Page 54 of Instant Bond

I didn’t answer verbally, but hooked my arm around his hips to toss him over my shoulder. His squeal and subsequent outraged splutter made it clear he wasn’t thrilled with the action.

“W-What are you doing!?” He demanded an answer from me, struggling to dislodge himself from my shoulder. I clamped my arm around his legs to hamper his movements as I hurried through the parking lot and into the lobby.

“We have approximately,” I checked my watch. “33 minutes until Ty gets home from school. I plan on using those 33 minutes as efficiently as I can.”

“Use them for what exactly?” He asked incredulously, squeaking when I gripped his perky little ass, stroking it with my thumb through his jeans.

“You know what.”

In the lobby we passed an older lady with a dog on a leash. She glared at us like we were heathens who were already fucking on the floor in front of her.

“This is so embarrassing,” he hissed out, still wiggling vainly for escape. “I’m going to kill you when I get down.”

I punched in the code for my private elevator. “No, you aren’t. You’re going to kiss me when you get down.”

“I am not!” He denied. “This caveman routine is not cute.”

To prove him wrong, I carefully set him down onto his feet. To make sure he couldn’t look away from me, I gently cupped him under his chin, staring into his eyes.

“You make me very, very happy. I’ve never been as happy as I am with you.”

He blinked at my words before his lips poked out in an adorable pout.

“That is so not fair.”

“So are you going to kill me now, like you said?” I goaded him. He let out an exasperated sigh, before curling his hands into the front of my shirt, pulling me down to him to fuse our mouths together.

We were already half-undressed before we made it into my front door.

CAM

AS I FINISHEDloading the last few things from dinner into the dishwasher, I wondered how I’d fallen into such a dreamy, comfy position in my life. Standing back up straight after closing it and switching it on, I looked over the bar into the living room where Ty and Karter were side-by-side on the couch, watching a cartoon about a team of rescue dogs. When Ty would point out something about the show, or proclaim his excitement about a plot development, Karter was always enthusiastic and attentive in his response. It was so cute I wanted to die.

I hadn’t known what to expect when we’d moved in, but coming to live here was the best decision I’d ever made for us. Ty had adjusted flawlessly. He loved having Karter around, and the feeling was clearly mutual on that one. And Karter made it a point of telling me often how much he loved coming home to us, and how much better his life was for having us around all the time. It was more than I’d ever hoped for.

Wiping up the few drops of water I’d splashed around rinsing the dishes, I remembered it was time for me to take my pill. I opened up the cabinet to my right, pulling out the little monthly blister pack, popping the foil open with my thumb.

I yelped, nearly jumping out of my skin as a set of knocks louder than a police raid slammed against the front door. Fumbling the pill from my fingers, it clattered into the sink, circling the drain before hopping in like it was suicidal. Great. I pulled the blister pack out, lamenting how it would be one day off for the rest of the month. So annoying.

“It’s okay,” Karter assured Ty, who was looking in the direction of the door with a concerned look on his angelic little face. He gave Ty a comforting pat on the shoulder before hopping up and heading that way. On his way over, he muttered something out to me.

“I’m apologizing in advance. If I don’t open it, she’s just going to use the code to barge in anyway.”

I stared after him, utterly confused. Who could he be talking about that would be so rude? I heard the door open, followed by the sound of a woman’s voice.

“Nasty weather we’re having! This umbrella was basically worthless, it’s blowing sideways out there. Be a dear and fetch me a towel before I catch pneumonia, would you?”

“You know you don’t need to try and break down my door every time you knock, Mother. My hearing is just fine.”

Mother? I choked on my spit, hurriedly shoving the blister pack of birth control pills back up into the cabinet and closing it. That would have been a wonderful first impression.Hi, I’m Cam, I need these because your son raws me on a very regular basis.

He led her from the little entrance area into the main area, where the living room and kitchen were connected. She looked straight at me, her eyebrows raising in obvious surprise. I didn’t take it personally, since I hadn’t been expecting to see her either.

“This is Cameron,” Karter introduced me, begrudgingly. He was so obviously not thrilled that she was here. I was pretty sure he hadn’t mentioned me to his parents yet.

“Just Cam, please.” I’d quickly gotten used to Karter calling me the full version of my name, but I didn’t like the way it sounded from anyone else.

“And I’m Ty!” Ty’s voice rang out from the living room. She looked over to him, a bit startled. I tensed a little, unsure how things would play out. Of course she would judge me,I was expecting that, but would Karter be embarrassed about introducing him?

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