Page 78 of Empty Net

She points her thumb toward the door. “Because my mother is definitely the one responsible for the ‘leak’ about our engagement. It’s splashed all over the internet now, and it won’tjust be Hutch who knows. It’ll be all of them. There’s no hiding this thing now.”

She’s right. We can’t hide this anymore. But that was going to happen anyway with the engagement party, right? It’s not like we could have kept hiding this for much longer.

“Do I love how this all came out? No, but we were going to tell Auden and Hutch anyway, right?”

“True. But?—”

“Then it’s okay.” I close the remaining distance between us. Not just because I want to reassure her but because I can’t seem to help myself. I need to touch her. I tip her chin up toward me, her beautiful blue eyes a little duller than when I left her earlier. “It’s okay. We’re in this together, remember?”

She gives me a half smile. “Stop being so nice.”

“No. You like that I’m nice.”

She puffs out a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. I just… Aren’t you worried at all?”

“No.”

“No? Do you think Auden knew you were here?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. The only thing I’m worried about right now is getting this dress off you.”

Her brows pull together, but there’s no mistaking the spark that comes back into her gaze. “But what about your game? Aren’t you usually napping right now?”

I am usually napping at this time, but this whole day has already been screwed up as it is. Why not throw that out the window too? “Nap with me.”

“With you?”

“Yeah. I have my suit in my truck already, and that’s really all I need. I’m good. I can stay here as long as you want.”

Her eyes brighten, as if she’s surprised I knew what she needs right now is to not be alone. But she shouldn’t besurprised. Lilah isn’t that hard to read if you look for the right things.

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“Sugar, if you’re asking me if I’m sure I want to go to bed with you, then yes, I am very, very sure of that.”

She smirks. “I think we both know if we go back to my room, there won’t be any sleeping happening.”

“Oh, no. How sad.”

She laughs at my monotone voice, and I haul her to me, kissing the laughter away. It’s not long before it turns into something more, and I’m lifting her, her legs hooking together around my waist. My cock brushes right against her clit, which I know is covered by nothing more than a scrap of material.

“Arthur…” She moans my name, writhing against me. “I need…”

“I know what you need,” I say, turning and carrying her through her apartment to her bedroom, her lips on my neck the whole time.

I drop her softly onto her bed, undoing the buttons she hastily redid to greet Auden, and I can’t help my chuckle when I see just how many she got wrong.

“What’s so funny?” she asks, eyes half open, already lost in the pleasure.

“Your buttons. They’re cattywampus.”

“Cattywampus?” She giggles.

“What? That’s what we say in the South.”

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” I say, working the last of her buttons free and pressing my lips right above her belly button. “You like it though.”

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