Page 43 of Slick Trip

He tilted his head, stepping closer. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

God. He was testing me. And the worst part? I was letting him. No, that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was . . . I fucking loved it.

“Don’t lie to me, Coop. I know you’re playing with me,” I said. His confidence slipped, and something uncertain, almost fragile, flickered across his face like maybe he wasn’t sure I’d play along. That vulnerability felt more dangerous than all his little games. It told me he was afraid I would once again walk away.

How I wanted to tell him I’d never walked away, not in the way he thought.

But then the uncertainty was gone from his face, replaced with another teasing smile.

“You know what?” he murmured, leaning in just enough for his breath to touch my jaw. “You caught me.”

My hand tightened around the basket. Trying to steady my breathing, I picked up the next thing he pointed at. Just dropped it in the basket without looking at the price.

“Brat,” I muttered. It came out wrong, all soft and approving. He checked me over his shoulder.

“You’re the one putting things in the basket,” he said, his mouth twitching until he couldn’t hold back the smug smile spreading on his face. “That makes you a brat enabler.”

He was absolutely right.

We found the raisins eventually. Three bags were left on a shelf stacked with energy bars and, interestingly, heat suppressants. I ignored those and grabbed all three bags. Cooper watched me as if I’d just slain a dragon and brought him its head.

“You’re getting all of them?” He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

I nodded.

“For me?”

I didn’t even hesitate.

“Yes,” I said huskily. His fingers brushed mine, and suddenly buying three bags of raisins felt like a heroic achievement.

A woman walked past us with her kid. She glanced at me, then steered her kid away, muttering something about “troublemakers.”

Cooper noticed.

“Excuse me!” he said loudly. “You dropped your unwanted opinions.” The woman turned sharply, her mouth open to snap back, but I stepped directly into her line of sight. I didn’t say a word. I just stood at my full height, shielding Cooper behind me, and leveled a cold glare at her until the color drained from her face. She grabbed her kid’s hand and sprinted down the aisle.

I reached back, my hand locking firmly around the nape of Cooper’s neck, my thumb stroking the sensitive skin right over where I felt his pulse. “Don’t run your mouth to strangers,” I muttered roughly. “Let’s grab sandwiches, you need to eat.”

But that’s when he spotted the stuffed animal section.

“Fuck no,” I said, but he was already walking toward the shelves like something was pulling him. He reached up, tugging down a giant plush monkey. It flopped into his arms, and he buried his face in it with a soft, pleased sound.

I felt that sound in my chest.

He held the toy up for closer inspection.

“This looks like those ugly monkeys from one of your games,” he said happily.

“All my characters are human.”

“Hmm. Tell it to the zookeeper.”

He hugged the stupid monkey tighter before looking at me. He knew exactly how this was going to end.

So did I.

“You’re not subtle.”