Page 70 of Stick Break
A slow, knowing smile curves her lips, and something in her gaze turns molten. “Some will, yeah. And yes, I’ll feel it,” she says gently. “Some of it gets absorbed. Why?”
I swallow hard. “Jesus… just knowing a part of me is still inside you, knowing you feel it… It does something to me. It’s like—I don’t know. It’s intimate as hell, and fuck, it turns me on. I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk around today without embarrassing myself.”
Her eyes gleam with mischief. “Then I’ll be sure to let you know the moment I feel it.”
I groan, dropping my head to the pillow. “God, woman. You’re going to kill me.”
She slides out of bed, still completely bare, and my eyes follow her like they don’t have a choice. I groan again, louder this time. “Wait… is that the plan? Seduce me to death so you can have the cottage all to yourself?”
She taps my nose playfully, grinning. “Nah. It’d be boring here without you.”
I’m opening my mouth to answer when my phone pings on the nightstand. Then again.
I don’t move, but my whole body tenses. Her smile fades. It begins to shimmy across the wood.
“Are you going to get that?” she asks quietly, no longer teasing.
I stare at it. “No.”
“It’s her?” she asks, voice barely above a whisper.
“Uh-huh.”
There’s a pause, heavy with unspoken things. “Well,” she says, her tone carefully neutral, “I’ll leave you in private. In case…”
She disappears behind the bathroom door and closes it quietly, but the sudden silence feels heavier than the room itself. I reach for the phone to silent it, and a strange, gnawing feeling settles deep in my gut—like I’m already doing Charley wrong, like I’m betraying her without even moving. Cheating. The word tastes bitter on my tongue, because nothing about this is black and white anymore.
I hate cheaters. Charley hates cheaters. And yet, what the hell am I supposed to call this tangled mess? I might not currently be in a physical relationship with Lyra, but isn’t an emotional relationship…still cheating. Am I even in an emotionally relationship? Honestly, I don’t even know if Lyra and I have anything at all.
Or if I want anything.
I glance at the message again, heart suddenly pounding in my throat.
Fuck no.
Before Charley showed up, I told Lyra I was holed up at a friend’s cottage, resting before training starts. She knows exactly where I am. But now she’s talking about coming out here. Coming to this place with Charley. No way. I can’t let that happen.
A cold chill goes through me. If Lyra found out Charley’s here… if she even smelled it… it’d blow up in ways I don’t want to imagine. I don’t need that kind of chaos. Not now. Not with Charley.
So I tap out a quick white lie telling Lyra I’ll be leaving soon. No point in her making the trip out east. Phone down, I rise and head toward the kitchen. The fridge’s still bare, so I head back to the bathroom door and knock.
“I’m going to run to the store. Bacon and eggs sound good?”
“Perfect…” Her voice is soft, hesitant, like she wants to say more—and she does. “I can go with you, if you like.”
My chest tightens with an unexpected flutter. “Sure. Maybe we can actually eat at the little café in town.” After last night, after meeting the neighbors, maybe she finally feels safe here. Unseen. But then there’s Jensen, and the anger coils in me. If he says anything about us, I’ll make sure he regrets it. But with my threat hanging in the air, I’m betting he’ll keep his mouth shut.
“Okay, give me a minute.”
I hurry back to the bedroom, tug on clean shorts and a T-shirt, the fabric cool and soft on my skin. As I head back to the kitchen, the bathroom door clicks open and Charley steps out wrapped in a towel, damp hair clinging to her shoulders.
God, she’s beautiful.
“I’ll hurry,” she says, voice low and steady.
Before I can tell her to take her time, and maybe leave the bedroom door open so I can admire her a little longer, the front door bursts open with a bang like the FBI just kicked it down. Both of us whip around.
“Don’t mind me,” Mrs. Callahan calls out, strolling in like she owns the place. “Just bringing your bowl back, and I baked some blueberry muffins this morning.”
