“Date. Date. Date. Pancakes. Date. Sex.” Bouncing around the kitchen, I tried to remember everything I was supposed to do. It was my turn to clean the kitchen, and I wanted to get it all done before I went to work.

But I knew I’d forgotten something.

“Cooper!” Sawyer’s frustration made me smile, and I looked over toward the fridge where he was standing, trying to dig his lunch out of the back of it. That was what I was supposed to have been doing…clearing out the old stuff.

Giving him a sweet smile, I cocked my head innocently. “Yes?”

He snorted and crouched to grab the plastic container of leftovers. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“Because you want pancakes too?” It was date night with Jackson, and I couldn’t wait.

“If you don’t stop bouncing around, I’m going to tell Master you’ve been good today!” Sawyer’s words burst out once he seemed to reach the end of his rope.

I was excited, but nowhere near hyper enough to be sending his stress levels that high. I’d have been worried, but I knew exactly what was on his mind. Giving him a big smile that made him groan in frustration, I answered him sweetly. “If you do, I’ll tell him you were jerking off in the shower this morning.”

His eyes went wide, but I could see the desire flaring in his eyes. “That’s lying! I did not!”

“It doesn’t matter. It will still get you the punishment you want.” I had to laugh as Sawyer sputtered and sent me dirty looks. “I think he’ll believe me enough that you could find yourself bent over his lap later.”

And even though I’d be lying, Sawyer wouldn’t be able to deny it convincingly enough, because he wanted the spanking.

Desperately.

“Melissa! What the hell did you put in that Facebook ad? I’m getting all kinds of crazy-ass responses!” Storming into the house, I slammed the door behind me. She was dead meat. She had to have pulled that shit on purpose.

What the hell had I done to her?

I headed for her bedroom, stomping up the stairs. Knowing my sister, she was probably buried up to her neck in books and papers. Normally, I wouldn’t let myself into her house—I actually had manners unlike some people I could name—but this time, she’d gone too far. She wasn’t going to be able to hide from me.

“Melissa!”

“What?” She was sitting on the bed surrounded by papers and notebooks, a half-eaten sandwich hanging off a plate. “What crawled up your ass and died?”

Five fucking thrift stores.

“Five.” I got a dirty look from the old lady across from me on the bus, but I wasn’t going to feel bad about losing my mind. If she’d gone to five thrift stores all over the city for a stupid Christmas present for her boyfriend, she’d be insane too.

Leaning back against the seat, I tried to relax, but the hard plastic and constant bumps from the winter-ravaged roads made that impossible. The potholes were probably the only thing keeping me awake, so I should have been grateful for them. I wasn’t. I also wasn’t grateful for the early shifts and the cold weather.

But I shouldn’t even be complaining about the hours I’d been working.

When winter had hit and the landscaping jobs had stopped for the season, I’d thought I’d be out of work for months except for the occasional odd job. Thankfully, I’d been one of the handful of guys they’d kept on payroll for the snow removal side of the company.