Page 22 of Off Limits

Nothing about the exchange is different than it has been any other time, except his extreme closeness and our shared knowledge of what happened between us last night.

Chelsea starts talking about her plans for the day while I attentively watch Lochlyn prepare breakfast. My gaze is fixated on his hands—hands that were all over my body mere hours ago—while he chops a green pepper and mixes up some eggs. Every so often, I’ll catch his eye as he looks up at me intently. It makes me squirm as desire tears through my body.

Once Chelsea leaves the kitchen, I walk around the island to pour myself more coffee. Lochlyn is suddenly right behind me, his hands splitting. One slides around my waist to dip into the front of my pants ever so slightly, while the other wraps gently around my throat. He’s breathing hard against my neck. My head tilts back against his shoulder on its own, and my eyes flutter closed.Yes.

When we hear Chelsea coming back into the kitchen, he steps away, leaning down in a cabinet to my right to pull out a pan. But Chelsea is on the move, chattering away as she walks through to the living room. Her voice is a beacon to her general location.

“Stop doing that!” I mutter under my breath.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like you’ve seen me naked.”

Standing right in front of me, his hand brushes my cheek. “Oh, I’ve done much more than just see you naked. And I’ll be doing it again, soon.” He runs his thumb over my lower lip as he licks his.

A throb settles between my legs just thinking about it. I shake my head, regaining the ability to think. “Well, at least stop touching me.”

He cocks his head to the side. “I thought you liked it when I touched you. You certainly seemed to last night.”

My chest heaves, heat crawling up my face. “That’s not the point. You’re going to get us caught.”

We hadn't exactly had an opportunity to discuss telling Chelsea or the ramifications of her finding out. He had said he doesn't care about her wishes anymore. But what does that really mean in the grand scheme of things?

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t ask one.”

Caging me against the counter, he leans in, his mouth against my ear. “Did you like it? When I touched you?” As he asks, he runs his hand down my front, passing over my breast and sliding down the front of my pants.

A breathless “Yes” is all I can muster.

He smiles against my ear and pulls away, leaning back against the island, arms crossed at his chest, eyes fixed on me. “Hey, Chels!” he calls out, unsure of where exactly she’s gone.

“Yeah?” Her voice carries from upstairs.

“What time are Mom and Dad getting back today?”

“Around four, five, I don’t know, somewhere around there.”

“And you’ll be out for a while?”

“I’m heading to work as soon as I can find my damn ID badge!”

“Mind if Shay and I hang out?” Lochlyn raises an eyebrow, his gaze intense and dark.

My racing heart seems like it should be evident to the whole world, not just me. The look in his eyes gives away his intentions for what our time together will look like.

“Like she’d have any interest in spending time with you,” Chelsea says, appearing on the other side of the island. Lochlyn still hasn’t taken his eyes off me.

“I don’t care what you do”—she turns to Lochlyn and points at him—"just keep your filthy hands off of her.”

He holds his hands up, turning them back and forth. “These hands?”Those hands. Those magical, amazing hands. “They look pretty clean to me.”

“Well, not knowing who they’ve been touching in the past several days, let’s just say to keep them off her and her sacred body. ’Kay?”

If only she knew that a few hours ago, those hands had been touching me. All of me. And that I can’t wait for them to touch me again.

Chelsea walks over and gives me a hug. “Don’t be afraid to tell him to fuck off. I promise he can take it,” she mutters before letting go. “Bye, loser.” She smacks Lochlyn in the stomach on her way past him.

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