There was tension in this house all right. Skylar seemed to think they were on the brink of a fight, but I had a feeling they were on the brink of something else entirely.

I was about to ask where Skylar was, or if I should just go upstairs to find her, when Chief came back, his boots stomping on the wood floor.

“I’m going to the hardware store. I’ll be back later.”

“Wait, I’ll come with you.” Caroline stood and smoothed out her shirt. “I just need to change my shoes.”

“What do you need at the hardware store?” he asked.

“The doorknob on my bedroom door sticks. I want to replace it before I get locked in my room because it won’t open.”

“You could have just told me. I didn’t realize it needed replacing.”

“I know. I’m not complaining.” She patted his cheek as she walked by. “You can buy me lunch while we’re in town.”

Chief rolled his eyes. Caroline opened the coat closet, stepped out of her slippers, and into a pair of beige heels.

“Looks like she’s made herself at home,” I said, keeping my voice low.

“That she has,” Chief grumbled.

She cast him a smile over her shoulder. “Ready?”

“I suppose.”

She opened the front door and damn it if Chief didn’t pause, tilt his head a little, and check out her ass as she walked outside.

Yeah, they weren’t on the verge of blowing up in a fight. They were on the verge of fucking each other’s brains out.

Which, from Skylar’s perspective, still had to be awfully awkward to live with.

“Hey,” Skylar said, coming down the stairs. “I didn’t realize you were here already.”

“That’s okay, I was just chatting with your parents.”

“Oh boy. I bet that was interesting. Sorry if my mom said something awkward.”

“Not really. There was a little innuendo, but that’s way less weird for me since they aren’t my parents.”

“Innuendo? Really?”

“Yeah. And Chief totally checked out your mom’s ass when she went outside.”

She laughed. “He did not.”

“He really did. I wouldn’t worry about them fighting. But maybe make a lot of noise when you come downstairs when they’ve been alone together in case all that tension boils over.”

“That’s very hard to imagine, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

“So, writing session?” I jerked my thumb toward the stairs.

“Yes.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and turned around to go back upstairs.

I followed her up and into her room. She shut the door behind me and the sight of her bed sent my thoughts into a tailspin.

Don’t do it, Gav. Don’t steal another cookie.

I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed and put down my crutches. She sat next to me.

Not at her desk.

Shit.

Damn it, this sucked. She was so fucking pretty, and sweet, and smart, and all kinds of awesome things. Why did she have to be Chief’s daughter?

A second later, it was too late. Our lips met and I wasn’t sure who’d started it, but I was going to fucking finish it.

I pushed her down onto the bed, caressing her mouth with mine. Now that I was kissing her, I couldn’t stop. I braced myself over her, delving my tongue in deep. She’d given me one hell of a blow job last night. Maybe I’d return the favor.

Just the thought of licking her pussy made my dick even harder.

A knock on the door downstairs cut through the quickly building heat. I paused, my lips just an inch from hers.

“Ignore it.” She grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me down.

I was happy to do just that, but then her phone buzzed on the bedside table.

She let out a frustrated breath. “Seriously?”

I pushed myself back to sitting and rubbed my hands up and down my thighs while she sat up and grabbed her phone. Now that we’d stopped, I was thinking, and starting to wonder if I should let this happen. Again.

Fuck, this was hard.

“Oh my god.” She stared at her still buzzing phone like it was a bloody murder weapon.

“What’s wrong?”

She got up and rushed to the window. “What the hell?”

Without another word, she raced out the door. I stood, fumbling for my crutches, as her footsteps flew down the stairs.

My inner alarm blared a warning. Something was wrong.

I followed her down, but paused a few steps from the bottom. She stood with the door open and I could just make out a guy outside. He had slicked back blond hair and wore a wool coat over a button-down shirt and slacks.

I didn’t know who he was, but I instantly didn’t like him. He had a douchey face and it was a fucking weekend, what was with the fancy-pants outfit?

He handed Skylar a large envelope.

“You could have just FedEx’d this,” she said, taking it from him.

“I know, but I was nearby, so I figured I’d drop it off.”

“You were nearby?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about it, Cullen. You live almost four hours away. Why are you here?”

“We rented a cabin for a long weekend. It’s a vacation. Maybe you’ve heard of them.”

“Okay, whatever.” She held up the envelope. “What signature do you need? Is this the foreign rights contract we were waiting for?”

“No, that’s the agency dissolution paperwork.”

She let out a long breath. “Right. Fine. I’ll sign it. But what happened to the foreign rights deal?”

“They passed on it.”

“What do you mean, they passed?”

“They passed. There was a deadline and they didn’t have an answer, so they moved on to someone else.”

Skylar gaped at him. “You were supposed to take care of that.”

“I’m not your agent anymore.”

“But you started that deal. I figured you’d at least finish it.”

“I’ve had too many other things going on to worry about one little foreign rights deal for a former client.”

“You asshole.” She whipped around and stomped into the kitchen, coming back a few seconds later with a pen. She tore the envelope open, smacked the paperwork down on her mom’s coffee table, and furiously signed her name. Then she brought it back to the front door and flung it at him. The pieces of paper fluttered to the floor. “There. Happy now?”

“Really, Skylar? Very mature.”

“Get out.”

I wanted nothing more than to go down there and punch the guy in the face. But before I could make it to the bottom of the stairs, he swiped the contract off the floor and left.

Skylar slammed the door behind him.

I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs while she sniffed hard and swiped her fingers beneath her eyes. I didn’t quite understand what had just happened, but clearly it had pissed her off.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She sniffed again. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Who was that?”

“Cullen, my agent.” She sighed. “Also my ex-boyfriend.”

Oh shit.

She went to the couch and sank down, so I crutched my way in and sat beside her.