Offered to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Hot & Bothered

Leo’s body pressed against my back as he guided my hands, his fingers warm and firm over mine. The heat from the grill wasn’t the only thing making my skin flush.

“Like this,” he murmured, his lips barely an inch from my ear. “You need to arrange them by density. Mushrooms cook faster than peppers.”

I tried to focus on the vegetables, but all I could think about was how his chest felt against my back, solid and warm. His hands dwarfed mine as he helped me thread the pieces onto the skewer.

“I’ve worked in kitchens before,” I pointed out, trying to sound normal despite the flutter in my chest. “I was a maid for years, remember?”

Leo chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest and into my back. “Cooking and grilling are different beasts, sweetheart. Trust me on this one.”

He adjusted my grip on the skewer, his fingers sliding between mine in a way that felt far more intimate than the simple act deserved. When he spoke again, his lips brushed the shell of my ear. I shivered when his breath danced across my skin.

“Hold it like this,” he whispered. “Gentle but firm.”

My breath hitched. Was he still talking about grilling? The double meaning wasn’t lost on me, and from the smirk I could feel against my ear, it wasn’t accidental.

“Now you try,” he said, releasing my hands but keeping his body flush against mine.

I fumbled with the next skewer, hyperaware of every point where our bodies touched. The vegetables kept slipping off as my usually steady hands trembled.

“I’m usually better at this,” I mumbled, embarrassed.

“Are you?” His voice dropped lower, lips grazing the sensitive spot just below my ear. “I bet you’re good at a lot of things, Hazel.”

Heat crawled across my skin that had nothing to do with the grill in front of us. I bit my lip to stifle a gasp when his hands settled on my hips.

help you focus,” he said, but his touch was doing

small of my back as I attempted to finish another skewer. When

you go,” he praised, his voice

the grill, his chest pressed firmly against my back. The contact made me acutely aware of something hard pressing against my lower back. I nearly dropped the skewer into

he warned, steadying my wrist. “We don’t

skewer on the grill, but when I

tongs. “You need to learn how to turn them at just the

wide across my abdomen. The possessive touch sent shivers up my spine,

them?” I asked,

they’re hot enough,” he replied, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. “You have to

Leo’s lips found the curve where my neck met my shoulder—right where a mating mark would go. The

if I was asking him to stop or

traveling down my spine. “Just showing you the ropes,

to reply when Levi’s voice rang out across

ready yet? We’re starving over

feeling strangely bereft. When I turned to look at him, his expression was calm and collected, as if he hadn’t just been pressed

he called back, shooting me a knowing smirk. “Just giving Hazel

him, amazed by how easily he’d switched modes while I

to the grill

murmured, just for my ears. “We can

we carried platters of perfectly grilled meats and vegetables to the table. My hands still trembled slightly, and the throbbing between my legs made it hard to

exclaimed as we