Page 24 of The Puck Stops Here

‘I was being serious, and did you just… did you justsqueak?’

‘No, of course not.’ She scrunched up her face and hugged her notepad tight against her chest, so tight that her cleavage heaved above the neckline and he had to fight to keep his eyes up. The way her babies were shifting… she was struggling to breathe. Something he could relate to. Roll with even.

‘If you want to drop the pen and paper, I can give you something more engaging to tangle with.’

Her lips parted as she drew in a shallow breath. ‘I don’t think that’s…’

The words faltered as her gaze fell to his right pec, to his tattoo. Slowly, her hand lifted towards the ink. ‘Est suae quisque fortunae.’

His chest twitched in response, anticipating her touch. But just before her fingers met his skin, she stopped, curling them into a tight fist.

Shame.

‘It’s Latin,’ he said. ‘It means?—’

‘Every man is the architect of his own fortune.’

Of course Foxy Journo would know what it meant…

‘Yes.’

She wet her lips, her inquisitive gaze lifting to his. ‘Which explains the compass too.’

‘Yes.’

‘And the eagle…?’

It took him a second to steady his pulse, another to fight the urge that wanted to respond to the appreciation cutting through her curiosity.

Was this her trying to detract from the heat? Trying to change the subject? Or was this a cunning ruse to get him to spill something personal? Well, fuck that!

‘Fortune favours the brave and the bold.’

Blake stiffened at the sound of his brother’s voice, turning to see him approach with Harry their latest recruit by his side.

‘And those who escape the trappings of their past to reach for a better future,’ Aiden added, more than willing to give up all the detail.

‘It’s my tattoo, bro,’ he threw at him. ‘You think you can leave me to explain it?’

Not that he’d been about to…

‘Tell me I’m wrong.’

Both Astrid and Harry watched the exchange with interest and Blake was done being interesting. ‘I’m going to shower.’

He moved off and his brother stepped in his path.

‘I figured we could take Astrid for a drink, get acquainted on a more casual level before she?—’

‘Be my guest. I have better things to be doing with my time.’

He pushed past him on a mission to get clear of the scene that had changed so swiftly. From desire to despair – the chill of his past too ready to take over.

‘Blake…’

‘Maybe it’s best to let him cool off,’ Astrid interjected, her soothing tone trailing after him. ‘You and I can go for a drink though. It’s been a day.’

Great.Now he was the cause of ‘the day’ and his brother was taking Foxy out for some one-on-one time.

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