Chapter 9
When Knox awoke, he realized right off that something was wrong.
His legs wouldn’t move and one arm was cramping.
He lifted his head—and damn. Maybelline was stretched out over his calves, pinning him down.
When he wiggled his toes, both legs tingled uncomfortably.
Tank was tucked somehow between Maybelline and Laylee.
With Laylee using his right arm for her pillow, he was effectively immobilized.
River …? Ouch. Feeling claws sink into his shoulder, he turned his head and there was the cat, stretching—claws out—now that Knox had disturbed his sleep. The cat’s yellow eyes opened, he gave a rumbling purr, and butted Knox’s chin.
“Mmm,” Laylee said, indulging her own stretch until she became aware of the cramped conditions. “What …? Oh.” She peeked up at Knox. “Good morning.”
Yeah, this. He wouldn’t mind starting every single morning for the rest of his life in exactly this way, as long as he was waking with Laylee beside him. “Good morning.”
“We have company.”
How could she look so beautiful and sexy even now? Neither one of them had gotten nearly enough sleep. Worse, the animals had afforded them no time for intimacy.
The cat wanted to be with them, and where River went, Maybelline and Tank followed.
At first Knox had been determined to set a proper routine. He loved animals, he really did, but he’d wanted Laylee. For that, he needed a smidge of privacy. A few hours. Hell, he could have worked with thirty minutes.
He didn’t get five seconds.
Repeatedly, he’d taken the animals back to the kitchen. But they hadn’t stayed there. So he’d tried moving the pet beds to the hall just outside the closed door. River was relentless, which also had Maybelline and Tank whining.
At one in the morning, he’d dragged the beds to the floor inside the room with the hope that the animals just wanted to be near them. After all, River had been through an ordeal.
But no. The cat wanted to be on them, and that meant Maybelline and Knox did, too.
“You’re all cock blockers,” he grumbled now to the sleepy animals. His need for Laylee hadn’t abated. Pretty sure it never would.
“River was the instigator,” Laylee said around a yawn. Carefully, she extricated herself from the tangle of furry bodies. Her long hair was messy, her blue eyes heavy with sleepiness. The oversized shirt she wore barely covered her panties and left her long bare legs on display.
No woman should look that hot first thing in the morning, and yet she did.
At the bedroom door, she asked, “Who wants to go out?”
Her question caused a mad rush of flying paws and scrambling bodies as first Maybelline—huge lummox that she was—rolled and kicked until she’d freed herself, and then Knox lifted Tank off the bed. The dogs went flying up the hall.
Eyes wide and ears back, River sat up to watch, confused by the pandemonium until he apparently decided he didn’t care. He cuddled into Knox’s neck and turned up the volume of his purrs.
Knox had to laugh. “Nuisance,” he said to the cat, then gave him a stroke that had claws gripping him again. “Ouch. Stop that.”
River rolled to his back and scooted closer.
“You’re a real snuggler, huh? I wonder if a cat buddy would appease you at night.”
Laylee strode back in saying, “Don’t even think it. The bed’s not big enough.”
He sat up. “Come here and give me a kiss.”
She dropped the shorts she’d just picked up and crawled into the bed to straddle his lap. After petting River, she leaned down, and Knox captured her mouth for a kiss that would hopefully hold him until later.
A useless effort, because he wanted Laylee all the time—and he didn’t think that would change anytime soon.
When he pulled away, she collapsed to his side and cuddled against him much as River had. “I wanted you last night. Unfair that the animals wouldn’t let it happen.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“I put on coffee.”
He trailed his fingertips up and down her arm. “Thanks.”
Smiling at him, she asked, “What do you have going on today?”
“Nothing. I was hoping to take you to meet my parents.”
She sat up in a rush. “Really?”
River looked at them both, then left the bed, probably to find the dogs.
“Come on. My legs feel like lead after Maybelline slept on them. Let’s get that coffee.”
“I’ll need you to hold River first so I can let in the dogs.”
Already they were working together as a couple. Once the animals were all inside and eating their breakfast, Knox went into the bathroom to shower, shave, and clean his teeth.
When he came out, Laylee was half asleep on the sofa, her messy hair trailing over her shoulders in long pale blond ropes.
He had to grin at the sight of her. Tank was tucked in close beside her hip on a cushion.
Maybelline was on her other side with her head over Laylee’s outstretched legs.
River sat on Maybelline’s head with his paws around her neck while he purred and rubbed his face against her.
