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I’d slay armies, give her the world, all for the pleasure of her smile.
“You had a picnic made for us?”
Her excited squeal and little hop made both my heart and my dick happy. “Thought you might enjoy some downtime.”
Kicking off her shoes, she took a seat on the massive blanket and lifted the silver dome off her serving tray. “Wow, this looks amazing.”
I’d had the chef make us club sandwiches and fresh potato chips. “Glad you like it.”
She grabbed a sandwich then took a big bite, her eyes rolling back with pleasure. “Oh my god, this is so good. Totally one of my favorite meals. How did you know?”
“Lucky guess,” I lied, not wanting her to know the depth of my obsession yet.
We spent the remainder of the meal talking about the house and my plans for it. By the time we were done, I’d shoved the remains of our meal off the blanket and laid back with my hand on my full stomach. Instead of feeling sleepy, I was energized and awake while Joy looked like she was about to pass out in the shade beneath the big tree.
“It’s so quiet here,” she murmured with half-closed eyes. “I’d gotten so used to the city, I forgot what quiet was like. Not silence, but quiet. The sound of the wind and trees instead of traffic. When I was really young, my abuela used to live on the outskirts of town, and at her house after school I always liked to take a moment to go outside and enjoy the peacefulness of the desert. Well, as peaceful as it could be with my brother and sisters running around.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“I love them,” she said in a sleepy murmur. “But they drive me crazy.”
“How so?”
She turned her head a little then reached out and cupped my face with her small hand, rubbing at my whiskers with her thumb. “You know, just family stuff.”
I wanted her to open up to me, to tell me more, but I didn’t force the issue. She obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and I already had a file on Joy that contained enough info on her childhood for me to piece shit together. I knew she got along with her younger brother Matt and her younger sister Winter, but that Joy’s oldest sister Brittney was a complete bitch who poisoned everything she touched. According to Hannah, Brittney would endlessly torment Joy when they were kids. Because Joy didn’t want to sound like a tattletale, she just sucked it up and didn’t tell anyone about Brittney’s endless cutting remarks.
I ached to fix the damage her older sister had done, but it wasn’t the right time yet. I gave myself the mental deadline of having our home ready to move into before I proposed to her. But once that happened, I knew my mother wouldn’t allow me to put off programming Joy any longer. I wasn’t ready to take that step with her anytime soon. The longer I stretched out our courtship, the more time I bought myself to make her fall in love with me. Leo said over and over again that I couldn’t use the programming to make Joy love me, and I didn’t want to. I wanted to win her heart all on my own, not with the aid of hypnosis and aphrodisiacs. For a moment, the craziness of my life crashed over me as I allowed my gaze to roam over her generous curves while I contemplated the best way to brainwash her without taking away her free will and inner strength.
I didn’t want to break Joy; I wanted to make her stronger.
She gently ran her thumb over my cheek to my lips, then she traced the bow of my mouth.
“You’re so handsome,” she said in a soft, gentle voice. “I hated that about you.”
“What?”
“When we first met, you were such an asshole, but you were so hot. I hated that I found you attractive.”
With a groan, I placed my forearm over my eyes so I wouldn’t have to face her. “I was a dick, I’m sorry. Forgive me?”
“Maybe.” Ever so slowly, she began to run her fingers down my chin and over my neck, sending chills of lust down my spine. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“On how nice you are to me now.”
Her playful grin lightened my heart, and I enjoyed the way she snuggled into me. Everything about her invited me to squeeze, to hug, and I gave into the temptation and stroked her until she was purring. The hot, heavy look in her eyes punched me straight in the gut, and I pressed my hard dick against the softness of her belly.
“Sweetheart, I can be very nice.”
“Mmm hmmm.” She traced her fingers along my collar, scrolling over the edge of a colorful phoenix I had tattooed around the back of my neck and upper shoulders. “You have been very nice to me. In fact, I think you’ve been nicer to me than I have to you.”
