Page 141 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

Luc’s face scrunches. “Okay. I was okay, I was being cool about this, but you need to stop now. I don’t wanna talk logistics.”

She presses a kiss to his chest. “Sorry. I’m just saying… we’re not children anymore. And she’s not a fragile piece of glass. Give her some credit; she survived some bad shit. She might be the strongest of us all.”

The shower stops, and the creaking stall door makes my heart race. “Okay. I’ve gotta go. She just finished in the shower.”

“Dude! Maybe I didn’t make myself clear earlier. I said asking her out is okay. I didnotsay sex swings, hotels, or showers were okay. Fix that shit, today!”

“Keep this quiet, guys. If you scream this shit in her face and scare her, I’m gonna be pissed.”

The door opens slowly. “Ang?”

“Gotta go.” I hang up and toss my phone onto the bedside table like I wasn’t just talking to the whole family.Act cool. Be cool.But when she steps out in a towel, I nearly swallow my whole fucking tongue.

“Is someone here?” Wary eyes scan the room. “I thought I heard someone.”

“Just me. I was on the phone.”

“Oh?” She clutches the towel around her wet body and stares through worried eyes. For a brief moment, I wondered if Kari might be right. If maybe Laine could handle a simple invitation to dinner.

It would be exactly the same as last night… but on purpose.

But one single phone call, voices in another room while she thought I was asleep, and she’s officially spooked again.

She’s not ready.

Not even close.

“It was just Chuck at the garage. We were setting the guys up for today.” I push the sheet off my body, and when her eyes drop to my standing crotch, I bite off an oath and sit forward. I drop my head into my hands and will the stupid fucking thing to deflate.

“You okay?”

“Mmhm.” I’m such a pussy. “You done with the bathroom?”

“Yeah… I…” She steps forward on unsure feet. “Ang. Men routinely need to pee when they wake in the morning. You know… sometimes their… um…” She crosses one delicate ankle over the other and brings her pinky finger between her teeth. “I understand biology. You can get up and go to the bathroom, and I promise not to tease your… boxers.”

“I’m so sorry.” I press the heels of my palms into my eyes until I see stars. “Towel. Shower. First thing in the morning. It’s…”

She steps forward. “You like my towel?” A slit forms over her thigh where the two ends meet. She continues forward on feet with hot pink toenails and a little ring on the longest toe, and she doesn’t stop until the soft fabric feathers over my leg. “Maybe we–”

“What do you wanna do today?” I throw my sheet off, since she already knows it’s there, and brush past her. My hands itch to reach out and trail over her thigh. My tongue salivates at the thought of following my fingers until they reach pieces of her body that the towel hides, but my brain knows better, so I get up and move to the bathroom. “It’s the first real day of vacation, so you get to choose what you wanna do. Think about it. When I get out of the shower, we’ll get some breakfast and go out.”

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