaze focused on Brandy. She had forgotten what muscles felt like and the heat radiating from this man could have eaten through clothes like wildfire. Oh, and what it felt like to have strong fingers digging into her flesh—even if they weren’t doing it out of desire, but anger. It was easy enough to reframe it, though. Way too easy.

“What are you talking about?” Dax said, trying to push her away, but she clung to his shoulders like they were a cliff she was hanging from.

“Obviously, we’ve hardly seen friends since Rex and Reilly were born,” she elaborated. “They’re a blessing, definitely, but now that the third one is on the way…” She placed a hand on her stomach, sighing, “…it’s getting harder and harder to find time for ourselves. Or just meet new people.” She smiled brightly at Brandy, who glared at Dax with a disgusted expression.

“You have a pregnant wife,” she said flatly.

“Apparently,” he said between his teeth. “Even though I’m surprised by it every day. Because, man, it all happened really fast.”

“I bewitched him with just one look,” Lucy explained, batting her eyelashes.

“Yes. The witch part is right,” he replied darkly, then added more quietly, “And witches belong at the stake.”

Lucy laughed nervously and shifted from left to right again. “Such a charmer! But he truly is the best husband,” she said dreamily. “And such a great father.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dax growled. “I’m currently considering using violence as an educational measure.”

She laughed, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it tightly to make it look like they were constantly exchanging caresses—and so he couldn’t put his idea of violence into immediate action. Dax frequently got into fistfights on the ice, and she suddenly feared he might be emancipated enough not to differentiate between women and men when it came to throwing punches.

“Unbelievable,” the blonde said curtly and abruptly rose. She shoved an index finger in Dax’s face. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Yes, that’s the general opinion,” Dax replied without batting an eye.

The blonde laughed mirthlessly and addressed Lucy, “Good luck with him.” The next moment, she was headed for the door.

Lucy breathed out in relief. That worked well, she congratulated herself.

“Stop shifting around like that,” Dax hissed, pushing her off his lap.

“You’re just uncomfortable with the entire situation. Twinge of conscience,” she replied, defending herself as she hung her jacket over the newly vacated seat.

“Take a damn chair next time!” he snapped, slamming his hands on the table, his blue eyes almost black. “Oh yeah, and also: how do you feel about leaving me the fuck alone with your shit?”

“Not good,” she admitted, sinking into Brandy’s chair.

“Yeah, seems about right,” he replied hostilely. “So how the hell did you find me?”

“Female intuition?”

Dax stared at her with his eyes narrowed. She could practically hear the wheels in his head turning. In the next moment, he pulled out his phone and swiped across the screen.

“Unbelievable,” he said tonelessly, a muscle in his jaw bulging. “You installed atrackeron my phone?”

“It’s theFind my Friendsapp,” she protested.

“We’re not friends, Lucy!” he snapped.

She tilted her head, frowning. “Why does everyone keep telling me that today?”

Dax laughed dryly and sank his hands into his hair. “Good God, you’re crazy. What exactly is going on in that head of yours, can you explain it to me? Because, shit, this is too much, Lucy! Way too much. You have crossed the line so far you, you can’t even see it anymore.”

She pressed her lips together and leaned forward. “I warned you, Dax. I told you that I take my job seriously and that I will do everything I can to satisfy Leslie’s mission. You, however, seem to have forgotten that, along with our agreement.” She gritted her teeth. “No affairs, no one-night stands. Those were the rules.”

“And we also had an agreement that I could do whatever I wanted in my hotel room,” he fired back.

---