Page 48 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

I can see it in the way his mouth is set in a tight line.

His eyes lift when he notices me.

That’s when I catch it, a flicker of suspicion, assessing me while I make my way back to my own chair.

It rolls over me slow from head to toe, not at all subtle.

The back of my neck prickles.

“What took you so long getting her inside?” he asks.

My brain scrambles, hunting for something that won’t sound like anything close to the truth. “Had to take a shit.”

Reece lets out a breathy laugh.

Jack’s brow furrows slightly, his gaze flicking from me to Reece before coming back again.

He’s reading me just like he always does.

He’s always been good at that, catching things you don’t say and turning them over in his head until the pieces finally click.

The worst part? He never bothers to hide it.

“Really…” His mouth pulls into something that’s not quite a smile. “Interesting. You better not have touched her while you were in there.”

The words land like a slap.

How thehellcould he see through methateasily?

I hate being on the other side of that damn stare.

My spine stiffens as I sit upright, panicked heat flooding through my body.

“Are you fucking serious right now? You think I’d do something like that?” I push it back at him, let mock outrage flare across my face.

Jack’s jaw ticks.

We lock eyes, neither of us blinking.

Even if he’s nailed exactly what I’ve been trying to hide, I can’t let him see it.

I have to make him believe there’s nothing there to find.

Eventually, Jack leans back in his chair, taking another slow sip of his whiskey.

The glass lingers at his mouth for a moment before he lowers it and says, almost lazily. “Just making sure.”

It’s the kind of line that’s supposed to sound offhand, innocuous to anyone else, but with Jack it never is.

Every word is deliberate, carefully thought out to impact the most damage when inflicted.

It’s a warning and a dare all rolled into one.

I force out a humorless chuckle, bending down to fish a beer from the cooler at my feet.

My knuckles knock against the ice, grounding me with the sharp change in temperature.

I make myself move slowly so my hand doesn’t give away how bad it’s still shaking from that adrenaline rush.