“I’m beginning to suspect this isn’t a medically approved treatment for morning breath,” I said.
Petey looked up at me, his blue eyes glittering with mischief. “Nine out of ten doctors recommend it.”
“How does it cure it?”
“It doesn’t. It means my breath is several feet away from your face.”
I laughed and reached down to pull him back up towards me. “I don’t care. Come here.”
Then I kissed him properly and rolled myself on top of him, pinning him down. Petey wrapped his legs around my back and playfully wiggled his hips.
“You really are a stink pig!”
Petey waggled his eyebrows seductively, looping his arms around my neck.
“I don’t know about that,” I said, trying not to breathe in—and I scooped him up. Petey squealed with delight, his naked body hugging mine like a baby koala. I shuffled along the mattress on my knees, then stood at the end of the bed and carried him down the stairs.
“Holy shit, that’s hot,” Petey said.
“You know what’sreallyhot? Toothpaste.”
I carried him into the bathroom. Once minty fresh, we stepped into the shower together. The hot water beat against my back. I pressed Petey against the tiles and kissed him until we were both breathless. When we finally emerged—the hot water tank completely drained—we towelled each other dry.
“We didn’t really get a chance to speak yesterday,” Petey said, rubbing the water out of his hair.
It was true. Between getting Achilles back in the horse trailer, grabbing some things from Petey’s flat, and buying my obsessively horny stallion twelve new girlfriends, it had been a long and busy day—and all of it chaperoned by a very smug Bramley. When we’d finally got home, we’d let our bodies do the talking.
I put my foot up on the ledge of the bath to dry between my toes. “You want to know why I agreed to plan B?”
“Well, yes.” Petey perched his bare bum against the vanity. “You were adamant you didn’t want to be on TV.”
“Jonty and Lola convinced me the media is manageable. They talked me through how they use them. You were right, we’d have a whole PR team to act as go-betweens. The estate is private property, so we can control access. Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely terrified. Haven’t pooped in forty-eight hours.”
Petey laughed. I looked up at him until our eyes met.
“I thought I’d lost you, Petey, and it was the worst feeling in the world. I knew I would do whatever it took to be with you again.” I stood up and dropped the towel, closing the gap between us. “I hope you can see that.”
Petey smiled. “I can. I’m incredibly grateful.”
I pulled him into a hug.
“You don’t need to be grateful for anything,” I said. “We’re a team. Your dreams are my dreams.”
“Same.” Petey’s fingers fiddled with the ring on the chain around my neck. He was building up to something.
“What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking. If you can compromise, so can I. We should get Kathy to help us with the legal stuff. Defamation suits, at least. Whatever it takes.”
I couldn’t control my smile.
“What?” Petey said. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing’s funny. I’m proud of you.”
“For mooching free legal representation off my sister?”
I kissed him. It was a stealth attack. Took him completely by surprise. The British Army would do well to study it.
