He had no fucking idea why he was doing this. Because the woman made him smile regardless of whether they were fighting or not? Because he liked being aroundhermore than he liked being alone?
“Thank you.” She glanced furtively at the kitchen window, and one side of her mouth lifted. “MomandTony are watching us.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Dad will probably join them soon. We’re officially animals in a zoo.”
“Then should we give them something to look at?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if we want to make this look real…” He stepped closer and curled an arm around her waist.
Her mouth opened in an O, but she didn’t pull away.
Slowly—so damn slowly that she had all the time in the world to move back—he lowered his head.
She didn’t move back.
He kissed her.
Her lips were soft, and her floral scent so fucking strong it surrounded him. He swept his mouth against hers, his other hand lifting and cupping her cheek.
At first she was stiff in his embrace. But that only lasted a second before she melted against him, her fingers grabbing his shirt, scrunching the material.
Shit, she felt good in his arms.
He pulled her closer and she moaned, the sound so fucking sweet he committed it to memory.
When her lips parted, he slid his tongue past them, and this time she hummed as he tasted her. She was a mixture of red wine and something infinitely feminine.
Her fingers trailed up his neck, and he had an urge to lift her. Drag her entire body against his.
Another groan slipped into the air, and this time he wasn’t sure if it was her or him.
He was losing himself when she pushed lightly at his chest. He wanted to growl in protest, and it took too much self-restraint to step back. But he did it.
Her eyes were slightly glazed as she whispered, “I think they’ll believe this is real.”
Hell yes, they would. Because for a moment, he’d been so lost in the kiss, evenhe’dthought it was real.
CHAPTER9
Sky looked up as Kristina came outside with a very wet Arlo. Sky was currently working on project “don’t think about that kiss with Becket.” She’d been working on it for three days, and so far it had been going well, but only because the doggy daycare was such a good distraction.
Sky scratched Bella’s head, the Chinese Crested Dog never far from her side. “How’d you do with your first solo wash?” she asked.
Arlo shook his wet fur, and Kristina scrunched her eyes as water splattered all over her.
Sky laughed. Arlo was a very large, very happy German Shepherd. He’d been attending the doggy daycare since Sky had opened the place and usually had a wash twice a week.
Kristina looked down at her damp clothes. “Well, I’m not sure who got wetter, him or me.”
“Even with the gown, it can be hard to avoid getting soaked.”
“I realized that pretty quickly. He’s lucky he’s cute.”
They were all cute. She swept her gaze over the dozen dogs in the outdoor play area.
