Page 61 of Sweet Revenge

“He went with me and ended up adopting a black cat that wouldn’t leave him alone.”

I giggled and sat down on the bed, putting Luna next to her mama. They snuggled together for a minute before Luna went off to explore all the goodies on the bed. I reached down and ran my hand along the silky fur of Lilly’s back, giggling when she laid on her side and purred.

We spent the next hour setting up all the cat stuff Gunner bought, which may have been too much, considering I only have one room, but I was determined to put it all out. Gunner went over the instructions Sydney had given him about feeding and litter, what cats liked and didn’t like, but I already knew they loved their scratching posts. Gunner said Sydney told him what they were called and where to buy one.

He bought two.

And they were each huge, but the cats were all over them, so I guess it was a good idea.

After a while, Becs said she had to go downstairs for a few minutes, but I only nodded. I was completely in love with my gift, with my two gifts, and couldn’t look away from them. Gunner came over and stood beside me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my temple.

“Thank you, Gunner,” I whispered. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“I think I do,” he whispered back. “But why don’t you tell me?”

I smiled and laid my head against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s like you gave me something I never knew I needed or wanted.”

“I’ll give you everything I can.”

I pushed back and stood on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his. It didn’t take long for the kiss to heat and get deeper. Gunner shoved his hand under the back of my shirt, and I moaned when I felt his rough palm against my skin. He walked me backward until I felt the back of my knees hit the bed. He lifted me and put me on the bed, following until we were both lying down, and his hot, hard body was on top of me. I shoved my hand under the back of his shirt, just like he had done to me, and he groaned, running his hand down my side.

When he jerked his head back, my eyes flew open and widened when I saw what had his attention. I started laughing when I saw Luna sitting on his back, licking her paw like it was perfectly normal to be there. The irritation on Gunner’s face slowly slid away and was replaced with a softness as I continued to laugh.

I pulled my hand out of the bottom of his shirt and wiped the moisture from the corner of my eye. “That’s so funny.”

He chuckled and leaned down, rubbing his lips against mine. “Next time, we’re doing this in my room.”

“Okay.” I giggled and reached my arms around to move Luna who did not want to leave him. I understood how she felt.

He pushed off the bed when he was able, and with one arm around my waist, he pulled me up with him. “I have one more surprise for you.”

My eyes widened. “There’s more?” I shook my head. “That’s too much.”

“Never too much, baby.”

He reached down and grabbed my hand, pulled me from the room behind him and closed the door quietly. I followed, having no idea what was going on or where we were going, but I still followed, completely trusting him to only lead me in the right direction.

Another first for me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

GUNNER

I couldn’t help but grin as I led her down the stairs. Her reaction to the cats was even better than I’d hoped for and watching her laugh made my fucking chest hurt, I was so happy. Stepping off the bottom step, I immediately looked to the right and saw everyone standing together, waiting quietly. Balloons made the space look better as well as the giant Happy Birthday banner that was hanging on the back wall.

Maggie took the final step down, and I moved to the side. She looked over, her eyes wide, and I laughed out loud when everyone whispered, “Happy Birthday, Maggie.”

She stepped back, putting herself right against my chest and giggled before she whispered, “Thank you.”

My eyes swept across the group of men and women standing together, all having adjusted their behaviors to make Maggie more comfortable, and it made me appreciate them more than I already did. I reached down and grabbed her hand, tugging her over to the whole group, where she gave and accepted hugs.

Another huge step for her.

It seemed she was making them more and more.

I saw the surprise on her face when she saw her therapist, Lisa, who Becs had called, and Kat standing next to each other. She gave them both hugs and nodded her head when Lisa whispered something in her ear.

Becs came to stand beside me and pushed her shoulder against my bicep. “You did good, Gunner.”

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