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I laughed breathlessly, dropping my remaining shoe as I full out ran for the truck. The damn giraffe was slowing me down. “Officer Studly, take a night off, why don’t you?” I called over my shoulder, letting the giraffe go just as I reached the truck.
He pinned me against the side of his vehicle, grabbing my wrists behind my back so efficiently, I couldn’t so much as squeak. “I have my cuffs. Want me to use them?”
“Yes.”
He sucked in a breath. “Okay then.”
But he didn’t. He unlocked the truck and tossed the giraffe into the back. Then he plucked me up and set me on the seat before he bent my leg to kiss my ankle. The sexy look he gave me as his warm lips brushed my skin indicated he wanted to kiss me somewhere just a little higher and more central.
I did not have a problem with this plan.
After he tucked my feet inside, he shut the door and smoldered at me through the glass.
This man was going to be the death of me.
We didn’t talk on the way to his place. Or when he drove up his driveway. Or when we went inside and were met at the door by a practically dancing dog that had to pee so badly—despite my having taken her out just before the wedding shower—that she was whining and nearly begging.
She wasn’t the only one. I was having trouble not squeezing my thighs together.
“Take off your clothes and stretch out on the bed.” Mav slanted me a glance as he grabbed Francie’s leash and snapped it, bringing both his dog and me to attention. “And take the cuffs out of the bedside drawer.”
I nodded wordlessly as my eyes zeroed in on the cuffs hanging from his belt. “Not those?” I gestured.
“No. I want you to be safe.” His gaze bored into mine as he clipped the leash on Francie’s collar. “Go.”
I went.
SIXTEEN
I had never walkedFrancie so fast in my life.
She started off at her usual meandering pace, sniffing flowers, grass, rocks, and the occasional dead bug. I was not having it.
“Look, dog, I know you’re spayed and without access to attractive male dogs, so you don’t understand the joys of recreational fucking. I get it. Truly I do. However, I will not be denied my joys so you can wander for forty-five minutes, kill some grass, and then do a tiny dump the size of four Cheerios. Not happening, pal.”
Unmoved by my plight, Francie continued meandering at the speed of a lethargic snail.
Despite my pleading and then my curses, my dog would not be swayed. We didn’t make it back inside for a half hour, and then I had to give her dinner, because I wasn’t sure Van had before the shower. She was pretty good about it, but I wasn’t going to risk ruining the mood by checking.
Besides, Francie was tiny. She could afford a few extra ounces on her, especially after her jerks of former owners had gone off and left her for days without food or water.
Feeling extra soft-hearted, I scooped extra wet food into her bowl and topped it with a few pieces of dry kibble and checked that her fountain was working as it should. Then like an overeager teenager, I rushed upstairs, detoured to the bathroom, and then walked into the bedroom, already envisioning Vanessa, naked and wet and waiting for me on the bed.
I got a couple of those things.
She was definitely naked. She was definitely waiting for me—or at least she had been until she’d fallen asleep.
I shook my head at the ridiculous hard-on tenting my uniform pants. Well, that was a waste. I’d be returning to the bathroom to finish that off.
But first I’d cover her up. It was a cool night and goosebumps popped along her shoulder as I ran my fingers over her soft skin. That beachy smell of hers hit my nose and I took a long breath of it, tempted to bury my face in her hair to get more.
Thank God she didn’t know I buried my face in the pillow now and then after she got out of bed just to inhale that wild ocean air and bonfire scent that was so very Van.
Just like the monster romance books now proudly lining my bookshelves, all the pieces and parts of her didn’t necessarily make sense on their own. But together? They were exactly right.
As I was tugging up the covers, she mumbled something I didn’t understand. And then I did and my heart squeezed so hard it was a physical ache.
“Don’t leave me, Mav. Please.”
