Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(30)
Rose did exactly that as he drove.
She hadn’t thought twice about diving into mud, or stripping in a car, or about burrowing those six little—and filthy—furry creatures right into her cleavage. Once the pups were in position, she turned the heat on high and pulled the horse blanket over them for good measure.
Finally, five minutes out from the clinic, one of the pups whimpered.
And then another.
Damian and Rose shared a look, both of them releasing relieved chuckles.
He always knew Rose Maxwell was one hot witch. Now he had the evidence to prove it.
8
Garbage Day
Rose couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled so large, but it felt good. It felt right. Vi had practically glowed as she glanced up at her perfectly fated other half, and if Vi was happy, Rose was, too—and more than a little relieved that it hadn’t been her who’d stepped into that Bonding Circle.
Her sister had practically glided toward her soul mate to the tune of an instrumental Bruno Mars song. If she had been in the same position, Rose would’ve feet-dragged her way toward the Circle to the tune of Darth Vader’s “Imperial March.” Thankfully, stepping down as Edie’s successor meant voiding the Bonding Agreement between her and her fleabag tiger shifter ex whose name will never again fall from her lips.
Never again would she allow someone to pull the wool over her eyes the way Pepé Le Pee-Yew had done to her. Eyes wide open and heart uninvolved—that was her life’s new motto. Not that the jerk had broken it.
Thank Goddess.
But now she could make certain it never would be. From this moment forward, she did what—and who—she wanted, and what she wanted right then was to have fun with her friends and family, eat nachos, and later, sneak back to the sanctuary to check on the puppies.
They’d all been holding strong that morning when she’d left the clinic to prep for the ceremony, but it had been hard leaving them even with Miguel watching them closely.
Excitement and cheers filled the air as Linc and Violet danced their way into Roxy’s Glo-Bowl. While Rose first thought Vi had chosen the untraditional bowling alley for the postnuptial party spot to watch Christina—their mother—break into hives, she realized now that Roxy’s held special meaning for the couple.
Olive’s arm linked through hers as they made their way to the refreshment table and the Leaning Tower of Nachos on which Rose couldn’t wait to get her hands and her lips.
“Are you okay?” Olive masked a yawn as they waited in the nacho line.
“I should be asking you that. You look like a strong wind could knock you over,” Rose pointed out. “You’re still having roommate problems?”
“I think we’ve finally come to an understanding. So are you okay? Or are you also wondering if Mom has been taken over by an alien?”
Rose chuckled, still not sure who’d taken over Christina’s body. When they’d all gone to the stylist to get their hair done for the ceremony, she’d not only been tolerable, but dare Rose say it, pleasant, even calling Harper by her correct name instead of Heather or Hallie, or some other H name.
“Totally wondering,” Rose answered with a grin. “And I’m fine. I just keeping thinking about the puppies, hoping they’re okay.”
“Miguel would call Damian if they weren’t, right?”
“True … but it doesn’t stop me from worrying.”
She’d told them everything about the rescue and the puppies at the salon, and Vi, especially, had listened raptly. It wouldn’t be long before her sister came nosing around the sanctuary looking for a playmate for her Maine coon, Mr. Fancy Pants.
“You sure it’s only the puppies you’re worried about?” Olive’s glasses amplified the worry glinting from her dark blue eyes.
“Of course.” Rose’s stomach fluttered with the small fib. “What else could I be worried about?”
Olive couldn’t sniff out a lie, but her former lawyer’s interrogation skills were still top-notch even after changing professions and becoming a Supernatural Studies professor at NYU. The truth was, the late-night puppy rescue wasn’t the only thing she couldn’t stop thinking about.
The second subject was her co-rescuer.
When they’d reached the clinic, she’d watched in awe as Damian’s large hands delicately handled each little puppy, giving them the expert TLC—and treatment—they’d needed. He’d been gentle and yet firm. Assertive yet reassuring.
He’d been a walking, brooding, and too-sexy-for-her-own-good conundrum she couldn’t seem to get out of her head no matter how hard she tried. And that kiss that rocked her to her core?
If it hadn’t been for the puppies’ lives hanging in the balance, she wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t have asked him for another, and for one after that.
Rose’s gaze automatically sought him out where he stood with Bax and Adrian, the three men laughing at something Bax had said. Damian glanced her way. The second his gaze locked on her, her lady bits went on instant high alert.
“Why don’t you go for it already?” Olive asked, breaking her ogle-fest.
“Go for what?”
“I’m the youngest by like four minutes, not forty years. You know damn well what—and who—I’m talking about. You’re both adults. You’re both single. Go for it, and partake of the orgasms.”