Page 49 of Love Out Loud

Chapter Nineteen

The morning sun shimmered around the edges of Fiona’s bedroom blinds. With a smile, she stretched, enjoying the weight of Jake’s arm draped over her waist and the pleasant soreness in muscles that had been ignored way too long. She rolled over and flinched at thethudof something hitting the floor. Jake woke with a start, then made a muffledmmmmmmsound as his arm tightened, pulling her close against his body. Propping up on her elbow, she craned her neck to discover what had hit the floor was her copy ofThe Rogue Pirate’s Bride.

Nestling back into the pillows, she fought the urge to giggle as she remembered him reading sections of the book out loud to her last night in a truly terrible pirate accent.

Jacob Ward was funny and playful in bed. Sex with him was a blast—rocket launch pun intended. Her smile widened into a grin. Behind her, Jake shifted, draping his leg across hers in an intimate, familiar way. Her skin warmed where it met his, and her entire body hummed to life. She took a deep breath and listened while his breathing became slow and level as he slipped back into sleep. She could get used to this—to him wrapped around her in the mornings. Her grin faded, and her pulse kicked up as a jitter of worry skittered down her spine. She needed to be careful. It would be easy to lose her heart to this man…she possibly already had.

Correction:probablyalready had.

She took a deep breath through her nose. Who was she kidding? Shetotallyhad.

His fingers grazed her arm. “Arrrgh, me matey,” he whispered in her ear, causing her body to hum with anticipation.

She giggled and snuggled into his body spooned behind hers.

He chuckled and nipped her earlobe, sending a full-body shiver cascading through her. “Careful,” he said.

“Or what?” She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. “Are you going to make me walk the plank, captain?”

He pressed his erection against her backside. “Aye. There’s a plank, but ye’ll not bewalkingit.”

She laughed and turned to face himandthe incoming bundles of energy and fur leaping onto the bed to join them. She’d expected Jake to recoil, but he didn’t seem afraid of her dogs, only amused and a little bit irritated

“Off with ye, scallywags!” he ordered in that pirate accent that wasn’t improving with practice. He pointed at the door. “Go splice the mainbrace or swab the decks or…” The dogs cocked their heads in unison as they watched him from the edge of the foot of the bed. He smiled. “That cute act won’t work onthisship’s captain.”

Fiona sat up, tucking the sheet around her waist. “They need to go outside.”

He pulled her back down. “I need to be inside.”

She laughed and pushed him away. “Seriously. I have to walk them.” She stood and slipped on her clothes from last night. “I’ll be right back.”

He groaned and pulled the sheet over his head.

“Don’t hoist the anchor or mainsail or whatever pirate captains do in order to leave port,” she said. “Keep that plank at the ready.”

He was still laughing when she pulled the apartment door closed, Daisy and Otto tugging at their leashes.

…

True to her word, and to Jake’s relief, Fiona returned right away. She’d only been gone long enough for him to select another book and search out an appropriate passage—or rather, aninappropriate passage. This one was from one of her romance novels featuring fate-mated werewolves. Within minutes, he had her back in bed, naked, at first howling with laughter, and then with passion.

Sweaty and exhausted, he fell back on the bed, giving one last wolf cry at the imaginary moon. She snorted, and they both busted out laughing again.

He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, taking in the smell of her peach shampoo and the arousing scent of their lovemaking. Staring at the ceiling, his body buzzed with the warm hum of contentment. He was happy. Truly happy. And it felt amazing.Shewas amazing.

“What are your plans today?” she asked.

He only scheduled rare emergency appointments on Sundays, so his day was clear, thank God. “My plans are to spend all day in bed with you.”

Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her tangled hair. He loved her like this. Naked and messy. She was the most natural woman he’d ever met. Everything about her—even her reactions were genuine and unaffected. No pretense or artifice.

She swiveled her feet to the floor. “I’d love that, but I promised Addison I’d come check on some of her rescues at her farm.”

The disappointment felt like someone standing on his sternum. Damn. He needed to get his act together or he’d be way too attached before he knew it.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “It’s only a short train ride away. Why don’t you come with?”

He should say no. Animal rescue farms were not his thing. It wasn’t that he didn’t like animals; he was just unfamiliar with them. He almost laughed when Otto, after turning in several circles, flopped down hard against his thigh, resting his chin on Jake’s knee. Dogs hadn’t been his thing, either, and yet, here he was with one cuddled against his leg. Things changed, he supposed.

---