Page 26 of King of Temptation

Given the early hour, it was literally just Goldie and Brody in the store, but that didn’t seem to bother the thorn in her side. “Not a problem. I’ve got time.”

Even though she hadn’t turned her head one millimeter, she was intensely aware of Brody’s gaze on her face. Heat swept over her, a physical touch she would have had to have been dead three days not to feel.

And judging by the way Boone’s gaze darted between the two of them and his frown deepened, Brody wasn’t bothering to be the least bit subtle about things. “What’s going on, Austen?”

“Nothing. I just want my donut and my coffee, please.”

“Uh-huh.” Pulling on a fresh pair of gloves, Boone reached for the maple and bacon donut that had become her recent obsession. “You show up yesterday with Aria O’Rourke, and now her husband’s top stooge is here at the same time you come in every day. That’s not a coincidence.”

“It’s not, but I’m fine, Boone. Really.”

Now she had two very tall, very dominant men staring her down and she found herself wishing for a hole to open up in the floor and swallow her whole. But thankfully, Boone caved with a sigh and handed her the bag with her donut in it. “All right. You know where to find me if you need anything.”

“Thanks.”

With a sharp nod, Boone turned away to start her coffee, and despite the heat of Brody’s gaze still sitting heavy on her skin, she refused to turn and look at him.

“You should really have something with protein first thing in the morning. All that sugar isn’t good for you, especially so early in the day.”

The matter-of-fact rebuke sparked the anger she’d been fighting to keep buried and she had to clench her muscles to keep from spinning around to unload on him. “My diet is none of your concern.”

“Just trying to help you out, menace.”

Returning to her original plan to simply ignore him, she pressed her lips together as she watched Boone work.

“Have you been behaving yourself?”

“Again,” she ground out, “what I do or don’t do is none of your business.”

“Keeping you out of my family’s affairs is very much my business.”

Hurt welled up alongside anger and her jaw began to ache from how tightly she was clenching her teeth together. “Fuck off, Brody.”

“Not until I know you’re staying out of trouble.”

Boone turned back before she could give voice to the fury bubbling in her chest, and she managed to force a smile as she accepted her latte. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” But as Boone moved toward the register, Brody stopped him.

“This is together.”

Oh, fuck him. Now she did turn, the anger she’d been trying to keep locked down burning along her skin as she met his amused gaze. “What the hell are you playing at, O’Rourke?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smirk to match the expression in his eyes. “A guy can’t buy a pretty girl a treat?”

“Not when that guy completely fucking ghosted the girl after giving her the best orgasm of her life.”

A strangled sound met her ears and again she wished for that hole to open up in the ground as she remembered they weren’t alone. Humiliation and anger became an inferno, threatening to burn her alive.

Through it all, Brody just… watched her, with that infuriating little smirk on his lips. “The best, huh?”

“Fuck you, O’Rourke.” Jerking her attention back to the stone-faced Boone, she jabbed a finger at the cash register. “Ring me up, please.”

“We’re together,” Brody repeated, and she had to clench her teeth together against a scream of frustration.

Thank god for Boone, who looked from Brody to her and simply raised a brow. “Doesn’t seem like she wants anything to do with you, friend.”

“Her feelings are justifiably hurt, so she’s being stubborn. And you know what happens to stubborn little girls, don’t you, menace?”