Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers #4) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,25

and making cookies. I’m sure this isn’t your idea of fun.”

“Is it yours?” His gaze is intense as he waits for my answer.

“Yeah, I mean, I know I do it every day, but I enjoy it. And this is for fun, and well, you’re here,” I add on without thinking.

“I’m glad I’m here with you to bake and decorate cookies.”

I watch as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps the screen. When the music begins to play from somewhere other than his phone, I look around for a speaker. “Where is that coming from?”

“Oh, we have a Bluetooth system throughout the cabin. I can control it from my phone. So we can listen to the same music throughout, or change it up.” He holds his phone up so that I can see the screen as if that helps me understand what he’s saying. “IT guy”—he points at his chest—“remember?”

“I’m sure there’s a good story behind that. I mean, you blocked Marshall from the thermostat. I’m sure you’ve used this to your advantage at one point or another.”

“Who me?” He places his hand over his heart as if he’s offended. “Maybe,” he confesses. I raise my eyebrows and give him an “I don’t believe you” look. “Okay,” he admits with a laugh. “One night, Royce had this sappy depressing song on repeat. He was annoying the hell out of all of us. It was right after he and his first wife split. Anyway, this song was sad as hell, and we were all over it, but his drunk ass insisted that’s what we listen to on repeat. So, when he went to bed, I might have piped ‘You Are My Sunshine’ into his room while he slept.”

“You did not. Was he mad?”

“I set it to turn off at around 6:00 a.m. He was surprisingly happy the next day.”

“Subliminal message. Nice.” I hold my fist out to him, and we bump. The timer dings, and I set the tray on top of the stove to cool. “Now we decorate.” I grin at Conrad.

“Let’s do it.”

Side by side, we begin to ice and decorate the cookies. I’m glad that everyone will be here tomorrow. If the two of us were to eat all of these, they’d have to roll us out of here. I’m focused on dropping sprinkles on the outline of the heart I’m decorating, which is the only reason I don’t see his finger coming until it’s too late. I yell out in surprise as Conrad swipes icing down my cheek. “No, you didn’t.” I laugh, grabbing a towel and wiping at my face.

Swiping my index finger through the bowl of icing, I hold it up so he can see it. “Payback.” I grin and step around the counter. He retreats, which means I have to chase after him. He takes off toward the living room with me hot on his trail. He moves around the couch, and I jump over the back to get to him. It would have worked too, but he’s much bigger and stronger than I am. While I was gaining my footing, he had his arms wrapped around me from behind and my finger with the dollop of icing in his mouth.

When his lips wrap around my finger, and his tongue goes to work, removing the icing, every single nerve in my body is awakened. I stop squirming and lean against him. His grip tightens as he pulls me closer to his chest. The heat of him sears my back even through his sweatshirt that I’m wearing.

“Delicious,” he whispers huskily after letting my finger drop from his mouth. I feel his hot breath against my neck, and I will him to kiss me.

Anywhere.

Everywhere.

My breath stalls in my lungs as I wait to see what he’s going to do. The song changes to WALK THE MOON’s “Shut Up and Dance,” and I feel his lips next to my ear. His hot breath sending tingles down my spine.

“Dance with me.” His words are whispered, but they are not a request. They’re a command as he takes my hand in his and spins me out from his chest. Laughter bubbles up inside of me, and when he pulls me back in so we are now chest to chest, I can’t help but smile up at him. “Show me what you got, Steele,” he murmurs.

Something Conrad might not know about me is that I love to dance. Not one to ever turn down the opportunity to do