Page 77 of Delayed Penalty

“Okay.”

I should probably be worried she’s going along with this so easily and not more curious, but I’m too excited about my idea.

“You’re going to love this. I promise.”

“All right, Just Quinn. But if I don’t…”

“If you don’t,Ipromise to eat a grilled-cheese-and-pickle sandwich for dinner tonight.”

She beams. “You got yourself a deal.”

“Mmm. This totally normal and pickle-free grilled cheese issoyummy.”

Flora giggles, and I toss her a wink. I won the little bet of ours by a mile. The second I dragged Flora into the pet rescue, her eyes lit up, and she ran to their cages, sticking her fingers through the bars and cooing at the creatures.

She then begged and begged and begged to take one home—something I should have seen coming—but luckily for me, they were all already adopted, and I dodged that bullet. Before we left, I took a card from the owner, promising I’d be back after I spoke with Flora’s uncle. Now I just have to convince Hayes it’s a good idea.

He looks between us, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, and I just shrug.

“What?”

He points his fork—the one he’s using for some weird protein-pasta thing he’s eating—between the two of us. “You two are being weirder than usual.”

Flora giggles loudly again, and I shoot her a look that says,Calm down, you’re gonna make him more suspicious.Of course, that sends her into an even bigger fit of giggles, and soon I’m laughing along too, Hayes the only one completely confused by what’s going on.

When I get Flora settled down, Hayes is sitting back in his chair, big arms folded over his chest. He looks so good like this, his hair still wet from his shower, muscles barely contained inside the Serpents tee he’s wearing. He even trimmed his beard a little, making him look a bit less crazy, though I will miss the feel of it between my legs.

We’ve kept things totally normal between us today. Granted, he spent most of his day at the rink to make up for the Serpents losing in overtime last night, but still. We’ve been good. It’s almost like we didn’t break any rules.

Then he runs his tongue over his bottom lip, and I remember the feel of it as he licked at my pussy.Oh yeah, we did break the rules. We broke them big-time.

“What am I missing?” he asks, and I got so distracted by staring at him I almost forgot what we were even talking about. So much for things being totally normal.

I shake away all thoughts of our sexcapades and fold my hands together on top of the table like I’mready for a serious conversation, and I guess I sort of am.

“Flora has something she would like to ask you, and I think it would be great if you kept an open mind.”

He eyes me warily before slowly sliding his gaze to Flora. “What do you want to ask me?”

She sits up straight in her chair, tipping her chin high and clearing her throat. “I would like a cat.”

Hayes barks out an abrupt laugh. “No.”

“But I?—”

“Absolutely not.”

“I—”

“I saidno,” he says, more sternly this time with a finality that has her little shoulders sagging and the corners of her lips turning down.

She drops her chin to her chest and nods.

“Okay,” she whispers, and my heart fucking breaks for her.

“Go get ready for bed,” he tells her.

She scurries from the table without another word. I half expect her to slam her door closed with frustration, but that’s not Flora’s style. Itis, however, my style, and if I don’t get a good explanation from Hayes, I’m about two seconds from marching out of here and slamming my own door closed.

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