Page 20 of Purity

Cole’s mouth tightens. “You called Theo a man-whore.”

I scowl. “The old judgmental Livvy said things like that. Now I would say that he has sex like a normal person.” I shoot Mari a saucy smile. “Guys who have lots of sex are probably good at kissing, right?”

She smiles back. “Absolutely. If you know how to move your dick, you know how to move your tongue. The two things go hand in hand.”

When I giggle, Cole steps forward, his expression tight. “Mari, let’s not push her with all this stuff. We need her to take it slow.”

A hint of a smile touches Mari’s lips. “We need that? Why do we need that?”

His nostrils flare. “She’s shy. We don’t want her—”

“We,” Mari interrupts. “You keep saying that like we’re on the same page, and we’re not. I want her to break out of her shell. You seem like you don’t want her to. In fact, whenever she’s around other guys, you look like you want to lock her up.”

He huffs out a laugh, but the sound of it is brittle.

“It’s okay. I know you’re just worried about me,” I say to Cole, though I’m starting to wonder if maybe it’s more complicated than that. “Tonight, I’ll just focus on getting drunk and flirting. I’ll only make out with someone if it feels right.”

His jaw clenches. “And I’ll be right there if you need me. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

I smile. “Thank you, Daddy.”

He averts his gaze from mine and exhales an unsteady breath.

Cole

Her soft voice floats into my kitchen, and my whole body relaxes. I can’t quite make out what she’s saying over the sizzling bacon, but I can tell just from her tone that she’s really trying to assert herself. She’s spoken much more than she normally does when she’s in a group of guys. Whenever I’ve brought her around my male friends before, she’s stayed glued to my side as if she might get devoured by a wild animal if I left her alone. Fuck, she’s so sweet.

And so vulnerable.

There are three guys in there, all of whom I know well, and I still can’t relax.

Why do I want to hit something?

It’s good that she’s putting herself out there and pushing through her shyness. I’m a selfish bastard for wanting her to be the way she was before—sitting so close our legs were almost touching and reserving her smiles only for me when I turned and talked softly to her.

If I could only say yes to her proposition, none of this would be happening. There would be no point in inviting guys over. I could give her everything.

God fucking damn it, why does she have to be so tempting? I can’t have her that way. It will put me on the path toward losing her forever.

When the bacon strips are nearly black at the edges, I scoop them up and plop them onto a plate. I march out into my small living room. All three guys are standing around where she sits on the couch. Her tits are practically falling out of that dress, even with all the tape Mari put on them, but I can’t let myself look at them again.

I might lose my mind.

I set the plate down on the coffee table in front of her. “I want you to eat all of this before we leave.”

Her brow knits. “You were making that bacon for me?”

I shrug. “You love it.”

“I mean… Yeah, but I already had dinner.”

“You picked at it. You barely ate anything, and we ate way too early. You need something more before you start drinking.”

She frowns. “I don’t think I can eat all of it. Do you mind if I share it with everyone?”

“Don’t argue with Daddy,” Mari says.

Livvy smiles up at me. “Are you going to spank me if I don’t eat every bite?”

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