Page 45 of Clean Finish

Holt chuckled, turning back to look down into the arena. “I like it.”

“What would mine be called?” I asked Larkin, shooting him a tiny smirk. He blushed again, fidgeting with the drinks cradled to his chest.

“How about Honeyed Edge?” he said after a pause, sounding a little hoarse. My gut clenched as his eyes darted down to my mouth. “It could have honey around the… the rim.”

We stared at each other behind Holt’s back, until Larkin licked his lips and glanced over at him, his cheeks flushing.

“Of the glass,” he croaked. “The rim of the glass.”

I swallowed, willing my dick to stay calm. “Sounds nice.”

Holt seemed oblivious to the tension in the room as he stared down at his phone, no doubt texting Taylor. He glanced up when Larkin leaned over the back of the couch to pass him the bottle of water, shooting him a distracted thanks.

I cleared my throat and tilted my head toward Cora snoozing beside me on her back. “What about Cora’s signature drink?”

Larkin laughed, then shocked me by coming to join me on the back couch instead of sitting with Holt so he could see the arena. He shocked me again when, instead of taking the end seat, he picked up Cora and plopped her into his lap so he could sit directly beside me.

“A shot with something that looks like a giant turd sticking out of it.” He grinned at me and handed over one of the cans, our fingers brushing as I took it.

I looked down at it and smiled. “Ah, of course. Cream soda. Thanks.”

“S’okay.” He cracked open his own can and took a long gulp. I couldn’t look away, my gut tightening as I waited for him to— “Mmm.”

That fucking sound. He had to know, didn’t he? Was he doing it on purpose? It didn’t seem like he was. He probably didn’t even realise he made that sexy little noise while we were fooling around. It wasn’t like anyone could’ve ever told him before how fucking hot it was.

I was going to make sure I told him. In a way that didn’t reveal just how much it affected me. How I would do anything to hear him make that sound.

“Gonna do a crossword?” He leaned over to set down his can on the end table, then got comfortable, long fingers stroking over the soft fur on Cora’s belly.

“Uh-huh.” I lifted my ass to grab the crossword book from my back pocket, catching Larkin’s eyes fixed on my groin as I settled back down. He quickly raised his gaze and smiled at me, throat bobbing.

“Can I help?”

I chuckled, flipping to the crossword I was currently working on. I thought he’d get bored after a few minutes, but of course I said, “Sure.”

I shifted to get comfortable, resting my ankle on the opposite knee so I could lean the book against my thigh. I tried not to think about it too hard when my knee brushed his. And he didn’t move away.

“What number are you on?” He leaned closer to peer down, shoulder bumping my arm.

“Six across.” My voice was a little tight. Hopefully neither he nor Holt noticed.

“Descending by mistake, seven letters.” He nibbled his lower lip, staring down at it. “Um…”

“I’ve already got the last two letters.” I pointed at the crossword. “NG. So we know it’s a present participle. Like tumbling or dropping.”

His eyes brightened. “Is it one of those? No, wait, seven letters. Um…”

I already knew what it was, but I stayed quiet as he stared down at the page. When he started to fidget, I suggested, “We could try and solve six down first, because that’ll give us the first letter.”

“Okay.” His brow furrowed with concentration as he scanned the clue. “Iris, Petunia, Hyacinth, for example. Six letters.” He looked up at me and made a face. “Granny names?”

I chuckled, but before I could answer, he suddenly gasped and gripped my arm.

“No, wait, I got it! They’re flowers. It’s flower. Finally my dad’s weirdly in-depth knowledge about every fuckin’ flower has come in handy.”

Grinning, I held out the pencil. “Want to write it in?”

“Yeah.” Beaming with pride, he took the pencil and scrawled the word in his messy handwriting, then glanced up at Holt to check he wasn’t paying attention to us before whispering, “My mom calls me flower. Her little flower. It’s so embarrassing.”