ok but more importantly… what about reed does he say anything about me?
Catalina
isn’t your hoe ass engaged????
Layla
shut up
I grin down at my phone, biting my lip to keep from laughing, while Carter leans closer, his breath hot against my ear.
“What are you grinning at, baby?” His voice is low, dangerous.
“Nothing,” I lie, locking my screen quickly.
He doesn’t buy it for a second. His hand drags higher on my thigh under the table, and I nearly choke on my water.
Across from me, Maverick is still going on. “I’m telling you, she’s it. Amelia Hamilton is the future Mrs. Hayes, you’ll all see.”
Reed finally looks up, expression flat as ever. “God help her.”
I laugh so hard the whole table stares at me, but Carter’s fingers flex against my skin, reminding me that the real danger tonight isn’t Maverick’s unhinged love life. It’s my husband, barely holding himself together.
And God, do I love watching him fall apart.
CHAPTER 3
Carter
I’ve never worked this hard on a bathroom in my entire life.
Sweat drips down my back, dust sticks to my skin, my arms ache from swinging the hammer and hauling drywall.
Doesn’t matter.
Because every swing, every nail, every cut is one step closer to fucking my wife the way she’s been begging for since she decided to torture me.
Because that’s what this is, torture.
I slam another piece of tile into place, my jaw tight, as I try to focus. Her laugh drifts down the hall, light and wicked, followed by the sound of bare feet padding across the floor.
“Carter?”
I grit my teeth. “Yes, baby?”
Catalina appears in the doorway, completely fucking naked, hair a mess, bow loose in her hand like she just pulled it out to make me crazy. She leans against the frame, all soft curves and smug smile, like she knows I’m about two seconds from snapping.
“Need anything?” she asks, tilting her head as she bites her lower lip.
“Yeah,” I growl, setting the trowel down hard enough to make the bucket rattle. “Need you to put some damn clothes on before I lose my mind.”
She grins, stepping into the room. “But I told you, no fucking until the bathroom was finished.”
I wipe my hand across my face, muttering a curse. “You’re making it really hard to hold up my end of the deal.”
“That’s the idea.” She perches on the edge of the new tub, crossing her legs. “Work faster, cowboy.”
I tell myself to focus. Cut the tile, spread the mortar, keep my head down. But she’s still there, perched on the edge of the tub like some goddess sent to ruin me, skin glowing with a smirk fixed on her face.
