“Can we pet him?” Cal asked, squeezing my hand gently when I stiffened with apprehension.
“Yeah, sure!” The guy said, and Calum moved toward them, bringing me along with him. I glanced down at the puppy, dropping Calum’s hand and crouching before him. He came to me instantly, his fluffy tail wagging. I held my hand out to him before stroking his soft ears. “What’s his name?” I asked.
“Oscar,” The man answered. “He’s a duck tolling retriever.” The puppy barked when he heard his name and jumped up, placing his paws on my knees. He tried to lick my mouth, but I laughed and turned my face. He licked my neck instead, his entire bottom half moving with each excited wag of his tail.
Calum crouched beside me, his left hand going to the small of my back as his right came around to stroke the fur along the back of Oscar’s head. The puppy immediately shifted both paws to my right leg to get closer to him, too.
After a few moments of letting us love on their dog, the woman spoke up timidly. “Do you think we could take your picture? It’s Oscar’s first time meeting a musician, and one of his dad’s favourites.” She said, her cheeks going a little pink with embarrassment, but her kind eyes were hopeful. “We sort of run an Instagram account for him. It’s for fun, more than anything, but…” she trailed off, biting her lip and looking hopeful.
Calum glanced at me, reading me for a moment, before he looked back at them and answered. “Sure. That sounds cool.” He grinned, moving his body closer to mine. The woman snapped a couple of pictures, and in the final shot, the puppy jumped up onto my leg and threw me off balance.
We toppled like dominos, the puppy jumping all over us, smothering our faces in kisses while we laughed.
“Oscar! Come!” The man called while tugging gently on the puppy’s leash to get his attention. Hearing his name again, the puppy trotted over to his master and sat, peering up at him expectantly, waiting for his treat.
“I’m so sorry about that,” the woman apologized as Cal got to his feet, lifting me with him. He had done his best to prevent me from hitting the damp sand, but we were both a little dirty.
“It’s all right,” Calum laughed, wiping the mud off his jaw from one of Oscar’s exuberate kisses. “He’s forgiven. Just don’t try to kiss my girl again.” He said in jest the puppy, who barked and wagged his tail in response.
She smiled with relief and laughed as her boyfriend scooped the puppy up and moved to stand beside her. “Madelyn, we’re going to be late for our appointment if we don’t get moving soon.” He said to her lightly, sending an apologetic smile to us, the puppy letting out an exhausted yawn in his arms.
Madelyn’s eyes brightened. “Right, well. We better get going then. Enjoy the rest of your walk. Bye!” They moved around us quickly, heading toward the parking lot.
Alone again on the beach, Calum’s gaze slid to me, and he smiled slowly, stepping forward to close the distance between us. He cupped my face in his hands, cradling it as his thumb slid across the side of my face, clearing away the mud. He ran his fingers down my neck, settling on my collarbone while his ice-blue eyes bore into mine with intention. He drew in a breath, his lips parting with all the words that sat on his tongue.
Whatever he had on his mind was heavy, but the longer he looked at me, the lighter his eyes got. He smiled again, this one stealing the breath from my lungs.
“We should get a dog.”
“What?” I asked with a laugh, thrown off by his statement.
“A dog. You’ve always wanted one. I’m kind of surprised you don’t have one already.”
“We’re not home a lot during the week. It’s not very fair to a dog. I can’t exactly bring it to work with me. It’s a health code violation.”
“I think we could make it work.” He lifted a shoulder. “I want to give you everything you need, and everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“That’s sweet, Calum.” I managed over the lump of emotion that welled in my throat. “But I’m still getting used to the idea of moving in with you.”
He grinned, this smile stealing the very breath from my lungs. “So, you’re thinking about it?”
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Of course, I’m thinking about it. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. But it’s a huge step, Cal.”
“It is.” He nodded with solemn agreement, his fingers sliding up the base of my neck. His touch was searing, yet I shivered beneath it, goosebumps erupting on my flesh. It wasn’t the bite of the wind at my back that did it. It was the molten desire in his eyes. “I’m ready for it. I want to be a family, Harper. Like we always should have been.”
Looking into his earnest eyes, I smiled. I reached out to him, my hands slipping into his open leather jacket and sliding along his rib cage. “I know you do, and I want that, too.”
“Yeah?” He asked, the note of vulnerability detectable in not only his voice, but his eyes too.
I nodded, biting down on my lip. “The little sleepover we’ve been having has shown me some serious benefits to taking you up on your offer.”
“Has it now?” he asked, cocking a brow and tilting his head.
“Mmm.” I purred, splaying my fingers across his chiseled abdomen. “The orgasms especially.” His muscles tightened beneath my cold touch, and he drew me close, the pads of his fingers, applying just the right amount of pressure to my neck as he guided me to him.
Pulling my hands away from his abdomen, I brought them up to grip the lapels of his jacket, standing on my tiptoes to meet his lips with mine. Cal’s tongue darting out to dance with mine in sure, slow strokes.
I couldn’t help but press my pelvis against his, an unavoidable—and not at all unpleasant—consequence of his kiss and his touch. I’d starved for it over the years, and now that I had it back…I couldn’t seem to get enough.
