Page 91 of Crack the Ice

The second Monroe let Sheila in, her smile fell when she saw Cecilia reading something to Cade. The scowl sat on her face the entire fifteen minutes she was there. Sammy caught it, and also caught the fact that it seemed to deepen when she looked at his sister. The dickwad called her out on it, which I assume only made things worse.

“These kids need to be in a home appropriate for their age, not a frat house,” she’d said.

Of course, that pissed Lettie off. And when Lettie gets pissed off, everyone gets pissed off. “Ma’am, this isn’t a frat house. This is my husband and his teammates, most of which have wives or girlfriends here. We’re reading a young adult romance book with these kids because we want them to be part of something we all do together. If you’re boring as hell, just say that. But don’t try to minimize the love and care we all have for them because you’re a crusty old twat.”

That, of course, made Lily laugh, which made Cecilia laugh, which made Cade cackle, and of course that kind of laugh turned it into a chain reaction of no one giving a shit about the woman whose face was redder than a tomato, or that she could attempt to tell someone these kids are in danger.

“Reed,” Lily says as she bounds in the front door from her day at the bakery. Cade went with them today, too. Luckily, he’s good with numbers and helped Cecilia understand a bit of what Lana left behind. Apparently they teach about Excel sheets in high school now. Where the hell was that when I was a teen?

“What’s up?” I crouch a bit, opening my arms so I can catch her and swing her in a circle.

She giggles, letting me know she’s dizzy before I stop and put her on her feet. “Cecy and Cade made barbecue sauce. It tastes just like Dad’s!”

My eyebrows creep up my forehead as I look at the two conspiring in the doorway. Their hands are loaded down with bags, and I quickly rush to take the ones from Cecilia. “What’s all this?”

“Stuff to make chicken and pineapple.” Cade shrugs, placing his bags on the island. “Figured I’d ask you to teach me to grill since Cecy taught me how to make the sauce. We spent hours perfecting it. But she wrote down the recipe, and laminated it so it wouldn’t accidentally get ruined.”

Of course she did, she plans for everything.

“But then, Sammy and Kait called on the way home. They’re having a back-to-school thing at the bookstore, and Lily wants to go. So I asked if maybe we could do that tomorrow.”

“Lily wants to go, huh?” I ask, looking down at the little girl in question.

Lily snickers, looking over her shoulder, and says, “The girl he’s crushing on is going.”

“Ohhhhh!” Cecilia squeals, her hands clasping under her chin. “That’s amazing. Is she pretty? And not just on the outside. The inside is what matters most.”

“Cecy…” Cade warns.

She nudges him with her shoulder and moves to the kitchen to put the groceries away. “I’m fine with it. We can have a date night.” She doesn’t look up, but she’s smiling as she unloads a bag.

“Ew. Yeah, come on, Lils. Let’s get ready.” Cade ushers his sister out of the room without so much as looking back. As if he’s scared we’re going to start sucking face in front of them. We have some standards, come on now.

The second they round the corner to the hallway to their rooms, though, all bets are off, and I’m on her in a flash. My hips meet her perfect ass, pushing her hips flush against the counter, and brushing her hair to one side. I bite down softly on the curve of her neck, loving the way she goes boneless beneath me. “A date night, huh?”

She pushes back into me, my poor dick growing harder than it’s been in years at the thought of having her alone in this house.

“What does that entail, baby?” My voice reduced to nothing but a hoarse whisper.

“I was thinking,” she breathes, as she wiggles against me, causing a growl to rip from my chest.

“I could make us dinner, we could have a glass of wine or two in the backyard, and then…” She turns, her lips mere inches from mine. “Maybe you can stop being such a gentleman and fuck me like I want you to.”

My heart stops beating. There’s no blood left moving through me.

She reaches between us, cupping me through the jean material that is suddenly way too thick as her chin tips up, tongue peeking out and curling around the top right corner of her lips. “Or maybe, I should make you kneel at the end of my bed and watch while I do what you’re too much of a coward to do.”

She squeezes, making my hips buck into her palm. “Come on, Mavy. Take what we both so desperately want.”

The fucking doorbell rings the second her lips meet mine. I’ve truly never been more murderous in my life. I stop at the door, throwing it open, not even stopping to think who might be on the other side.

“Jesus dude, what’s got your panties in a twist?” Sammy says, his head jerking back.

Ahh shit. Dragging my hand over my face, I start saying the ABCs backward, hoping he doesn’t take note of the bulge in my pants. “Sorry.” My teeth grind together, sending a dull ache through my skull.

Fuck, he couldn’t have worse timing.

“Hi Sammy!” Lily sings as she skips into the room.