Page 59 of Wolves & Watercolors
“I’m sorry, I have to de-bud them real quick,” he says with an apologetic half-smile. Before I can question him, he squats and begins cutting those new shoots off the lower part of the vines. It only takes a few minutes. I watch, fascinated. “It’s so we can train the new growth,” he finally explains while moving to the next vines.
“Resume?” I ask when he straightens. He nods and steps closer. I grab his collar and yank him to me. Our mouths crash,lips sliding together, his tongue in my mouth. He squeezes my waist, walking me backward until I hit the wall of his storage shed. With a firm hold, he presses me against it and one of my legs come up, hiking over his hip. His hand goes to my ass, grabbing in a way that makes my eyes roll back in my head. The growl rolling from his chest is decidedly not human, and my eyes shoot open.
Glowing dusty blue eyes stare into mine with such intensity, I forget to breathe. He pants, revealing slightly elongated canines. Have mercy on me.
Self-consciousness shutters his expression and his eyes flick away. Unwilling to miss a second of him, I grab for his jaw, pulling his face back toward mine. “I want to see you,” I say, breathy.
His expression relaxes, a smile revealing those dimples. I give into the impulse and lean forward to kiss the edge of his mouth and then lick a dimple. He lets out a throaty laugh.
“I wasn’t hiding my eyes. I was checking on the grape vines. And I think we should probably stop.” He eases back and my leg falls. I want to protest, but he leans in and murmurs, “For now.” Goosebumps break out over my arms.
The grape vines are massive, curling over the fence and draping down the other side. The new leaves are the size of my open hand.
“You did amazing.”
“But there isn’t any fruit!”
“We shouldn’t have a harvest until July at the earliest. You’ve already made them look like it’s June or even early July. We can wait for the fruit. I’m sure it won’t take that long.” He squeezes my hand. “Look at the other berry bushes.”
“Oh!” My mouth hangs open as I walk between the various sprawling berry bushes. They’ve doubled in size and are covered with blueberries and blackberries.
“Don’t worry about the raspberries, they aren’t in season yet, But we can harvest some blueberries now if you like.” Cedar’s hand brushing down my back sends shivers through me.
“You’d better be careful or we will make this entire garden grow out of control,” I joke.
He frowns and withdraws his hand. “I suppose you’d better get a handle on this quickly then. Otherwise, I’m not sure we can continue.”
If that isn’t good motivation, I don’t know what is. I press my lips together to suppress a laugh. It doesn’t work. A ridiculous cackle escapes me, until I’m doubled over laughing. Cedar’s hand rubs up and down my back, even as he laughs too. Trying to regain my composure, I reach for him and use him for support as another round of laughter captures me.
“I appreciate the extra growth, but it really will cause problems if you don’t figure out how to stop it from happening,” Cedar finally says.
“I know, babe.” Going on my tip-toes, I kiss his cheek and then walk away. I’ll need a little distance before I can keep working on my magic.
Cedar harvests blueberries while I sit against the storage shed and admire the way his triceps flex as he reaches for the berries. He’s wearing gloves, but I still have a wonderful view of those arms.
Taking those feelings, I hold my hand over the patch of grass beside me and urge it to grow. After a few seconds of concentrating, it sprouts up. When I release my mental hold, it stops.
“Cedar!” I jump up, waving my hands. “I got it to start and stop!”
He sets his basket aside and jogs over. I close my eyes to concentrate and produce the same results again.
“Well done! What were you doing to trigger it?”
“Admiring you,” I say. “So I’m thinking it’s arousal?”
Cedar shakes his head, his caramel hair flopping over his forehead. “I don’t think so. What about when Hazel was having Timber? Or the other day in my house?”
“Oh, you’re right.” I click my nails together, thinking.
With a sharp inhale, Cedar turns to me. “It’s not arousal. It’s affection. Any strong emotion would do it, I think. But affection is the common thread in those situations.”
“It happened when I was scared too. So yeah, any emotion. But those positive feelings like watching you hold Timber, that must have done it earlier.”
“Me holding Timber?” he asks, tilting his head in that adorable way he does.
I can’t stop my smile. “I liked seeing you holding a baby. It was pretty attractive.”
“Really?” he asks, his tone going dark. With a sheepish smile, he lurches forward to crawl over me. My eyes close as he nuzzles into my neck and kisses down my throat.
