Page 66 of Coerced

My curiosity eventually won out, and I ended up turning my attention to the cooler again. A smile on my face, I yanked open the lid and found a bunch of ice surrounding a large mason jar. Pulling out the jar, I held it up and inspected the contents through the glass.

For a moment, I was convinced I must have been mistaking what I was seeing in front of me. I spun the lid off, held it up to my nose, and quickly determined I wasn’t wrong.

Cookie dough.

Aria had made me some homemade chocolate chip cookie dough.

Even though nobody was around to see it, a smile creptonto my face and some invisible force hit me right at the center of my chest. I’d been telling myself I didn’t need Aria’s gratitude, but there was no question I loved that she had taken the time to show it like this.

Not wanting to wait another minute to taste it, I twisted the lid back on, turned, and made my way inside.

As was not unusual, my brood was waiting to greet me. I had no choice but to delay tasting the treat Aria had delivered, so I could give them all the attention they’d been looking for.

“You want to go out?” I asked Tiny, Brutus, and Patty.

The three of them were immediately at the door that would allow them to go into the fenced backyard. Once they were outside, I took the mason jar to the kitchen, opened it, and grabbed a spoon.

One taste.

I shouldn’t have expected anything different.

It only took one taste of Aria’s cookie dough for me to decide I had a new favorite food. One of my cats, Bell, was at my feet and looking up at me.

“What?” I asked her. When she made no response, I said, “I’m not sharing this with anyone. It’s a special treat from a special lady.”

Bell meowed.

“Do you want some dinner?”

Bell looked disappointed to have to settle for her normal dinner as opposed to what I was eating, but I didn’t feel bad for her. She was spoiled as it was, and I was content to deny her this.

After taking a few more bites, I closed the jar up, put it in the fridge, and went about getting everyone their food. I talked to Franklin, my bird, for a few minutes, too.Afterward, I let the dogs back in the house and made sure they were all situated and had what they needed.

“Sorry, I’m not hanging out tonight. I’ll be back in a few hours, and I’ll be here all day tomorrow,” I informed them.

Patty scurried toward me, hoping for one last rubdown. I gave her what she wanted, and a few minutes later, I was on my way to The Steel Pub, the taste of Aria’s cookie dough still lingering on my tongue.

EIGHTEEN

Aria

I was on my way back to the front of the bar after having delivered an appetizer order to Ozzie when it happened.

The door to the pub opened, and it was directly in my line of vision. A moment later, past the glare of the bright sun, Paxton strode in, his eyes locking onto mine.

While I was shocked to see him there, I was beyond happy about it. And if I was being completely honest with myself, Paxton’s presence was an immediate relief.

The man didn’t hesitate to waltz in my direction. As he made his way toward me, I couldn’t help but recall the way he looked wearing just those joggers last night. Suddenly, I was daydreaming about Paxton walking toward me wearing only those joggers and doing it with a specific purpose in a different location with nobody else around.

I hadn’t doubted Paxton was in phenomenal shape. I’dknown that from the day I met him. But I still hadn’t recovered from seeing him half naked last night. And that display of his impeccable form was a level of confirmation I wasn’t sure I needed. The attraction I had to Paxton turned to burning-hot desire, even in the aftermath of being followed home and attacked.

He continued to close the distance between us, his eyes never leaving me. I did the same, keeping my stare pinned on him as I rounded the bar. Finally, he came to a stop just a few feet in front of me.

My curiosity got the better of me. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

For the first time since he entered the pub, Paxton took his eyes off me, scanned the space, and jerked his head to the side away from the crowd. He curled his fingers around my wrist and urged me in that direction.

I should have been questioning what was going on and why he wanted to speak with me privately, but I didn’t.