Free Stuck on You by Heather Thurmeier

bound to find out sooner or later,” Zoe retorted, her tone sounding equally as annoyed.
    Paige held her breath with the apple still poised in her mouth like a stuffed pig on a platter, not even moving when the juices from the apple dripped down her chin.
    She felt as if she were spying on a very private conversation. But they were the ones who’d come to her. She was merely a bystander and couldn’t help it if she was now privy to their … intimate sounding conversation.
    And why were they together anyway?
    “Later would be better,” Miles stated as if it was fact.
    “Fine,” Zoe grumbled, shoving past Miles into the kitchen. “But if you strike out, don’t blame it on me.”
    Suddenly realizing they weren’t alone, Zoe and Miles froze, mouths open, fingers pointing at the other as if in the middle of an accusation party instead of a conversation.
    Interesting.
    Zoe was annoying, but annoying enough to fight with after hours when everyone else was already sleeping?
    Slowly, their heads swiveled to stare at Paige.
    “I’m tired. Goodnight,” Zoe said, disappearing out the kitchen door before either of them could say anything to stop her. Not that Paige could have found her voice to stop her anyway.
    Nor could she find her voice to say anything to Miles who still stood frozen, staring at her. The annoyance she’d seen on his face as he’d walked in with Zoe had already dissolved, replaced by a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
    And she suddenly felt as if she were perched on the edge of a doctor’s exam table instead of a kitchen counter. A cold kitchen counter.
    Come to think of it, the entire kitchen was pretty damn chilly. So chilly in fact, the thin material of her camisole didn’t seem to do much to keep her warm. Or to hide the newly-budded evidence that she was cold.
    Paige bit off the chunk of apple, finally lowering it from her mouth and setting it on the counter. As she chewed, she watched Miles. Was he suddenly tired too? Again? Neither he nor Zoe had looked all that tired a moment ago. Whatever conversation they’d been in the middle of must’ve really been a private one. A sudden spike of jealousy shot through her at the thought of Zoe and Miles sharing private moments together.
    Until his gaze fell on her. Then her jealousy vanished along with the air in the room.
    Miles took in her outfit, or, well, lack of outfit while she chewed. And swallowed. And choked. Some people couldn’t walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. Apparently Paige couldn’t sit and eat an apple safely.
    Tears pricked her eyes as she struggled to dislodge the tiny pieces of apple from the back of her throat.
    Miles sauntered up to the counter calmly and reached beside her until he found her water bottle. He popped the top and held it out to her. She took a deep gulp or two and finally felt like she could breathe normally again.
    “Thanks,” she managed, finding her voice for the first time since he’d walked into the little room.
    “Better?”
    “Yes. I must have swallowed funny.”
    “Apples can be very dangerous.” His eyes crinkled a little as he smiled, teasing her. He crossed over to the sink and wet a paper towel before returning to stand in front of her again. “And messy.”
    Miles wiped the damp towel across her lower lip, then down her chin and neck, stopping just below her collarbone. Good thing the apple hadn’t dripped more. Much farther and he would have been wiping off her cleavage.
    Her body responded to the thought, her nipples growing harder than they already were from the cool night air.
    His gaze left her and traveled down the path his hand had just made then carried on to the hardened peaks clearly visible through the thin camisole. Damn it. Why hadn’t she thought to at least grab a sweater before leaving her room? And now that she glanced down to where his eyes had gone, she realized just how teeny tiny her shorts were, riding up her thighs with only an inch of inseam fabric separating