Page 29 of Crazy In Love (Love & War #2)

CHRIS

“Where the hell is it?” Fox searches her purse, pulling things out and dumping them on my kitchen counter.

Lipstick rolls toward Franky’s elbow, his face buried in a book, while a homemade pizza sizzles in the oven behind me.

“Did you see Aunty Fox’s pen, honey?” She slaps a stack of Post-its to the counter.

“It was in my bag, but now I can’t find it. ”

He clings to his pen, afraid she’ll take it. “Nope. I’ve got my own.”

“So where’s mine?” She dumps a box of tampons beside everything else, then a notebook and a small diary with wrinkled pages and dog-eared folds. “Why is this so difficult?”

“It’s just a pen, right?” I open my junk drawer and take out a spare. Blue. Boring. A perfect replacement for the one she lost. “Use this one.”

“But I need to find mine . It has my teeth marks on the cap.”

I set it on the counter and dig my hands into my pockets. “You want it back because of the teeth marks? Why not accept a new one and chew it to match?”

“Why not just mind your damn business and help me find my pen?” Yet, she snatches up my offering, grips it between her teeth, and goes to work packing away her mess. “I bet this one doesn’t even feel good to write with. Comfortable pens matter, ya know?”

“You sound awfully cranky for a chief happiness guru .”

Franky chokes out a silly giggle and hides within the pages of his book.

“Chief Happiness Officer,” she snarls. “It’s a real job.”

“So use the skills you made up to get that job and apply them to your pen situation.” Smug, I turn and make myself busy checking on our dinner. “What do you need to write down? There are electronic devices for that stuff nowadays anyway.”

“I’m planning Alana’s baby shower, and I don’t have a bunch of time to get everything done.”

“What baby shower?” Closing the oven, I straighten out and peek over my shoulder. “Hazel’s already here. Showers are typically for before the baby arrives, no?”

“Typically.” She flicks the cap off her new pen and whips open her notebook. “But Alana and Tommy aren’t really the ‘ do things in the correct order ’ kind of people, and if anyone wants to complain about celebrating Hazel’s existence, then I’ll introduce them to my fists.”

She’s cute. Fuck, she’s cute.

I set my elbows on the counter and wait for her eyes. “Ever thrown a jab before in your life?”

“Not recently. But I have an arm and ten knuckles. I figure throwing is throwing, and the rest will take care of itself. Also, we need a venue: we’re commandeering the gym for the party.”

“Uh, hold up.” I slap my hand over her notebook and earn a feral glare. “You’re planning a party? And you’re taking over my gym?”

“Tommy’s baby, Tommy’s portion of the gym.” She flicks my arm away and goes back to writing. “Your niece. I’m certain you’ll understand and realize sharing your portion of the gym will be okay.”

“It’s not so much about sharing anything and more about the fact you’re planning a party I had no clue existed three minutes ago.”

“Did Alana have a baby shower?” She glances at Franklin and arches a perfectly sculpted brow. “Did your mom have a party while Hazel was in her tummy, where people came and gave her gifts?”

Disinterested, he shakes his head. “No.”

“See?” She hits me with a look. “She’s had two babies and no parties. She deserves this.”

“But she already has everything she needs. It’s not like she can fit three more cribs in Hazel’s room or another stroller in the trunk of her car. Tommy made damn sure she’s set.”

“It’s not about the things . It’s about who celebrates with you.

It’s about letting her experience something good in this podunk godforsaken town, and even if it pains me to know we’ll have to include the gossipy Judgy McJudgersons who hang around Main Street all day, I hold out hope that you and Tommy will know some other people, too. ”

“No, I?— ”

“If you contribute nothing, and no one comes, and Alana feels unloved, especially after everything that happened last time she lived here,” she looks into my fucking soul, narrowing her eyes to push her point home, “I’ll make sure you pay in an extremely painful way.

If, for any reason, Alana Page is made to feel less than wonderful for this one day of her life, I’ll hurt you. ”

“You’re mean.” I back away from the counter and switch the oven off. It’s time to eat. “You want a party? You can have a party. My gym, your gym.”

“That’s what I thought.” Snarling, she grabs the pen and goes back to jotting down her notes. “So now that Hazel is here, she’s a she, and we have a color scheme, we can talk about ordering a cake and decorations.”

“Can get a cake from the place that does the shop pastries,” Franky inserts in monotone. “Also, do I have to go to the party?”

