He cared about not hurting me. In his arms, I felt safe. I’d answer for my secrets soon and come away as an ignorant wife-pair who didn’t want to, or didn’t care to, try to make our pairing work while doing her best to manipulate him with her pussy. Way to go, me.
I placed the eggs back on the stand and tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. He’d said we’d spend more time together. Did I want to spend more time with him already? I did. Did I still want to run away? I should want it. I carried a burden on my soul. I’d lied and manipulated a man who was good to me. Shame squeezed my heart. I needed to tell him today. Maybe he’d find a place for me. I hoped too much.
A rough thing returned, scraping my cheek. “Rey?” Jamie whispered.
“Aaah!” I nearly launched out of bed. At the last second, I gripped the end of the headboard. “I didn’t hear you,” I said, breathless. “What time is it?” I’d taken my watch off too. A dead giveaway.
The scent of his fresh spring-mountain soap hit my nose when he bent to nibble my ear. Such a beasty man. He liked to bite and mount me like a bitch in heat. I almost purred, thinking about last night.
“It’s five in the morning,” he said.
“Shoot me.”
He chuckled. “Babe, there’s a gray hound swimming laps in our pool.”
I snapped opened my eyes and moved stray hairs away from my face. A pool! “It’s a stray,” I blurted. Dark and I had come to Jamie from a trailer with a room and a half where we never knew if needles and beer bottles from the night before would litter the floors and counters the morning after, where we had to lock ourselves in my bedroom, hoping like hell nobody tried to get inside when they got drunk and horny. Dark wasn’t just my eyes, he was also my ears, my friend, and my muscle. Now, he swam in the pool. Our pool. I imagined his goofy face.
“It looks like the same hound I said not to bring with you. Did you go back for it yesterday? Is that why I got a present when I came home?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“How did it get here?”
“He followed the bikes. I think. A woman found him and dropped him off.”
“What did she say to you?”
“Nothing. It was weird. She came and went so fast, I didn’t even get to thank her properly.”
“If she calls again, I want to know. Or even better, if she shows up here, call me immediately.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because I said so.”
I swallowed. “Well, who is she?”
“Nobody.”
“Funny you say that. That’s what Dad said to his wife when he came to fuck my mom.”
“Rey?”
“Yup, bastard daughter of a whore. I know shit.”
“You don’t know shit. Are you jealous?”
“Yeah, I’m jealous.”
He flipped me to my back, and his lips pressed mine, his tongue pushing inside. It was so sudden and forceful that the only thing left to do was to open and take him. I gripped his shoulders, dug my fingers into them, and ran my tongue over his canines. My belly tingled, and I lifted my hips. Jamie moved back. “I smell needy pussy.”
“Oh.”
“Mm-hm. Listen, I got a thing early this morning. Get your ass dressed, and we’ll go to the marketplace together. I don’t wanna eat pizza anymore, and I’m sure you’ve had all the cake you can eat.” He pecked my forehead. “I keep my promises. The woman who got your hound is somebody I’m looking for. That’s all.”
I smiled. “Let me keep my hound, please. I’ll introduce him to our cat.”
The bed dipped. Jamie sat down and ran a hand through my hair. A minute passed. “I don’t know, baby, I’m not into hounds. They bark and slobber over the furniture, and I haven’t seen my cat. He’s probably hiding. Have you been feeding him?”
“Cake, we’re having cake. He sits by the fridge and meows, begging to get his whiskers white. We’re sort of bonding over the cake. Great cake.”
“We’ll see.” A pause. “There’s no girly shit in our bathroom.”
“What?”
“Only a toothbrush.”
He sniffed my hair. “A guy shampoo. Your pillow smells like a guy lay in it.”
“And you want it to smell like a girl.”
“I got enough of myself around here and—”
“Your bedroom prowess fills the room.”
“Say what?” His mouth brushed the side of my neck.
“Nothing.”
“You’re funny in the morning.” He bit.
“I have moments.”
When he released my neck, he said, “I left you a note, directions on what to do with the toy on the nightstand, so that you know what it is and how it works. Read the note and do what it says, so I can mount you again tonight.”