Page 15 of Wild Bred

I pull back a little, panting as I look him in the eyes. “I should probably tell you that I’ve never been with anyone.”

“Yeah? That so?” He slowly strokes my hip. “You touch yourself, though, right? You know what makes you feel good?”

“Not really. Is that awful?”

“Course not.” He leans in for another kiss. “We’ll find out together.”

His hand slides to the inside of my thighs, and the ache inside me surges. But before his fingers can touch between my legs, my walkie-talkie shrilly beeps from a few feet away.

“Fuck,” I mutter, begrudgingly leaning away from Reid to grab it. I jab the button on the side with my thumb and speak into the mic. “Yeah? What is it?”

Justin’s voice comes through. “We’ve got a situation, Mackenna. Daisy just escaped.”

I groan and push the button again. “Okay. I’m on my way.”

Reid steps back, giving me space to hop down from the counter. “And here I was starting to warm up to that damn monkey.”

I laugh as we both regain our composure. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s not your fault. Come on, let’s go. I’ll help.”

We leave the tiny house and rush across the property together to Daisy’s enclosure, where we find Justin looking helplessly up at the nearest trees.

“I think she might be hiding up there,” he says, giving me a worried look and ignoring Reid altogether. “I’m pretty sure I heard her.”

“How did she even escape again?” I say as I scan the leafy branches above us. “Did she get out when you were going in to change the bowls?”

“No,” Justin says, irritation in his voice. “There must be a weak spot in the new fence.”

“There’s not any weak spots,” Reid mutters under his breath. Then, suddenly, he points into the trees. “There she is.”

I follow his gaze and see Daisy perched high in a tree, watching us with teasing eyes.

“Hey, Daisy,” I say gently, extending a hand. “Come here, sweetie.”

Daisy inches toward me, but then changes her mind and leaps off the branch to a neighboring tree. Reid is closest to her now. For a second, he hesitates, but then he does as I just did, extending a hand toward our little escaped friend.

“Come ’ere, Daisy,” he says, his voice low and soothing. “That’s it. It’s all right.”

I watch in amazement as Daisy moves toward him. She edges closer and closer, and then, when she’s just a few inches away from his outstretched hand, she springs off the branch and leaps onto his shoulder.

I gasp, covering my mouth in surprise. I can tell from Reid’s eyes that he’s caught off guard, too, but he keeps his composure and doesn’t make any sudden movements.

“All right,” he says. “Guess this is how it’s gonna go.”

With Daisy perched on his shoulder, and her arms wrapped affectionately around his neck, Reid walks over to her enclosure. Once inside, he lifts her off his shoulder and she rushes off to investigate her food bowl.

I glance over at Justin, who’s watching the scene unfold with an expression of dismay. That one look tells me all I need to know. Daisy didn’t escape on her own. Justin set all of this up to disrupt my time with Reid. For fuck’s sake. Why does he have to be like this?

“I can’t believe you, Justin,” I say tightly as I walk past him.

He tries to put on a confused face. “What are you talking about?”

I don’t bother answering him. Instead, I focus on making sure Daisy is settled and that the door is fully secured after Reid steps out of the enclosure.

“Want me to stick around?” Reid asks me. The protective concern in his eyes makes it tempting to say yes, but I shake my head.

“No, you should go,” I say. “Thanks so much for helping with Daisy. Let’s hang out again sometime soon?”

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