Page 41 of My Three Hometown Alphas

There’s just something about Avery Davis. She’s been burrowing her way under my skin since the first moment I saw her.

Even if my brothers have found a way to make something work with her in the short term, I can’t do the same. I just can’t.

I can’t.

“Aren’t you going to be late?” Lyla asks, shoving another bite of her jellied toast into her mouth.

I shake my head. “No. Things will be just fine without me there for a few minutes.”

She gives me a sly look but thankfully keeps her mouth closed as she continues to chew.

I might be eating breakfast at home more often than I ever did before. It’s just because I want to spend time with Lyla while she’s on summer break.

There’s no other reason.

Avery stands from her chair. She reaches for my plate, but somehow, she stumbles and winds up splayed across my lap. One of my hands is on the small of her back. The other is at the top of her thigh.

“Shit,” she murmurs, trying to balance the plate in her hand. I move my hand from her back, grabbing the plate and setting it on the table.

“You okay?” I ask.

She shuffles up into more of a sitting position, which causes my thumb to slide up under her denim shorts. I should move my hand, but I can’t find the will to do so.

Her intake of breath is shaky, eyes looking downward.

I expect her to push my hand away. I mean, she has something going with my brothers. She obviously wouldn’t want me touching her, too.

Why do I even care?

I don’t.

She’s Avery, though, so all she does is slowly drag her eyes back up to meet mine. Then she just about kills me when her teeth latch on to her bottom lip.

Fuck me.If she sits on me for much longer, especially biting her lip like that, my dick is going to try to fuck her despite the layers of clothes between us.

A devilish smirk ghosts her lips as she starts to maneuver herself off my lap. I try to mask a gasp when her hand grips my thigh, much in the same way I’m still touching her.

She squeezes my denim-covered leg, making my cock twitch against my zipper. My hand falls to my side when she stands. As much as I wish I didn’t, I immediately want to be touching her again.

Avery grabs both of our plates, walking into the kitchen. “You don’t need to clean up,” I call after her.

“I don’t mind,” she says, glancing at me over her shoulder.

I hired her to take care of Lyla this summer, not to do all the cooking and cleaning around here. She seems bound and determined to prove me wrong.

Whether it’s because she genuinely wants to do it or it’s to spite me, I’m not certain.

With a grunt, I push back from the table. Both of my brothers are staring right at me. Owen just shakes his head, a hint of a smile peeking through. Miles tilts his head as if to say, “See? You’re no better than us.”

Luckily Lyla is busy flipping through an animal book while she finishes her breakfast, so she’s clueless to everything.

Whatever this is…

Stepping in beside her, I gently grab Avery’s wrist to stop her as she loads dishes into the dishwasher. “You really don’t need to do all of this.”

She shrugs. “I promise. I don’t mind.”

She looks down. Her demeanor shifts. When her eyes look back up, there’s a vulnerability to them that I didn’t expect. I’ve seen it lurking in the distance with everyone else in this house, but never with me.