Page 29 of Beneath the Surface

“How’s that?” My stomach flips.

“Because when yousavorsomething, you take your time.” He leans forward, his elbows resting on the table, his eyes branding so deep they sear my soul. “You let it rest on your tongue until all you can see, think…feelis how lucky you are to have it touch your mouth in the first place.”

My heart pounds against my chest, a rush of arousal spreading through my body. I cross my legs under the table, squeezing my thighs to stem the ache.Jesus.

“I’m savowing,” Chase responds. His cheeks bulge from where the food sits, and I giggle, trying to brush off the way Alex just made me feel and focus on my kid instead.

“You can savor all you want, but we don’t talk with our mouth full.”

Chase nods, his face blooming red.

“That’s more like it, my guy,” Alex cuts in. “No need to rush. We’ve got nowhere to be.”

Alex drapes his arm over the back of the booth. I smile as I watch him, taking a sip from my coffee and letting the warmth seep through my hands. This is… nice. “So, how are things with Annabelle?” The question rushes out before I can stop it.

He bites his lip. “Why?”

Because even though I have no reason for it, I hate that you’re together.

“Just curious. You two seemed to hit it off.”

He shrugs. “She’s a nice girl. But she’s just stress relief.”

I nod slowly, sipping from my coffee. “Sounds like something a d-bag would say.”

He smirks. “A d-bag?”

“Yeah.” My eyes slide to Chase and back to him. “Don’t make me say it, you know what it means.”

“I think you may be trying to insult me, little bird. Are you jealous?”

My chest burns.

“Mommy’s a bird?” Chase interrupts.

Alex smiles, his gaze leaving mine. “Your mommy’s a lot of things.”

His eyes flicker as he glances around the room, zoning in on something behind us.

And just like that, his entire body stiffens, his face dropping into a hard mask. The sudden change is striking, and as a resultmybody flies into fight-or-flight mode, the hairs on my arms standing at attention. “What’s wrong?”

His jaw clenches tighter with each second, but he ignores me. Or maybe he doesn’t hear me at all.

I twist around to see what he’s looking at. A TV.What the hell?

“Alex.”

“Don’t call me that,” he snaps.

My brows scrunch, my insides cowering at his tone. “What? That’s your name, crazy.”

He moves his gaze back to mine, his eyes fogged over.

Something isn’t right.

Without a second thought, I reach my hand across the table to cover his. “Hey… are you okay?”

Suddenly, he shakes himself out of his stupor, pulling back and drawing a toothpick out of his pocket. “I’m just fine, little bird. I’m sorry, you sounded like my mom for a second.” He taps his head. “Flashbacks.”

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