“I like it burnt,” the sick bastard said, shrugging it off like admitting to drinking battery acid was no big deal as he reached over and petted the dog gazing up at him adoringly while she lay there, staring helplessly at him.
“There is something seriously wrong with you,” Kristen said, realizing that they were getting off topic here and focused back on the problem at hand.
Ensuring the large bastard didn’t piss her off again.
“Probably,” Garrett murmured absently, watching her curiously as she took a deep breath before she slowly exhaled, mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do and narrowed her eyes on him, ensuring that it had its desired effect.
Leaving him trembling in fear.
“The fetal position is killing the effect,” Garrett said, gesturing absently towards her.
“And yet, I can see the terror in your eyes threatening to break you,” Kristen said with a sniffle as she watched his lips twitch.
“It’s difficult to hide,” he drawled, watching her curiously. “Why exactly are you doing whatever the hell it is that you’re doing?”
“Besides establishing dominance?” Kristen said, keeping her glare locked on him as she reached back and grabbed the throw blanket that she brought over last week and pulled it over herself.
“Besides that,” Garrett said, waving it off as though that was a given.
“We need to amend our agreement,” Kristen said as she snuggled beneath the blanket.
“And why do we need to do that?” he asked, absently petting the dog that really needed a name even as she debated naming him Traitor.
“For your safety,” she said with a heartfelt sigh and a shrug.
“I did feel like my life was in peril for a moment there,” Garrett drawled.
“It really was,” Kristen murmured in agreement.
“What rules are you looking to amend?” Garrett asked, watching her curiously.
“All of them,” Kristen said even as she couldn’t help but notice how comfortable this couch was.
“There’s only one rule,” he pointed out, giving the dog one last scratch behind his ear before he shifted to get comfortable.
“Which will make this easier,” Kristen said, running her eyes over him from the way that his intense green eyes watched her to the way that his dark gray shirt hugged every well-defined muscle perfectly and found herself wondering about something.
“Why aren’t you married?” she asked, watching as he went still only to quickly relax again before she could blink, making her wonder if she’d imagined it.
“Because nobody’s asked me,” Garrett drawled, making her lips twitch. “Why aren’t you?”
“We’re talking about you,” Kristen pointed out, because there was honestly nothing to say. She’d accepted the fact that she would never get married or have a family of her own a long time ago.
She’d tried dating, but she could never get over the feeling that they would leave her one day and they couldn’t get past the fact that she couldn’t seem to fall in love with any of them.
Once upon a time, she’d hoped for something more, but…
It didn’t matter anymore.
“What do I get if I play along?” Garrett asked as he began absently drumming his fingertips against the armrest.
“I’ll stop glaring,” she said, knowing that was her best offer at the moment.
“That would help with the terror currently threatening to drop me to my knees,” he said dryly.
“I know,” Kristen said, nodding solemnly.
“If you must know,” Garrett said, sighing heavily.
