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He narrowed his eyes at me. “You wouldn’t.”
Oh, I would.I grinned and pulled the trigger, spritzing his face with the water.
“Hey!” he sputtered, blinking rapidly. “You’re messing up my face mask.”
I sprayed him again, and he reached for me, but I was too fast. I moved to his side and returned to wetting his hair as if I’d never blasted his face with water.
“Ellie,” he growled—low, deep. “Don’t make me spank you.”
“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.” I lifted the bottle as if to spray his face again.
He gripped my wrist, his pupils swallowing the brown iris. We watched each other for a weighted moment before he said, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
You have no idea.
I was so hot, I was tempted to spritz myself with the water bottle.
Instead, I cleared my throat. Tristan dropped my wrist, and I turned away, busying myself with the supplies since I sensed responding would get me nowhere.
I grabbed the scissors from the counter and moved behind him. “Last chance,” I said, reveling in the metallic snick of the scissors opening, preparing to make the first cut.
“Do it,” he said with a smile in his voice.
ELEVEN
Kiss My Ax.
I chuckled to myself as I peered up at the neon sign that hung over the newly renovated warehouse. I pulled open the steel door. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I hoped it wouldn’t end in a trip to the hospital. Savannah would really freak out then.
I didn’t want to alarm my daughter, but throwing axes in a controlled environment, under the guidance of a coach, seemed relatively low-risk, all things considered. And with all the pent-up tension I felt around Ellieallthefuckingtime, throwing anything sounded pretty damn appealing. Because nothing else seemed to take the edge off.
Not working out. Or coding. Not even jacking off, which I’d done a lot of lately.
“Tristan, hey,” Mackenzie said, greeting me at the door. We’d been friends in school, though she and her husband Chase were a year ahead of us.
“Hey.” I hugged her. “This place looks great!”
“Thanks!” She grinned, hand on her hip. “Annie and I are really happy with how it turned out. Oh—” She glanced around. “I was hoping to introduce you to her.”
A loud chorus of wolf whistles cut through the music and the din of conversation. My attention darted to one of the bays where Asher, Liam, and Bennett were standing near a high table. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, grateful for the out. I had a feeling I knew why Mackenzie wanted to introduce me to Annie, and I wasn’t interested in dating her friend.
Not that I had anything against Annie. I just…Ugh.There was only one woman I was interested in, but Ellie was off-limits.
Mackenzie got sidetracked by another patron, so I promised to catch up with her later, before heading over to the table where my friends waited.
“Hey, axholes,” I said, greeting each of the guys with a handshake or a pat on the back.
“No.” Liam groaned. “You did not just go there.”
I grinned. “You better believe it.”
“Is this what I have to look forward to?” Bennett hooked his thumb at me. “Cheesy dad jokes?”
I draped my arm around his shoulder and pulled his head down so I could muss his hair. “What do you mean, look forward to?” Bennett might not be River’s biological dad, but he’d always viewed River as his son. “You’re worse than me with dad jokes. And you know you love it.”
“I do.” He pushed me off him then straightened his shirt before fixing his hair. “You’re in a good mood tonight.” He smiled, then turned to the others as if sharing a secret.
“What?” I asked, glancing around the table, challenging them. “What’s that look about?”
