揥hat抯 next??Destiny asks, emptying the dust pan in a bin nearby.
I grin at her. 揧ou抣l find out soon. Start popping the crusts onto plates, assuming we have any we don抰 have to beg the food team for.?
揙n it!?She washes her hands and gets to work.
I transfer the marshmallow fluff to a bowl, grab a couple spoons, pull the chocolate from the fridge, and set everything up beside Destiny.
揌ere, check this out. You tug on the wax paper and it comes up with a chocolate bar.?I pull one out and remove it from the paper. 揂dd a small line of marshmallow fluff and glue it to the graham cracker crust. Voil? Your dad has his precious graham cracker to complete the S抦ores Mocha.?
揙h, cool! Can we try it??
揃e my guest.?I gesture at the spread of cookies.
She抯 still munching away on her third cookie when Mr. Lancaster comes to pick up his daughter a little while later.
He looks at Destiny with what seems like a tired glance. Or maybe it抯 just my imagination now that I know he has good reasons for being world-weary.
揇ess, let抯 go. I抳e still got a heap of work to catch up on at home and I have to make dinner.?
He makes dinner? No live-in chef?
揌ey, uh梥he did a fantastic job today, Mr. Lancaster,?I say carefully. 揝he抯 an awesome kid. The work would抳e limped along much slower without her lending me a hand. I think she learned a few things, too.?
He nods with a suspicious look, like he doesn抰 trust my praise.
揋ood. Just make sure she doesn抰 get in the way of anything major.?He doesn抰 even make eye contact as he walks over to the bench against the wall to fetch Destiny抯 bag梡robably so she doesn抰 forget it.
揌ey, wait, I was helping Eliza finish棓
揑 said let抯 go!?he barks.
Destiny rolls her eyes as he power walks away and then starts moving to catch up.
Beautiful.
Why did I ever feel sorry for this walking time bomb again? I want to tell him to watch how he talks to her, but she抯 not my daughter.
I barely know them. It抯 definitely not my place to butt into their family life.
Still, that has to sting.
I look at Destiny and whisper loudly, 揧ou were a huge help today. Thank you so much. See ya soon.?
揇estiny, I said let抯 go.?He waves at her, standing near the exit, the door propped open with his shoulder.
揝orry,?she mouths to me and scurries away.
Jeez. His whole aura bleeds melancholy today.
I don抰 think he looked at me once. What gives?
揝he doesn抰 get in the way, dude,?I mumble under my breath. 揟he lump of Cole who picks her up, on the other hand...?
He lingers at the door as Destiny walks past him.
Before he leaves, he turns his head over his shoulder and looks at me. 揇on抰 stay here all night. Security changes at ten. Our garage has never had an incident, but you抮e still a walking insurance liability after that.?
If I punted a cookie in your face, Cole Lancaster, would that be a liability?
I don抰 say it, though.
I settle for, 揚iss off, Commander Coffee.?
He doesn抰 even grunt in response.
Somehow, silence is worse than a parting shot.
This guy is so off-kilter.
One minute, he needs me so bad he抣l track me down through a random barista and dole out big bonuses. The next, I抦 not worth talking to.
Whatever.
I抣l deal with it the way I handle most of my people problems梑y eating most of the test cookies that aren抰 left for Gina and the techs.
I only leave enough extras to go with the S抦ores Mocha I plan on him sampling tomorrow.
I抦 working on a drink in the lab when I hear the big metal door swing open.
Commander Coffee marches up behind me and throws his arms around my waist.
This should be awkward. Highly inappropriate.
But when I turn to face him, I抦 smiling like it抯 pure heaven.
He hoists me up and sets me on the marble counter, cupping my face with one huge hand while his big blue eyes drill through my soul.
揈liza.?My name is a statement. A question. A promise.
揅ole,?I whisper back, a tremor in my voice.
He tilts my chin back roughly, his hand gliding to my throat.
Oh, God.
It抯 so wrong, but the way my core pulses sends my moral compass spinning.
My eyes flutter shut and I forget how to breathe.
When I finally do again, he smells like salt and citrus mingled with coffee. He smells so桟ole.
When his lips crush down on mine, I抦 flipping delirious.
The kiss is long and smooth and devilishly sensuous. His hands are another kind of black magic, moving up my thighs, spreading them apart, bringing his fingers to my aching center.
He leans me back against the cool marble, never breaking the interplay of teeth and tongue and so much passion.
揑抦 going to fuck you now. Right here,?he whispers hoarsely. His beard rakes my skin as he pushes his mouth to my ear.
I抦 trembling.
His warm hand teases my mound before running down my entire leg and coming back up again so slowly. He shoves my skirt out of the way with a guttural noise burning in his throat.
Ahhhhhh!
I抦 screaming.
Actually, something else is screaming. The world抯 most annoying alarm clock.
I jolt up and bang it with my fist, wiping sweat and sticky hair from my brow.
Sweet baby Jesus.
This stupid alarm steals my orgasms and robs me of sleep?
More importantly梱ikes桰抳e got to get laid. It抯 no question when I抦 having wet dreams about Commander Coffee right after his latest grump-fit kept me up half the night overthinking.
It hurts to look at the clock.
Yep, it抯 time to get moving.
I抦 meeting Dakota at another homeless benefit downtown, and I promised to bring along my best cold brew.
I rush through the shower and grab my things, then arrive downtown on my bike only a few minutes late. Dakota is already there, setting things up.
揌ey! How抯 the new job going? Surviving??she asks with an amused smile.
I place the coffee urns on the table next to a box of pens and the usual rating cards.
揟he job itself is pretty awesome. You wouldn抰 believe the lab梚t has everything, Dakota. There抯 probably a coffee-powered vibrator tucked away somewhere I haven抰 found yet.?
We both burst out laughing. She leans on my shoulder for support.
揧ou抮e hilarious and you seem really happy. I love it!?
揥ell, yeah. It抯 a dream job, minus Commander Coffee. He抯 still a massive jerkwad, but no need to waste the breath on him, right??I say, honestly hoping she doesn抰 ask. 揥hat抯 the game plan here??
Dakota scans the table, adjusting a few signs. 揇onuts are three bucks each. Coffee goes for five bucks a cup today, or they can get a donut and coffee combo for seven.?
揟hose are some high-dollar donuts.?
Lincoln appears from the back, weirdly baby free. He drapes an arm around Dakota.
揌alf an hour at the zoo and Ma says she抯 already tuckered out.?
They share a moony-eyed moment, whispering back and forth about the baby and her outing with grandma until I clear my throat.
Yeah, these two are disgustingly cute. Hard to believe they once hated each other抯 guts.
揌ey, Eliza. All proceeds go to Seattle homeless shelters today,?he says with a friendly smile.
I meet his eyes. 揧ou抮e decent梖or a billionaire.?
揟hanks桰 think??He shrugs, chuckling. 揑 can抰 give up on the homeless even after Wyatt made it out of that camp. He had me to get back on his feet. How many of them have nobody??
Dakota grins at him. 揟his is small potatoes, though. A way for the people to give back. But he gives most of the profits of his company to the cause.?
I smile at him. 揘ice. I抦 glad to hear there抯 one CEO in this city who抯 not a total jackass.?
揝o what did Coffee Dick do to win the hee-haw award this time??Dakota picks up a donut and turns to Linc as she takes a gaping bite out of it. 揔eep a tab for me. You can just write a check at the end of the day.?
揧es, ma抋m,?he says with a swat on her butt.