“Yes. Name of the bakery?”

“ The bakery .” I don an oven mitt and slide the pizza stone from the middle rack. “Plainview is a small town, Fox. The bakery is the only bakery. Head in and ask to speak to Pedro. He’ll figure you out easy peasy.”

“Great. And since it’s so easy peasy , I’m officially putting you in charge of the cake.”

Unimpressed, I straighten and turn to her with a sneer. “Seriously?”

“Yep. And before you ask, yes, you have to go to the party.”

“Wasn’t gonna ask.” I’ll just hang out in my office and go on with my life . “Color scheme is pink?”

“Color scheme is green,” she drawls. “Pink is small town, small minds. Green will match her name, if not her eyes.”

“Silly me.” I set our dinner on the stove and come around to the silverware drawer, yanking it open and snatching out the pizza slicer that tings against the countertop when steel meets stone.

“I can’t believe I assumed pink was an appropriate color scheme for a girly party. When is it? Also, have you told Tommy?”

“The Saturday a week before I leave. That gives Alana time to settle in with the baby, and it allows for your invitees to RSVP and plan their travels.”

“Travels?” I move back to the pizza and roll the slicer through. “Where the hell are they traveling from? We don’t know people outside of Plainview.”

“Alana knows plenty of people outside Plainview, and if you tried really hard, I bet you could think of some, too.”

“You know fighters,” Franky drawls, his tone as bland as if we were discussing dirt. Actually, dirt would be more interesting . “You know loads of fighters.”

“And remind me again why the hell I would invite fighters from outside of Plainview for a baby shower for a baby who is already born to a woman they’ve never met?”

“Because if you contribute nothing, and no one comes, and Alana feels unloved, especially after everything that happened last time she lived here…”

“Fine.” I wave her off and wish for bedtime-Fox. Sexy-time Fox. I’d even take sleepy-time Fox. Because any of those are preferable to rest-of-the-day Fox. “I hear you. I’ll think of some folks and figure out a way to invite them without looking like a total fucking idiot.”

“Thomas Watkins is the current world champion,” she huffs. “I’m certain you could fill a stadium if you simply spoke to another human being.”

Sleep escapes me for the second night in a row while frogs croak outside and the cicadas scream from the trees.

A soft breeze knocks on the windows of Tommy and Alana’s house—Franky wanted to sleep here, in his own bed, but only if Fox went upstairs with him—which means I sit on the couch, my body dug between the cushions and my legs spread wide apart.

I tap my fingers against the arm of the couch to a tune I don’t even know, and while the clock tick-tock-tick-tocks , promising to steal my sanity, I simply… exist.

I fucking hate the nighttime.

“You look lonely.” Fox’s soft voice rolls through the dark, like a hug that wraps all the way around. A caress that touches a man’s soul.

I tilt my head back and watch her, upside down, step off the staircase in a pair of tiny sleep shorts I’m pretty sure belong to Alana and a sports bra brandishing my own gym logo on it.

Fuck. Me. Please.

Smirking, she saunters around the couch with a seductive swing of her hips and a delicious arch in her back. She wears her hair in a messy bun atop her head and a spare scrunchie on her wrist, its stark blackness standing out against her pale skin.

“You often awake this late at night, or is it a new thing for you?”

“It’s not uncommon,” I grumble. Despite my strict bedtime routine and the handful of melatonin I choke down every evening .

She wanders around and stops between my legs, grinning and tilting her head to the side.

“Franky asleep?”

Nodding, she nibbles on her bottom lip. “Uh-huh.”

“Are you often awake this late?” I surge forward and snag her wrist, then I pull her onto my lap, her excited exhalation, a sweet breeze hitting my face as I help her settle over top of me, her legs on either side of mine, and my hands on her hips.

“How can you be a night owl and a morning person, all at the same time?”

“I’m not a morning person, typically. But the time difference makes it tricky to sleep past five.” She grinds down over my cock. “I’m more of a stay-up-late kind of person, which is why I love my neighborhood. I haven’t not discovered a new dessert during my middle-of-the-night explorations yet.”

“That’s not safe.” I slide my hands along her bare thighs, drawing circles on her skin and creeping closer to find her warmth.

She came to me. Fuck it, I intend to claim what she so freely offers.

“You could get hurt doing that, Fox.”

