“About what?”Zeta, stop it! It’s not important. Focus!
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Lips she’d only just been kissing. “About taking time off work.”
“Well, you should have been putting on a— Wait.” She frowned. Narrowed her eyes at him. “What? Why?”
“I made some phone calls about taking some time off work,” he said. He snagged her fingers lightly in his and walked backward into the cabin, taking her with him, until he reached the back of the sofa. He perched his butt on it and pulled her to him until she was nestled between his spread thighs. “Turns out, I have quite a lot of paid vacation leave, given I haven’t taken a day off work since I started at the hospital.”
“I don’t…” She frowned again and shook her head. “Where are you going?”
“To San Diego.”
Her heart slammed into her throat. “When?”
“Tomorrow?” He flicked his watch a quick glance. “Well, I guess, technically today, given it’s just gone midnight.”
Zeta opened her mouth. Closed it.
“I figured,” he said, smoothing his palms over her hips, “you need to go back to San Diego and check up on your cheetahs ASAP, so I asked Nick for a favor.”
“A favor?” She shook her head. Was it possible to be so confused you pulled a muscle frowning? “I don’t understand.”
Mick’s smile stretched a little wider. “I asked if we could borrow his private jet to fly you back to San Diego so you can get to your cheetahs, and he said sure. It’s at our disposal as soon as we get to Sydney.”
She stared at him. A tingling sensation began to sweep over her. Her heart hammered fast in her chest, her throat, her ears.
“We can stay there as long as you need. I’ve got plenty of leave. I’ll take care of you while you take care of your cheetahs. I’m actually a really good cook. And I give amazing massages.”
She continued to stare at him. Gape at him, really.
He stared back. His Adam’s apple jerked up and down the smooth tanned column of his throat. “If that’s okay? If it’s not, I’ll just get you back home safely, and then…then… I’ll come back to Sydney. Maybe we could FaceTime a few days a week? If…that would be okay? I don’t…” He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. “Either works, as long as I get to see you, talk to you. If that’s… If that’s o—”
Cupping his face in her palms, she shut him up with a slow, deep kiss. He slid his hands from her hips to her ass and pulled her closer into the V of his spread legs. She liked it there. A lot.
Tearing her lips from his, she leant back a little, and shook her head. “I hate you, Mick Blackthorne. You know that?”
He let out a low chuckle. She couldn’t tell if it was wry or smug. Either would be very Mick.
“That’s a shame,” he said, smiling at her. “Because I love you. Seriously. I have no fucking clue how it happened, but it did. I love you. Completely and utterly.”
A grin stretched her lips. She couldn’t stop it. Didn’t want to. “Oh, okay then. I love you too.”
He grew still. “You’re not messing with me, are you? I mean, I’ve been a bit of a jerk, so…seriously?”
“Seriously.” She kissed him again, just to prove how serious she was. His body reacted. Her body reacted. There were a lot of reactions. She liked that a lot as well.
She ended the kiss with a quick nibble on his bottom lip and pulled away a little again. “And yeah,” she said, snaking her arms around his neck. “It took me by surprise as well. But that’s why I came here to find you. To tell you that you’re stuck with me now. Capicse?”
He nodded. Kissed her. Grinned. “Capicse.”
She preened.
“So you’re okay with me living with you in the US while you take care of your cheetahs?”
“I’m okay with you living with me,” she said. “Full stop.”
It was his turn to preen.
She laughed, and he kissed her again, a quick, playful kiss that made her heart quicken. It was so natural to be kissed by him. So right.