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The black coffee was now al about hoeet it had to be “Damn,” he whispered “That ain’t coffee anymore”

She shrugged, grabbed a tiny straw and gave it a quick stir Dodge couldn’t unglue his eyes from her as she lifted the cup to her lipstick-free lips and took a sip, closing her eyes as she did so

The si coffee shouldn’t wake up every fucking cell in his body Shouldn’tskin prickle like he stuck a fork in an outlet

But it did

The way her throat rolled as she sed The pleasure on her face as the coffee hit her taste buds and the warut

Worse, the low moan that accompanied it all

Fuuuuuuck meeeeeee

He had to shake that shit off This was not hi “How old were you when you first started drinkin’ coffee?”

Her eyes opened and she took another sip “How old were you?”

Christ “You ever gonna answer any of my questions?”

“Are you?”

He barked out a laugh, thankful that her stubborn streak pulled him back to reality With a shake of his head, he turned and leaned back against the counter, studying her “You ran out of my place early this mornin’”

He was usually a light sleeper so he was surprised when her fleeing his apartment at some crazy hour didn’t wake him Once he did wake up, he actually had a difficult ti himself froood reason

“I didn’t run anywhere” She lifted her coffee cup to her lips and it hovered there “Sorry I fell asleep in your bed You should’ve woken me up and kicked ainst the opposite wall in the narrow roo her coffee with both hands Small, like her

The space in the break rooinally been so and as narrow as his apartment’s kitchen, if that

With how they stood across from each other, her black combat boots were only a couple inches from his

Her feet were tiny next to his

Everything about her was petite

But not breakable

Fuck no, he recognized a survivor when he saw one

It was in her eyes, in her responses, in how she carried herself

Shebut she’d already lived a life

He wanted to know her story

Who she here she came from, what made her the way she was

He wanted to peel away those layers and get to her core

He never had that urge before