“Just don’t let me catch him staring at her again. He’s too young, and it’s creepy.”
“Like I said, I’ll talk to him.”
Coop shook his head and stalked away. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. It wasn’t really funny. He had plenty of reasons to be protective of Kayla, but Reid was harmless, and I could sooner see him flipping out over liking a girl than actually kissing her.
“Something funny?” Florrie asked as she walked up to me.
“Yeah, Coop’s losing his shit because Reid was staring at Kayla.”
Florrie burst out laughing, then covered her mouth, shaking her head slightly. “So, that’s why Reid came running past me like he had just seen a ghost.”
“Yeah, Coop hauled him out of his chair-”
“He did what?” Her whole demeanor changed and she flipped into this monster that was ready to fight for her kid.
“Calm down, momma bear,” I said, wrapping my arms around her waist. “I talked to him. He’s just a little freaked out after what happened with Kayla.”
“But Reid is just a kid, and he would never hurt a fly.”
“We know that, but Coop is still fucked up over what happened. He’s not thinking clearly.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed back from me, but I wrapped my arms tighter around her. “You can let me go. I’m not going to beat his ass.”
“I know you’re not, because I’m not fucking letting you go.”
“Do I have to kick your ass?”
I smirked at her, holding her tighter to me. “You could try.”
“I would succeed.”
“We’ll just have to see about that.”
Her hands moved up my arms, running over my muscles as her breathing picked up. I knew what she was doing. She wanted to seduce me so that she could get the upper hand, but the problem was, she was turned on. I bent forward and nipped at her neck as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I sucked at the soft skin just below her ear and chuckled when she moaned in my ear.
“I bet if I slipped my hand inside your pants right now, you’d be soaked for me,” I rumbled.
“God, I hate you sometimes,” she panted.
“No, you love me, and you want to fuck me right now.”
“I want to kick your ass,” she said, bringing her knee up, but I was on to her and shifted so she got my leg. She grunted in frustration and tried to maneuver out of my arms, but every time she wiggled, I kissed another part of her neck. She was frustrated as hell, but she would never admit defeat. It just wasn’t in her.
“Maybe you should just give up,” I suggested.
“Maybe you should kiss my ass.”
I slid my tongue down her neck to her breasts, licking at the sweat from her workout. I couldn’t help it, I was a sucker for tasting her after she got all sweaty. “Don’t tempt me,” I growled. “I have no problem laying you out on the floor right now and fucking you in front of everyone.”
“You’re such a neanderthal.”
“Only for you, baby.”
“While this is seriously entertaining,” Sinner said, “I wonder if you might move this somewhere other than the kids’ training area.”
I chuckled and shifted away from Florrie. Her eyes were glazed over and her breathing was harsh, but she quickly shook it off and plastered a scowl on her face.
“I hate it when you do that,” she said, shoving away from me.
“You love it.”
“I would love it if you learned some boundaries.”
“You know that’s not going to happen.”
“Kids, kids,” Sinner cut in. “You’re both right. Alec, you know that Florrie will kick your ass if you maul her in public. And Florrie, you know that Alec really doesn’t give a shit and will maul you anyway.”
“Shut up,” Florrie snapped.
“Hey, I’m just telling it like it is. And by the way, that whole scene you just played out? Totally hot. I think you guys are turning me into Gabe, because I was seriously wanting to see how that all turned out. I mean, if it wasn’t for the impressionable kids that were watching.”
“Sinner, one of these days, someone’s going to nut punch you,” Florrie said as she walked away.
“That already happened!” he shouted after her.
✯✯✯✯✯
“How’s it going?” I asked Reid. He was hanging out in one of the many living areas in the panic room, reading a comic book.
He shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”
“So, I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Which part?” He shrugged. “You know, Coop wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“I know that,” he said defensively.
“Well, I just wanted to be sure you knew. He’s just protective of Kayla. Something happened earlier this year and he just wants to make sure no one hurts her.”
“How?”
“Uh…” Shit. I hadn’t thought this part through. “You know, that’s not important right now. What’s important is that we give her some space.”
He seemed to think about that for a minute. “I really like her.”
“Yeah?” I grinned, because it was kind of cool to be around for the kid’s first crush.
“She’s pretty cool, and she has a really pretty smile.”
“Yeah, she does, but you know that she’s way too old for you.”
“You think?”
I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, just a little, kid. I mean, I remember being your age. There was this chick, Christina Simpkins.” I shook my head and grinned. “Talk about a knockout. Blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was basically every guy’s wet dream.”
“What’s a wet dream?”
“Uh…” I cleared my throat, not sure how to respond. “Every guy’s fantasy. That’s what I meant. Anyway, I was like, five years younger than her, and she played volleyball. I went to every single game to watch her play and run around in those tight shorts. My friends all knew that I had this massive crush on her, and they convinced me to go talk to her.”
“What happened?” he asked curiously.
“After a game one day, I walked up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and told her that I
