Page 46 of When You Saved Me

“Wise words coming from someone so young.”

I half-laughed. “You can give credit to my grandpa again for that one. He always had the best sayings. The kind of life lessons that stick with you, no matter how long ago he told them to you.”

“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “Was Casper as mischievous of a kitten as he is now?”

Casper rose his head from where he was laying down atthe other end of the sofa. He always had a sixth sense of knowing when someone was talking about his misbehaviors.

“A thousand times worse,” I snickered. “He used to get into literally everything. One time, I was in the middle of a really big commission piece, and I left the room for two minutes to grab another cup of tea. When I came back, my paints were everywhere, and Casper’s white coat had turned into a kaleidoscope of colors.”

Deacon’s chest rose and fell as he laughed. “Did he also have a habit of attacking your face in the mornings?”

“Yeah,” I drew out the word. “I thought I broke him of that a few years ago, but you must have brought out the wild side in him.” Looking up at Deacon I saw humor dancing in his irises. A stitch hit my heart. The sex with him had been amazing. He made me feel things I didn’t know my body was even capable of. But none of that compared to how he looked at me right now. Like I had brought him peace in the midst of a terrible storm.

“Did you have any pets growing up?”

“We had some family dogs. Never any cats though.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

We both shifted our attention to Casper as he stretched, his entire body elongating until the front half of him almost fell off the couch.

“Too unpredictable.”

I laughed at that. “For someone who’s made a career out of unpredictable situations, I find it interesting that it would bother you so much.”

“Maybe that’s why. I’ve had my fill of it and now I needsome stability in my life.” Deacon’s lips met my temple. I shuttered from the feeling of his kiss and wrapped my arms around his waist, wanting to be closer to him in any way possible.

“He’s not so bad though,” he murmured against my hair. “Although, if he ends up darting outside in the snow again, I might just leave him out there until he figures it out for himself.”

Sitting up quickly, I pushed on his shoulder. “You would never,” I scolded.

Deacon’s head tilted to the side as he raised his eyebrows. “Would I?”

Darting my gaze between his eyes, I couldn’t tell if he was pulling my leg or not. Then, he smiled broadly and dug his fingers under my arms and into my sides, tickling me.

“Ah!” I squealed, shoving his arms away from me, but he kept the tickles coming.

“You honestly think I would leaveyourcat outside in the snow?” His laughter mixed with mine until he finally stopped, and I could catch my breath. “I’d chase that little rascal to the ends of this earth if it meant making you happy.”

My breaths were heavy as I registered Deacon’s words. “You would really do that for me?”

His hand dove underneath my hair, landing on the back of my neck where his strong fingers started working on me in a slow massage. “I’m beginning to realize that I’d do just about anything for you, Sunshine.”

The dark shadows that had haunted Deacon’s face fromthe first moment I saw him on his front porch had seemed to lift, not even a small trace of them left behind. Whatever had changed between us. Whatever had given him the courage to leave that day behind us…I was thankful for it.

I booped his nose with my index finger. “Right back at you, Grumps.”

His eyes widened. “Grumps?”

“Short for grumpy butthead.”

He snorted and his nostrils flared. “Is that right?”

“Don’t worry.” I kissed his cheek. “Grumpy suits you.”

“As long as it doesn’t chase you away.”

“I think you’ve already done all you could to chase me away. For some reason, I kept sticking around.”

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