“I got you a Valentine’s Day present,” I said, walking toward him.
His gaze turned molten. “I thought you gave me my present this morning.”
My cheeks heated, thinking of what we’d done earlier, the way I’d woken him up by trailing kisses down his body, sliding his boxers off, taking that big dick in my mouth while it was still soft and manageable, feeling it harden. The way he’d held my hair, gently thrusting into my mouth while my hand fell between my legs and I—
Don’t get distracted,I told myself. But it was difficult to stay focused when your partner was as attractive as Noah. Every time I so much as looked at the man, I got all hot and bothered.
He must have noticed my mental gutter dive because his grin was pure masculine smugness as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Emma. What did you do?”
I sent him an imploring look. “Gina Shaw found them on the side of the road and was having trouble finding homes for them, so I told her I would help her out.”
A pathetic little mewl cut through the air, and I took that as my cue to bring my hands forward, revealing the cat carrier I held and the little faces staring out of it. “In my defense, wehavebeen talking about adopting a pet.”
“One,” Noah said. “How many are in there?”
I winced. “Two.”
He sighed and pushed off the counter, heading toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?” I called.
“One second!” he yelled back.
Oh no.I hoped he wasn’t too mad.
I pulled the carrier up, eyeing the adorable little fuzz balls inside. “I promise I’ll get him to say yes to you.”
Noah, I’d learned, had trouble denying me anything I wanted. Most of the time, I never took advantage of that kindness, because after what I’d been through with Beau (not just him trying to kill me, but our entire disastrous, toxic marriage), I recognized how rare and special it was. But this was the one time I’d do everything in my power to get my way if I had to. Not that I thought I’d have to do much. Noah was a big softy deep down, and I was willing to bet it would only take five minutes before he was as deeply in love with the kittens as I was.
I heard him coming back down the stairs and glanced up. And froze. Because he was carrying twomorekittens in his hands.
“Oh my god,” I gasped. “When did you get them?”
“Three days ago,” he said, his lips curling in a rueful grin. “Mom picked them up for me and was keeping them at my parents’ place so I could surprise you for Valentine’s Day. She dropped them off while you were ‘out running errands,’” he said, a note of accusation in his tone.
I grinned, unrepentant, and glanced back and forth between his hands and mine. “Four kittens is too many kittens, right?”
“I’m not taking mine back, but by all means, please feel free to be heartless and return yours.”
“Noah!”
“Kidding, obviously,” he said, stooping to set the wriggly little babies down.
I set the carrier on the floor beside them and opened it, and soon all four siblings were reunited, tumbling andjumping over each other in their excitement. Noah and I met each other’s eyes over their heads, and I could tell from the look on his face that we were keeping them.
“This is going to be chaos,” I said.
He arched a brow toward me. “And that’s different from the past year we’ve spent together, how?”
I chuckled. “Fair enough.” My gaze fell back to the kittens, one of which had taken issue with Noah’s left foot and was now engaged in a fight to the death with his toes. “Why didn’t Gina tell me you’d already picked two up?”
“If I’m being nice, it’s because I told her it was a surprise,” Noah said. “If I’m being real, it’s because she was being Gina.”
“She was totally being Gina,” I said. “Did you name yours yet?”
“No, I was waiting for you.”
I fell quiet.
