His eyes stay on me as he lets out an annoyed huff, which I’m sure means, It’s too early to get up. His body stretches out, his front paws hitting the floor first, before he slowly slides off the couch like he has all the time in the world. Laughing at him, I give him a cuddle when he reaches me before leaving the door open for him to come back in, and then head for the kitchen to start some coffee.

Sitting out on my back deck in a foldup chair, with my feet resting on the wood railing and a cup of coffee in my hands, I look over my shoulder when the door slides open, and watch Evan step out wearing nothing but a pair of loose shorts and holding a cup of coffee.

“Hey,” he greets, his hair rumpled and his face still soft from sleep.

“Hey.” My eyes rake down his chest and abs, taking in all that is him, and there is a whole lot more than there used to be—all of it seriously hot. Coming toward me, he bends at the waist, touching his mouth to mine, saying softly against my lips, “I don’t like waking without you.”

“I wanted to let you sleep,” I reply just as softly, and then laugh when Ninja nudges between us and leans against Evan, so he’s forced to take a step away from me.

“I see we’re gonna have problems.” He chuckles, running his hands over Ninja’s head.

“He’s my Pup-Pup.” I smile, rubbing Ninja’s snout, and he instantly forgets about Evan and moves closer to me.

“Pup-Pup?” Evan asks.

I look at Ninja then grin, and chirp, “Yep.”

His eyes drop to my mouth and he shakes his head, then mutters to Ninja, “Go get your ball.” As he sets his cup of coffee on the edge of the deck and grabs one of the chairs that are folded up against the side of the house, he unfolds it next to mine then fits his big body into it, causing the cheap metal to groan and squeak under his weight.

“I’m not sure my chairs are built for you,” I tell him, as he leans forward to grab his coffee, causing the chair to groan again.

“We’ll take my truck today, get some deck chairs that won’t give out, and pick my shit up from the compound,” he says almost to himself, taking the ball from Ninja when he brings it over.

“We will?” I ask, and his eyes move to me and scan my face, and then he transfers his coffee to his other hand and nabs me from behind my neck, pulling me closer until we’re sharing the same breath.

“We’re moving forward, and we’re doing that together. I know you still have doubts about us, but I don’t. We’ll work through your shit and settle in, baby.”

“My shit?” I whisper, and his eyes scan my face again.

“Do you want me to leave?” he prompts, and I feel my heart lodge itself in my throat at the idea of him leaving. His eyes lock on mine, and his voice drops as his fingers flex against my skin. “I have enough love for the both of us. Doesn’t matter if you love me back. I’m not giving you space or room. You’re mine, June. You have been for a long fucking time and I want what we could have had to start now.”

“Do…” I pause, licking my lips, and his eyes drop to my mouth. “Do you think we should slow down a little?”

“What’s going to change if we slow down?” he asks, which is a good question, and it’s a good question that annoys me, since I know by the determination in his eyes that nothing is going to change. Besides, since he’s been back, I can’t imagine it any other way.

“My dad’s going to kill me,” I mumble. He grins and leans closer, brushing his lips against mine, and then leans back to take a sip of coffee.

“He’ll adjust,” he says, pulling the ball from Ninja’s mouth and tossing it again. “Hell, he doesn’t like me anyway, so fuck it.”

“He likes you,” I tell him, or at least he did like him. Now, I’m not so sure, but seeing how he’s alive, I’m sure that means Dad doesn’t exactly hate him.

“Baby,” he murmurs, sounding amused. “He told me that if I fucked up again, he was going to cut off my dick and feed it to me.”

“Oh.” I cringe then listen to him laugh. Taking a sip of coffee, I wonder how long it will take for my dad to come around.

“He’ll come around,” he assures, reading my mind.

“My family is a little overprotective.” I sigh.

“I get it. I’ll be the same when we have girls.”

“Ev,” I whisper, holding my cup tighter. When Evan and I were together, we talked about starting a family sooner, rather than later. I wanted to be a mom while I was still young, and I wanted at least three kids, if not more. Evan wanted the same as me.

“We got delayed, baby, but I already searched your shit and couldn’t find any birth control. We didn’t use any kind of protection last night.” His words stun me, and I’m not prepared when his hand nabs me again, pulling me close once more. “When I said we’re moving forward, I meant with everything.”

My breathing starts to turn ragged and my stomach rolls into a knot. I don’t know what I’m feeling, but it’s not panic or fear; it’s something different, something unexpected. Finally, I get the word, “What,” out, but that’s all I’m able to say before he kisses me again and leans back, taking another sip of his coffee.

“It’ll all work out,” he says casually, picking up the ball Ninja drops at his side, tossing it out into the yard.