Page 35 of Penn

I want him.

I want to feel his heavy weight on top of me. His rough hands on my most sensitive skin. Taking what he wants from me and giving me exactly what I need.

If I didn’t have a puppy in my arms, I’d fan myself at the heat this carnal, desperate craving washes over me, overheating me to the point of sweat beads forming on the back of my neck. This has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with the magnetic pull I’ve been denying since I first met him.

“Dixie?” Penn asks, breaking me from my thoughts of us doing things I can’t imagine ever voicing to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just got really warm, all of a sudden,” I say, leaving out the reason why.

“Do you need to sit?”

Sitting will only make it worse right now, and I shake my head. “No, I’m okay.”

He steps closer, and his chest nearly brushes against my breasts. The nipples I know are pebbled because they hurt as they rub against my bra. I’m just thankful the padding is thick enough that he can’t see how turned on I am. “Are you sure?”

Swallowing, I smile. “I’m sure. Weird pregnancy symptoms.”

“I don’t remember reading this one,” he says. “But if you need a break, just tell me.”

And he’s considerate and sweet on top of it. “Thanks.”

“We need a name for her.”

Frowning, I realize I’ve forgotten I’m holding a puppy in my arms. Not enough to drop her, but enough to think he might be referencing a different part of my body that I shouldn’t let anyone name. “Um… What do you think?”

“I think you should name her. You’ll be with her more than I will.”

I giggle. “There’s only one name that’s coming to mind, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Try me.”

“Princess.”

He bites his lower lip and studies her. “Princess, huh? You know, I could get on board with that. A little fancy for a biker’s dog, but she’ll be treated just like one.”

I believe that. “Then it’s settled.”

At the checkout, Penn pulls out his wallet to pay for everything without even a question, and I don’t like the guilt that fills me. Sure, I’m going to be spending the most time with the dog, but I should be paying for something. Even if it’s just the toys.

Today has been going so well after our bump in the road last night, so I don’t offer to pay for the Lamb Chop toys. I know it’ll be a fight, and I’m not in the mood to fight.

I’m in the mood to do something else, but that’s neither here nor there. We’re just friends. And co-parents to a new puppy named Princess currently snoring in my arms.

Chapter 14

Penn

Ipull into the driveway after a two-day run, and I’m ready to crash. The sky is just setting, and Dixie isn’t working tonight. Which means I have the night with my two girls.

Even if one of them doesn’t consider herself mine yet.

I step inside to find Dixie sleeping with Princess at her feet. She’s immediately alert, ready to bark and attack, until she sees me. All Princess does is lay her head back down on Dixie’s leg, and I smile.

Yep, we got a small little bodyguard for the woman of the house.

Tiptoeing past her sleeping form, I walk into my bedroom and strip down before hopping into the shower. I don’t wait for the water to warm up first. I’m so dirty and dusty that I just need to get clean.

The water at my feet turns brown, and I swear I’ve brought half the desert back home with me. We tried a new route to avoid the threats from the Venom, and it ended up with two bikes with flats. Not mine, luckily, but I don’t ever want to take that way again. It’s a little too off the beaten path for my liking.