“And yet, I’ve never felt unsafe.” She shudders under my touch, smiling in the dark like the vixen she is. “You told me to come to you.”

“I did, didn’t I?” I slip my fingers through the gap of her shorts and into her panties, only to find her wet and waiting. “You’re still needy, even after today?” I slip my thumb into her pussy and elicit her explosive sigh. “Pretty sure I mentioned how hungry your cunt is.”

“Funny, since I wasn’t all that needy last week.” She drops her head back and rides my digit, moaning with pleasure and swallowing, so I’m treated to a view of her bobbing throat. “Didn’t realize how much I needed this until we started.”

“Now you can’t get enough.” I unsnap my jeans with one hand, rolling the zipper down and freeing my cock. So full already. So hard and lined with thick veins. “Gotta keep it quiet this time. Making you scream is how we ruin a good time.”

She reaches between her legs and drags my hand away, then she grabs my cock and pushes her shorts to the side, making room and lifting onto her knees.

“Guess you’re gonna have to be gentle this time.

” She brings hooded eyes down to look into mine, then she sinks and uses my hand to trap her cry behind closed lips. “Shit!”

I grit down on the yelp I want so badly to cough out. The shouted fuck bubbling at the base of my throat. And when she rides me, slow enough to torment us both, tight enough to play with my sanity, I simply sit back and watch the show she puts on.

Her stomach ripples. Her chest races, and her throat bobs. And because I want to see, I peel her sports bra up and allow her tits to fall free.

“You’re so beautiful, Fox.” I take her nipple between my lips and hold my breath, for fear of losing my load too soon. “So fucking infuriating.”

“You mean infuriatingly beautiful?”

“No, I mean infuriating.” I bite and slip my fingers into her mouth to shut her up.

“You wanna know how many times you rolled your eyes at dinner?” I play with her tongue.

“Six. I was counting. When we’re alone, you’re the most exquisite fucking creature I’ve ever met.

But as soon as we’re back in the real world and we have witnesses, you’re a pain in my ass with a metric ton of sass and no ‘ off’ button when I need a little quiet. ”

She snickers, biting my fingers and suckling on the moist ends. “I could say the same about you. The best monster in bed, but an uptight, un-fun person in the real world.”

“Better to be un-fun than a complete pest.” I plant my feet on the floor and slam my hips upward, filling her pussy and stealing her breath.

Then I take the scrunchie from around her wrist and tie her hands together behind her back.

“When we’re fucking, I lose a little of my soul to you.

You’re my siren, Fox, and I have no fear of death in the ocean.

But when we’re not fucking, you’re my demon succubus, and I genuinely think you hope to send me to the asylum before you’re done. ”

“I’m just me,” she whimpers, creaming on my cock. “I’m the same, no matter where we are or who we’re with.”

I hold her bound hands and reach around with the other to play with her ass. So ripe and inviting. So delicious and swollen and tempting.

She tips her head back, moaning. “Jesus.”

“Want me inside you?” I play with her asshole, circling the outside and holding my release captive before I embarrass myself. “Too bad I didn’t bring the bottle of lube. I’d pay a lot of money to fuck your ass again right now.”

“Please… just…”

“This?” I slip a finger inside and groan at her wild bucking, her squeezing pussy. “You like that, huh?”

She pants, frantically nodding. “Yes.”

“I bet I could sleep better with my cock in your ass.” I draw my finger out and replace it with two, taking her nipple between my lips and suckling. “Fuck, I want a whole night to sleep inside you. Just to test it out.”

She chokes out a soft, almost silent laugh. “Okay. ”

“I haven’t slept a full night my whole life.” I switch breasts and bite down. “The dark was always too scary. There were so many fucking bugs just waiting to crawl on my face.”

She slows her hips, bringing her eyes back to mine… they shine with sympathy.

Fuck.

“Ignore what I said?—”

“I can keep watch while you sleep.” She uses her core strength and leans forward, taking my lips with hers. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”

“Climb off.” Surprising us both, I lift her off my cock and destroy a moment that could almost be considered beautiful, then setting her on her knees on the floor, I move around behind her and shove the coffee table back to give myself room.

Finally, I fold her over the cushions and fist her hair in my right hand.

“I like hurting you.” I slam inside her pussy and crush her face to the couch to muffle her scream. “I like making you cry.”

“Chris—”

“I like taking your power and keeping it all for myself.”