AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She watched him, wondering what she’d done to deserve a second chance at a good man. Love had to be the bane of the heart’s existence. For years, it beat a consistent, steady rhythm, and then, one day, everything changed. All she had to do was look into Joel’s eyes, and her heart used up every throb it had reserved for the rest of the day, in an instant.
“Maybe you’ll be such a good husband, I won’t let you go,” she said.
He raised a thick eyebrow. “Let me go to who? You’re who I want, Ayesha. I have nowhere to go if you’re not on the other side waiting for me.”
Goosebumps covered her skin. “Now it sounds likeyou’rein love withme.”
“And wecannothave that.”
She grinned. “Joel?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“You’re who I want, too.”
He reached out, drew her close, and kissed her forehead. Before he removed his lips, she felt him smile.
* * *
“Ayesha, don’t move.”
Ayesha opened one eye to find Joel standing on the opposite side of the bed, shirtless in a pair of beach shorts, his hair damp.
“Hmm? Why don’t mo…” She froze. “Where is it?”
He aimed his head at the headboard.
She looked up to find a blurry baby dinosaur—there was no other way to describe the creature—sitting on top of the headboard. A row of spikes roamed down its back, its body an alternating pattern of green and white stripes. It was either larger than the typical house cat, or she needed to find her glasses.
“If you make any sudden movements, it’ll startle him,” he said. “And if you startle him, he might jump on you.”
“How’d he even get in?”
“He might have been in here since last night.”
“But you said you didn’t see him.”
“Carlton” crawled forward, and she nearly screamed, but screaming would bring everyone to Joel’s room. It would be hard to convince them nothing was going on, considering she was in his bed, early in the morning, wearing only his shirt with what were probably love bites on her neck—unless Carlton had mistaken her neck for a midnight snack.
“Joel,” she swiped at her neck, “am I blotchy? I think he might have gotten me last night.”
The corner of Joel’s mouth lifted. “No, I got you last night.”
Carlton hopped from the headboard onto the mattress. She choked on a scream and rolled out of bed. By the time she scrambled to her feet, Joel had walked around the bottom edge and over to her.
“Eesh, are you ok—”
She climbed him and locked her legs around his waist. He kissed her neck and jaw, holding her in place.
“You’re fine.” He brushed another kiss along her jaw. “I opened the sliders. I figured, maybe if he sees freedom, he’ll make a break for it. There’s no way he likes being cooped up in here with the air conditioning, being cold-blooded and all.”
“Just grab him.”
“Grabhim? With myhands?”
“I’m sure you’ve done more dangerous stuff than this.”
“Yeah. With weapons.”
