Page 172 of Money Reigns
No sound. No warning.
Justpresence.
Heavy. Possessive. I hadn’t even noticed he’d ended his call.
He doesn’t clear his throat. Doesn’t announce himself. He just stands there until I feel it in my bones, that heat he carries everywhere, pressing down on me.
“Make me peanut butter cookies,” he says. Not asks.Demands.
I look up arching a brow at him. “Makeyou cookies? No please? No thank you?”
His gaze locks on mine.
Dark. Direct. Possessive.
Then, flat as stone:
“You made Broderick peanut butter cookies.”
The laugh punches out of me before I can stop it. “Oh,so this is about—”
His mouth claims mine before I can finish, hard and hot, the kiss stealing the rest of the sentence, erasing the name.
When he pulls back, his breath scorches mine.
“Don’t say his name.”
His words hang there, rough and final, and I’m still half breathless from the kiss when I snap my laptop shut with a click.
I tilt my head, eyes narrowing. “How do you even know I made him cookies?”
His stare doesn’t flicker. No games, no dodge. Just brutal honesty.
“He told me.”
I blink. “So nowyouwant them?“ My laugh is half incredulous, half teasing. “Are they even your favorite kind?”
“No.” His jaw flexes, his gaze burning through me. “But I want to be the last man youevermake peanut butter cookies for.”
Something in my chest flips, heat tangling with ridiculous amusement. I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. “Okay…but what’s your favorite then?”
He hesitates in the way he does when he’s about to give something away.
Finally, low: “Oatmeal chocolate chip.”
The laugh bursts out of me, softer this time, warm. “That’s my favorite too.”
His mouth curves, sharp and smug, like he’d been waiting for me to say it.
I push up from the couch, brushing past him toward the kitchen. “Fine. I’ll make them.Both.”
His hand snags my wrist, pulling me back into the weight of him, lips ghosting my temple before he lets me go.
“Good girl.”
Chapter thirty-four
War
