Page 54 of Their Pup to Tame

“It was just a fantasy,” Phoenix grumbled as he sat up, pouting now while milking the whole tickling thing for everything he could. “One you torpedoed as soon as you started tickling me.”

“Aw, look at that face,” I said, cupping Phoenix’s cheeks and squishing them between my hands. “How could you hurt our pup’s feelings like that?”

“I’m fixing to tickleyouif you keep it up,” Aspen threatened.

“Oh no, you know every ticklish spot,” I said, snagging one of the pillows from Phoenix so I could ward Aspen off. “Keep those fingers away from me.”

“That wasn’t what you were whining last night,” Aspen pointed out as he advanced, waving those menacing fingers of his.

“Time, place, and context,” I said as I scrambled farther away until my heel caught one of the pillows they’d scattered earlier, and I fell backward, arms windmilling, to land in the easy chair.

“Aw man, you just trapped yourself,” Phoenix said, shaking his head at me as Aspen pounced and hit the lever on the side of the chair to tip it backward.

Phoenix had been spot on. I was trapped, and without help, there was no way I was getting out of this without falling prey to the tickle monster the way Phoenix had.

“What did you do to get him all wound up?” I squeaked as Aspen’s fingers wormed their way beneath the hem of my shirt. “And how’d you get unpacked so fast when it took me all day?”

“First off, I didn’t have anything to do with it! He’s been on a sugar high all morning and won’t tell me what he’s been nibbling on in the kitchen, or share, or even let me step one toe past the entryway. As for unpacking, it wasn’t like there was much left in my room at the strip club. Ray and I barely filled half the bed of his truck, and most of it was my graphic novel collection, CDs, and all the anime I’ve collected. All I had to do was take them out of the crates, put them on shelves, and bam, done. The rest of my stuff was already in the bedroom.”

“Wish I’d thought to bring mine over a little at a time,” I grumbled.

“You can pout all you want, pup, but if I let you in that kitchen, it’ll only take two sniffs before you ferret out where I’ve got your surprise hidden,” Aspen grumbled, momentarily taking his attention off me, which was all the time I needed to scramble over the arm of the chair and nearly land on my head.

Thwack!

“Yow! Damn, what was that for?” I yelped, ass stinging from the slap.

“Risking a trip to the ER getting out of that chair!” Aspen declared as he righted it. “I guarantee your head would feel worse than your ass right now if you’d slipped and landed on it.”

“Mother hen,” I grumbled as I rubbed my ass while Phoenix laughed.

“I can see why people think you’re an old married couple,” Phoenix cackled.

“Then what does that make you?” I asked, scooching around the back of the chair just in case Aspen got it in his head to deliver another smack.

“Your pet,” Phoenix replied, grinning at me.

“He’s got you there,” Aspen declared, intercepting me, but this time it was so he could cup the back of my neck and tug me close until our lips were touching. “And I’ve got you right where I want you.”

Every time we kissed, it felt like the first. I melted into it and let him press me back against the side of the couch as he crawled into my lap. I felt fingers in my hair that I wasn’t sure were Aspen’s, but the one skimming beneath my shirt was, and I groaned when he dragged them up my side.

They were both grinning when Aspen broke the kiss, but before I could sort myself out, Phoenix claimed my lips and nothing else mattered.

“You smell like berries,” I murmured when he slowly eased away.

“Parting gift from my brother,” Phoenix declared, tugging the end of his braid. “He replaced my usual shampoo with a strawberry one. I didn’t notice until it was already on my head.”

“I must say that the scent inspired tonight’s decadent desert and constantly led to him being nibbled on while you finished unpacking,” Aspen declared.

“See, that right there should be outlawed!” Phoenix declared. “You shouldn’t be allowed to describe, in any way, desserts you won’t allow me to see, let alone taste, until after dinner.”

“I agree,” Parker said. “He’s a horrible tease on the best of days, but when desserts are involved, he is the absolute worst.”

“You have no room to talk! I think I should start carrying penalty cards and flagging you guys when you start with the food porn,” Phoenix said. “Didn’t I see laminate sheets in those stacks I helped you carry in? I’ll draw the cards, and you can cover them in plastic.”

“If he ever tries to drag you into an office supply store, run,” Aspen warned. “Especially if words likeblowout sale,BOGO, fifty percent off storewide, andone day onlyare used. Two hours debating the merits of fine versus extra-fine pen tips and the various thicknesses of printer paper. I had nightmares about printer ink for a week afterward.”

“I call bullshit,” I said, waving a finger at him. “And propose penalty cards for being overdramatic.”