"Damn, Rebel," he whistles, his eyes eating me alive. "You're a knockout."
I give him a little spin, grinning. "You like?"
"Come here." He holds out a hand toward me, waiting for me to take it before hauling me up against the hard wall of his chest. His lips land against my ear. "The only way I'd like it any more is if it were on my bedroom floor," he growls against my skin before groaning softly. "You look fucking magical."
My heart does this funny thing where it races and floats at the same time. I like the feeling, a lot actually. I press a soft kiss to his cheek, shivering at the way his growl vibrates through me.
"Here, baby." He presses the book and flowers into my hand. "These are for you. And this—" He pulls a tiny bone out of his pocket with a flourish— "is for Oscar."
I glance down at the bone, smiling like a mad woman. "You brought Oscar a present?"
"Yeah, of course." He smirks at me, his eyes light. "Gotta start earning his affection now since he hates me."
My heart does that thing again.
"Did you read it?"
"What?"
I hold upThe Princess Bride.
"Oh." He smiles at me. "I did."
"What did you think?"
"Well, it's no Serial Killer's Guide…" he teases, "but not bad."
I shake my head, laughing at him.
"Are you ready to go?"
"I am," I murmur. "I just need to put these in water and wrangle Oscar first. He's refusing to come inside." I take a step back and then hesitate. "Do you want to come in?"
The heat in his eyes screams that he does. "I think I should wait out here," he mutters, not hiding the way he adjusts himself. "If I don't, I may not behave myself."
I bite my lip to keep from whimpering out loud.
"Go take care of Oscar, Rebel. I'll wait."
I stumble back inside, nearly tripping over my own damn feet. I stop in the kitchen long enough to move the bouquet to a vase, promising myself I'll do it properly later, and then I hurry out onto the back porch to find Oscar.
As expected, he's in the screened-in section of the backyard, living his best life on his little Yorkie-sized lawn chair, soaking up the evening sun. Honestly, he'd probably live out here if I let him. He likes it way better out here than he does inside, but it's too cold at night for him to be out here.
He lifts his head to look at me.
"You gotta come inside, Oscar," I say softly.
He snorts and immediately puts his head down again, closing his eyes.
I chuckle, hurrying across the grass toward him. "Screening all of this in for you turned you into a diva," I mutter, scooping him up. "You want to spend all of your time out here in your little kingdom, and none with me."
He huffs at me.
"Here." I hold the bone out to him. He sniffs it once and then snatches it like a little savage. "This is from Mason. You have to be nice to him. He isn't a serial killer, and I really like him."
"I like knowing that," Mason murmurs from behind me.
I spin around to find him leaning against the porch railing, watching Oscar and me with a smile tugging at his lips.