"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think anywhere around here delivered."
She set the jar on the counter, unzipped her jacket, and shrugged out of it. Hanging it on the hook, she folded her arms across her chest, still radiating that guarded energy.
"Well, now you do." Jamie twisted the lid off the jar, spooning coffee into two mugs.
“I need to freshen up before I muck out the stables. I usually jump in the shower afterward, so you can use it before you leave, if you like.”
She leaned against the counter, silky raven hair cascading over her shoulders, cheeks flushed from the cold air.
Her eyes were even more piercing than before, and when her sweet smile touched her cherry-red lips, it made something inside him tighten.
“Sure.” he said, loving how she swallowed hard when he smiled. “So… How are you? It’s been a long week.”
Her gaze dropped to the mug as he poured in boiling water.
“I’m fine. Really busy with riding and working at Coffee Kicks. Same old shit…”
“Yeah.” He slid a mug across the counter, then glanced at her empty cupboards. “You’ve got fuck-all to eat in this place, love. You need to look after yourself better.”
Shannon shrugged it off, though there was a flicker of embarrassment in her expression. “I haven’t had the time, that’s all. I’ll go later.”
Jamie’s jaw tightened, his protective streak kicking in. “I’ll go for you. Write me a list of things you need, and I’ll grab it before I head home.”
Her eyes widened, the immediate reflex to reject his offer clear. “No, it’s okay. I’ll go tomorrow.”
A surge of wanting to care for her clawed at him, but there was a conflict in his chest—he wasn’t supposed to care this much.
“C’mon on, love. You’ve got a busy morning. I can spare the time.”
She shook her head, the instinct to keep her independence strong. “I don’t need your money.”
Jamie leaned in just a little, voice dropping, his dominant edge surfacing. “Then give me the money, and I’ll even put it away for you.”
Shannon’s brows furrowed, the pull of his energy proving hard to ignore, but she stuck to her guns.
“Don’t worry about it. Harry invited me for dinner tonight,” she added, the lie almost slipping too easily off her tongue. “I need to get ready now. I’ve got chores to do.”
Jamie’s lips pressed together, trying to suppress the frustration building inside him.
“You’ll eat before you walk out that door,” he muttered, unable to hide the low growl in his voice.
Shannon slipped past him, walking toward her bedroom without another word, and that silence between them flew up like a damn wall, amplifying the tension in his chest.
His fingers gripped the coffee mug as her bedroom door clicked shut, leaving him alone in the kitchen.
He endured the weight of every passing second, his body coiled with a feral need to just march in there and make her stop pushing him away.
Make her understand. He needed to know what was going on behind that guarded exterior.
But that ache to be closer to her wasn’t just physical anymore. It was raw, emotional, and it made him want to throw everything away and just take her with him, back to where he could make sure she didn’t have to live like this anymore.
Jamie was seconds away from barging in and demanding she talk to him when a loud knock at the door broke through his thoughts.
He pushed the urge to go after her aside, grabbing the door handle and forcing himself to focus on the delivery. He’d figure out what was going on with her later.
Shannon stepped out of her bedroom a moment later, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her figure still commanding in tight breeches, even if the oversized hoodie drowned her shape.
It made no difference because he noticed every inch of her, always.
