“Uh huh. I get it,” I tell him as I toss my keys into the basket on my table. “Y’only met her once, but the pretty girl comes home and I’m chopped liver.”
I pull open the fridge to grab two waters. “I just feed you … take care of you …”
“I think if youwerechopped liver, he’d be paying more attention to you than me.” Olivia flashes me a grin as she nuzzles him.
Duke is extremely smart, as most cane corsos are, and ithits me as I watch them together that he probably senses she’s pregnant. It could even be part of the reason why he instantly took a liking to her when she came here the first time. I pass Liv a water and she stands to take it from me.
“Come on, you must be wrecked,” I say. “I’ll show you my room.”
“Oh … I can just sleep here.” She gestures to the over-stuffed leather sofa in my living room. “It looks really cozy.”
“Fuck no.” My voice is almost a rumble. “Non-negotiable.”
She must know I mean it because she nods before giving Duke a final pat and turning to follow me through the house. My dog doesn’t want to let her go and follows close to her heel. I push my bedroom door open and give her the tour; as if I would ever let her sleep on my sofa while I slept in my California king like a total fucking asshole. It makes me wonder exactly how men she’s been with in the past have treated her.
She looks around and smiles, shaking her head.
“What?” I ask her, setting her bag down on my bed.
“Nothing, I just … you have a Himalayan salt lamp … which is not what I expected when I met you is all.”
I look around my room, viewing it through her eyes. The entire wall behind my bed is black-stained wood and, above it, is a laser-cut, multifaceted deer head made out of rare bird’s-eye maple. My bed takes up a lot of the center space and is covered in thick, white bedding. I don’t sleep well, so I sourced the most comfortable material I could find to get the most out of what little sleep I do get. Floating shelves keep the space clean on either side of the bed, and a nine-foot patio door looks out onto my deck and the woods beyond.
“This will do then?” I ask her, patting my bed. She could never know she’s the first woman to ever see this space.
Olivia kicks her sandals off, stuffing her hands in the pocket of her big hoodie and wiggling her toes in the thick shag area rug.
“Mmmm …” she moans, her eyes fluttering closed, and the sound forces my cock to jump to attention, especially when she adds a throaty little “Yes, so good.”
I don’t know how I’m going to survive this pact with her in my space. Every single thing this woman does seems to turn me on.
In a bid to distract myself, I show Liv the attached bathroom—including where the soaps and shampoos live—and open an empty drawer for her to house her own things. When we’re done, we move back to my room and I hand her the remote control, showing her how to work the TV.
“I have streaming services but no cable,” I tell her.
“Perfect, I pretty much live off Netflix.” She takes another look around then brings her eyes back to mine. “If I’m going to be staying here, you’ll probably be watching a lot of Netflix too.”
I look at her questioningly.
“Rom-com-athons mostly,” she continues, as if I have the slightest clue what that is.
“The fuck is a rom-com-athon?”
She smiles at me like she knows something I don’t, though I’m sure as fuck I will find out soon enough. I expect a witty little retort but, instead, her blue eyes turn soft as she studies me.
“Thank you, Asher.”
I let myself stare at her. She’s so beautiful right now, not a stitch of makeup on her pretty face. I understand exactly what she’s saying; she didn’t want to be alone, she was scared tonight, and just knowing I could offer her a safe space to land makes me remember Nash’s words:Just do everything you can to take as much off her plate as possible.
I brush a little copper curl from her forehead, letting the pads of my first two fingers trail down her cheek.
“It’s what I’m here for, Livi girl.”
She leans in, her eyes turning playful, that sugary scent stunning me.
“Don’t you meankitten?” she practically purrs.
It’s meant to be a joke—throwing the nickname I gave her on a whim back at me—but instead, with how close she’s standing and the soft rasp of her voice, the air between us turns electric when my gaze drops to her mouth. I can’t fucking help but look at her juicy goddamn lips. I swallow as they curve upward, then she starts laughing. “How did you even come up with that?” She pushes my shoulder playfully, oblivious to the fact that my cock is stiffening by the second.
