Page 36 of Caught Looking

Seth Butler turned me on with one hand, an intense gaze, and a few words.

I was in so much trouble.

While he cooked he also pulled out a special gourmet dinner for Roscoe. It turned out we were all getting spoiled tonight. I sipped my wine as I watched Seth move effortlessly around his kitchen, dreaming of many more nights like this. Easy nights with good food and even better company.

“Your bed is awfully big.” I took another sip of wine.

He grinned. “It’s your bed tonight, Annalise. Inviting me into it is your call. But when you sleep here that’s where you sleep. If you don’t want company, you can find me in the other bed.”

“What happened to the gentleman from last night?”

“He’s still here. But he’s a modern gentleman. He respects the needs and desires of his woman.”

My eyebrows shot up. “His woman?”

Another wicked grin, complete with bouncing eyebrows and a wink. “Did you forget the part where I described myself as jealous and possessive?”

“Caveman,” I laughed.

He shrugged. Butter went into a pan and began warming. “How was practice today?”

And there went my good mood. I tipped more wine into my mouth, debating how much I could have and still be at my best tomorrow.

The spatula was set aside as Seth rounded the counter a second time. He took my face in his hands. “What happened?”

Damn, I loved when he did this. It made me melt and rendered me incapable of deflecting. Maybe that’s why he did it, but I suspected it was as natural for him as it was for me. Something we were simply meant to do with each other. “Coach was pissed when I told her about the camera. She confronted Owen and he was peak Owen.”

“Fuck him.”

“Seth…”

His eyes darkened. “What else?”

How was he already so good at reading my moods? “Right before I left he gave me a look. I…I didn’t like it.”

His jaw locked. Then he blinked, erasing his fury, and lowered his lips to mine. It sent my heart racing. It was so tender, so intentional. When his tongue traced my lower lip I opened for him and was gifted with an equally tender slide of his tongue against mine. His gentleness made me weak. If I’d been standing I would have swooned. But I was seated and he had those big hands of his firmly around my face, his fingers tangling into the hair at my neck.

He pressed another kiss to my lips, then my forehead.

“What was that for?” He made me breathless.

“To erase the ugly. This is what you deserve, not that shit.” He swiped his thumb over my cheek, giving me a tight smile, before returning to the stove.

“Thank you.” I put my hand on the counter to steady the spinning in my head.

“Anytime.” His face softened. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I told Janet about it. She said they’d handle it.”

“Good. Why do you think Coach Summer left practice?”

That part still confused me. “At first I thought she was going to voice concerns to some higher ups, but that shouldn’t have taken hours.”

He poured cream in with the butter and started adding spices. “Is it too much to hope he gets fired?”

“Probably. He’s rubber. Everything bounces off him.” Always had. Owen had too many people eating out of the palm of his hand. And he had blackmail waiting for anyone who crossed him.

Seth hummed as he started dropping the freshly grated cheese into the mixture. Then he drained the pasta. He was so focused on his tasks. I had a feeling it was to keep from ruining the whole night by talking about Owen any more than absolutely necessary.