Adalyn didn’t answer, so I looked away from her mouth. Her eyes were wide and focused somewhere down my throat. She blinked. Then, blinked again.
I frowned.
“You’re…” she trailed off. Her cheeks were covered in a dark shade of pink. “Naked.”
I dipped my chin. Right. With Willow acting up, and then Liam busting my balls, I hadn’t had time to shower and put on a shirt.
“Half naked,” she mumbled. “And tattooed. All over your…” A sigh. “Chest. And arm.”
I had to fight the giant smirk from breaking out and parting my face. I really did. “I am,” I told her, flexing my arms and chest like the cocky bastard I was. Her eyes widened. “If you ask nicely, I might consider removing my pants. I have more ink than just that.”
Her lips popped open. The brown on her eyes glazed over. Then, her head snapped up. “Hold on, what?”
Deliberately slowly, I brought the mug to my mouth and took a sip of coffee, keeping my eyes on her. “I was saying that if you ask nicely—”
“Yeah, okay.” She shook herself, but her face was still a bright shade of pink. Who would have thought, Adalyn Reyes getting flustered over an inked chest. If anything, I would have thought she wasn’t a big fan of tattoos. What would she look like if she saw the design on my upper thigh? What would she say if I really dropped my sweats and—“I don’t think that’s something I, huh… need you to do. Keep your clothes on, thanks.”
I tilted my head. I wasn’t fooled by her words but I’d let her win this. “What do you want from me then, darling?”
It took her a moment to answer. “You promised you’d drive me back to the Vasquez farm. To sort out the flat tire.”
“It’s already sorted out.” I leaned my shoulder on the doorframe. Crossed my ankles. Brought the mug to my lips again. “Anything else?”
Her brows furrowed. “What you mean it’s sorted out?”
“It means that you don’t have to worry about it. It’s handled.” I took a new swig of coffee and inspected the contents of my mug. Another good fucking coffee ruined after growing cold. I sighed. “Your car will be serviced on Monday.” I glanced back at her. “Is that what you’re wearing to the game? We leave for Rockstone in an hour. Remember to grab your magic binder, yeah? I want to add a few notes.”
Adalyn’s face wrinkled, as if she was having a hard time processing my words. “We… But you… You hate my binders. Leave in an hour for… where?”
“I don’t hate them, I—” My eyes caught something behind her. Dashing across the front yard. A blur of fur I knew all too well. And it was moving quickly, chasing something. “Willow.”
“I’m Adalyn.”
“My cat,” I muttered. “And she’s after the goddamn cock again.”
“Wh—”
I didn’t wait around to hear. I moved around Adalyn and sprinted into the yard. So I had been right, Willow was out terrorizing the poor thing. And she was making me chase after her. Shirtless. Spilling whatever cold coffee remained in my mug.
I really couldn’t catch a fucking break.
When I finally seized the ball of fur and fury, I had to one-arm clutch her to my chest so she wouldn’t jump out again. “Are you happy?” I asked her, as I strode back to the porch. She mewed, but to her credit, she wasn’t behaving like some wild predator now. She went as far as tucking her nose into the crook of my arm. “Yeah, give up that cute shit.” I climbed up the steps with a roll of my eyes. “Daddy’s not happy.”
“Daddy?”
I looked up from the cat in my arms, finding an even more wide-eyed Adalyn blinking at me. And fuck, it was not the moment to think how that word raced straight to my gut.
“This is Willow.” I dipped my chin. Willow’s tiny paws curled around my forearm. “She’s acting cute now, but she’s taken a liking to prowling around the property and chasing the poor rooster down.” Adalyn seemed too shocked to speak. “The other one is more well-mannered than this. Thankfully.”
“The other one.” Adalyn studied the ball in my arms. “You have two cats.”
“Willow and Pierogi,” I confirmed. “The rooster is not mine. But we already talked about that.”
Something seemed to flash across her expression. “Oh my God,” Adalyn whispered. “Sebastian Stan.”
I frowned. “Who?”