Sweet images like this were enough to make any man think about the future.
He’d been doing that for a while, actually.
Unlike his buddies, he’d come from a terrific background with a wonderful family.
He’d seen his mom and dad in good times and bad, working as a team; he’d witnessed the caring, the support, and the love.
He wanted that, but only with the right woman.
As he surveyed Laylee’s relaxed posture and limp limbs, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to reach her while she was buried under pets, so he quietly asked, “Who wants a treat?”
That got a stampede going, startling her fully awake. The animals all hurried back to the kitchen, and once they had their individual goodies, he returned to Laylee and kissed her forehead. “We leave for my parents’ house in thirty minutes.”
She shot up so quickly, her forehead smacked his chin. “What?” Rubbing her head, she said, “I won’t be ready! I assumed you meant later.”
“Paul’s coming over. He’s interested in meeting River and said he’ll dog sit for us.
My folks would love to meet all the animals, but I wanted it to be a little calmer today.
” He wanted her to get to know his family and vice versa.
It was a big first for him and that made today important.
“Later, maybe in a few weeks, we’ll have a cookout or something in the yard and invite everyone. ”
Laylee blinked at him.
Yeah, he’d just insinuated, rather strongly, that they’d still be together weeks from now. Not only that, but he’d commandeered her house for a gathering with the presumption he could invite anyone he wanted. It was a deliberate move, and he waited to see how she’d react.
She gave him an enormous smile but spoke softly. “I love that idea, and I’m thrilled to meet your family in a calm setting.”
With a quick kiss, she started to dash down the hall until he caught her hand. “Fair warning. The word calm doesn’t really apply to my family when we’re all together.”
Lifting an eyebrow, she asked, “So not just your mother and father?”
He shook his head. “My sis and brother, too. You’ll like them,” he predicted. Since he loved them, he couldn’t imagine anyone not doing the same. “I just wanted to prepare you.”
Laylee put her palm to his jaw. “Don’t worry. I come from a big extended family, remember? You met some of them when Skye and Ford got married. But now I have to rush, because there’s no way I’m going to meet them unless I look my best.”
Her best was pretty awe-inspiring. Knox felt certain she was going to bowl his family over.
Laylee had the time of her life. Knox’s family was very different from her own. Both were great—she loved her folks and knew they loved her, too. But never before had anyone focused so much attention on her. Well, not family anyway.
Guys, sure. Photographers, all the time.
But a mom and dad? A brother and sister? That was new and fun. She liked it, especially because she was so accepted.
Knox had proudly introduced her to Nolan and Jenny. His father wasn’t quite as tall as Knox, but he had the same lean, muscular build and the same dark tan and nearly black hair, with a little silver in it. Nolan wore his hair shorter than Knox did, but his smile was equally engaging.
He’d welcomed Laylee to the family with an enthusiastic hug, as if this were more than a mere introduction, more than a friendly family brunch.
His mother, Jenny, was a pretty woman with curly brown hair, beautiful green eyes, and a smile that could put anyone at ease. She’d hugged Laylee too, whispering, “It is so nice to finally meet you.”
Finally? So Knox had mentioned her to them? Nice.
His sister, Ashlee, shot Knox a grin before offering him a high five. “Not bad, big brother. You’re doing all right for yourself.”
Knox laughed, caught his sister’s hand, and pulled her in close—only to muss her hair, which had her swatting at him.
Jacob, his twenty-one-year-old brother, leaned in to say, “If Knox doesn’t work out, I’m available.”
“Not in this lifetime.” Knox shoved him back, and when they started to roughhouse, Jenny smacked at them both.
“Behave yourselves. You’ll have Laylee thinking we don’t have any manners.”
“Actually,” Laylee said, “I already think you’re all wonderful.”
“Oh?” Jenny asked. “Has Knox told you about us?”
“Yes, but he didn’t need to. Knox is pretty incredible, and I figure that could only happen if he had great parents.”
Smug, Knox put his arm around her and led the way to an informal dining room. “Told you she was smart.”
That was confirmation he had spoken about her to his parents, and now Laylee wished she knew every single thing he’d said.
“If he told you about the pharmacy robbery, well, I know I overreacted. And that whole fiasco with the cat in the creek … I admit I fell apart a little, but I was so scared for the cat, and—”
They all grinned at her.
Ashlee said, “We think you’re wonderful, too.”
That was how the day started and continued.