Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
MILES
Loxley should’ve stayed hidden and let me handle my grandparents. It was bad enough that I was lying to them, but it was even worse that I was lying to myself.
Loxley was angry, but I couldn’t understand why. She was the one who came out of the room dressed like we were about to sign a business merger instead of whatever this thing between us was.
At least the mystery of my missing keys was solved, and while I was completely shocked, I wasn’t upset about that. The only thing that had me on edge was that once Loxley met the two most important people in my life, she locked herself away, making me feel guilty for letting them in at all.
Was that what she was mad about? That I risked her secrecy by letting them in?
She’d have to get over that because my grandparents were always welcome in my home.
What I couldn’t wrap my head around was how the same woman who had written a song so beautiful it made my chest ache could be the same one shutting me out over something as small as this. She could’ve stayed in the back if she wanted to stay hidden.
I spent the rest of the day puttering around the house, fixing things that had been on my to-do list forever. I replaced the fridge filter, tightened the wobbly chair in the dining room, and even chopped some wood, despite the fact that I wouldn’t need it for months.
After a shower, I pulled out the things Grams had left and started piecing together a meal. I wasn’t sure if Loxley would join me, but I still made enough for two.
Just as I was finishing, I heard the creak of the wooden floor near the doorway to the kitchen and froze, my back to her. I waited, giving her a chance to speak. When she didn’t, I went back to stirring the ground meat in the pan.
“I won’t go to Sunday dinner,” she said flatly.
I turned around fast, dropping the spoon into the pan and closing the distance between us in just a few strides. “Yes, the fuck you will.”
She flinched, her eyes widening at my tone, and I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. Softening my stance, I tried again. “Lox, the two most important people in my life invited you to dinner Sunday. I want you to go with me.”
“That feels too personal for this—” she lifted her hands, making exaggerated air quotes “—‘temporary’ mission you’re on.”
The sass in her voice nearly made me grin. It reminded me of the day I met her on the side of the road, the way she’d given me attitude about not getting a speeding ticket.
“And you don’t think the things my mouth did to your pussy last night were too personal?”
Her face flamed, her lips parting just slightly. I could see her fighting it, but the memory of what I’d done to her—what she let me do—had her caught up for a second.
“You know what I mean,” she finally said, her voice weaker.
“Yeah, I do.” I shrugged, giving her that much. I knew bringing someone to Sunday dinner meant something. Hell, Easton didn’t bring Jesse and Max around for weeks after he met them. He waited until they knew what they were to each other, until they were solid.
And it would be smart of me to do the same.
Needing space from whatever was brewing between us, I turned back to the stove, picked up the wooden spoon I’d dropped, and went back to stirring the meat. She stayed standing behind me, arms crossed, trying to act like she wasn’t affected by our angry tension.
“Loxley,” I said, my voice low.
“It's not that serious,” she whispered.
I dropped the spoon, the sizzle of the meat forgotten as I turned on my heel and closed the space between us in two long strides. She barely had time to react before I was gripping her hips and backing her against the counter.
“You’re lying,” I murmured, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.
She shivered but still managed to glare up at me. “I’m not. I’m just your mission, and—”
I ran my hands up her sides, under the fabric of her shirt and found bare skin, warm and soft beneath my palms. “Loxley, I don’t like being lied to.”
Her breath hitched as I pressed my body against hers, letting her feel just how much I wanted her, how much she affected me. “Miles, we can’t—”
I cut her off with my mouth, capturing hers in a deep, claiming kiss. She resisted for all of two seconds before melting into me, her arms sliding up my chest, fingers curling into my hair.
I lifted her effortlessly, setting her on the counter, knocking aside a bowl of diced onions without a care. Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me closer, and she gasped as I rolled my hips against hers, letting her feel how hard my cock was.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she breathed against my lips, but her fingers dug into my shoulders, holding me in place. “You said it yourself. I’m just a job.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked, trailing kisses down her neck, nipping at the sensitive spot just below her ear.
“I heard what you said to your grandparents,” she moaned, leaning closer to my roving lips.
“I just said that so they wouldn’t assume anything else. This is a small town, Lox, and my grandparents are just as capable of spreading the news as anyone else. They needed to believe what I told them.”
“Well they don’t believe you,” she snapped, while pulling her shirt over her head and throwing it to the ground.
“They would have if you hadn’t shown your face,” I growled, working her pants off her hips and kicking them somewhere behind us.
“You said your captain knew I was there,” she cried, while lifting my shirt over my head.
“I lied,” I yelled, this time louder, pausing everything that was about to happen to look into her eyes.
“I lied to them, so that no one knew you were here. But once you came out, my eyes couldn’t lie and they know me better than anyone.
They know exactly what the fuck we’ve been doing inside this house and–” I grabbed the box of condoms Grams left on the counter and threw them across the room, “They were even here to fucking help. So no, Lox, Captain doesn’t know you’re here, but my grandparents do, and they want you to come to dinner Sunday so you’re gonna fucking go. ”
She exhaled sharply, her nails scraping lightly against my skin. “You make me feel crazy.”
I didn’t even respond. I had said my peace and was done talking. Reaching between us, I made quick work of her panties, and pushed two fingers inside of her. She let out a soft, needy sound, her head falling back against the cabinets.
Pumping my fingers, I made sure she was ready, then lined my cock up to her. Dinner was burning—again—and we should have been talking instead of fucking, but I wasn’t going to be able think straight until we were both satisfied.
As I settled inside her, she looked back at me and bit her lip, eyes dark with desire. “I hate you,” she whispered.
I laughed. “No the fuck you don’t, but if the idea of hate sex turns you on, then hate away.”
She pushed at my shoulders, then instantly pulled me back, widening her legs so I could go deeper. I began a punishing rhythm, one I knew she liked and made her edge to the cliff of an incredible orgasm.
When I knew she was close, I slowed down, changing my pace. She punched my chest lightly in frustration, although for her it was probably at full force. But I captured her hand and held it tight, not letting her have the control she wanted.
“Please go harder, Miles. Please.”
I may have been annoyed with her, and spent the day angry, but I would never be able to resist her pleas. Punishing her wasn’t near as fun as letting her fly free. So I did as she asked, bottoming out inside of her and letting her fall over in bliss.
I came with her, always loving the way she felt as she climaxed. She was so damn perfect and every bit of tension between us unraveled as I claimed her right there in the kitchen, with dinner forgotten on the stove and only the sound of our ragged breaths filling the air.
Still inside of her, and with her hands wrapped in mine, I tugged her to look at me, wanting her to understand every word I was about to say.
“It was my job to catch you, Lox, but it’s my mission to keep you.”