Page 116 of Riot's Thorn
“Whatever.”
“Will you please go and get Amy and Ben today?” she asks for the millionth time.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“Well, I don’t want some unsuspecting victim to catch a bullet because my man doesn’t have his emotional support rats.”
I sigh. This cabin is so far away from the clubhouse, I don’t feel right about leaving. “Lucky and Tinleigh have been rat-sitting, but their mangy mutt almost took a bite out of Ben yesterday, so I guess it would be good to get them safe.”
Parker laughs so hard, she clutches her side and tears well in her eyes. “Stop. Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”
“It’s not funny.”
“It is funny. Their purebred Rottweiler puppy, who is very well-behaved, had to go to the vet because Ben attacked him and scratched his eyeball. He could’ve died from an infection.”
“He was just defending himself.”
“Okay, keep turning a blind eye to your baby’s bad behavior.”
“Now you’re pissing me off,” I say, placing my hand at the base of her throat and holding her forehead to mine. Her smile falls, and her hands flatten on my chest before she tilts her head and moves in for a kiss. Fuck, I want her. There’s still so much I want to do to her, to show her. But even I know she needs time to heal before anything happens, so I pull away after one chaste meeting of our lips.
“Kiss me,” she demands.
“You just said laughing hurts, and kissing is never just kissing with us. It always turns into more.”
She shrugs. “So what? I’m sure there are things we can still do.”
“Okay, but you have to prove you can handle it first.”
“What? How?”
“I’ll give you a five-minute head start to run as far as you can before I come after you.”
Her tone turns breathy. “What will you do when you catch me?”
“I’ll beat your ass red with my belt.”
Her pulse pounds against my fingers. “You wouldn’t.”
“You like pain, remember? You told me yourself.”
“But my ankle isn’t healed. I can barely walk,” she says.
“That’s what I thought. Now, admit Ben and Amy are perfect angels.”
She pulls away from me, her eyes narrowed. “Were youteasingme?”
“No, I’m being so for real right now.”
“Oh, my god. You are teasing me.” She grins. “I didn’t even know you knew how.”
Neither did I, but I don’t admit that. “Fine. I’ll go get them, but promise you’ll stay in bed.”
“I promise.”
“I mean it. Satyr can tap into these cameras, and if he tells me you went anywhere in this house other than the bathroom, I swear to God, I will strap you with my belt until you can’t sit for a week.” I kiss her temple. “Once you’re healed, of course.”
“Of course,” she sasses.
