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.

focus,” he said, but his touch was doing exactly the

back as I attempted to finish another skewer. When I finally completed it without

he praised, his voice a low rumble.

firmly against my back. The contact made me

my wrist. “We don’t want to ruin all your hard

managed to place the skewer on the grill, but when I tried to step back, Leo kept me in

he murmured, reaching for the tongs. “You need to learn how to turn them

hip to my stomach, fingers splaying wide across my abdomen. The

I turn them?” I asked, my

they’re hot enough,” he replied, and I could hear the smirk in

the curve where my neck met my shoulder—right where a mating mark would go. The brief contact made

if I was asking him to stop

my skin, the vibration traveling down my

to reply when Levi’s voice

food ready yet? We’re

absence of his warmth left me feeling strangely bereft. When I turned to

done,” he called back, shooting me a knowing smirk.

by how easily he’d switched modes while I was still trying to

I muttered, turning back to the grill with

my ears. “We can

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

as we set the food