Page 89 of Off Limits

Though he spent the night, he left early and comes over after breakfast. Even though Mom said he doesn’t have to sneak out, which he doesn’t anymore, he wants to avoid answering Chelsea’s questions. So he usually leaves before she’ll be up. It’s pretty easy for him to slip out once Chelsea’s asleep; she wouldn’t notice he was gone until morning.

Walking in the door, he cups my cheek and claims my mouth with his. He kisses me like he hasn’t seen me in days instead of it being a few hours. “Good morning, baby girl,” he says as he rests his forehead against mine and twirls a curl around his finger.

“Good morning.”

“What do you want to do today?”

“I don’t know.” I twist my fingers into his shirt because the only thing I really want to do ishim.But he likes to spend our time together doing real things, not just having sex. Which is probably good because if we always did what I wanted, we’d never leave the bedroom.

The one time I asked him about it, worried he didn’t want to be with me as much as I want to be with him, he assured me he absolutely does and would be naked every single second of the day with me. He went on to explain that he thinks it’s important that we do normal couple things too, even if we stay hidden while we do them.

“Okay, so let’s pretend I wasn’t here. What would you do on a day off if we weren’t together?”

I stare at him blankly and blink a handful of times.

He laughs as he drops his head and rubs the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t be taking a day off, would you?” The shake of my head answers his question. “Well, we can do what we usually do, read, TV, whatever. Or maybe we could go somewhere?”

My face scrunches as I shake my head. Apparently, I’ve lost the ability to speak.

“Okay. Wait a second.” He snaps his fingers and points at me. “You just got that new book, right? The one you preordered from your favorite author?”

I bite my lip as I look away and nod.

“Shay. If you want to read, just say so.”

“I want to read.”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Sometimes, baby girl, I just don’t know what to do with you.” Flinging an arm around my shoulder, he pulls me against him and kisses the top of my head as he walks me toward the couch and tugs me down with him. “Was that really so hard for you to tell me? After all this time?”

One shoulder tips up quickly. “I don’t know. I just feel bad that this is all we do.”

Hooking some hair behind my ear and trailing his fingers down my jaw, he turns my face to meet his eyes. “I’m just happy to spend the whole day with you, alone and uninterrupted. It’s a rare treat. I don’t care what we do.” He leans in and presses a small kiss to my lower lip. “Actually, that’s not true. Idocare what we do. But not leading up to that.”

My body burns with a deep-seated inferno, and I rub my thighs together at his words.

When he laughs, the corners of my mouth tip up as I look at him.

“What’s so funny?”

He brushes his knuckles down my cheek as he answers. “I’m just happy I still have that effect on you, even after seven months.”

“I don’t see it going away any time soon.” I lean in and brush my lips against his. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Clapping his hands and rubbing them together, Lochlyn’s ready to go. “Okay, so where is this book? And the one I’ve been reading?”

“My room. I can get them.” When I move to get off the couch, he stops me with a hand on my thigh.

“I got it.”

I don’t have to tell him what the right book is. He’ll know, because he pays close enough attention to me and what I say.

Sauntering back down the stairs, he makes his way over to the couch, silently handing me my book and putting my legs over his lap.

We fall into a comfortable silence, reading our respective books, Lochlyn trailing his fingers up and down my bare calves.

I’m so engrossed in my book that I don’t realize Lochlyn has closed his until his hands start rubbing up my thighs and dipping under the hem of my shorts. Adjusting my legs, he leans in between them, hovering over me as he kisses along my neck. My arms reach around him, holding my book in the air as I try to keep reading, despite his hungry mouth scorching my skin.

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