Page 74 of Wag More Bark Less

“I was kind of an ass, wasn’t I?” he asked, scrubbing a hand through his hair and messing it up in a way that tempted me to do the same. Down girl.

“That’s putting it mildly.” I took a bite of cookie and swallowed. “But you’re more than making up for it now.” I didn’t have to look at him to feel his eyes on me. I didn’t trust myself to meet his gaze. I didn’t trust what I’d do, so I nodded at the TV and said, “So, do they get squished by this trash compactor or what?”

“I knew you’d like it.”

The movie resumed, and my elevated heart rate returned to normal as long as I kept my eyes on the movie. Because I was invested, I had a reliable distraction. Until it ended.

“What did you think?”

I enjoyed a kind of satisfaction I hadn’t expected. Until now, I hadn’t felt as though I was missing out on anything. “Okay, I have questions.”

“Such as?”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is he dead or alive?”

“He’s part of The Force now,” Luke said.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said, turning in my chair. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a single miniature chocolate chip cookie left on the platter. “And where was Yoda? Isn’t he like one of the main characters of this whole thing?”

“Yoda makes his appearance in the next movie.”

“Right. You said this was episode four. So, how many more are there?” I asked, mildly excited.

“Two more for the original trilogy,” Luke explained, catching my wandering eyes and following their path to the nearly empty cookie platter. “Three for the prequel trilogy. And three more for the sequel trilogy. And that’s not including all the offshoots.”

Was I a little giddy at the prospect of watching them all with Luke before this vacation was over? Maybe.

I quickly looked at the cookie, then back at Luke. We stared at one another for a long beat before simultaneously lunging for the last cookie.

Luke was faster.

“Hey!” I said, reaching across the end table for his arm. But the jerk yanked it away before I could latch on. “I had my eye on that first.”

“You were too slow,” he said, smirking.

He brought the cookie to his lips. I didn’t know if it was some ridiculous obsession with winning, the cookies that clearly contained some sort of addictive secret ingredient, or just the excuse I’d been subconsciously searching for to touch him again, but I launched myself at Luke.

Because my blanket was still partially wrapped around my legs, I tripped and fell into his lap. He held the cookie high above his head, taunting me with his wildly long limbs. I lifted onto the knees bracketed on either side of his thighs, but the cookie was an inch out of reach. Stupid long arms.

I leaned forward, stretching.

“You’re playing dirty,” Luke said, his words vibrating between my breasts.

Oops.

“I never claimed to play by the rules,” I said, grabbing his wrist as I squished my breasts more firmly into his face, this time on purpose.

At the same time, I inadvertently pressed my body from thighs to chest against him. I nearly had the cookie in my grasp when my center brushed against a steel rod. Fuck me, that couldn’t be . . .

Luke took advantage of my temporary distraction, yanking down his arm and shoving the cookie at his mouth. I managed to snag a small corner of the cookie before it disappeared entirely. He smiled at me smugly as he chewed and swallowed.

“Rude,” I said, sitting back on his thighs and stuffing the small bite I managed to steal into my mouth.

“I never claimed to be a gracious host.” He wiped away a crumb from the corner of his mouth.

I was staring.

Stop staring at his mouth.