Page 160 of Beware of Dog

“I can’t believe you asked me if I regretted marrying youon our honeymoon. You’re insane. Come here.”

She leaned down, and put her face in his palm as he reached for her. The pull and throb in her shoulder was well worth the pleasure of kissing him.

Honeymoon kisses, she’d realized, were not the same as first kisses, nor secretly-sleeping-together kisses, nor even wedding day kisses. These were lush, indulgent, unhurried and laced with the satisfaction of, at least to her, permanence. Shefelt the cool metal of his ring against her cheek, and basked in the knowledge that they had plenty of time, the rest of their lives, and that they wereallowedthis. No more secrets, no more hiding, no more sweaty palms worrying what a member of her family would say if they caught them twined together like morning glory vines.

She settled her weight on his chest, mindful of his scar, and angled her head, soft, and receptive and welcoming.

His hands slid down to cup her ass, fingers slipping up beneath the hems of her terrycloth shorts. He hummed appreciatively against her lips. “You’re getting good at that.”

She rolled his bottom lip between her teeth, and he chuckled and squeezed her ass in playful retaliation. It was easy, like this, to forget what had almost happened. To set aside the mental image of her blood-soaked wedding dress, and the memories of him swathed in bandages beneath stiff hospital sheets.

Cass cupped his jaw in her hands, thumb smoothing at his crow’s feet, and ducked to kiss him again, more urgently this time, wanting him again, always.

Both of them froze when they heard the low purr of an engine pulling up the driveway.

Dread seized her belly, so tight and sudden she thought she’d be sick. “No,” she murmured, sitting back—

And sending the hammock into an unrecoverable spin.

“Ah!”

“Shit!”

Cass landed flat on her back, and Shep landed on top of her. He got his hands up to brace his fall, so he didn’t flatten her, but they both let out matching hisses and grunts of pain.

“Jesus.” He sat up on his knees. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

On the other side of the house, muted by distance, the distinct clump of a car door closing echoed off the garage doors.

Shep got to his feet, grabbed her hands, and hauled her up. “Come on, get behind me.”

“Jesus.” Cass was so tired of being afraid. Of every peaceful moment getting wrecked. She pressed her forehead to Shep’s sweat-damp back. “Let’s run. Come on. We’ll go down the beach.” She hooked her fingers in the waistband of his swim trunks and tugged. “Please.” Her pulse was racing, her head swimming. Her shoulder tweaked painfully, the wound inflamed by adrenaline. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

It felt like the universe was conspiring to ruin their happiness, and she couldn’t take it anymore.

The muscles in his back shifted, and she could tell he was twisting around to look at her. “Baby—”

She tipped her head back, and saw the warring impulses on his face. He wanted to stand and face whoever it was, fight though he was bare-chested and empty-handed. But he would run if she took his hand and demanded it. A staggering degree of loyalty, one she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel worthy of.

Before she could decide between fight or flight, a voice floated around from the side yard. “Haaalllloooooo!”

Shep’s head whipped around. “Is that…?”

“I sure hope no one’s in a state of undress when I get to the pool!” the voice continued, drawing closer. “That would be embarrassing for all of us.”

Cass ducked around Shep, stepped into her flip-flops, and then left their shady grove and slapped her way down the length of the pool. She was nearly at the side gate when it swung open and revealed Devin, dressed in a salmon-colored Hawaiian shirt printed with white palm fronts, white shorts, and a matching straw hat. His smile stretched wide beneath smoked aviators and he spread his arms wide.

“There she is. Ooh, you look tan, love. Key West agrees with you.”

All her spiraling fear nosedived straight into anger. “Dad! What the hell are you doing?”

Devin held his arms up a moment longer, smile frozen, then let them clap to his sides with a dramatic sigh. “That’s a lovely greeting. An old man can’t even get a kiss on the cheek.”

“Devin,” Shep said, drawing up behind her. “The fuck, man?”

“I thought we were about to get home-invaded!” Cass snapped. She could hear the distress in her voice, but wasn’t able to tamp it down. Fuck it: shewasdistressed. “You couldn’t call in advance?”

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