She put on a new shirt and soft yoga pants before padding out to the kitchen, dodging Spike as she went.

She hadn’t been in the kitchen since he’d put the food she’d brought away. She paused as she took in all the flowers.

“I was down at the flower market. I saw them and thought you might like them.”

“Thank you. I do, and I love cornflowers most of all.” She brushed her fingertips over the lush blue/purple petals. “So much pretty blue.” She pointed to the iris. “The creamy white of the magnolia, it’s the perfect combo of color in here.”

“The cornflowers remind me of you.” He stepped closer, his thumb sliding over her bottom lip. He smelled like the castile soap he used. Clean and simple.

“Me?”

He nodded. “They’re wispy and lacy in parts they can look nearly delicate, but overall they’re strong. A little sharp edge here and there, but none of that detracts from the total beauty of the flower itself. You have sharp edges. You have spots that look so strong and unbreakable from a distance, but when I focus I can see how hard you’re working to keep it together and build something here.”

“I come with baggage. Death-row-shaped baggage.” She tried to shrug if off but he stopped her.

“Don’t belittle it. This isn’t a fad for you. You’re doing what you absolutely believe is the right thing, and you do it without apology, even when you catch shit from people who don’t know a damned thing.”

“Okay. I won’t belittle it. But it is what it is. It’s not easy. But it’s worth doing either way. All I can do is live the way my parents taught me. I’m sorry it’s been weird for you with your friends and people in town.”

“I don’t give a f**k about that.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. I’m all in, Caroline. You get me? Those idiots who cause a fuss don’t mean a thing to me. Because they don’t know you. But I know you.”

She pulled him down for a kiss. “I think you might, yeah.”

“I’m going to boil the ribs first and then barbecue them.”

“Works for me. Want a beer?”

After dinner and kitchen cleanup, they settled in his bed to watch a little television. It had been a really long time since she’d cuddled up to someone in bed and caught up on shows.

Her secret joy was that she and Royal had two shows they watched together. It was silly she knew. Shallow too. But it made her happy. It was normal and fun.

Spike was pretending to be sleeping instead of waiting for one of them to accidentally move a toe so he could repel the alien scum trying to get into our universe through a space-time rift in the bed.

Royal, the big goofball, kept jiggling his foot and then cursing when the cat bit his toe or caught it on some claws.

“Good Lord, between the two of you.” She shook her head, neatly avoiding a lazy swipe from a furry paw.

“We’re cute.” He picked the cat up to cuddle and smooch Spike’s head. But Spike growled at him and glared until Royal put him down. “Fine. Some people love me!”

Yeah, some people did.

Spike jumped from the bed and left the room in a huff so she took that opportunity to shut the door.

Royal snorted. “He’s gonna take his ire out on me, you know.”

She remained leaning against his door for a while, just watching him. Then she pushed to stand and whipped her shirt off.

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

He went to his knees and got rid of his clothes as she quickly finished undressing. She took a running leap into bed and into his arms as he laughed, pulling her close to kiss her senseless.

Soon enough he’d levered her so she was on her back. “You’re so good at that. My God I can’t even imagine what you were like in high school. It was probably a good thing you never noticed me. I’d have turned to cinder if you’d kissed me like this back then. And you’re far too good at your romance moves, mister. You’ve been working on it since you were a teen, haven’t you?”

One of her brows rose and he winced.

“I suppose,” she said, wrapping her legs around his thighs, “it’s a good thing I like how smoothly efficient you are at getting me on my back and naked within mere minutes of being alone with one another. I love how hot you are for me all the time.”

“Oh. You do?”

She rolled her hips, brushing her pu**y against his cock. Knowing he’d feel how wet she was just from kissing.

“Yes I totally do. I love it when you’re staring off into space when we’re out in public and you get some look and I know you’re thinking about f**king me. It’s pretty hot. I like it.”

“Good, because I do it pretty much every three minutes or so. Imagine f**king you, I mean. Or your mouth wrapped around my cock. Or my lips on your pu**y. Your taste.” He kissed her, slow and drugging until she’d relaxed beneath him utterly. Her fingers were twisted in his hair, holding on, keeping him close.

The knowing of it settled in. He’d be in her. On her or under her. He’d make her feel good. His hands all over her, his taste in her mouth as he kissed past her mouth and down her throat.

He was so good at this whole sex thing. He touched her with a kind of naked greed, watching her reactions as he licked, bit, pinched and sucked on all parts of her. Learning her.

And he was a really good learner.

They had major click, that shockwave of physical and chemical reaction that seemed to heat them both up just when they were around one another.