Page 30 of How To Catch A Killer … And Date His Best Friend

“He usually doesn’t like people. Actually, that’s not quite right. He hates people. Despises them.”

“Wait. But you said he’s just a big puppy who wants love?”

“He is, but . . . just not usually from strangers. He’s more attack dog than loveable puppy. Left some nasty scars on one of my friends, but wishful thinking and all that.”

“You’re telling me this thing could have actually bit my face off?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I shrug my shoulders and grin. “I wouldn’t have let him hurt you. I mean . . . Well, it was a fifty-fifty chance. But it’s all good. He loves you.”

Lyra shakes her head as her hand slowly drags down his big body. “Well, at least we know he’s got good taste.”

I grin. “Seems I trained him well.”

An hour later, we’re sprawled across my oversized couch, eating melted Cookies ’n Cream ice cream while my oversized dog lays sprawled across Lyra’s lap. He hasn’t left her for even a second, and honestly, I’m nervous about the moment when she decides to head home.

The room is quiet, and I lean back deeper into the couch with my arm slung over the backrest, gazing at this stunning woman across from me. “You’d help me bury a body, right?”

Her hand stops in Smooch’s fur and she looks up at me, her brows furrowed. “Depends. How big is the body?”

“Uhhh . . . big,” I say with a nod.

She considers it a moment. “All that dead weight sounds heavy,” she muses. “Could we hack it up into travel size pieces?”

“I’m sure we could arrange that.”

“We’d need a room with a drain and some saws. Not the cheap shit, either. Maybe medical-grade to get through the bone. And not a chainsaw. That seems like it’d be messy. Harder to clean evidence, you know? Maybe we should get something to line the floors. Easy disposal. I’m not a big fan of cleaning up.” She drags her spoon through the ice cream again before her head snaps up, her eyes wide. “Oh, also. How are we supposed to transport all the pieces? I’m thinking of coolers, but if you have a better idea, I’m here for it.”

I just stare at her and slowly put my spoon down. “Fuck, I am so in love with you.”

She barks a laugh, waking Smooch, and his head lifts off her lap, glancing up at her and making sure she’s good before settling back into a deep sleep, a loud snore ripping out of his furry body.

Lyra grins at me. “Do you always fall for random women you screw in back alleys?”

“Nope. This’ll be a first.”

She rolls her eyes, assuming I’m just laying it on thick and not realizing just how fucked up she’s got me. She holds my stare, and I indicate with my chin for her to climb that sweet ass over here.

“Come here,” I murmur through the silence.

Lyra purses her lips, but not a moment later, she’s squeezing out from under Smooch and climbing across the couch until she’s straddled over my lap, her arms thrown carelessly around my shoulders.

I hold her stare, a sly grin playing on my lips. “I know you think this is just a little fun, that I’m just an asshole playing the ultimate game to get you in bed, and sure, maybe I am. But it’s just a matter of time, Savage. You’re gonna fall so hopelessly in love with me, and when you do, ain’t nothing gonna keep me from making you mine.”

Her brow arches. “Is that so?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She leans in closer, her lips brushing past mine, and just before I capture her lips and kiss her deeply, she pulls back, teasing me like the little she-devil that she is. “A man like you, you wouldn’t be able to handle all of this falling in love with you.”

I take her hips tight, grinding her against me. “Oh, baby. If there’s anything in this world that I can handle, it’s you.”

Lyra laughs, and then gives me that look, the look that tells me she’s got me right where she wants me, warning me that she’s already five steps ahead.

She pulls back, climbing off my lap and grabbing the discarded ice cream, then runs her fingers through Smooch’s coat as she passes. I can’t take my eyes off her as she strides across my living room, making her way into the kitchen. When she bends to put the ice cream back into the freezer, I drag one hand over my face.