Page 28 of Make Me Yours

“No problem.”

Lilah scratches behind the kitten’s ears. “What should we name her?”

“What do you mean? Why can’t we just keep calling her ‘kitten’?”

“She deserves something dignified,” Lilahsays, with the kind of serious tone that tells me she’s already thinking way too hard about this. “Something elegant. Timeless.”

I rub my jaw, pretending to be just as serious. “Like… Duchess Fluffernutter the Third?”

Lilah chokes on a laugh. “Oh my God, stop. Absolutely not.”

“You said timeless.”

“I meant like Eleanor. Or maybe Margot.”

“Mmm. Too regal,” I say. “What about… Are you ready for this? Puck?”

She narrows her eyes. “You didnotjust suggest naming her after a rubber disc.”

“I absolutely did. It’s clever. She’s tiny, fast, and changes direction without warning.”

“She doesn’t belong on the ice.”

“That remains to be seen,” I say before glancing down at the kitten now stretched across my thigh, purring like an idling engine.

Lilah watches us with a smile. “She likes you.”

I meet her gaze. “Hopefully she’s not the only one.”

Lilah swallows as her hand trails lightly down the kitten’s spine. “What about Waffles?” she asks, clearing her throat. “Too ridiculous?”

“Absolutely not,” I say with a grin. “Waffles is perfect.”

“Okay then, it’s settled.” She gives a decisive nod and scratches under the kitten’s chin. “Welcome home, Waffles.”

Waffles purrs louder, as if she’s in complete agreement with her newly bestowed name.

Lilah leans her head on my shoulder and, unable to help myself, I press a kiss against her hair. One of my hands rests gently on her thigh as the other strokes the small bundle of fur snuggled between us.

I can honestly say that I’ve never felt more content.

When she shifts, stretching her legs out toward the coffeetable and flexing her feet with a sigh, I say, “Give them to me. Remember all the foot rubs I gave you in college?”

She hesitates. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” I say, giving her a look. “I want to.”

A beat passes before she swings her legs into my lap. My hands wrap around her ankle. Her skin is so soft, it sends a jolt straight through me.

Waffles jumps to the floor, batting around a toy I picked up at the store.

I press my thumbs into the arch of her foot, working steadily. I know exactly where to knead to make her melt, and when she lets out a quiet sound as her head tips back against the couch, my blood spikes white-hot and arousal rushes through my veins.

It takes every ounce of focus not to let my mind spiral to places it shouldn’t.

But it does anyway.

Especially when I take in her slightly parted lips or the way her lashes flutter against her cheekbones. She melts into me like I’m the only thing tethering her to the earth.