Chapter Seventeen
Savannah grinned with appreciation as she made her way across the lawn towards Austin, who was mowing the grass in front of her family’s house.
She was admiring the view, and it wasn’t just because of all the work that Austin had put in over the past few weeks.
Sure, the house now had a hell of a lot more curb appeal.
He’d pulled all the weeds up as soon as he and Savannah had arrived back home, and laid down sod. The yard was now a pristine emerald square, and freshly planted flowers ringed the trees and clustered on either side of the steps. He’d painted the faded white Adirondack chairs on the front porch a deep blue. The hedges were trimmed, and the window shutters were painted in a blue that complemented the chairs. There was a stone pathway leading to a wrought-iron bench under the shade of an oak tree.
But the best view was of Austin himself. He’d stripped down to his waist today, just wearing a pair of jeans and his sneakers, and there was a fine sheen of sweat glistening on his muscled torso. A ripple of lust burned through her as she admired the carved perfection of his six-pack, the swell of his biceps, and the treasure trail of hair leading downward from his navel.
He was pure muscle and sinew and sarcasm and sex, and best of all, he was hers. All hers.
They’d spent every free minute with each other since they’d gotten back. They’d chased after a couple of minor bounties with relatively small rewards. Austin had snagged one, Savannah had snagged the other.
The rest of the time they were joined at the hip. Austin still gave her grief every day, of course. She wouldn’t have had it any other way – because she got to dish it right back to him. It kept life fun.
She’d been afraid that maybe things would get boring when she and Austin weren’t sparring over who got to chase down marks, but they hadn’t. Austin never bored her, and he seemed endlessly happy in her presence. He liked their sarcastic banter, sure , but he also loved to just sit there holding hands and watching the sunset, or quiet dinners together, or steamy lovemaking sessions where he held her down and made her scream with pleasure.
Anthony hadn’t been too disappointed that they’d lost out on getting a bounty for Roy. He and his two younger brothers were helping out around the property, and as long as they had food and a roof over their heads, he was content.
Jessamine ribbed her endlessly about Austin, but then, if she hadn’t, Savannah would have been worried.
The scent of new-mown grass perfumed the air, and layered with that was the salty scent of Austin’s sweat and the musk of his arousal. She loved that she had effect on him.
“Looking good.” She smiled, holding out the glass of ice water she’d brought from the restaurant. “If this whole bounty hunter thing doesn’t work out for you, you can be my lawn boy.”
Austin turned off the lawn mower and reached over to grab the water. He took a long sip, and she smiled as she watched the muscles of his throat working and the beads of water on his lips. “Does the job come with special perks?” He grinned wickedly at her and cupped her left butt cheek in his hand, squeezing hard.
Arousal rushed through her, and there was a dampness between her legs and an ache that only Austin could cure. She stifled a moan, but then looked around to make sure her mother wasn’t watching.
“Careful. I don’t want She Who Must Not Be Named to spray us with the hose again,” she warned him, stepping away quickly.
“I cannot wait until our mating ceremony,” Austin groaned.
Her mother was actually insisting that they live separately until they could schedule the ceremony. Austin wanted Savannah to move in with him, but Laurel wouldn’t hear of it.
Savannah had to sneak out in the middle of the night to be with him, then sneak back to her house in the morning. Laurel must have known, but she was at least keeping up appearances.
They were planning an enormous mating ceremony, inviting everyone in town and Tully’s pack as well.
They just had one little issue that needed to be dealt with first.
Algernon.
“By the way, Jason’s been spotted in Idaho,” Savannah told Austin.
“I saw that. There’s a decent bounty on him, too. After the mating ceremony, maybe I’ll go after him.”
Savannah snorted. “I know a lot of foxes in Idaho. Foxes who would point me in the right direction. MaybeI’llgo after him.”
Austin winked at her. “Winner gets to be sexually serviced all night long.”
She punched him lightly on the arm. “Babe, you do that for me anyway.”
“It is my absolute pleasure.” Austin made a little fake half-bow.
“By the way, have you heard anything about Roy?”
