Page 23 of Hush Money
He walks into the kitchen and pulls down a plate then puts them in the microwave for a few seconds. I follow him in and take a seat at this massive island, and he sets the plate between us.
“Dig in,” he says, reaching for one of them and bringing it to his lips. He takes a big, messy bite, and the icing slips off his lips and back onto the plate. I smile as I watch him lick his lips. His lips are pretty.
And based on the zap that just struck, my vagina agrees.
I hesitantly reach in, and he gives me a look.
“You don’t want it?” he asks. I shake my head. It smells so good I’m practically
salivating. I just don’t want him to know how badly I want to eat it.
“No, I do. I just…”
His eyebrows knit together.
“You just what?”
I smile nervously, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“I probably shouldn’t, but?—”
“Why not?” he asks. He’s just looking at me, his fingers still covered in icing. I swallow.
All of this feels so silly. My entire life has imploded, and I’m worrying about eating a fucking cinnamon roll?
But I guess after years of someone telling you that you shouldn’t, you start to believe it.
I lift my eyes to him, and I see something click in his. His jaw flexes, and his eyes move back forth. Then he looks up at me again.
“Do you want this, Evie?” he asks, his voice low. I bite my bottom lip, then I nod. He reaches his hand out and picks it up off the plate. Then he lifts it to my lips. “Then take it.” Our eyes lock, and I lean in, taking a long, painfully slow bite of it. AndGod,it’sgood.
And there is something about the way he’s holding it for me, something about the look in his eyes, that sends that zap to my core again.
KEATON
He made her feel like she shouldn’t eat.
I’m not sure what went down.
But I know that she was going to stop herself from eating this because there was a voice somewhere inside her telling her she shouldn’t.
Motherfucker.
And I know one more thing.
It shouldn’t have turned me on so much watching her take that bite. The combination of the white icing on her lips with the look of pleasure on her face…Fuck.
We finish eating and clean up, and as I’m putting the plate back, my phone vibrates across the counter. I see Julian’s name flashing on the screen, and my heart starts to beat faster.Fuck.
I try not to look as anxious as I feel as I swipe it off the counter.
“I gotta take this. I’ll be right back,” I say, nodding toward the study. I walk hurriedly down the hall and shut the door behind me.
“J,” I breathe into the phone. “What did you find out?”
I hear my brother sigh on the other end.
“It’s…it’s so much worse than we thought, Keat,” he says, just above a whisper.
