“Uh-huh, Mr. Hemsworth is really into leopard print. And he’s taking ballet lessons.”
“A dog who takes ballet lessons? That can’t be a real thing.”
“It is. She sent me some videos. He’s really good. It’s his talent in his upcoming pageant. I’m moving on to his pageant dress next. It’s going to be amazeballs.”
“Can’t wait to see it.”
She leaned back and grinned up at him. “I know you’re just humoring me. You don’t have to pretend to care.”
He frowned at that. “I care.”
She snorted, but buried her face back in his neck. “This is nice.”
It was. He didn’t think it would be. He wasn’t the cuddling type. But she seemed to turn everything on its head. He massaged her scalp and she sighed.
“What did you spill on your top?”
“Chocolate.”
“Hot chocolate?”
“No, chocolate sauce. I was eating waffles.”
That explained what was on her mouth. Actually. He tilted her head back and then licked his finger before he wiped the sauce off the side of her mouth.
Then he kissed her lightly. “All clean.”
She grimaced. “Sorry I’m always such a mess.”
“You’re not a mess.”
She raised her eyebrows and he found himself nearly grinning. “Are you lying to me?”
“Not lying,” he told her.
She huffed out a breath and rubbed at her face, looking even more tired than before.
His poor girl.
“Can I . . . can you just hold me for a bit longer? Please?” Her voice broke slightly at the end and it tore at his heart.
“Hold you as long as you need, girl.”
She buried her face back into his neck and he leaned back, trying to get comfortable on her hard as rocks sofa. But it was worth any discomfort he felt to soothe her like this.
She pressed her lips to his neck, nuzzling at him. “I like this.”
So did he.
But he was growing more and more aroused as she continued to nuzzle at his neck.
She reached for the buttons of his shirt, undoing them until she revealed his chest. Then she pressed her face into his skin, rubbing it back and forth. Like she was a cat scent marking.
For some reason, he found that sexy as shit. Like she was marking him as hers. Then her mouth surrounded his nipple and sucked.
Holy. Fuck.
She had to know how that was affecting him. Waves of arousal rushed through him. But she just kept sucking. As though it was giving her comfort. He counted backwards from fifty as he ran his hand up and down her back.