Page 60 of Animal's Reformation
Soon they were chowing down the most delicious burger Olivia had ever eaten. As they talked, Olivia heard someone call her name. She looked around and saw Lucy rushing toward her. Her stomach clenched, and she put down her burger.
“Hi, Ms. Mooney,” Lucy gushed, her face glowing.
“Hi, Lucy. How are you?”
“Good. Do you like your food?”
“It’s very good, thank you.”
“My dad’s club owns this.” Lucy waved her arms around as she spun in a circle.
“Really?”
“Really.” His voice spilled over her.
Olivia kept her gaze on Lucy until Animal filled her field of vision. He looked amazing in his body-hugging dark blue turtleneck sweater and tight jeans. Swirls of ink on defined forearms peeked out from pushed up sleeves, and his pants highlighted the long, muscular shape of his legs.
“Hi,” he said in a low voice. His eyes darted to theVneckline of her top.
“Hi,” she whispered, her stomach fluttering as she recalled the feel of his hands on her breasts, the touch of his lips against hers.
“Ms. Mooney says she likes the burgers.” Lucy spun around again.
“I’m glad Ms. Mooney likes them. So they’re juicy enough for you?”
Flushed, Olivia nodded and looked away.
“Are you gonna have ice cream? My favorite is the chocolate chip.”
“I like that too.” Olivia smiled and looked at Lucy, but she was very aware that Animal was staring ather.
Ivy cleared her throat and Olivia’s gaze cut over to her, and she placed her hand against the side of her face. “I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce you,” she said. “Ivy, this is Lucy—she’s a student of mine at Slavens, and this is her father.” Olivia kept her focus on Lucy and Ivy, but Animal’s presence took over the space around them.
Ivy smiled at the young girl and began to ask her questions, which seemed to please Lucy immensely. The girl wandered over to Ivy, and the two of them began chatting. Animal squatted down on his haunches beside her chair, and smiled.
Mouth dry all of a sudden, Olivia reached for her water glass and took a big gulp.
“Am I making you nervous?” he asked.
“No,” she answered.
“Look,” he said in a low voice, “let’s stop playing games here. I’m sure you know I’m attracted to you, and Iknowyou are to me, so let’s do something about it.” He glanced over at Lucy who was still chitchatting away.
Olivia’s racing heartbeat drummed in her chest, but she refused to give any indication that she was even remotely flustered. She took another sip of water, then met his gaze. “I’m a very busy person, and I—”
“You’re out tonight, so that means you havesometime. You went to Blue’s Belly and the clubhouse. You got more time than you think.” Animal brushed his knuckles across the back of her fingers, and the touch was electric. “I’m asking you out to dinner.”
Okay …thatwas surprising. She’d thought he was proposing a wild night of sex so they could get each other out of their systems, but he was asking her out on a date instead. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Okay,” she muttered before her brain could stop her.
“Awesome.” Another brush across her skin, then he rose to his feet. “I’ll call you,” he whispered before turning to Lucy. “We gotta get back to our table, kiddo. Grandpa and Aunt Jada are gonna wonder if we got lost. Anyway, I’m pretty sure there’s a bowl of ice cream waiting for you.”
Lucy jumped up and down. “Goodbye, Ivy. Bye Miss. Mooney.” She dashed away with her sexy-as-all-hell father following her.
“Who was that guy?” Ivy said, her head still turned as she watched Animal over her shoulder.
“My next-door neighbor … and the father of one of my student’s,” she groaned.
