Page 95 of Woods of the Raven

Oh yes, I would most certainly be his baby.

When he kissed me, I wanted to climb into his lap. I wanted, needed, to connect with him on a very primal level, and even though Declan’s visit this morning had been thoughtful and kind, it had also cut into my alone time with Lorne.

“You really are amazing,” Lorne was saying, “and I want this to—”

“Pack a bag,” I blurted out, leaning away from him. “Is that what you said?”

His face scrunched up. “Yeah, that’s what I said. Why? Do you not want me to—”

“No! I want you to stay with me all the time. I want you to move in and be with—”

“Okay, good,” he grumbled, pulling on his seat belt. “I was very confused there for a second. You need to work on the clarity of your words.”

“Oh?”

He snorted out a laugh. “You get so puffed up and ruffled really fast. It’s so fun to mess with you.” His laughter, the pure happiness in it, mollified me quite a bit.

Never had I been in a relationship. Sex, yes, but not a man in my home. No one had ever woken up in my bed before Lorne MacBain.

“I’m not trying to rush you into anything,” Lorne said gently. “I just… It’s been this weird roller coaster for me.”

“How so?” I put on my seat belt.

“How so?” he repeated, incredulous. “First you don’t see me, then you don’t like me, then you do, then you want me but you’re worried I’ll leave you.”

“I…”

“And then you decide you want me forever.”

“Did I say forever?”

He looked at me, shaking his head.

“What?”

“Don’t tease me, Xan. My heart can’t take it.” He extended his hand to me, palm up.

I took it fast, realizing in that moment that this man had a much softer gooey center than I could’ve predicted. He was as unsure and off-balance as I was.

“We’re in this together, Lor. We’ll figure it all out.”

“Well, us, you and me, we can take our time. The rest of this, we need to get a handle on it now.”

“Absolutely. So, in that vein, do you know where Kettleman Lane is?”

“I’m the chief of police,” he groused at me. “I know where—”

I chuckled. “Okay, then, Chief MacBain. Let’s go.”

I got a glare, but since he only let my hand go to shift gears, I wasn’t all that worried.

By the time we reached the Hernandezes’ house, I had explained about cultists, not cannibals—

“Oh, Amanda’s gonna be bummed,” he commented.

—and the fact that finding where the cultists had lived would probably give us more information.

“That’s really sad about Hillary and Spencer. It’s too bad her folks didn’t see his potential to make their daughter happy and love her. That should have been their only stipulation for her to marry anyone.”