Page 50 of The Sweetest Devotion

I didn’t trust myself to touch her, so I didn’t.

“Can I have my hat back?” I asked politely.

Kennedy blushed, shaking her head. “Uh-uh. You gave me a bad hair day, and now I’m going to wear this hat until I leave.”

Despite the fact she was being a brat, I smiled. “Okay.”

Kennedy looked at me in a way only she could. Curiously. Innocently. Thoroughly. “You have a nice smile.”

I rubbed at my jaw, looking away. “Do I?”

“Yeah, it’s handsome,” Kennedy replied.

Some thought of me as scary, intense—someone to avoid. At the shop, all it took was one look to get my coworkers out of my face when they were incompetent or annoying the shit out of me.

“Hey.” Kennedy poked my arm, briefly fingering a tattoo. “Why didn’t you kiss me?”

My gaze immediately went to her mouth. “Because you don’t want me to.”

Kennedy shrugged. “I said you could.”

I declined. “I’ll kiss you when you want it.”

There was nothing worse than a lazy kiss, lazy head, or a lazy fuck. I wanted energy. Desire. And unless Kennedy was feeling it, I’d back off.

Kennedy pouted and that was way too tempting. “Now you’re holding out.”

I leaned in, closing the gap between us. Taking her chin in my hand, I lifted her face up and peered down at her. I stared at her as she stared up at me.

Shit, that face was too pretty.

“I’ll be back,” I said in the end.

She scoffed. “Fine, maybe I don’t want your cigarette breath on me anyway.”

Perking a brow, I questioned her. She shot me a sassy look in response.

Brat.

To settle the score, quickly, I leaned down and nipped her bottom lip with my teeth. The contact sent a brief jolt to my chest.

Kennedy’s tongue snaked out and swiped my lip before I could pull away. A rush of blood shot straight to my dick.

“Careful,” I said as I reared back and licked my lips.

Kennedy appeared playful as her hooded gaze lingered on me. “Or what? You’ll punish me?”

I forced myself to stand up and get away from her. “You want anything sweet? They have a nice bakery.” I grabbed my keys from my dresser and looked over at Kennedy again, awaiting her reply.

She shook her head. “No thanks.”

I went to leave, but as I passed by the kitchen on the way out, something caught my eye.

Leila’s grocery list.

I crossed over to it, going and reading it over like I didn’t know it by heart after so much time.

Eggs

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