Page 51 of Lucky Mother Pucker

Her smile turns teasing. “Really?”

I nod, trying to hide my smile behind my beer glass as I take a sip.

I set the glass back on the bartop and shrug. “Some guys like it a little rough.”

The second I say it, I wish I could take it back. That was kind of creepy.

I turn to Lucy to apologize, but she’s just chuckling, a glint of amusement in her eyes.

“You like it a little rough, huh?” She bites her bottom lip and holds my gaze. The look in her eyes turns teasing. “Good to know.”

She walks off to serve more customers.

Well, damn. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting her to have, but…I think I like it.

I pull the collar of the hoodie I’m wearing, feeling hot all of a sudden. I can’t help but wonder what Lucy would think if she knew just how rough I like to get…

I imagine Lucy sitting on that bartop and me standing between her legs. But instead of me downing the shot on my own, she pours it into her mouth, then spits it into mine.

I imagine her slapping me across the face…I imagine the sting of the slap…how good the burn feels.

My dick twitches in my pants, and I shift on my barstool.

“Fuck,” I mutter to myself.

What am I doing? Imagining something so filthy with a girl I barely know?

You shouldn’t be thinking about her like that. She’s your new friend who you’re trying to help out. She’s in a vulnerable situation, and you’re having filthy fantasies about her? Knock it off, you creep.

Guilt rams through me. Yeah, Lucy’s gorgeous. And yeah, if I saw her in a bar or at a party, I’d definitely approach her to chat her up.

But that’s not our situation. She’s my friend. I’m trying to help her. She can’t be anything more than that.

I silently promise to keep all thoughts about her strictly friendly…no matter how hard that might be.

Chapter 19

Lucy

Igrab my bag from my spot in the back room, then head out of the club.

When I open the door and see Leo standing off to the side, waiting for me, a warm feeling swoops through my chest. There’s a dip in my tummy.

I still can’t believe what he did.

I think about the way he protected me against that creep who groped me.

The way he slammed that guy’s hand on the table and practically broke it.

Heat flashes across my body despite the late-autumn chill in the night air. I didn’t know Leo could be so protective. And lethal.

Maybe I should have known. He’s a hockey player. Hockey games can get pretty rough. I think the players fight sometimes too.

But Leo doesn’t strike me as a violent guy at all. Yeah, he’s big and muscular, but he’s so gentle. And kind. And respectful.

When he’s around me, he gives me space. He doesn’t touch me very much at all, which is honestly really comforting. I’ve been around too many guys who don’t know how to keep their hands to themselves, and I hate it.

Even when Leo was pissed about his order at the coffee shop, I didn’t think he would get physical, unlike some other customers I’ve been around.