Page 42 of Puck You Very Much

Lucy stood at the bar, her jacket draped around her shoulders, her back turned to him. His coat, which he had completely forgotten about, was lying on the stool in front of her, but he was having a hard time concentrating on it since she was talking to a strange dude, a skinny guy with a man-bun and a weakness for denim. Even worse; a guy who looked at her like she was the strawberry in his fondue. Or a cookie in his hand. Or… Shit, he couldn’t think of a sensible comparison. His mind was in overdrive as a red haze veiled his eyes.

“You’re not a sex addict too, are you?” His voice wafted over to Dax as the slimeball grinned broadly. “Are you also off-limits? I think that would be a real shame.”

Lucy laughed. Laughed at the incredibly stupid joke from this slimy guy, who now, to make matters worse, touched the tip of her ponytail and ran his fingers down the back of her neck.

“No, I can flirt with whoever I want,” he heard her reply…and that was it.

What kind of fucking double standard was this? He wasn’t allowed to exchange harmless banter with a pretty blonde, but she was allowed to pick up a sleazy guy in a bar?

Fuck no. Definitely not.

His red-veiled vision intensified and before he knew what he was doing, his feet were moving. The wood creaked under his heavy footsteps. Lucy glanced up, turned, and opened her mouth, but he didn’t let her speak.

“Hello, darling,” he growled, grabbing her shoulders and lowering his mouth to hers.

He didn’t kiss her kindly or gently—because he felt neither kind nor gentle at that moment—but firmly, hard, without considering the consequences. One hand on the back of her neck to hold her head roughly back and the other on her back to bring her tightly against him. Soft on hard. Warm to cold.

Lucy jumped and gasped in surprise…and he didn’t give her the chance to close her lips again.

Because if he couldn’t get rid of his title of Asshole of the Day, he could at least live up to it, right?

He dipped his tongue inside before pushing her against the counter and forcing one leg between hers.

Just like he had wanted to do for days.

He deepened the kiss, ran his hand through her hair, and flicked his tongue against hers. Tasted Coke and Lucy and enjoyed every second as if it were his last on earth. Because Lucy began to return the kiss.

He just couldn’t forget that this was all he could have. More would never be possible. So he took as much as he could take—as much as he could bear. As much as Lucy gave him; as much as he could control.

He reached his limit faster than he would have liked. The heat grew unbearable, his throbbing cock too hard, and the chaos in his head too loud.

He was about to end the kiss, step back, and give Lucy her space again…when she suddenly placed her hands on his chest, dug her nails into the fabric, and opened her lips wider for him. She met him with her tongue as she let out the sweetest, softest sigh.

And he was lost. He had gone too far.

Because this time, it was he who had started a game that he should have known he couldn’t possibly win. His arm tightened around her, lifting her onto her toes as she stretched her upper body toward him, enveloping him with her scent and driving him crazy with her lips.

The area around her became an unrecognizable haze of people and furniture. Everything else was unimportant—where they were, who was watching, and what had happened earlier. Nothing seemed to have meaning anymore except this moment—and the wish that it would last forever.

“Okay, man, got it. She’s yours,” he heard an annoyed male voice off in the distance, pulling Dax out of the fog that enveloped him.

He pulled back abruptly and let go of Lucy so suddenly that she stumbled forward. He stared at her, saw her chest rising and falling erratically and heavily, her eyes wide, her lips swollen.

He could still taste her. Still smell her. Still feel her. And he was afraid he would never forget any of those three things.

He blinked, bringing the blurry shapes around her back into focus, and found himself back in the present.

Enough. He had lost control. He needed it back. Immediately.

He smiled slowly, forcing himself to look calm and unfazed again. Then, he leaned in, his lips inches from her ear. “And that’s how you convince those around you that someone is taken without humiliating them,” he whispered.

Lucy didn’t answer. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

“Look, sorry, okay?” her male acquaintance said, still standing next to them. “I thought you were just friends. I didn’t know you…” He raised his hands defensively. “Sorry, I didn’t realize…”

“Go away,” Dax interrupted him sharply, a warning before he lost his patience. It worked: The dude obeyed as quickly as he could short of jumping over the counter.

“Man… What are you on about?” Lucy blurted out weakly. She sounded like he felt. “You can’t…”

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