In fact, I’d never had the admiration of a man aimed at me the way Johnny did it. It was casual, spontaneous, but definite. It was a part of who he was and how he felt about me, not a path he was taking to get what he wanted.
After dinner and after after-dinner conversation, which both involved wine, and Johnny taking me back to his house, I’d barely made it up the stairs and walked a step inside when his lips were at my neck and he said, “Get your ass to bed, baby, before you curl up on the floor and fall asleep.”
I’d turned drowsily to him, eyes to his chest and mumbled, “Tee.”
He took his tee off.
I took my dress and bra off and put it on.
Then I climbed into his bed and went right to sleep.
And having the day I’d had the day before with Addie and Brooks and Johnny, learning all I had about Johnny, I’d slept like a baby.
“I slept great,” I whispered.
He bent his head, brushed his lips against mine and lifted up.
“Did you?” I asked.
“I didn’t have the best nights’ sleep the last few nights so yeah. It was good to sleep solid.”
I nuzzled into him, turned my head, put my cheek to his chest and stared at the sun glinting off the creek.
I felt fur slide down my calf as Ranger slid down my leg to lie down at our feet.
Ranger had a lot going on, what with being back with Johnny then spending the day with new dogs, new people and a baby.
He didn’t seem to miss Shandra.
But once things settled down and he realized this was his permanent reality, he would.
I sighed.
“What’s on your mind?” Johnny asked, the tips of his fingers idly tracing the curve at the bottom of the cheek of my behind.
“Nothing.”
“We don’t do that, baby,” he admonished gently.
I left my check to his chest but still tipped my head back to catch his gaze.
“Don’t do what?” I asked.
“Especially not with a beginning like we had that was rocky,” he went on.
“What?”
“Something bothering you?” he asked.
“No,” I answered.
“You made a noise like something was on your mind,” he stated.
“It isn’t bothering me.”
“And I asked what was on your mind. You said nothing when it was something. And we gotta stay open and out there so we don’t fall into shit that might keep things rocky.”
I lifted my head, turned it back to him and put my hand on his chest.
“I was just thinking that Ranger probably doesn’t get that things have changed and he’ll miss Shandra when he does.”
His hand cupped my behind. “So you were thinking about her.”
“No, I was thinking about Ranger.”
“And Shandra.”
“Well, kind of,” I allowed.
“Not kind of,” he returned.
“A dog can’t communicate like we do, but they can communicate and they have feelings and change is rough for them just like it is for anyone.”
“He’ll be fine,” Johnny assured shortly.
“I know he will,” I replied, also shortly.
“You need to get her off your mind,” he ordered.
I felt cold penetrate and I pushed a little away, stopping only when the pads of his fingers started biting in, and retorted, “No. It seems to me you need to get her off your mind.”
“I didn’t bring her to the balcony, Izzy.”
“I didn’t either, Johnny.”
“We gotta make sure this doesn’t infect what we’ve got or what we got isn’t gonna stay good.”
“I’m all in for that, but just to say, you also need to let me worry about your dog because he’s cute and he’s sweet and he loves you, and he gets along with Dempsey and Swirl and he thinks Brooks is awesome and I like him and that’s me. I’m an animal freak. If I see a humane society commercial with pictures of animals that have been abused, I won’t be able to sleep. I once stole a neighbor’s cat and took her to the vet to be fixed because the neighbor kept letting her out and she’d get pregnant and have babies, and the neighbor would just take the kittens to the shelter every time and that’s not right.”
Johnny stared down at me.
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “I gave her back after she’d recovered. Said she got stuck in my garage. Her baby had her belly shaved and she probably figured it out but she never said anything. For her, free neutering. For me, I didn’t want to shoot her with BBs every time I saw her load a box full of kittens in her car.”
He kept staring down at me.
I kept blabbing.
“You know, it was better when you were being sweet and I could just think about how much I liked it that you don’t mind changing diapers. So can we have a nice morning, and to have that, can I ask that you stop annoying me?”
“Changing diapers?” he queried.
“Men don’t get it. If they knew how much women liked it when they took care of babies, the moms wouldn’t get anywhere near their child.”
His lips hitched. “You liked it when I changed Brooks’s diapers?”
I shrugged.
His hand still in my panties moved from my behind to my hip.
“What else did you like?” he murmured, his voice having changed entirely.
But I was still annoyed.
“I liked it that you didn’t let Addie give you any shit.”
“She’s fun,” he said.
“She’s a smart aleck.”
His hand shifted to my hipbone and my attention on our conversation stuttered.
He dipped his head closer and asked “What else did you like?”
I tried to stay focused at the same time wondering where his hand was going to go next.
“I . . . I, uh . . . like it that you’re easy to cook with.”
“Yeah?” he murmured, his eyes dropping to my mouth and his hand sliding even farther.
“Yeah,” I whispered, my eyes also dropping to his mouth.
Seriously, I really loved his beard.
And his lips.
“What else you like, baby?” I watched his lips whisper back, his fingers skating across the curls between my legs.
“Um . . .” I mumbled.
“Hmm?” he hummed against my lips and then his fingers slid over my clit and my hips jerked. “You like that?” he asked.
“Yes,” I breathed.
He repeated the gesture and my hand at his chest slid up to hold on to his neck as I pressed into him.
“How much?” he asked.
“A lot.”
He stroked me between my legs, barely grazing my clit and I started panting.
“Does your man always gotta ask you to kiss him when he’s wanting a kiss or are you gonna learn to get with the program?” he inquired.
“I’m gonna learn to get with the program,” I whispered but was so entranced with him, I made no move.
“Then give me that mouth, Izzy,” he demanded.
I kissed him.
He pulled me closer, giving his hand more room to move and his fingers scored firm against my clit before he bent into me so he could glide one inside.
I whimpered into his mouth.
He separated his mouth from mine and slid his finger out.
“Get inside,” he growled. “And get naked.”
“’Kay,” I pushed out.
He let me go.
I turned immediately and moved on jellied legs into his house.
Johnny followed me.
Ranger came with us.
But I had no mind to Ranger.
I went to my side of the bed and tore his T-shirt from me.
And I watched in turned-on confusion as he went to his side of the bed and pulled his sweats down.
I watched his hard cock spring free and it felt like it took ten years to yank my panties down my legs.
He bent to the bed, shoved the pillows against the headboard and climbed in.