Page 28 of Naked Coffee Guy

It’s been twenty-four hours since I last saw Mac, and I can still feel the way his body felt on mine, how his hands felt as they tugged my hair and gripped my back, how luscious it was to be filled by his—

“Dang girl, you run a marathon before your first cup of coffee?”

“Uh, why?” I study the pot as if willing it to go faster, as if this was my main concern for the day.

“Because you’re all flushed and out of breath. Has Naked Coffee Guy shown up yet?”

“Hm?” I say it as if I haven’t been looking for him. “Oh, not sure. What time does he usually pass by?”

5:07 a.m. every day. Unless he’s sleeping next to me in a hotel room.

“Oh, there he is!”

I lose my cool and dart to the window, staring at his rippling abs as he holds his coffee, completely oblivious that he has an audience. I glance at Nina, and instantly feel annoyance that she’s also watching him—as if he belongs to me.

He doesn’t. But I know what he feels like in bed, and she does not. I have more rights to him than anyone else.

Real nice, Maren. I force myself to leave the window, grabbing a cup of coffee even as I know he’s still within view, if I only looked. I pour a cup for Nina too.

“Come on, we’re going to be late for work.”

I’m distracted my entire shift, checking my phone every few minutes, and watching the door as if Mac will walk through it. If what we’re doing is casual, I’m failing in every sense because I can’t stop thinking about him. Is he thinking of me, too? Or is this a game to him?

More than anything, I hate that I’m being reduced to feeling this crazy. I’ve left guys for acting this possessive, and now I’m the one extending my claws, ready to sink them into Mac and claim him as mine forever.

I know I made him promise he couldn’t tell anyone, but I can’t keep this in any longer without going completely insane. So, once my shift ends, I head straight for Claire’s house and walk in the door unannounced.

I find Claire in her studio, headphones on as she leans over the current craft she’s working on. Right now, she’s creating tiny books that fit on a keychain, and I recognize Nicole Shannon’s most popular series, including the book that’s set to release next month.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already read Fated Hate.” I pick up one of the tiny books and look at it, realizing I’m one of the first to see the cover. Nicole Shannon has been teasing the cover reveal on her Instagram for weeks, and there it is, in all its bare-chested glory.

Claire removes her headphones and grins.

“I read it twice, it’s so good,” she says. I’m tempted to ask her to borrow it, but I know Claire honors the trust of the authors she works with, and even signs contracts promising not to share books before their release. I know that even if Claire weren’t legally bound by NDAs, she would still take it seriously. So I don’t even bother asking…even though I’m dying to read this book.

“Hey, what if I accidentally agreed to a fling with an awful person, except that he’s not so awful when it’s just the two of us, and he’s kind of ruined me for any other guy, and now it’s making me forget all the reasons I hate him even though I truly hate this person?”

Claire tilts her head at me, then pulls up a chair to sit. I do the same, then bury my head in my hands. “I don’t know what to do, Claire. I’ve never felt this crazy.”

“Have you talked with him about it?” she asks gently, resting her hand on my arm. I lift my head and sigh.

“I can’t. The whole purpose of being casual is to not have the relationship talk, and we only started this last night.”

Claire looked closer at me. “Wait. You’re not talking about Brock?”

“Ew, no. I would never catch feelings for that creep.”

“Then who?” But as soon as she asks, her face takes on a look of understanding. “Oh my god, you didn’t.”

“I did.” I hide my face again.

“I’m just putting this out there because I hope to god it’s true, but are you talking about Naked Coffee Guy?”

I bury my head again as she squeals.

“Maren, that’s brilliant! I can’t believe you’re fighting this.”

“You know why I can’t fall for him, Claire. Ugh, this was such a mistake.”