Page 131 of Little Sunshine

“Aren’t they the same?”

He wasn’t wrong. The same thing that made me good at keeping chaos organized was the same thing that helped me think ten steps ahead. It was a fucked skill to have, but it was a skill nonetheless.

“You can take off,” I told my boss. “It’ll be a while before I can dump pube ’stache at the motel. I’m going to go back to Mila, and then come back around midnight.”

Marco and Cole looked at each other, communicating silently before Cole spoke. “We’ve got this. You can both go.”

“No, that’s—” I started before he cut in.

“You can make it up to me when I’ve got someone else to spend my nights with besides this grumpy bastard.”

It was my mess, and any other time, I’d stay to clean it up. But not then.

Not with Mila waiting.

After going over the plan, I retreated to the elevator and pulled out my phone. Since I didn’t have bodies to dump, there was no reason to stick around.

Me: Change of plans, sunshine. We’re going home.

Chapter 20

Don’t Push People’s Buttons for Fun

MILA

“What do you know about Daddies?”

Oh thank God.

After leaving Moonlight, I’d wanted to talk. No, I’d wanted Ash to talk. But like it was a normal day and nothing had changed, he’d only asked about what I wanted for dinner.

As if I could eat at a time like that.

And though my stomach had been in knots, that’s exactly what he’d made me do. Eat while we watched TV and pretended everything was normal.

That I wasn’t hyperaware of how good he looked sitting at the other end of the couch, still wearing his slacks and button-down, but with the sleeves rolled to show more of his muscular, tattooed forearms.

That my mind wasn’t replaying the memory of his mouth on me in a constant loop.

That I wasn’t obsessing about our impending conversation.

A conversation it was finally time for.

“I looked some stuff up,” I shared, “but there was a lot. And most of it was contradictory. So, uh, not much.”

Ash’s expression was soft when I met his hazel eyes. “That’s a good thing. It means there’s less bullshit for me to undo while I show you what a good relationship is.” I watched as a blazing fire replaced the warmth in his gaze. “While I show you a fuckuva lot more than that.”

Even without knowing the specifics, his words had me fighting the need to squeeze my thighs to relieve the building ache.

My voice came out airy. “Like what?”

“What I like. What you like. How good it can be.” Ash’s deep voice was gravel and fire. “I’ll give you anything. Everything. But I’ll demand everything from you in return.”

“You’re in the market for a shitty apartment? Or some packages of almost expired instant rice?” I rolled my eyes and gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Otherwise, I’ve got nothing.”

He didn’t share my amusement. At all. Like a flip was switched, the desire was gone in a flash and somberness took over. It was impossible—and not just because he was already massive—but he seemed to get bigger. More menacing. Daunting.

Hotter.

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