“Come over,” she repeated.
“On my way.”
Callie stared at the clock while she waited for the sound of Everett’s truck and was amazed when it only took him about six minutes to pull up outside. Climbing out of bed, she headed down to the front door, ignoring the twinges of pain in her ankle. She opened the door before he even reached the top step of her porch.
His lips quirked in an amused pout. “Were you listening for me?”
“Yes, what took you so long?” she said.
“Had to grab my toothbrush.” He held up a backpack.
“That looks like a lot more than a toothbrush.” She stepped back against the door to let him inside.
As he passed by, he stopped and leaned over her. “I packed a change of clothes for tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she repeated, unable to look away from his face in the moonlight.
“Yeah, our date is at six A.M.” His mouth was only an inch away and driving her crazy. “So we’d better get some sleep, because I don’t want you whining that you’re tired.”
“I get up at three thirty every morning.” Why was he just hovering like that? Why wouldn’t he just kiss her?
He seemed to be waiting for something and suddenly, his words came crashing back. I won’t touch you unless you want me to.
Reaching up behind his neck, she looped her arms around his shoulders, bringing his mouth down to hers. She traced his lips with her tongue until they opened and she pushed her way inside. He finally circled her waist with his arms, pulling her tight against his hard body as he met each thrust of her tongue. Callie ignored everything around them, lost in the warmth of Everett.
Suddenly, something flew into the side of her head and she jerked away from Everett as she felt movement in her hair. Screaming, Callie slapped at whatever it was, while Everett flipped on the light.
“What the hell? Callie, hang on. Let me look.”
Callie tried to hold still even as she felt whatever it was struggling in the strands of her hair. And it was big.
“Is it a bat? What—”
Everett pulled her snarled curls apart, and something fell out into his hand, twitching. It looked like a moth, but it was twice as big as any moth she’d ever seen.
“Holy shit, that was in my hair? Is it mutated or something? Moths aren’t that big normally.”
Callie realized that Everett’s shoulders were shaking. In fact, his whole body was rumbling with silent, suppressed laughter, and she scowled at him. “Why are you laughing? I was just attacked by a gargantuan insect, and my hair actually snared it!”
Everett was wheezing as he walked out onto the porch and set the moth on the railing. She was tempted to slam the door on him and his mirth, but then she thought about the way she must’ve looked, screaming as she danced around, bad ankle and all, flapping her hands at her head.
Her lips twitched, but just a little.
“Okay, ha-ha, it was funny.” She shut the door behind him as he came back inside.
“I’m sorry,” he said, sucking in air.
“No, you’re not.”
“I am. I shouldn’t have laughed while you were being attacked by a big-ass moth.”
She knew he was messing with her, and she sniffed derisively. “No, you shouldn’t have. It wasn’t very chivalrous of you.”
“Pardon me, my lady,” he said, bending over to pick her up in his arms. “Very unknight-like.”
“Unknight-like?”
“Hey, I’ve read a medieval romance or two. And Sean Connery is a bad ass.”