Pet Me (9 page)
Authors: Amarinda Jones
“You have an answer for everything.” Drusilla shook her head in amusement. “Do you really have a ring?”
“Do you really want to marry me?”
Yeah, I do actually.
Maybe a more rational person would not jump into matrimony like this but Drusilla was not one for following the rules. “I want to see the ring.”
Cormack chuckled. “I see, to prove my love to you?”
“Maybe.”
“I’d marry you tomorrow.”
“As spontaneous and romantic and very much over-the-top as that sounds, tomorrow is my nail appointment.” Drusilla could cancel it in a heartbeat but she wanted to make Cormack work for her. She was worth it. “What happened to the misogynist pig who wrote about picking up women? I read all your columns you know.”
“The Hunter Bride? Three Ways to Ditch a Date Fast? Shackle Me Not? Check out Her Mother Before You Buy?”
“Yes, I think that was my favorite along with the shopper assassin and how she targets men to pick up the tab.” When she had first read them, Drusilla had been appalled. Now that her anger had abated she realized how silly and tongue-in-cheek they were. Her pride had been wounded but not her heart. Therein lay the difference.
“It’s an act to sell newspapers.” Cormack dropped to his knee and searched his trouser pocket. Three condoms fell out. “I like to be Boy Scout prepared.” He searched some more until he pulled out a ring box.
It was one of those moments that Drusilla always wondered how she would react to. With Wayne it had been a forgone conclusion. They were together so why not marry him. Of course she had been seven kinds of a dummy to accept but there it was. She had. But luckily she had gotten out of it before she got trapped.
Thank goodness for finding Sharon repeatedly rising up and down on Wayne’s cock like that.
“What are you doing?”
“Proposing.” Cormack flipped the lid of the box open.
Drusilla burst out laughing. The ring was huge, tacky and plastic. It looked like something that had come out of a gumball machine.
“Drusilla Camm, will you do me the honor of giving me your hand in marriage.”
“No.”
“What?” Cormack looked stunned and disappointed.
Okay, so the man loves me. Excellent
. “I just wanted to see your reaction. Is this because we had sex?”
“A small part of it is,” Cormack conceded.
At least he was honest. “It’s killing you not having it, huh?”
“Hey, I’m not the one with the dark circles under my eyes.” He looked at her knowingly. “Losing sleep over me?”
Yes, and probably everyone in her office wanted her sacked or relocated. “Why this sudden need to marry me?”
“You started it by announcing the big wedding, honey.”
Oh yeah.
“I was trying to freak you out.”
Cormack grinned at her honesty. “You did for a moment but only because I didn’t expect it, but I soon realized it was the obvious thing for you and me. We are meant to be.”
“Yeah well, I’m not holding you to it.”
He slid the fake diamond on her finger. “But I’m not having you breach your promise to me.” Cormack leaned in and kissed her hand. “The real one we’ll get tomorrow.”
“I like this one.” It had more meaning than any diamond as it was a turning point in their lives. Yeah, they would make mistakes and fight but they would always stay together.
I just know it
. “Are you serious?” Drusilla was on the verge of throwing herself into Cormack’s arms and rolling with the naked man on the carpet.
“It’s not every day I spend three dollars and twenty cents at a gumball machine to win you a ring.”
Drusilla looked down at him. Cormack was on his knees before her, honesty shone in his eyes—honesty with a nice blend of wickedness. “I don’t want to rush this.” Which was, of course, crazy, considering that was all she had done since meeting Cormack.
“So we won’t.” He looked satisfied with that. “But I need you and to be honest, I can’t do the celibate thing much longer.”
Honesty rocked. “Me neither.” The ring on her finger didn’t sparkle so much as weigh her digit down.
“It’s a promise ring.”
“Of more cheap plastic to come?”
“Of a life together.”
That sounded good. “You have silver tongue.” Drusilla dropped to her knees.
Cormack opened his arms in welcome. “Let me use it then.”
Snuggled against him, his hot body soothing hers, there was only one thing Drusilla wanted to do. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cormack sounded keen to do that. He rose to his feet and tugged on her arm.
“To sleep.” Drusilla was so weary with spent emotion that the thought of sex, while fantastic, seemed all too hard at that moment.
Cormack lifted her into his arms, cradling her close to his chest. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’m knackered. Ever since I’ve met you I’ve had the worst sleep.” But at that moment, in his arms, she felt relaxed and relieved. It was probably not flattering for a man to have a woman fall asleep on him but now Drusilla knew where she stood in his life, she felt all the built-up tension release.
“I blame Arthur for this.” Cormack shook his head in amusement. “He brought us together.”
Drusilla knew she was probably the first woman who genuinely wanted to “sleep” with Cormack. He was taking it pretty well. His cock was hard but not his heart. She loved that about him. Cormack understood her.
“Maybe that’s what your next column can be about.”
“Arthur?”
“Yeah—forget about roses and chocolates—give a goldfish for Valentine’s Day.”
“You’re delirious.”
“And you’re delicious.”
“Come with me.” Cormack carried her to the bedroom.
“Maybe later.”
Cormack chuckled. “This is not what I had in mind.”
Drusilla kissed his cheek. “I promise I’ll ravish you with intent in a couple of hours.”
“Deal.”
Set in Stone—by Cormack Flint
Friday, 4:49 p.m.
This will be my last column as a single man. For all of those who have said my fiancée is too good for me—you are right. For those of you who are worried I will lose my edge—that will never happen. I’ll still write columns to piss people off. It’s what I do. I expect I will annoy my new bride and I will pay the penalty. But she is one of the few people I have ever met who can face me down and make me a better man. I like that. I love her.
A year ago if you had asked me about the perfect woman I would have rattled off the standard male formula and I would have been wrong. But love changes everything and any delusions I had are now gone. One thing I know for certain is set in stone—love is forever.
“I like it, especially the part about me being too good for you.” Drusilla spun the plastic ring around on her finger. Cormack had offered to buy her the real thing but she liked the one she had. It freaked people out when they asked to “see the ring”. They looked at her and then at Cormack and wondered.
Let ’em.
Drusilla did not feel the need to explain herself to anyone but the man she loved and even then she did so only when it suited her. A woman still had to maintain her secrets.
Cormack took her left hand in his. “I worry about your finger going green and dropping off.”
“Will you still love me if that happens?”
“Will I have a choice?” He grinned at her.
“Nope.”
“Then I will love you forever,” Cormack told her softly.
“Correct response.” Drusilla sighed. All was right in her world.
Amarinda Jones believes anything is possible and sometimes just asking for the impossible will surprise someone enough that they will give it to you. Writing is like that. Put it out there and wait for a response. There is always the possibility you may fall on your ass, but after all, that’s what cellulite is for. Amarinda believes in taking chances, speaking her mind and aging disgracefully. Twenty years from now she plans on being the neighborhood witch who all the kids are scared of. But then, everyone has to have a hobby.
Amarinda welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her
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