Page 118 of Cross Checked
Absolutely.
Luke could be around. The thought flashed through me fast enough to sour the sweetness beneath my ribs. He had not arrived yet, at least not where I could see him, but that never meant anything. Luke moved through my life like a threat waiting for the right doorway.
“I’ve got it,” I said quickly, too quickly, then softened it with a smile. “Stay out here and let my brothers beat you at street hockey so they can rebuild their egos.”
Cade did not move for a second. His gaze sharpened, just slightly. He heard the shift. Of course he heard it.
But Knox yelled from the driveway, “Mercer! You playing or modeling?”
Cade looked toward him. “Both, apparently.”
“Cocky fucker,” Ryker muttered, but he was smiling.
I pointed at Cade as I backed toward the house. “Do not embarrass me.”
His grin cut deep. “Define embarrass.”
“Anything involving your shirt coming off.”
Kellen perked up. “Wait, why is that an option?”
“It’s not,” I snapped.
Cade’s eyes dropped over me once, slow enough to make my stomach flip, then returned to my face. “Go get the buns, Pip.”
“You are not the boss of me.”
“Not right now.” Then he winked for maximum impact.
My entire body went hot.
He turned away before I could respond, walking toward my brothers with the kind of calm, swaggering confidence that made every Bennett man instantly start talking shit before he even reached the driveway. Knox tossed him a stick. Lyon pointed at the makeshift goal. Ryker started laying out rules nobody would follow. Dad called for no blood before dinner, which was optimistic considering the family involved.
For one second, I stood at the patio door and watched Cade step into the middle of them.
He looked over his shoulder once.
That one look did something impossible to my chest.
Not because it was sexual, although with Cade lately everything felt like it had heat threaded underneath. This was different. He was in the chaos now, in my chaos, and still checking where I was like I was the thing he tracked automatically.
I turned before the feeling could get big enough to name and slipped inside.
The house was cooler than the yard, quiet in comparison, though the laughter outside still pushed through the open windows in warm bursts. The kitchen smelled like barbecue sauce, lemonade, and the faint vanilla candle Sarah always lit even though Dad claimed candles made food taste “decorative.” Sunlight spilled across the counters, catching on trays of sliced tomatoes, tubs of potato salad, and the giant unopened bag of hamburger buns Dad had definitely forgotten were sitting on the island.
I exhaled slowly and pressed both palms against the counter.
Get the buns, go back outside, stand near Cade, and let yourself feel untouchable for five more minutes.
Easy.
My pulse was still unsteady from his mouth on my neck, my skin still alive where his hand had held my waist. I hated how quickly he could turn me into this version of myself. Warm. Wanting. Reckless enough to flirt back in front of my family. Reckless enough to like the way my brothers saw us and immediately knew something was happening.
Because something was happening and it didn’t matter what I called it.
The thought made my chest tighten, so I grabbed the buns with both hands and forced myself to move.
Then the back door clicked softly behind me.
