“Understood.” Chuckling, Leif turns, still holding Gunner. “I’ll just go grab my”
“Hi, Leif. How’re you doing?”
Shock reverberates through me, a ripple of pure ice that douses me, leaving me frozen. But a wave of heat pours through me like flame-lit gasoline, thawing the numbness. That’s what just the sight of Lennon does to me. How just the sound of her voice impacts me.
If only it was as simple as my dick getting hard.
“Hey, Lennon,” Leif greets my ex-girlfriend with a wide smile and a familiarity that has surprise and another, darker emotion churning in my veins.
Jealousy. Jealousy is that darker emotion.
And as Lennon moves closer to him, that sweater dress clinging to every flagrant curve of her tight body, it sinks its teeth into my flesh and bone, spilling poison.
Look at me. The demand growls inside my head.Baby, look at me.
If we didn’t have so many eyes on us, I’d stalk over there right now, grab her chin, tip her head back and make her acknowledge me. Make her stare into my eyes and spit more of that hatred at me, more of that fire. I’d rather have that lick at me than have her ignore me.
Because she is ignoring me.
Lennon knows I’m standing here—the stiffness in her frame tells the story. The slight turn of her body as if dismissing me is the epilogue.
“Is that her?” Mac murmurs.
“Yeah, that’s her.”
Of course he’s aware of Lennon. All of them are. Our past is one of the things that worried them about me moving back here. I left possible triggers back in L.A. But they feared my biggest one might’ve been waiting for me right here.
I fear the same thing.
And yet, she dominates my thoughts. My body transforms into a dangerous, snapping live wire at just the sight of her. The throb of my cock echoes in my pulse, my damn head.
My heart has a beat, a song that belongs only to her.
And I can’t have her. Too many things stand between us like a fresh battalion of soldiers.
Her hatred of me.
My fear of fucking up and letting everyone down again. Including her. Including Gunner.
The decade-long secrets that still have the power to cut all of us—but especially Lennon—to the core.
“She’s hot as fuck,” Mac points out.
“Keep your opinion and your eyes to yourself,” I mutter.
He chuckles and my next suggestion of how he can get cozy with his bass dries up on my tongue as Lennon reaches out toward Gunner and tickles his stomach. He giggles and clutches his belly, trapping her finger under his chubby fingers.
“Who is this adorable guy?” She smiles, tickling him again.
“This,” Leif hikes Gunner a little higher on his hip, and grins, “is my nephew Gunner.”
Her head jerks toward me, her dark brown gaze crashing into mine. Yeah, she knew I was standing here.
“Fuck,” Mac whispers.
If I had breath, I would’ve echoed that.
Pain saturates her eyes, darkening them to a near black. I move forward—the need to ease that hurt from her instinctual—but Mac’s hand gripping my forearm holds me back.