Page 118 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

“You trying to squeeze the life out of me?” He chuckled.

Rosie’s breath caught at his choice of jest. “Is this too tight?”

He shook his head. “I’m just kidding. When it comes to you there’s no such thing as too close.”

On the way to the monster sheep pasture, Rosie leaned her cheek against Carnal’s back. She didn’t want sadness to be the overriding memory of their day together. She wanted it to be full of enough joy to last a lifetime, but she couldn’t keep thoughts of impending destiny away. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep a few tears from escaping.

He slowed and stopped. “We’re here.”

“Where?” she asked as she got off the bike, even though she knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Hey,” he said as he turned to look at her. “You been crying?”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “The wind got in my eyes.”

He looked unnerved by that. “I thought I was taking the wind for both of us.”

She put all her feelings for him into her responding smile. “No matter. What are we doing here?”

“Cider break.”

“It’s a nice spot. Cider sounds good.”

He looked pleased that she was enthusiastic about his date plan. He took the skin of cider out of one of the bike’s saddlebags and helped her over the fence.

“Watch where you step.”

She looked down, knowing there were piles of poop balls and knowing what made them. “What made these?”

“Sheep.”

“Nuh uh. Not this big.”

“This way. I’ll show you.”

When they topped the rise and saw the sheep, she said, “Monster sheep. They’re big enough to ride!”

He laughed. “Funny you should say that because that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“What?” She feigned ignorance.

“You pick one out for yourself. Then I’ll pick one and we’ll race.”

“What do I get if I win?”

He cocked his head. Clearly he hadn’t considered stakes. He stepped in to her, smiling, and came within inches of her face. Looking at her mouth, he said, “More kisses.” When she smiled like she liked that idea, he raised his eyes. “And no demon cheating.”

She laughed. “You think I might use my ability to get more kisses from you?”

He cocked his head. “How do I know that you haven’t already put me under a spell?”

Rosie’s smile faded as she looked at Carnal’s mouth longingly. “What kind of spell?”

He reached out and pulled her into his body. “The kind that makes you the center of my universe.” She buried her face in his neck and struggled to hold down the wracking sob that wanted to break free. “Hey. What’s this?” He pulled back, looking like he was struggling to come to terms with her sudden change of attitude towards him.

She forced a bright smile. “Okay. I’ll win fair and square. No demon cheating. What about a saddle and bridle?”

Carnal laughed. “You can be kind of prissy. You know that?”