Page 96 of Wild As Her

Weston stands up so fast he nearly knocks over his stool. “And that’s our cue to head out.”

“Yep,” Tucker says, already backing toward the door with both hands up. “We’re gonna… go check on cows. Or something.”

“Bring a flashlight,” I offer.

“Have fun,” Weston calls, dragging his brother out by the collar, but not before Tucker reaches over and swipes two more cookies off the tray like it’s a hostage negotiation.

“I’m emotionally eating!” Tucker shouts as the door swings shut behind them.

The kitchen door swings shut behind them.

Jack stays where he is for a beat, watching me like he can't quite figure out if he's mad or amused or something in between that I can't read.

“I came for the oven,” I say flatly, scooping more dough with extra aggression. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to, like, sabotage you finding your wife or whatever.”

He walks slowly toward the counter. “Didn’t say you would.”

“Bet you thought it.”

He leans against the island across from me. “You seem mad.”

I smile. “Mad? Me? Noooo. Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Maybe because you stalked my date, got caught, and then came here to bake out your rage.”

I go back to scooping out dough. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m not your problem.”

He’s quiet for a moment. And then he says, soft but sharp, “You said something the other night.”

I stiffen. “I say alotof things.”

“You said I definitely wasn’t going to hate fuck you.”

I freeze. Suddenly it feels like it’s a hundred degrees in here.

“You do say a lot of things,” he continues, voice lower and closer now. “But I heard that. Real clear.”

I turn slowly, still dusted in flour, holding a metal scoop like a weapon.

“Okay. And?”

He steps around the counter,getting even closer. I back into the floured counter instinctively.

Big mistake.He boxes me in with both hands, palms flat on the table behind me, trapping me. My heart kicks intooverdrive.

“I wasn’t rejecting you,” he says, quietly.

“Oh?”

“I wasimagining it.”

I swallow hard.He leans in, close enough to whisper in my ear. “And I need you to understand something real clear, Wilder…”

My voice shakes. “W...what?”

“When I fuck you? And it’swhen. Notif. It’s not going to be because I hate you.”

I stare at him, swallowing the lump in my throat, my brain glitching, forgetting to breathe.

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