Page 71 of The Pucking Arrangement

I move to the coffee maker, but not without brushing against her as I pass. Just enough to make her gasp.

“Cold. Wet.” A slow pause, letting the next words settle between us. “I’m starving.”

Her fingers tighten against the counter. Like she needs something to hold on to.

She’s still rattled. Still burning.

Still mine for the taking.

“The food wasn’t good?” Her voice is light, but too thin and unsteady.

I don’t answer right away. I take my time, pouring the coffee, letting the silence stretch until she starts to fidget.Finally, I lift the mug to my lips. Take a slow sip.

“No.”

She inhales, sharp and uneven. “Why not?”

I turn. Pin her with a look that destroys whatever fragile distance she’s trying to keep.

“Because what I wanted wasn’t on the menu.”

Her breath shudders out of her, her blush deepening, spilling lower, disappearing beneath the thin straps of her sports bra.

My mind fucking runs wild imagining how much farther that pink flush goes. How it would look spreadeverywhere.

She shifts, her body screaming retreat, but I don’t let her get far.

I follow.

One hand braces on the counter beside her hip, trapping her. She’s so close.

And I want her.

My voice is a low rasp, rough with everything I’ve been holding back.

“Erin…you better be ready by tonight.”

Her breath hitches, lips parting, and for a second, I think she’s about to beg for it.

But then she sways, her fingers twitching on the counter, her voice barely a whisper.

“I—I have a?—”

“Papa!”

The word shatters the moment, cutting through the heat like a blade.

Thundering footsteps on the stairs.

Erin jolts, her hand flying to her flushed face like she’s been caught committing a crime.

She snatches her shirt from the counter, yanking it over her head, barely managing to right herself before?—

A blur of motion.

A tiny force of nature launching at me.

“You’re home!” Ris wraps around my legs, clutching me tight.

---