Page 45 of Lorcan
Oh yes, please. That and more.
Chapter Twelve
Cody
Icarefully watched Lorcan’s reaction to the array of puppy items on the bed. As his dark-brown eyes lit with obvious delight, and a wide grin crossed his face, relief flooded me.Yes! Nailed it!“Why don’t you join me?”
For a moment, he hesitated.
“With or without the robe—your choice.” I didn’t ever want him to feel either that nudity was required or that I didn’t find him gorgeous and want him naked all the time. Either way was fine.
He removed the robe and gently placed it on my weekend-reading chair situated by the window
He cleared his throat, gesturing to his clothes. “Thank you.”
I smiled. “You washed them.”
“Yes, but you pulled them out of the dryer and brought them in here. That was…considerate.”
Damn. Has no one ever done nice things for this man? I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to him.
For just a moment, my brain screeched to a halt. The rest of my life? Seriously? We barely knew each other. I’d need to watch myself carefully—because falling for this broken soul could be so easy. I didn’t want to think of him as broken—but that was exactly who he was. I patted the bed.
He leapt onto it and sat on his knees. “Will you share with me?”
He vibrated with what I took to be enthusiasm. “Of course.”
I held a stuffie. “Teddy bear, of course. Because every puppy needs a stuffie. Reinforced stitching. That said, you might get overenthusiastic—”
He shook his head. “I’ll never destroy it.” He took it from my hands. “This is the best.” A shadow passed across his eyes.
“What is it?”
“I used to have one.” He hugged the bear to his chest. “And now I do again.”
His pleasure assured me even as I suppressed the urge to ask probing questions. I held out a package of three dog-safe tennis balls.
He grasped it and opened it. He pulled the first ball out and squeezed it. His eyes went wide as it squeaked.
“Yes. For fun.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I held a short strand of braided rope with knots at each end.
He grasped one, while I held the other. He tugged, and I held fast. “I love it.”
“Tug of war is the best game.” I cocked my head. “I’m hoping one day you’ll feel comfortable playing with other pups. You’ve been to Club Kink.”
He nodded.
“We can build up to it, for certain. I want you to enjoy all the great experiences out there for puppies.”
“I—” He swallowed. “I want that too.”
“Great.” I put the rope aside and pointed to the three collars. “I have the receipt, so I can return all three.”
His eyes flashed disappointment.
