Provoke_ A Seaside Pictures Novella (Seaside Pictures #3.7) - Rachel Van Dyken Page 0,14

wait.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what went through my mind when I picked up the exact brand of glue stick I used to lick when I was five—how fucking freeing this is.”

“Ah, it all makes sense now. You ate glue when your brain was still underdeveloped. I’m amazed you can tie your shoes.”

He flipped me off with a laugh and then said, “You’ve only seen me in sandals, I could have a shit ton of Velcro sneakers in my closet.”

I made a face. “No, that takes away the entire sex appeal thing, doesn’t it?”

His head swiveled back in my direction. “I’ll be damned! Did you just call me sexy?”

“No.” My eyes widened while my body betrayed me by pumping blood into all the wrong areas, including my face, which felt as hot as the sun. “I just meant, you know, to other people, Velcro shoes may kill the sex appeal you have to…others…” I gulped. “Humans.” Another gulp and a weak nod.

Braden threw back his head and laughed. “It’s okay, I can keep a secret, Piper.”

I put my hands over my face and groaned. “Braden, this is my job, be serious.”

“Oh.” He jerked off the cap to the glue stick and then blew across it. “I’m very, very serious.” And then he leaned over until his lips were next to my ear. I could smell the spicy cologne on his skin and nearly felt his pulse. “By the way, I think you’re sexy too, in an uptight, wanna-save-the-world sort of way.”

“Thank you, I think?” I frowned.

He patted me on the head. “Welcome. Now, stop distracting me. I have a vision to create!”

Chapter Seven

Braden

If I had to do art for a living, I would starve. That was my first thought as the tube of glitter spilled across my board and spread onto my coffee table.

The second thought?

Piper was ridiculously distracting when she wasn’t busy being so damn professional.

She watched my every move, and like an idiot, I wanted to impress her with my skills, not my lack of creativity. But it felt like I was back in school waiting for my teacher to either pass or fail me.

I held in my groan. Shit, I would have failed every class if that woman was my teacher, standing there all prim and proper with a black pencil skirt that she’d hike up the minute I grabbed her by the ass and set her on my desk, spreading her legs wide enough to—

“Braden? Are you even listening?”

“Yes,” I lied and then met Piper’s gorgeous blue eyes. “I was planning…in my head.”

“And this, this is what you were planning?” She pointed to the board. I’d tried to make a music note out of glue and then attempted to dump the glitter onto the board in an effort to up the cool factor.

Spoiler alert, the music note looked like a dick, and not a nice one. A small, sad dick that would never see any action. Ever.

I tilted my head.

She frowned. “Is that a—?”

“Note,” I interrupted. “The glue just didn’t stick right…”

“Stick,” she repeated and then covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

I shot her a glare. “Are you making fun of my music note?”

“Are we really calling it that?”

“I’m not drawing random glitter dicks on my vision board!” I huffed. “The glue wasn’t sticky!”

“Poor guy.” She burst out laughing, and then I was on her. Well, not on her foot, but on her, tickling her sides as she laughed harder.

“Take it back!” I roared, “or I’m going to torture you even more.” Hell, I was the one being tortured as she moved beneath me.

This was either a horrible idea or the best I’d ever had.

She sobered at about the same time I stopped tickling her and moved my hands to her face, tilting her chin with my finger. “I like your laugh.”

Her eyes darted to my mouth. “Thanks.”

I was probably going to get kneed in the balls, but I couldn’t let this moment pass. I was sick and tired of moments passing, of not taking opportunities when they presented themselves. If the incident had taught me anything, it was that life’s short, so when a beautiful woman is smiling at you and staring at your mouth, you kiss the hell out of her and capture the moment. Because who knows if you’ll ever be given the opportunity again?

I leaned down, maybe an inch from her gorgeous, full mouth, only to hear the sound of knocking followed by my front door opening.

I brushed a soft kiss across her