Page 89 of Gideon's Gratitude

He pulled back first. “Much more of this, and I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, haul you back in the house, and have my wicked way with you.”

Oh yes, please.

Okay, maybe not the firefighter’s carry. Wasn’t likely to be good for my back. But the rest of it? Wicked way? That sounded amazing.

“Kennedy awaits you, though, and I have a hankering for cookies. Or buns. Or whatever Rainbow’s baking.”

I lightly punched him in the gut.

He oofed. “My doctor said to cut back on the red meat. She didn’t say anything about carbs.”

Wait…what?“You saw your doctor?” Panic took hold. Archer was young. In superior shape.

He waved off my concern. “Nothing to worry about. She said I’m healthy. I just need to cut back on the burgers and steak.”

What the hell did I buy? Damn.Yep, I’d bought some red meat. Ah well, I’d toss it in the freezer and eat it when I was alone.

He placed a finger to my frown. “I was overindulging. Should I have been so honest with her? No.”

“You should always be honest.”

A raised eyebrow.

“I try.” Defensiveness set in. “I told you about Leo and the kids. About my addiction.”

“True.” He pulled back. “We need to get going.” He snapped his fingers and Lucky snapped to attention, then he moved to the SUV and opened the back door.

Lucky leapt inside.

Easy as that.

I watched as Archer hooked my dog up to a harness system. “You bought that? Just for Lucky?” I blinked back the tears for the sheer consideration the man had for me.

“Of course. This is easier than moving yours back and forth. I don’t have many people in the back seat, and now he’s safe.” Archer shut the door and came over to me. “Easy decision to make. I’m all about simplicity. This is simple.”

Oh, if only it was.He’d just done an incredibly kind gesture that I couldn’t begin to figure out how to reciprocate.

He kissed my lips, then gestured for me to head to the passenger door. I did and he opened it for me. Once I was inside, he closed the door.

Such chivalry.A word I remembered from the King Arthur stories. I buckled my seat belt.

Archer gave me an appraising look as he secured his own seat belt. “How’s your back?”

Be honest or…? “A little sore. But I’ve been exercising a lot over the last week. Feels good to push myself.”

“As long as it’s not too hard. I’ve, uh…”

Was he blushing?

“Uh…” I prompted.

“Been doing some research.” He threw the SUV into Drive and circled around so we headed back down the driveway. “About positions.”

Said so matter-of-factly. As if no big deal.

“There are a couple that will work.”Oh God, are we really having this discussion here and now?Maybe now was a good time. Since we weren’t staring at each other.

His face broke into a wide grin as he signaled to leave the driveway. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

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