Page 53 of Gage (Love Under the Lights 1)

“The fontina stuffed chicken breasts sound amazing. What do we need to do to heat them up?” she asked, sliding off her seat and rounding the counter to take both of the packages I pulled out of the fridge.

“Peel the paper label off and pop them in for fifteen minutes,” I answered as I hit the button to preheat the oven to three-hundred and fifty degrees. We spent the next twenty minutes making a salad, picking something out of the freezer for dessert, and choosing a bottle of wine to go with our meal. Once the chicken was ready to eat, everything was spread out on the breakfast nook table. There hadn’t been much time to eat today, so we both dived right into our meals without talking much until our plates were practically licked clean.

“Wow,” Morgan sighed, leaning back in her seat to rub her stomach. “Dinner was incredible.”

“I have plenty more where that came from,” I promised, making a mental note to ask Shawn to include this particular dish again in my next order since Morgan liked it so much.

“You better be careful of spoiling me, or else I might never want to leave.” Her tone was teasing, but I suspected there was a hint of truth behind the warning. At least this time I could finally respond how I wanted without having to worry about anyone overhearing our conversation and running to the paparazzi with a story about there already being trouble in paradise one day after we came out as a couple.

“I know you’re worried about how I’m going to handle having you here, and I get it. I really do.” Stretching my arm out, I laced my fingers through hers and stared into her eyes because I wanted her to see how sincere I was being when I added, “Relationships are new to me, and I’m sure I’ll fuck up from time to time. I know it’s still early going with us and I was in another state for the bulk of the time we’ve been together so far, but I’m one-hundred percent certain that I want you here with me. You can’t stay at your place, and I don’t like the idea of you at a hotel when whoever did that shit to your car is still out there. It’d be too easy to get close to you if they escalate beyond petty destruction.”

She searched my eyes and seemed to find whatever it was that she needed there. Her lips curved up in a small smile before she said, “Okay, I believe you.”

“No more verbal jabs about how I’m going to handle you living here?” I pressed.

After nodding, she pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” I leaned over the table to capture her lips in a quick kiss.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered back.

We stared into each other’s eyes, the chemistry between us starting to heat like it always did when we were near. My thumb stroked her palm, and I loved how she shivered in reaction to my touch. “Did you happen to toss a swimsuit into your bag?”

“No, why? Did you want to go swimming?”

I shook my head. “I was thinking that you could probably use a dip in my hot tub to help loosen up your muscles.”

“Oh, my God. Yes,” she moaned.

My cock jerked at the sound, and my voice was raspy with need when I suggested, “You’ll be fine without a suit. My fence back there is ten feet tall, and there’s privacy screening on the other side of the hot tub, so nobody will be able to see us. Go up and toss on one of my shirts while I clean this up, and then we can head out there.”

She jumped up from her seat, pausing to brush her lips over mine before murmuring, “You’re racking up major brownie points today.”

I watched the sway of her hips as she walked away, and I had to adjust myself when I got up to clear the table. It only took me a few minutes to toss the containers the meals had come in and put the plates, wine glasses, and silverware into the dishwasher. Heading toward the front of the house to reset the alarm so the zone surrounding the hot tub was turned off, I glanced out the sidelight window nearest me.

“Motherfucker,” I bit out when I spotted a dark shadow moving around. Without thinking about the possibility of alerting them to my presence, I flipped on the front flood lights, and they dashed down the driveway. I was tempted to give chase, but I didn’t want to leave Morgan alone in the house in case they circled back. Instead, I padded toward the stairs and called out, “Hey, Morgan! I need you.”

I groaned in frustration when she strolled down the stairs in one of my T-shirts that hit her mid-thigh. I caught glimpses of her pink lace panties with each step she took, and it made me even more pissed at whoever had been outside. All I wanted to do was toss her over my shoulder, carry her out to the hot tub, strip her out of those clothes, and have my way with her delectable body. The only thing stopping me was the need to go out front and check to make sure everything was okay.

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