Page 26 of Madden

Mick doesn't have to be told twice, he takes off at a run, leaving the two of us staring at each other. She grins up at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I reciprocate by circling mine around her waist. "You're sweaty. Were you working out?"

"I was. I had just gotten done when you rang the bell, otherwise you would have interrupted me right in the middle."

She pouts, putting out her lower lip. "I'm jealous. I wish I would've been able to see."

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she has seen it. Her and most of Laurel Springs, but I'm not ready to blow my cover yet. "Maybe one day I'll work out just for you."

Becca clears her throat. "I'm going to hold you to that. I need to go get the stuff to make dinner from my car, I didn't want to bring it in case you told me to get the hell out." She laughs.

"I never would've told you that. Let me help you."

We walk out to her car, and she opens the trunk. There are a couple of bags sitting there, nestled in with what looks out workout gear. "You work out too?"

She shakes her head. "I did until a few weeks ago, but then things got super busy. I was watching this dude work out on the internet, you caught me once. Watching him made me want to take care of my health more, but like always it's fallen to the wayside."

I want to tell her I'm the person she's been watching, the one who she's used as encouragement to take her health more seriously. I also don't want to blow my cover, and I'm worried that she will be annoyed that I haven't told her I'm the person in the thirst-trap videos. Especially now. "You and I could work out together, if you wanted to."

The side of her mouth lifts. "What kind of workout do you have planned?"

I tilt my head to the side, giving her a smile. "Well, I wasn't thinking of that, but if you are, we can work it out."

She doesn't say anything, but gives me a little grin. "C'mon, let's get this stuff inside so I can get started."

As I follow her, my gaze is attached to her ass, and all I can think about is what she looks like with no clothes on. I'd give anything to know right now.

"I can feel your gaze on me." She turns her head around, her eyes going right to my lips.

"Yeah, and the way you looked at me like that?" I crowd into her personal space. "It's how I imagine you'd look at me if I was doing you from behind, Bec. Would you let me have that knowledge?"

She stops. We're on the porch, and out of the eyesight of most of my neighbors. I set the groceries I'm carrying down, and plaster my chest to her back. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I bury my lips in her neck, allowing my hands tospread across her stomach. "Will you let me?" I pitch my voice low. "Touch you out here where anyone could see?"

Becca doesn't say anything, but I feel the nod. It's so small I'm not sure she's actually done it, but she rests her head back against my shoulder. "Yes." The word is pushed out on a gust of air.

I slip my hands up her stomach, following the natural curve until the palms of my hands curl around her breasts. My mouth finds the flesh of her neck. I groan when she presses the globes further into my palms. The bra she's wearing does nothing to hide the nipples that are tightening and hardening against my touch. I wish we were alone, so that I could slip underneath the shirt, that I could allow my lips to wrap around and suckle those peaked tips. I'm growing hard against her back, and I know if we don't put a stop to this, we're going to do something on the porch that we don't want others to see. When I pull back, I clear my throat. "I think we should take this inside."

"Yeah." She sighs. "You're right."

I push her slightly away from me, and bend down to grab the bags that I let drop earlier. She hurries inside, and I follow behind her. When we get in, we look at each other, both grinning because we know how easy it would be for these feelings between us to explode into a full-blown bonfire.

CHAPTER 18

BECCA

"Can he have a piece?"I ask Madden as I stand in his kitchen, with Donut looking up at me expectantly.

"Is it cheese? If it's cheese he can, anything else, and I have to be very careful. His stomach can be iffy when he eats certain things."

"It is." I hold it up so Madden can see. Immediately, Donut sits back on his heels. "Good boy," I praise him.

"That smells amazing. What are you making?"

It strikes me as odd that he didn't ask that question before I started cooking. "Smothered pork chops, fried potatoes, and a salad. It's just a bag." I lift my shoulder up. "It's cheaper." My cheeks heat.

"Hey." He gets up, putting his arms on either side of the counter where I'm standing. "You don't have to apologize to me about what you can afford and what you can't. I'm not here to make judgments."

"Thanks."

Mick is sitting at the table, but looks at me. "Can we go back outside until dinner is done?"

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