He was teasing her. He had to be, right?
“Will Kellan be back from his run soon?” she asked. “Shall we order him breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’ll order him some food.”
She pushed the covers back and slid her legs over the side of the bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Eli said, turning and pointing a finger at her. “Stay.”
To her shock, Horse rose from where he’d been lying beside her and placed himself over her lap.
She stared down at him in shock. Eli looked surprised then smug. “See? Even Horse agrees. Good dog. I’ll order you a bone.”
Lord.
She rolled her eyes so hard she nearly hurt herself. “First, I don’t think they have bone service here. And second, I have to use the facilities.”
“The facilities?” he asked.
“Yes, the toilet. I need the toilet.”
He grinned. “You can say the word ‘toilet’ to me, baby. One day, I’m going to have my tongue over every inch of your body. I think I can handle knowing you have to pee.”
Hmm. He had a point.
“I’m not used to being in a relationship that wasn’t very formal and almost . . . choreographed, I guess you would say. Other than my boyfriend in high school, my only two relationships were arranged.”
“Those weren’t relationships,” he said, frowning. “That was coercion and abuse.”
She shook her head. “I wanted to be engaged to Cole. I thought he was my ticket out of my life.” And it had hurt a lot when he’d ended things.
“And that first asshole . . . that wasn’t a proper relationship either.”
No, it hadn’t been.
“So what you’re saying is that I’ve never had a proper relationship with a man? At twenty-six?”
Wow. She was pathetic.
“Not a relationship where a man cares about you. Where it means something. Where he wants you and puts you first. That’s a proper relationship. Where you’re taken care of and your needs aren’t just met but exceeded.”
She sucked in a breath. “Right. You’re right. I’ve never had that.”
“You do now.”
Arabella swallowed heavily and nodded. She definitely hoped so. “That still doesn’t change the fact that I have to pee.”
“All right, baby. But I’ll take you. Horse, off.”
Horse just stared at him as if to say that he didn’t take orders from this man. Which was funny but a bit too little too late in her opinion.
“Horse, off,” she said.
Horse heaved a sigh and got off.
“Oh, Horse will need to go outside too.” Some dog owner she was. “I’ll take him down first.”
“I’ll take him down in a minute. First, you.” He carried her into the bathroom and set her down in front of the toilet. “Do you need any help?”
