Page 60 of Beware of Dog

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I will.” He shrugged his jacket and cut off in one go, and they hit the carpet with a quiet sound that echoed inside her belly like an explosion.

This was happening. It wasreallyhappening.

Sometimes, it felt like she never got what she wanted, but she was about to get the thing she wantedmost, and that thing wasShep, and he wanted herback…He told her helovedher…

Oh, damn, her eyes were stinging.

Shep dropped his hoodie and t-shirt, and frowned when he saw her blinking furiously. “What?”

She’d been pressed up against him lots, front, back, and side, and his constant string of white tees left very little to the imagination. Still, his naked torso was a revelation for her, spare, and toned, with the lightest dusting of hair on his sternum, darkening to a thick stripe at his waistband. In addition to the mermaid on the back of his left arm, he had a big running black dog tattooed on his ribs, wrapped around his right side, and a line of script on the inside of his right bicep.

It was absolutely unacceptable that he thought anything was wrong.

Cass reached for him. Then scooted back at his waved urging and let him climb up onto the bed to kneel between her legs.

He caught her face in one big, rough-skinned hand, thumb tracing sweetly over her cheek. His gaze, those lovely dark mean-but-not eyes she loved, flicked back and forth as he took in her trembling mouth, her wet eyes. “You okay, sweetheart?” He sounded almost frightened that she might say no. “Cassie?”

The skin of his chest was warm, and surprisingly smooth when she laid her hands on it. His heart beat a fast rhythm against her palm. He was nervous, worried.

She blinked some more, and smiled, but there was nothing to do for the wobbliness of her voice. “I just realized I didn’t say it back.”

His brows drew together.

“I love you.”

Beach sunsets had nothing on the transformation of his face, the wave-swept-sand softening of brow and jaw and mouth. “Yeah, baby. I knew that.”

He kissed her while she was rolling her eyes at him.

~*~

“Sooo,” Shep drawled, where he lay propped on his side next to her. The slow, steady passes of his hand across the smooth plane of her stomach made her want to squirm, grab his hand, and shove it lower. “You’re a virgin, right?”

“Ugh.” She covered her face with her hands so she didn’t have to see his no-nonsense, expectant expression. “No, Shep. I’ve never evenkissedanyone, but I’ve shagged loads.”

They’d kissed until her mouth felt bruised, but she wanted more of it, and wanted a whole lot more than that, too. He’d laid her down across the mattress, and some of the initial, shocked urgency had melted into something gentle and unhurried, and, honestly, more comfortable. His jeans and all of her clothes had come off one piece at a time, and now they were down to their underwear. For him that meant black Nike boxer-briefs that clung to his tight ass, narrow hips, and the fat, curved swell of his cock. For her, it meant a simple, and honestly ratty black cotton bra, and panties printed with a mortifying pattern of little cartoon cats. She hadnotgotten dressed this morning with the thought she might get laid.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She cracked her fingers, and he was watching her with amusement, eye crinkles out on full, adorable display. “What do you think?”

“I think if itisyes, that’s a good thing, because it means I don’t have to kill a teenager.”

Slowly, she lowered her hands. When they settled just under her breasts, he slid his hand up and tangled their fingers together. “You don’t mind?” she asked with a wince.

He made a disbelieving face. “Why would I mind?”

“Well. You know.” Her face heated. “That’s what people always say. ‘I want a woman who knows what she’s doing.’ ‘Who has time to teach a stupid virgin how to do it right?’”

He snorted. “Kids spend way too much time on the computer worrying about what everyone else fucking thinks.” He leaned down to kiss her.

Her mouth ached, but she opened for the press of his tongue straight away. Let go of his hand so she could spear her fingers through his hair. It was thoroughly mussed at this point, and she loved that, and loved that she’d been the one to muss it.

When he drew back, he didn’t go far, face close, breath warm, voice gratifyingly husky. “Okay, so, yeah. It can be fun to hook up with someone experienced.”

She stuck out her tongue—and he darted down to bite it.

She gasped in shocked outrage and it quickly turned into a giggle.

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