Page 79 of Colton’s Mate

“No I won’t. I respect no man’s dick. Plus, I can still kick his ass.”

“Of course you can. You’re my hero.”

He rolled over and tilted his head so she could kiss him for real. “Mmm,” he said after a minute. “Stop that. Because, surprise waiting. A totally awesome, you’re-going-to-want-to-fuck-me-so-much-when-you-see-it surprise.”

“Ooh,” Callie said. “I love those. Because I get the surprise, and also the orgasm.”

“More than one, babe. Oh, wait!”

He got up and retrieved his tool belt from the corner, while Callie got her sandals.

“So, we’re building something?” she asked.

Colt shook his head, buckling on the tool belt. “No, this is just decorative. For the part where you want to fuck me so much.”

Callie giggled. “You know I can’t resist a man in a tool belt.”

Colt frowned. “You better be able to resist some of them. All the guys wear them around here.”

True, they did. “Correction. I can’t resist you in a tool belt.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

They went outside and he took her hand, leading her up through the woods, on the other side from Titan’s cabin.

“What’s this way?” Callie asked, swinging Colt’s hand. She loved holding hands.

“Do I need to explain to you the concept of a surprise? Because ‘not telling’ is a big part of it.”

Callie snuggled up to him. “I’ll give you dick kisses if you tell.”

“Babe, this is so genius you’ll be giving me dick kisses anyway.”

They walked a little further, around the other side of the hill—and came out in a beautiful little clearing in the woods. It was mostly level, with lots of sunshine, and bluebells waving in the grass. There was even a little stream running across one side.

In the middle of the clearing lay a plaid blanket with a picnic basket on top. And a cardboard tube.

“This place is beautiful,” Callie said, spinning around. “Are we having a picnic? And naked toolbelt sex?”

“Yes,” he said. “And yes. But first my surprise.”

Callie looked around. “I thought this was the surprise.”

“Ah,” he said. “But you see, I am not only a hot leopard, I am a superior-as-fuck owl, so I have multi-surprises. Milady may sit down.”

He gave an extravagant gesture at the blanket, and Callie sat down obediently. He’d said he was an owl, and his owl had helped plan the surprise.

Maybe he’d decided to accept her mission after all?

Colt sat down next to her and took the cap off the tube. Inside was a set of architectural drawings. As he unrolled them, he said, “This clearing is your special place.”

Her special place? Just to clarify, she asked, “Our special place?”

He kissed her nose, and then her lips. Then he kissed her lips again. “Mmm. Where was I? Oh. No. It is not our special place, it is your special place. Look.”

He unrolled the drawing. “This is the plan for your secret lynx retreat. Okay, well, not that secret because we’ll all know where it is. But it will be all yours.”

The drawings showed a tiny cabin—a living room and a loft with a bed, and even a bathroom and a kitchenette. “There’ll be plumbing and electricity,” Colt was saying. “We can run it up here easy.”