My gaze travels her, still in her T-shirt and lounge pants, my hands aching to wrench them off and see her. To finally see all of her.

“I just realized,” she says, “I haven’t spent a night away from Cornelius since I got him.”

“Well.” I draw her closer between my legs. “He’d better get used to it.”

“Or he could come with,” she offers. “We could have sleepovers!”

I arch an eyebrow. “No.”

“What? You don’t want to get freaky in front of the hedgehog?”

I give her a stern look that doesn’t last long before I crack. “I’m not making love to you in front of Cornelius, no. Not now. Not ever.”

“So he’s not an exhibitionist,” she says to herself.

I tickle her and make her shriek. She twists away from me, landing with a splat on my bed. “No tickles!” she yells.

“Ah, so she can dish it out, but she can’t take it!” I crawl over her on the mattress and press a long kiss to her neck. My kisses travel up her throat to her mouth. I settle in against her hips, rocking against her, because I’ve been hard and dying for her for what feels like years now, and she feels perfect beneath me.

“Jamie,” she says timidly.

I freeze, easing my weight off her, meeting her eyes. “What is it?”

She clears her throat. “Um. So, before we—” She makes a hand gesture that I think is meant to indicate sex. “Now is when I give you the speech that just because I am an erotic artist does not mean I like it in the butt or that I can bend like a pretzel.”

I sigh heavily. “Damn. That was the only reason I was up for this.”

Her jaw drops as her color fades.

“Bea.” I clasp her face in my hands. “Joking. Oh God, Bea, I was so entirely completely one thousand percent joking. Or trying. Very poorly. I’ll never do it again.”

She exhales and drops her head against the mattress. “Jesus. You pick now of all times to be a funny guy.”

“I’m sorry.” I kiss her forehead. “I was trying to put you at ease. Obviously I failed. This is why I don’t joke.”

She laughs faintly. “You’re adorable. Even when you give me a heart attack and nearly break it all at once.”

“I would never break your heart, Bea. All I want to do is protect it.”

Bea searches my face, her hands drifting back up and hugging me tight. “What else do you want?” she asks.

“I want to kiss you. Everywhere. I want to know what you look like when you wake up. I want to make you pureed veggie soup and cupcakes for dinner.” I steal a kiss and gently drag her bottom lip between my teeth, earning Bea’s quiet gasp.