Page 34 of Dirty Ginger

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“Iseriously have no idea how you can eat so many pancakes,” Amelia said, placing another stack of pancakes onto Beckett’s plate the following morning.

He began pouring maple syrup overtop until it dripped down the sides. “Easy. When they taste this good, keep ‘em coming.”

She slid the spatula back onto the empty plate. “Well, sadly for you, you ate them all.”

He shoved his fork into the stack and began cutting. “There’s always tomorrow,” he mumbled before taking a huge bite.

She laughed, moving back to the dishwasher and adding all the dirty dishes inside. Birds danced through the outside of the window, the sunny day their playground. She realized as she cleaned up that having Beckett there this morning reminded her of how full the house once was, not only when Pops and her grandmother were alive, but when Clara, Mason and Maisie lived there too. Mornings were always so loud and busy. She liked having someone to cook for again.

Once she closed the dishwasher, she moved onto her next stage of her plans this morning. Beckett always handled tough talks better after he had food. She took the piece of paper she’d left in the drawer, then slapped set it down next to his plate.

His fork clanked against the plate at his check presented to him. “I don’t want that.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want the check either, so we’re at an impasse.”

He ignored the check and rose, adding his dishes to the dishwasher. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, that was not your debt, Amelia. Put it in your account.” He turned to face her, his gaze cold and flinty. “If you refuse to do that, I’ll put it in myself.”

Yeah, she could play tough guy too. She crossed her arms. “Then I’ll redeposit the money into your account.”

He snorted a laugh, and it didn’t sound amused when he gathered her in his arms. “The only person you’re going to annoy by doing that is the bank teller. This is a battle you will not win. I cannot live with myself knowing that asshole has your money. Please stop fighting me on this.”

Understanding his point, but knowing she needed a loophole because she couldn’t live with herself knowing he’d paid Luka that much money, she gave him a quick kiss and settled back at the sink.

As she set the pan in the drying rack, strength and warmth engulfed her again as Beckett embraced her from behind. “Thank you for breakfast,” he murmured in her ear. “Tomorrow it’s my turn to cook for you.”

Her eyes fluttered, heat building at all the places he touched last night and this morning. She forgot about these little things that used to be so easy with Beckett. She forgot what it felt like to be with someone who made it a point to talk about all her good qualities, instead of always wanting her to change into something else. “You’re welcome.” Hands still soaking wet, she turned around, sliding her arms around his neck.

He held her close, his gorgeous smile better than any coffee to get her going today. “What’s your plan today?”

“I need to get started on brewing those sample beers and hope to hell they turn out,” she said.

His hands slid around her hips to tuck into the back pockets of her shorts. “How long does that process take?”

“If I nail it the first time, not long, but I never nail it the first time, so I’d think a few days to get the ingredients right.” She paused, considered the work ahead of her and then shrugged. “I suspect some will be easier than others.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

The heated smile he gave had her moving a little closer. “What you’re doing for me right now is more than enough.”

His chin dipped, his mouth mere centimeters from hers. “Which is?” he asked roughly.

“Making me happy.”

“Then I’m doing something right,” he said. He slanted his mouth across hers, and his kiss was sweet, only at first. The force of his embrace kept building. His hands squeezed her bottom before beginning their descent up her back until he gathered her shirt enough to sneak a hand beneath. His touch felt like fire.

Desperation began to crawl through her as heat simmered low in her body, need building and building, and the only way to ease it was Beckett being inside her. She ground against him, and his answering low groan rumbled against her lips. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto the countertop. His kiss dragged from her mouth to her cheek to her neck where she moaned, dropping her head back as he relentlessly devoured her until she was eagerly pulling him forward for more. Everything felt like it made sense now. She wanted this, Beckett’s touch. She definitely did not have everything figured out—nowhere near it—but for all the bad in her life, she wouldn’t turn her back on something that felt so good. And Beckett’s touch was out of this world. She moaned, arching into him as his fingers tangled in her hair and he angled her head, deepening the kiss. There was absolutely nothing gentle in his touch. Nothing soft in how he unbuttoned her shorts and had them down to her knees. Nothing easy about the way he shoved up her top and her bra, exposing her breasts until he roughly squeezed each one, leaving her gasping.

“Is this what you were looking for, Am?” His voice rumbled by her ear, and she shuddered, desperate for him to fill her.

“Yes,” she managed. Her eyes fluttered into the back of her head as his mouth met her neck, his teeth her shoulder.

She lost herself as his strong hands encased her, stealing every thought from her head as he ground himself against her, the hardness of his cock a tease she couldn’t possibly endure. “I want you inside me.”

His low chuckle tickled her ear. “Better give you what you want, then.”

She shivered as he backed away and yanked the front of his T-shirt over his head, tucking it behind his neck. Then he squeezed her breast, leaning down to deeply suck on her nipple. The heat of the burn shot through it, remarkably building more heat between her thighs. He gestured at her shorts. “Take those off for me.” With shaky hands, she wiggled out of them, along with her panties, until she sat before him naked, her breasts exposed, her sex his to take. He groaned. “Fucking hell, Amelia, you’re so damn pretty.” His mouth met hers again, and he took her breath away with a knee wobbling kiss that caused heat to pool in her core.

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