Page 172 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

“Dude!”

He chuckles and climbs to his feet. “Relax, Alesi. You won. She’s finally yours. It’s time to relax and enjoy what you’ve got.” He picks up our trash and the empty soda can, and without another word, he walks along the beach and tugs Jess from Laine’s grasp. Laughing, Laine continues toward me and stops in such a way that the button of her jean shorts are at my eye level.

Grinning, I slide my hand along her thigh, allowing my eyes to drag up her body until our eyes meet.

“Hey.” Grinning, she turns and drops into my lap, making me grunt. I had a moment to wonder if I was in trouble – Kane’s teasing might’ve upset her, or our fighting and subsequent ejection from the restaurant – but her wiggling butt making itself comfortable on my lap says we’re fine.

“Hey. Enjoy your breakfast?”

I brush her hair back and drop a kiss on her brow, because I haven’t seen her in an hour and I missed the fuck out of her. “It was actually pretty good. There are worse things in life than burritos for breakfast. Enjoy yours? We thought you’d follow us out.”

She scoffs. “No way. It’s a five-star restaurant, and an all you can eat buffet. No way were we following you out. Just because you guys can’t control your shit doesn’t mean we’re dumb enough to get banished too.”

“So much for loyalty.” I slide my finger along her ribs and grin when her body tenses. “You afraid I’m gonna tickle you, Laine?”

“No.” She grabs my hand with a strong grip and forces our fingers together. “I’m too tired for tickles. I ate, I’m so full I wanna spew, so now I’m ready to nap. Tickling will hamper my plans.”

I run my nose through the top of her hair and breathe her in until I’m dizzy. “Do you remember that time you called me in the middle of the night and woke me up?”

Her brows pull in while she thinks. “That day we went to Spence’s?”

“Yeah. And all the times you called to be saved when you were cow tipping.”

Her chest bounces with laughter. “Uh-huh.”

“And remember when you woke me up yesterday? I was tired and didn’t want to come down to the beach, but you made me get up anyway?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Exactly.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “Shut the hell up about being tired. You’ll get over it.”

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