She wet her lips. “I don’t think you have to worry.”

He liked that. Too much. He gave her a wicked grin. “Prepare yourself for some very dirty Zoom calls.”

Her cheeks actually got pink. She was bare-assed-naked on the kitchen counter with his hand in the most intimate place it could be, but she was blushing about the idea of a dirty Zoom call? He grinned.

“That’s not really having space,” she pointed out.

“Nope,” he agreed. He wanted zero space.

He’d worry about that later.

Then he circled her clit and she let out a lusty sigh. “Okay.”

“Okay to the Zoom call? Or the quiet orgasm now?” He thrust his fingers deep.

“Both.” Her eyes were shut again.

“Deal.” Then he bent his knees, pulled her ass to the edge of the counter, and put his mouth on her clit, licking and sucking as he finger fucked her.

“Oh, oh, oh…”

He looked up. She was gripping the edge of the counter, her eyes shut, her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Be quiet, sweetheart,” he coached with a grin.

He had no idea if whoever had stopped by was still outside her door. And he didn’t care.

He sucked on her clit again and curled his fingers and pumped in and out and suddenly her hand flew to his head, gripping his hair as her thighs tightened around him and her pussy clenched and she let out a long, but very soft, “Yessssss.”

He released her clit with a gentle lick and then slowly eased his fingers from her body. He looked up at the most beautiful sight.

She was leaning back, propped on her extended arm, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breaths. Her eyes were shut, her cheeks flushed, and she had a smile on her face.

He rose and her eyes opened. She watched as he lifted his fingers to his mouth and licked the taste of her from them.

“Wow, that’s dirty,” she said appreciatively.

He just grinned. “You’re amazing.”

“I’m—”

Her phone started ringing.

She stopped. Rolled her eyes. Sighed. And then laughed. “In trouble.”

“That’s whoever was at the door?” he asked. Jesus, these people were relentless.

She nodded. “Or my mother wondering why that person told her I wasn’t here.”

She pushed him back and hopped to the floor, again grabbing her sweatshirt and pulling it on. It didn’t cover much. Definitely not the sweet ass he was obsessed with.

Her phone stopped ringing.

“So the bending you over the counter…” he said.

She tossed him a mischievous look over her shoulder. “Well, you did talk about the whole delayed-satisfaction thing.” Her gaze dropped to his fly. “But I guess that’s more you than me at the moment.”

He nodded, lowering his voice. “Maybe I should barricade the door, hide your phone, and put you on your knees.”

Her breath hitched and her eyes heated. “Maybe…”

Her phone started ringing again. With a sigh she reached for it. “Hello?”

She paused, listening.

“No, I’m fine, why?”

Pause.

“I couldn’t come to the door.”

Pause. She looked at the ceiling.

“Because I couldn’t. I don’t just sit around here waiting for one of you to stop by, you know.”

She frowned as she listened to the reply.

“Of course I know that.”

She listened again, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I have plenty of eggs. Have him come back over.”

She disconnected and gripped her phone tightly, before meeting Mitch’s gaze. “You want to hide in my bedroom closet this time? Since Amanda was already in there, my Uncle Tim won’t check in there when he stops by to install my new showerhead.”

“You need a new shower head?” Mitch asked. “I could install—”

“No,” she stopped him. “I don’t need a new showerhead. But that’s a good reason to check the bathroom for signs of a ‘guest’. My sisters already checked the other rooms.” She looked around. “I mean, everyone can see the living room.”

Wow, these people would impress his family if he were being honest. All of this was Landry-level meddling.

“Well, how about I head to the town’s square now?” he asked, pulling his shirt on. “That way I’m really not here and I have an alibi.”

She smiled but sighed. “I really prefer you here without the shirt on.”

“Ditto.”

“But, yeah, okay.”

“The square is close enough to walk to,” he said. “I’ll slip up the alley and won’t even need to move your car.”

She frowned. “It’s really cold, Mitch. And you’ll need the toolbox, right?”

He arched a brow. “I can carry a toolbox four blocks.”

“But… it’s cold. You’ve got Louisiana blood. You might not make it a block before you’re an ice cube.”

“Sweetheart—” He pulled her up against him and kissed her. “That Louisiana blood means I’ve got enough stubborn and cayenne in my system to keep me going for a long time in the cold.”

She went on tiptoe to kiss him again, then said, “Well, maybe get a little cold so I can warm you up when you get back.”

“I’ll never be too warm to not need you warming me up.” He squeezed her ass, then let her go, grabbing the coat he was borrowing and heading for the door. “If I swing by to see how Mike and Larry are doing too, would that give your family time to send everyone over that needs to stop by and check on you?”

She narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “It’s bugging you that there’s work that needs to be done and you’re not helping, isn’t it?”

“Well, I mean, it’s cold out, and those boys probably haven’t eaten enough gumbo in their day to counteract it.”

She laughed. “Fair enough.” Then she nodded. “Yeah, I think Tim will stop by and then maybe my grandpa. He’ll want to check the furnace and be sure you did a good job.”

Mitch paused with a hand on her doorknob. “Your grandpa can fix furnaces? Will he think it’s weird you didn’t just ask him in the first place?”

She shook her head. “He’ll just roll his eyes and tell me that I don’t have to be so damned independent all the time and that I can ask family to help out and I don’t always have to hire help.”

“You hire help instead of asking your family?” He immediately regretted the question and his raised eyebrows.

She frowned. “I do. It’s my business and my apartment. I can handle taking care of it.”

“You’re an independent little thing, aren’t you?”

She lifted her chin. “I am.”

“Noted.”

He was not used to that. Everyone he knew leaned on everyone else he knew. That was just the way of it. But everyone helped everyone out. Each person did their part. If someone couldn’t fix a furnace, they could sure as hell make an amazing étouffée, or would help with plumbing or painting, or would do your laundry. Or they might just tell you when you needed to pull your head out of your ass when you needed it. Which was, honestly, a lot more helpful than being able to fix a furnace. Anyway, it wasn’t as if anyone was a freeloader or getting away with anything.