Page 29 of Can't Take Moore

“No, I've got the basics,” he confirmed. “My mom would be horrified if I didn't, and she's been known to drop in unexpectedly on occasion with the excuse that she needs to borrow something from my pantry.”

“Oh.” My lips formed a perfect circle. I hadn’t considered the possibility that we wouldn’t be alone tonight if we went to his house. My dad had never stopped by without calling first since I lived with my mom, and the only time I hadn’t lived with my mom had been when I was in Milwaukee training at the Pettit National Ice Center in the months leading up to the Olympics. Except for now…and she couldn’t show up at all since she had no idea where I was. “I was going to suggest that we go to your house since I haven’t had the chance to see it yet, but maybe we should stay here instead.”

Dean wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me close, one palm sliding down my spine to cup my butt cheek. “Why? Did you have something special planned for dessert?”

“Maybe,” I admitted softly, my cheeks filling with heat even though he’d seen and touched every inch of my body already.

“Don't worry, she and my dad have plans tonight with my grandparents,” he reassured me.

“So it's okay if I come over and raid your kitchen?”

“It's better than okay.” His expression softened. “I'd love to see you cooking for me in my home.”

I beamed a smile at him. “Great, it sounds as though we have a plan. I already got the groceries I'll need to make a stir-fry. If you give me a second, I can pull everything together, and then we can head over to your house.”

“Are you going to let me drive? Like we’re on an official date even though it’s just dinner at home?”

Considering my plans for the rest of the night, my answer was easy. “Yeah, you can definitely consider this a date.”

“I consider everything we do together to be a date.”

His reply was so darn sweet, it had butterflies swarming in my belly. “Me, too.”

“I'm glad we're on the same page.” A wrinkle popped up in his brow. “Which reminds me, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Something we needed to talk about” was a phrase no woman ever wanted to hear from the man she was dating. Those butterflies in my belly quickly turned into knots. “What is it?”

The hand not holding my butt drifted up to clasp the back of my neck. “Jack Parker called me the other night. He wanted to let me know how badly he felt for making you uncomfortable when he asked you out on a date.”

“Ah, yeah.” I scrunched my nose. “I would’ve mentioned what happened, but I wasn’t certain if there was anything to tell you. I didn’t even know for sure if he offered to take me somewhere for coffee just to talk about the power skating session or if he was actually asking me out on a date. Other than you, I’m way out of practice when it comes to dating. My flirtation meter is broken.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry too much about that from now on.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Are you planning to reboot it for me?”

“Nah, you’re doing just fine when it comes to flirting with me, princess.” He brushed his lips against mine in a quick kiss. “What I meant was there aren’t many guys in Mooreville with balls big enough to try flirting with you now that I’ve told Jack you’re off-limits. He’ll spread the word.”

And those butterflies took flight again at his verbal claiming of me. “Off-limits, huh?”

“Definitely.” His thumb stroked against the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “Do you have a problem with that?”

I really didn’t, but I could use some clarification. “I guess that depends.”

“On what?” he growled, his hold on me tightening but not so much that it hurt. Just enough so that I definitely felt it.

“On whether or not our…relationship is exclusive.”

“Damn straight, it is.” His head lowered, and he claimed my mouth in a deep kiss, our tongues tangling together until I was breathless. Sliding his hand from my butt to between our bodies so he could cup my heated core, he rasped, “Your pussy is mine, princess. Nobody else gets to even so much as think about touching you. Got it?”

“Uh-huh,” I panted, my panties drenched by his possessiveness.

“Good.” He gave my butt a light swat. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, do you have any other questions for me?”

I shook my head. “Nope, that’s all I needed to know.”

“If you ever have any more questions about our relationship, I want you to ask. You never need to be scared about talking to me, Vienna.”

“I know,” I whispered, rubbing my palm against the stubble on his cheek. “This is all so new to me, but please know that I didn’t wait to ask you because I was scared. It’s just that I’m flying blind here.”

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