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Once the aftershocks settle down, I roll onto my side to face Erica and steal a quick, soft kiss. "Good morning, lass."
"Morning."
"Have a good sleep?" I run a fingertip along the sheet's edge, where it just covers her breasts.
"Mm." She flips onto her stomach. The sheet slips off her breasts but still covers her erse. When she props her torso up with both elbows, those mouthwatering tits dangle beneath her. "Haven't slept that soundly in years."
I skate my fingertips up her spine. "And all without sex."
She peeks at me over her shoulder. "You made me a promise last night."
"And I intend to keep it." I place an open-mouth kiss on her nape. "But first, I have another gift for you, if it won't offend mygràidh."
"No, of course not." She spreads her fingers over her pillow and stares down at them. "I'm sorry about last night. I love the dress."
My fingers freeze halfway up her back. She loves the dress, and I love that she told me so. But I called her darling again in Gaelic. Didn't mean to. The word came out of my mouth before I realized what I was about to say.
Erica throws me a sideways glance. "I'm just not used to men buying me expensive presents."
"Ah, but you deserve it." I sit up, twisting around to reach down to the floor and retrieve the plastic sack I'd hidden just under the bed. Last night after she fell asleep, I'd sneaked out of Erica's house and over to Gil's place to get the gift I'd bought for her at the museum. I pull the item out of the sack, which makes the plastic rustle. Still leaning over, I tell her, "Shut your eyes, please."
She shuts them, resting her chin on her linked hands.
I sit up again, this time with the dinosaur toy in my hand. It's the same one I'd shown her in the museum store when I had used it as a prop to make her smile. Now, I touch the plush dinosaur to her back and move its wee feet in a waddling motion the way Godzilla does in those old Japanese films. Erica wriggles just enough that I know she likes the feeling of fuzzy dinosaur feet tickling her spine, though she can't see that's what I'm doing. The creature's tail drags behind it while I continue walking its wee feet up to her shoulders.
Then I duck my head near her ear, just close enough that my lips graze her skin. "You can look now."
She opens her eyes, and they fly wide for a heartbeat when she notices the fuzzy dinosaur perched on her shoulder.
I keep holding the toy there until she takes it, holding the creature in one hand.
Erica stares into the amber eyes of the plushTyrannosaurus rexwhile its pudgy wee arms reach out to her. The words "Field Museum Chicago" are embroidered on the dinosaur's erse. That seems like an odd place to put the museum's logo, but maybe someone thought it would be a good joke.
Erica bumps her nose into the dinosaur's snout. "I love this too. Thank you, Lachlan."
I lie down on my side again and rest one hand on her back. "It seemed the perfect gift for a dinosaur enthusiast like yourself."
Her lips pucker slightly, and I swear they tremble too, though it's so faint that I can't be sure.
I trace the backs of my fingers up her cheek. "What troubles you on this bonnie morning?"
"Nothing."
She falls silent for a moment, her attention on the dinosaur toy while she fiddles with its stubby arms. Then she turns her face toward me, inadvertently pushing one of my fingers between her lips. I withdraw my finger and suck it into my mouth, humming with pleasure. Aye, her skin always tastes good, but the flavor of her mouth is even better.
She tries to smile, but the expression falters. "Don't you ever wonder about me?"
"Wonder?" I feel my brows tighten.
"Aren't you curious about me? About my life? My past?"
"Of course." I give her a half-hearted shrug. "But it's against the rules. You reminded me of that when your mother called the other evening."
Her lips twist into an expression that seems like half annoyance, half disappointment.
She kicks her feet out from under the sheet, so it covers only her buttocks, and bends her knees to swing her feet in the air. Fingering the stubby arms of the stuffedT. rex, she affects an air of indifference that fails to convince me. "You could, you know, ask me a few questions. If you want."
"Ah…" Didn't we say no personal questions? Aye, but then I bought her a dress and a toy dinosaur, and I keep calling hergràidh. Our simple arrangement has turned into a right fankle. What Erica would call a hot mess. And it's entirely my fault. How many times have I broken the rules I set for our fling? Time to reassert the parameters. So I roll onto my back, linking my hands under my head. "That would be violating our agreement."
