Mutt lifts his chin from his paws, greeting his master with aruff,before he goes back to dozing on my porch.
I pop open two bottles, setting them on the bistro table. “He liked it out there as long as I didn’t close the door. Then he started barking.”
Standing on the edge of my little kitchen, Loch’s size steals all the oxygen, especially when he shoves his hands into his pockets.Don’t look at his bulge, Alena. It’s got its own zip code.
“Yeah,” he grins. “He doesn’t like being left out. Makes privacy almost impossible.”
Privacy? Why would Loch need privacy?
For sex, I assume and jealousy whips through me when I have no right.
“Not that I need it,” he adds, like he just read my mind. “It’s been just me and Mutt for years.”
Okay, that was none of my business, but he wanted me to know it. Why? Does this mean he’s making small talk or dropping big hints?
I blink, not knowing which instinct to listen to. The bold one between my thighs, or the insecure one between my ears.
I’ve never done this.
I don’t know what to do.
But the way he stands there, smiling at me? Suddenly, I don’t need to know. Hell, I don’t need air. Something else makes me feel so alive; my scalp is tingling.
“Can I help with anything?” he asks as I regain composure, turning to grab our loaded dinner plates.
I haven’t had sex in five years. Can you help me with that?
“I’ve got it. Thanks though.” I set our plates down, trying to hide my shaking hands. I made sure his T-bone and sweet potato were bigger. “Salad’s on the table. Didn’t know what dressing you’d like, so?—”
“I’ll like whatever you have.” He walks my way.
What is he doing? He is not…Oh, he is.
Loch melts my heart, pulling out my chair. “Thank you,” I stammer softly, my knees wobbling as I sit.
Only my dad’s done that for me. Insisting it’s how a man should treat a woman, and I gotta say,“Dad, Loch is scoring points.”
He settles in across from me, dwarfing my dining chair. “Thanks again for dinner.” He lifts his beer bottle for mine.
“You’re welcome.” We clink their amber necks, and I take a sip. Make that three gulps before resting a napkin in my lap, hoping it’ll smother the flames between my legs. But someone, cover my mouth because it fires, “Next steak is on you.” My eyes widen. “I mean, uh?—”
Why can’t I just burp?That’d be less embarrassing.
Loch grins. “This is adate, Alena, and yes, the next steak is on me.”
Taking a sip, his eyes sparkle. He doesn’t mean to send butterflies dancing through my belly, but he does.
I force myself to breathe through the rush. “So, uh… how long have you had Mutt?”
“Since he was a puppy. Five years ago, someone left him outside a convenience store.”
I beam. “So he loves Slurpees too?”
“Yeah, guess you could say Mutt loves what I love.” The way Loch cuts his steak and his sexy eyes at me...
“Like?”
“Like romcoms and caramel popcorn, long walks, and chasing tail.”
