The Summer Deal (Wildstone #5)(50)

Mini sniffed at the pill and then turned up her nose at it.

“Oh, sure, yesterday you ate the neighbor’s week-old trash, but now you’re going to be picky,” Eli muttered.

Mini whined and began scratching herself with her hind foot. Her fur was now raised in spots all over her.

“Hives,” Eli said. He went to the fridge, liberally coated the small pink pill in enough cream cheese for a dozen bagels, and offered it to Mini.

Mini gobbled up the entire blob and . . . spit out the pill.

“Are you kidding me?” Eli asked.

Mini whimpered.

“Dammit.” He went to the cabinets and pulled out the peanut butter, once again liberally coating the pill.

Mini ate the peanut butter and . . . spit out the pill.

Eli, on his knees, shook his head. “We both know that if this was cat poop, you’d eat it so fast I’d be dizzy.”

Mini’s tail thumped against the floor.

He stood, turned back to the fridge, and took out some deli meat, carefully wrapping up the pill.

Mini nearly took off Eli’s finger to get at the meat.

Both Eli and Brynn watched a long moment, but no pill reappeared.

Eli, on his knees in front of the dog, sagged in relief. “She’s going to be the death of me.”

Mini lifted her head and licked his face.

“Yeah, yeah,” he murmured, stroking the dog. “You love me. I love you back, you crazy girl.”

Brynn would swear that Mini grinned at him. “You do realize she just conned you for high-quality deli meat, right?”

“Yep.”

“What now?”

“She sleeps it off. She’ll be okay.” He rose to his feet and came toward her. “Why do all the women in my life play hard to get?” Gently, he pulled her in and kissed her. “I told myself I wasn’t going to get emotionally attached to you, but the truth is I’ve been emotionally attached since we were nine years old.”

She was stunned, and a warmth rolled through her, a warmth she hadn’t felt in a while. “No one’s home,” she whispered. “Right?”

“Right.”

“Take me to your room?”

He raised a brow.

“Share time isn’t over,” she said.

He was smiling when he kissed her again, sending shivers down her body. They kissed their way out of the kitchen. They kissed as they staggered up the stairs. They were still kissing when halfway up, she tripped and went down, bringing him with her.

They laughed, and Mini appeared, trying to join the fun. Eli gently nudged the dog away just before she pounced on them. “Go to your bed,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Brynn quipped.

His mouth twitched. “That’s another fantasy all together,” he murmured, kissing her again, cupping the back of her head so she didn’t hurt it against the wood floor.

Somehow they got back to their feet, this time getting as far as the hallway before she couldn’t help herself. She pressed him up against the wall, slid her hands beneath his shirt, and nibbled his lower lip.

With a groan, he reversed their positions, running his hands down the backs of her thighs, encouraging her to wrap her legs around him.

Her dress rode up. Eli took in the sight of her itty-bitty sky-blue panties and smiled. “Pretty.” His hands cupped her ass as he ground against her, kissing her again, taking his sweet time about it too, dragging sounds from deep in her throat that she’d never made before.

“Thought we were headed to your bed,” she managed on a gasp, as his fingers slowly stroked the damp silk between her legs.

“This first.” He was beneath the silk now, and doing something cleverly diabolical that had her head back against the wall, her mouth open to just breathe, and some seriously needy little whimpering pants coming from her lips. He scrambled all her brain cells, surrounded her with his warmth and muscle.

“Eli,” she whispered, her toes beginning to curl, and she was mere seconds away from dragging him to the floor, needing him inside her. “You—I—I’m going to—”

“Good,” he murmured, using his teeth to tug down the strap her sundress, then her bra, and from there it was a nudge of his jaw to reveal a bare breast. He sucked her into his mouth at the exact same time as his fingers slid into her and she came in wild shudders, completely losing herself.

When she could hear and see again, Eli was still holding her up, watching her, eyes hot, his body thrumming with an erotic tension that eradicated any embarrassment she might have had about how quickly he’d managed to get her there. “Um.” She bit her lower lip. “Hi.”

He smiled. “Hi.”

“I hope there’s more.”

“Me too,” he said fervently. “Just wanted to make sure you were still with me before I get you beneath me.”

“Maybe I want you beneath me,” she said.

His smile went Big Bad Wolf, and he got her to his room and on his bed so fast, her head spun. He lay on his back and encouraged her to straddle him, smiling up at her, eyes hot. “Have at me, babe. Whatever you want.”

She started with her hands, then added her mouth, which had him alternately swearing and groaning out her name in a rough voice that gave her a secret thrill. She could tell when he got close. He’d had his head back, throat bared, body gorgeous and tense, his hands in her hair. Then suddenly, he moved so stealthily she never saw it coming. Pressing her into the mattress, his mouth moved down her body, his lips and tongue forging a path that had her crying out again, her hands fisted in his hair as stars exploded behind her eyes.