“You amaze me,” he said. “I thought this was a wild hair thing, and you tell me there are already books and movies about the subject.”
“Well, yeah. I’ve told you, I’m a good researcher. That’s what librarians do. We stockpile knowledge and share it with people.”
He slid into bed next to her and pulled her close. “I love it when you surprise me like this. You know more than anyone I’ve ever met.”
He watched her blush as she dropped her head onto his shoulder. Damned adorable.
“How did things go with Maverick tonight?”
“Good. I took him around the block nearly five times. He had a lot of energy, but he minded well.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“We missed you, though.”
“We’ll go together tomorrow after work, if you’re up for that.”
“I am. I love all the routines we’ve worked out.”
He hadn’t thought of it that way, but they had created a bunch of routines together. He and Maverick worked out together every morning during the week. He stopped by to have lunch with MJ several times a week at the library, and he often made dinner for them before they headed out to walk Maverick together. “There’s one thing we haven’t done, though.”
“What’s that?” she poked him in the side.
“We haven’t created a routine for a date night. We have other routines, but I think we need to have at least one night a week we reserve for spending together and having fun. I want to make sure we don’t get into a rut and forget to build our relationship.” He gazed in her eyes to see what she thought of the idea.
“You’re right. We need to nurture our relationship by spending special time together. What night do you want to designate as date night? Should we set a certain day of the week, or set a different day every week?”
“Let’s set a special day. We can change it if it doesn’t work, but I don’t want it to get lost if we get busy. Is that okay?” He checked for her reaction.
She nodded in agreement. “Sure. I think it should be Friday or Saturday night.”
“I agree. That’s traditional. My vote would be Saturday. That way we can expand it to a whole day if we want to.”
“Ooh,” she squealed. “You already want to turn date night into date-all-day?”
“Well, sure.” He leaned in to tickle her, and she retaliated. Both of them ended up laughing and wrestling with each other, until they fell against each other, kissing and gasping for breath.
Maverick seemed confused about whether they were fighting, because he jumped up onto the bed, and sat between them, giving each a solemn doggy stare, which made them laugh even harder.
“Stop!” MJ begged, laughing, and holding her stomach. “It hurts.”
Maverick licked her face. “That’s right, boy. Protect her,” Rob said, trying to stop laughing. He leaned over and ruffled the dog’s fur. “Good boy. Bravo.”
He got up and led the dog into the hallway, before coming back into the bedroom and closing the door. He slipped out of his clothes and slid into bed next to MJ.
“C’mere,” he whispered. “I want you all to myself.”
***
MJ swam back to consciousness with a series of kisses on her face, her neck, and her shoulders. She’d been having the best dream of her and Rob walking on a mountain trail together, holding hands, and talking about their future. She felt such love in the dream, and it transferred over to the present moment. Ahh. She dreamed they lived on a ranch overlooking the Smoky Mountains. They had horses, cattle, chickens, and even a goat. Maverick had been in the dream, and he watched over them. Protecting them and their stock from coyotes, wolves, and bears. She’d never thought about living on a ranch, so the way she’d embraced this fantasy so fully surprised her. It hadn’t ever been anything she’d imagined. With Rob, though, it would seem like a natural thing.
Insistent kisses pulled her out of memories of her dream and lit a fire of desire. She moaned and turned to kiss him back.
“Good morning, sweetheart. Did you have a nice dream?” His deep, sexy voice made her wiggle closer.
“Oh, yes. It was wonderful.” Her own voice came out husky.
“I suspected that. The way you were moaning made me hot. Sorry, I couldn’t stand to let you keep sleeping. I hope you were dreaming of me.”
“Of course. You’re my love, the man of my dreams.” There was a bump at the bedroom door. “Uh oh, it sounds like the other male in my life wants some attention.”
Rob huffed as if in protest. “Here I thought I was the only male in your life.”
“Sorry. You’ve got to share. Don’t worry, though, I have enough love for you both.”
Rob laughed. “I sure hope so. I think I could take him, but I’m not sure. He’s pretty well trained in mouth-to-hand combat.”
She giggled. “Well, we’d better not test it.” She scrambled to her feet, and opened the door, falling back into bed as Maverick rushed in and tangled himself around her feet.
“Calm down, buddy,” Rob said. “I’ll take you out in a minute.”
“Great, because I need to take a shower and get ready for work. I’ve got to get ready for story time this morning, and I haven’t picked out a book yet.”
After she finished drying her hair and getting dressed for work, Rob and Maverick were back. Rob had brewed a cup of coffee for her, and filled the dog’s bowl full of kibble.
“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked.
She checked the clock. “I don’t have time for anything. I’ll just drink my coffee and take some yogurt to work with me.”
“How
