Page 125 of Cross Checked
“You absolutely have.”
I smiled against her hair, but there was no warmth in it. “Pip, if I start something, you’ll know.”
That made her pulse jump beneath the side of her throat. I saw it. Felt the little shift in her body where my forearm rested against her stomach.
Luke saw it too, I could tell by the way his jaw tightened.
Beautiful.
I let my hand flatten more deliberately against her waist, thumb brushing once over the thin cotton of her tank. Nothing obscene. Nothing her family could call out without sounding ridiculous. But it was enough. A public touch. A quiet claim. A reminder to her and to him that whatever happened in that kitchen, she had walked back out to me.
Pip leaned into me and holy fuck, that did something to me.
Because this morning she had called it benefits like she was buying herself emotional distance, but the second she was scared, she let me hold her in front of everyone. She let my body become the wall between her and whatever waited in Luke’s eyes.
She could lie to herself all she wanted, but her instincts already knew. I gave her an impenetrable wall of protection, and Pip was starving to feel safe.
Luke stopped beside the table and grabbed a beer from the cooler with an easy smile. “Mercer.”
I looked at him over Pip’s shoulder. “Dempsey.”
“Didn’t realize you two were attached now.”
Pip stiffened. I didn’t. I smiled. Small. Calm. Mean enough that his eyes narrowed almost instantly.
“Yeah,” I said. “People miss obvious things all the time.”
His smile thinned.
Pip’s hand slid to my forearm, fingers pressing lightly as if warning me to behave.
Cute.
Really cute.
I bent my head and brushed my mouth against the side of her neck, right beneath her ear. Not a kiss that belonged in a bedroom, but close enough to make her breath break and every Bennett brother within visual range immediately start making noise.
Knox pointed at us from the driveway. “Hey. Neck region is family property until further notice.”
Emmitt yelled, “Public indecency before ribs is crazy work.”
Kellen clapped slowly. “Honestly? Respect.”
Pip’s face went bright pink. “I hate all of you.”
I kept my mouth near her ear. “Feel better?”
Her fingers dug into my arm. “You are insane.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She looked up at me, and for one second the anxiety cracked. Just a little. Enough for warmth to fight its way back into her eyes.
“Maybe.”
“Good.”
Luke watched us with a look he wasn’t hiding well enough. Possession looked ugly on him.
