Page 55

"Car!" She burst out laughing and grabbed my hand to hold it close to her chest again. The way she pulled me close to her heart all the time soothed the embattled portions of my psyche. Whenever she wanted me close, she always held her hands or mine to her chest. "That was wicked."

"You expected something else?" I grinned at her and flicked her chin. "I'm starving. Want to get food for whatever time of day it is?"

"Yes." She beamed at me, scooting up to place a gentle kiss on my forehead the way I did to her. Her sweet gesture warmed my insides, and I tucked her hair behind her ears. "How about Chinese if it's after twelve, or pancakes and waffles from the diner across the street if it's not?"

"Sounds like a well-thought-out plan to me." I winked at her and we sat up together.

I watched her roll from the bed, admiring every inch of her naked form when she came to stand in front of me.

"Your ass looks pretty raw, too." I turned her around to brush my fingers over her welted flesh. "Does it hurt?"

"Not in a bad way," she said, facing me again.

I slipped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to stand between my knees. She smiled down at me while pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail.

"Your tits are great from this angle." I wagged my brows at her, and she tossed her head back when she laughed.

"You just like looking at me."

"Oh, I fucking do." I squeezed her closer, if that were even possible. "I really do."

"You can look at me whenever you want." This time, she brushed my hair from my face. "There's zero product left in your hair."

"I know. It's going to be a huge puff if I walk out of this house without fixing it."

"It will not be. You just like it tamed and sexy." She mashed the left side of my hair over to the right. "You could rock an undercut."

"I could, but growing it back in is terrible with curly hair. It's like, a lifetime commitment if I shave any part of my head. When I was twenty-something, I shaved a little of it off the back of my neck, old-school undercut dumbness, and it took about four years to grow back in normally."

"I retract my suggestion." She laughed and cupped my face in her palms again. "On account that it would make your lifetime commitment of five years a whole ass struggle."

I shook my head, laughing at her silliness. "So noted. Okay. Feed me now or the Beast is likely to rise out of my chest and eat you for lunch instead. And not the good kind of eating either." I pretended to bite her tit and she squeaked.

"Okay!" She grinned and grabbed me by the center of my shirt. "Let's go."

"Oh. I see. The one without the pants is wearing the pants right now." I eyed her fine pink rear with a token of pride that manifested in a grin.

"Yup. And no pants will be worn by me all day, because our one time ends only when I get dressed." She tossed a look at me over her shoulder that nearly killed me. "That's the rule."

I cracked up and grabbed her in a rough hug from behind. She squealed, and a giggle fit erupted from her in the cutest way.

"Oh really? You set the rules now, do you?"

"Uh huh." She hugged my arms, her smile never leaving her face. "And you'll agree because you still like looking at me."

"I do." I let out a dramatic sigh. "It's my kryptonite."

"Consider yourself trapped by the green alien rock." She smooched my cheek before I released her. "It's ten." She pointed to the clock then pumped her fist in the air. "Pancakes."

"Exactly who is going to walk across the street to fetch said pancakes if you're planning to remain naked?" I cocked a brow at her and folded my arms over my chest when I let her go.

"You're dressed." She flicked her fingers toward the door. "Go get them. I'll send in our orders."

"Hmm." I cocked a brow at her while buttoning up my shirt. "You're dangerous."

"You're just figuring that out?" She rolled her eyes then pulled up the menu on her phone to show me. "Pick something to share, too."

My eyebrow remained in a permanent arched position under her newfound confidence in being the sudden boss of the situation. It wouldn't last though. All clits eventually recover their sensitivity, and I'd have her back under my spell in no time.