Page 77 of For Fox Sake

My head rolls toward the door.

Standing in the open doorway is Ari. Her eyes are wide. “Jake? What are you doing here? Did you have a sleepover?”

Chapter Twenty

Jake

Pull yourself together, man.

“Um, yep, that’s it, just a regular, run-of-the-mill sleepover. As we do. You know, grown-ups, kids, we all like sleepovers.”

Ryan has burrowed down, under the blankets, out of sight, her limbs trembling against mine.

Is she laughing?

Ari is still watching me, a divot between her brows and a frown marring her face.

I pull the sheet up a little, even though it’s already over most of my chest. “Why don’t you go find the pancake mix in one of the cabinets? I think it’s in the bottom one by the stove. I’ll be right there. ”

“Okay.”

Ari disappears, leaving the door wide open. A second later, a cabinet door slams.

I yank the blanket off of Ryan’s head. “Are you laughing?”

She covers her mouth with a hand, giggles bubbling up around it. “I’m sorry. This isn’t funny. Do you think she’s traumatized?”

“No, but I think I am.”

That just makes her laugh harder.

I rub her shaking back. “This is my fault. I meant to sneak out before she woke up.”

Her hand comes up to pat my cheek. “It’s okay. I totally wore you out. Not your fault.”

I chuckle. “Yes, you did.”

“I’m hoping to do it again in, say, twelve hours?”

I groan. “So far away. Maybe I can trick Finley into watching Ari for a few hours.”

“No, we can’t do that.”

“Are you kidding me? She would love it.”

Ryan smiles. I take in her sleepy eyes, creamy skin, mussed hair. My half-mast rises to a full mast.

Pancakes. Ari. Focus.

I swallow and roll out of bed. Distance is the only way to rein in the lust.

“I’ve got this.” We need to talk, but it will have to wait. After last night, I’m even more hell-bent on convincing her to stay. This weekend can’t be the end of... whatever this is. I grab my jeans from the ground and tug them up my waist. “For now, what do you want me to tell her?”

I turn around.

She’s watching me with heavy-lidded eyes, biting her lip. Her eyes jerk up to my face and she flushes.

I grin, euphoria flooding through my veins. She’s as lusty as I am right now, and it’s awesome.

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