Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“Ew, no. What?” Knox repeated, but didn’t shy away from the touch, which made Liv feel all mushy inside. Knox accepted the rabbits but kept them at arm’s length. “Are these… gutted?”
Jag shook his head. “Oh, no, they’re fresh, barely caught. You can prepare them however you like.”
Knox stared at him. “But… I don’t know how to skin a rabbit. Or even cook one.”
Jag looked him up from head to toe. “Why? You should know such things at your age.”
“Right? How are you taking care of your man, Knox?” Liv asked in the most serious tone he could muster with a straight face.
Jag frowned at him. “No. You are the one who has to make sure your injured mate is fed, even if it’s usually him who cooks. Come by my house tomorrow. I will teach you how to handle rabbits. Otherwise, you’ll just waste them,” he said and snatched the animals from Knox’s hand.
Liv wanted to laugh it off, but hearing it put that way made his ears burn with shame. Of course he’d be taking care of Knox. How was that something to be questioned? “Um, okay, sure,” Liv said, even though the last thing he wanted was to handle blood and guts when they had a perfectly nice meal in the fridge, courtesy of Ezra.
Still, it was kind of Jag to think of them. Odd as he was, he did have a heart somewhere under his armor of scrap and leather.
Knox straightened. “I want to learn how to gut a rabbit too. The least I can do is cook more in the coming days.”
Liv’s heart warmed all over. Even now, Knox wanted to pull his weight, and while Liv would rather he rested in bed all day and eat Ezra’s stew, he knew his man was far too stubborn to be dissuaded.
As far as Liv was concerned, Knox could get whatever the hell he wished for. And if he dreamed of learning how to cook a rabbit, then Liv would skin the little beast with his teeth as long as Knox agreed to go through with the surgery.
Liv wished to bask in the radiance of Knox’s approval, to be the only one who got it, and hoard it all like a dragon. And in the future, once Knox was as healthy as he could be, Liv could make it his job to get Knox anything he dreamed of. Gadgets Knox didn’t need but wanted, a big-ass TV, as many cool jackets as he wanted, and hell, maybe even a fancy new car.
“We’ll come over tomorrow,” Liv said, because three was definitely a crowd right now.
Jag turned around and left without much of a goodbye, but Liv wasn’t complaining. He wanted Knox all to himself. They’d been all over each other since their first non-pretend kiss, so this unintended break in closeness had felt like forever. And, somehow, all the arguments and revelations made Liv’s need for Knox more urgent. As if only Knox’s touch could heal the bruises on his heart.
Knox turned to him with a thoughtful expression. “You think I could grill it?”
“You can do whatever you put your mind to, babe,” Liv said and gave him a kiss. He opened the trailer, letting his hand linger on the small of Knox’s back. “I considered carrying you past the threshold, but this door is way too narrow. We are not risking your arm today.”
Knox snorted as Liv held the door for him. “I’m on pain meds, I’ll be okay. Wow, it’s so nice and warm in here.”
“Are you saying you want to be carried? Should we be practicing for the day when we tie the knot?” Liv asked, surprised by how easy those words left his mouth. He’d always been the kind of guy who’d rather not mention the M-word and who proclaimed his desire to play the field for as long as possible, but Knox and he had lived together for so long that being with him forever seemed… natural.
Future had always been a vague concept for Liv, but it became so clear now with an unexpected element that completed it—this new kind of relationship with Knox.
Knox raised his eyebrows, but a flush crawled up his neck. “If you joke about it enough times, I might just take you up on the offer.”
Who says it’s a joke? Got stuck in Liv’s throat like a bit of food that might end up choking him, but he swallowed it down and smiled. “I’ll just leave you to imagining me in a dress and veil,” he said, shaking his head because the moment he saw it in his own mind, laughter rose in his chest and spilled out.
Knox snorted, and his eyes seemed to sparkle as he watched Liv. Even now, tired out after all the scary shit they’d been through, he was like a Calvin Klein model with his tousled blond hair and pouty mouth. Liv just needed to learn to navigate what it meant to be another guy’s boyfriend in the long-term. But he’d get there. He might not be the smartest person, but he had the will to be the best partner Knox could imagine. That had to count for something.