"You asked."
"I was fishing."
"Then you caught something." She's close now. Close enough that I can smell the energy drink on her breath and the faint spice of her scent buried underneath the layers of cologne and blockers. "Reel it in, Raf."
I set the bass down carefully against the arm of the couch. My hands are steady. The rest of me is not.
She crawls into my lap.
Just like that. Knees on either side of my thighs, hands landing on my shoulders, her weight settling against me warm and sure. Her fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt and she tilts her head, studying me from six inches away.
"Hi," she says.
"Hi."
"You're blushing."
"I amnot?—"
She kisses me.
Her mouth is warm and tastes like artificial strawberry and chaos. My hands find her hips automatically, pulling her closer, and she makes this soft sound against my lips—satisfied, like she's been waiting for this—that sends a jolt straight down my spine.
I kiss her back.
Reallykiss her. One hand sliding up her back, the other gripping her hip, angling my head to deepen it. Her tongue traces my lower lip and I let her in, and the noise I make is embarrassing but I'm past caring. She tugs at my shirt and I tighten my grip on her waist and?—
The door bangs open.
"I can't find him any?—"
Phoenix freezes in the doorframe.
Bells is straddling me. My hands are on her ass. Our mouths are about an inch apart and both of us are breathing hard.
"Dude," I groan, dropping my head back against the couch. "You are agiantcockblock."
Phoenix's shock dissolves into a wide grin. "That's not what you were saying the other day."
My face goes nuclear.
Bells's eyebrows shoot up. Her gaze swings between me and Phoenix. Back to me. The grin onherface is expanding at an alarming rate.
"You guys...?" she says.
I rub the back of my head. Stare at the ceiling. At the wall. At literallyanythingthat isn't Bells's delighted face or Phoenix's stupid satisfied smirk.
"Maybe," I mutter.
Phoenix is beaming. Full six-foot-six golden retriever, tail-wagging, sunshine-radiatingbeaming.
Bells looks at him. Looks at me.
"That's fucking hot," she says. "That's fuckinghotand I wish I could stick around to hear more about it, but I need to make sure Rex is okay."
"Correction, you need to use your omega powers on him," I say dryly. "The ones you used at the treehouse."
"Dude," she groans. "Don't call it a fuckingtreehouse."