Page 109 of A Little Naughty

He grins, kissing the side of my neck. “I’d have had to show you every day… like I plan to do.”

Rising onto my toes, I wrap my arms around his neck as emotion surges in my chest. Our mouths seal together, and his hands slide down my back to my ass, squeezing.

“I want you inside me,” I gasp, as his hands move to the back of my legs, under my skirt.

“Fuck, I love you, Jemima.” His voice is a low groan at my ear. “I’ve loved you since the night Aiden pulled us off the road, and you fought for me.”

Pulling back, I hold his face in my hands. Our eyes meet, and we’re both breathing fast.

“I love you, Raif Jones.” My nose heats, and I didn’t know I could cry and be horny at the same time. “I fell in love with you the day you agreed to marry me. Then I fell in love with you more when you tried to fight your brother for me. Every time you said you loved to make me smile, I fell a little more. When I thought I’d lost you, I knew I’d never love again.”

His brow lowers over his pretty blue eyes. “When did you think you’d lost me?”

Exhaling a sob-laugh, I lean forward, closing my eyes and pressing my forehead to his chin. “After you were shot… I thought you had died. I was so afraid, I sat on the ground under the jessamine and cried until Monay found me and told me you were alive.”

His arms tighten around me, and he pulls me firmly against his chest. “I’m not going anywhere without my girl.” He leans down to kiss me again. “If anything happens to me, I’ll be your ghost. There’s no such thing as heaven without you in it.”

“I can’t imagine anywhere good without you.”

I go to kiss him again when a heavy paw pushes on my back, and I jump, falling against Raif’s chest and looking over my shoulder.

Porkchop is on his hind legs with one paw on the door and the other on me.

“Sit, Porkchop,” Raif orders, and we both look at each other with wide eyes when he actually does it. “I’ll be damned.”

His black ears quirk, and he whimpers a little bark when Nikki calls frantically from inside. “Raif! Help—it’s happening!”

“Gotta go.” He gives me a quick kiss and charges through the door. “What’s happening?”

Rolling my back to the wall, I hold my hand over my warm lips. Porkchop nudges me with his nose, and I drop down to one knee to pet his head and hug him.

Then I stand and exhale a laugh. My heart flutters like a butterfly in my chest, and I smile so big. I want to laugh and skip and run and sing. Instead, I pick up the paper and carry it inside.

I’m going to cut out this message and frame it. Then I need to get the rest of those pictures from Monay.

CHAPTER32

RAIF

“This is the best penne pasta I’ve ever had!” Jemima speaks with her mouth full from behind a giant bowl of pasta, shrimp, and red sauce with bell peppers, onions, and garlic.

“Not too salty?” I tease.

“Nope—you have the perfect pinch.”

“You bet I do.”

Her hand flies to her mouth as if to stop a spit-take, and it’s silly and sexy, and the smolder below my belt that started with our kisses on the porch grows hotter.

“All the kids at school think Porkchop is a magic dog.” Nikki spears a shrimp before popping it into her mouth. “They said he’s magic because his eyes are two different colors.”

“Magic?” I chuckle, ready to debunk that notion when someone nudges me under the table. Jemima’s big eyes meet mine, and I change course midstream. “What kind of magic?”

“Ryan said he can probably see ghosts like Fudge.” She stabs another shrimp and eats it. “Did you know cats can see ghosts?”

“I’ve heard that.” Jemima picks up a piece of garlic bread. “I think Gwen told me that once.”

“She would know,” I add.

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