College kids frequent this spot, too, and the last thing we need is a bunch of drunk idiots running around. I’m going for a quiet, stargazing kind of vibe. Not sure where the howling at the moon part will come in, but I’ll leave that up to her.
Chapter Ten
TRAVIS
“Fuck, I can’t remember ever having better barbecue,” I exclaim, leaning back against a boulder overlooking the hot springs with Faith pressed to my side. “That cornbread really is legendary. I think we’ve found our new favorite spot.” I stretch out, kicking off my boots.
“How can we have a new favorite spot if we don’t even have an old favorite spot? I mean, apart from your garage and my feed store.” A part of me wants to point out it’s her fault since she refuses to go out with me in public. I don’t want to taint a perfectly good night with bickering, though.
Besides, I wouldn’t trade the current moment for anything in the world. We’ve both eaten well and had a few beers, and we’re feeling relaxed. So relaxed that her right hand’s under my T-shirt, palming my abs. If her hand strays even an inch lower, it’ll be tough to stay a gentleman.
“The gas station’s our old favorite spot,” I tease, screwing my face up to look serious. “I’m hurt you don’t remember.”
She giggles. “You know, before you officially declare our favorite barbecue spot, leave a little room to try one of my favorite recipes.”
Warm waves expand around my heart as I turn towards her. “Sounds like a second date to me.”
Maybe she’s ready to tell Birdie we’re a thing. As much as I want to believe tonight is a night full of change and new potential, until she starts introducing me as her man around Hollister and bringing me around her family, I can’t help but have reservations.
She nods, blushing. “You know I make a mean plate of barbecue rabbit ribs. If I could ever talk you into trying them.”
We’ve had this conversation before, and my reaction is always the same. My face scrunches at the idea.Fucking rabbit ribs?Not only do they have to be tiny, but the thought of eating something so cute and fluffy sounds terrible.“I’ll come over anytime you want me to, Faith, but it’s still a hard pass on the rabbit ribs.”
“Why?” She points her chin in the air defiantly.
I shake my head, trying to wrap my head around how she harvests those adorable animals for meat.
“We’ve been over this. They’re too damn cute to eat, Faith.”
“A single doe can produce up to two hundred-fifty pounds of meat in offspring per year. That’s the equivalent of one-third of a cow. People have raised them for backyard meat production since at least the Middle Ages, and they’re a staple animal for homesteaders.”
I counter, “No offense, but there are plenty of things people did in the Middle Ages that I want no part of. Like burning witches at the stake and using thumb screws. How can you stand killing them, anyway?”
She shakes her head, correcting, “I don’t do the killing. A guy comes out to the ranch to butcher and process the meat. It’s no different than what your family does with your cattle.”
“But you have to tell him which ones to kill. Doesn’t that make you an accessory to murder?”
I adore how her cheeks flair with color as our conversation heats up. “There’s no reasoning with you.”
“Cows aren’t adorable like little fuzzy-wuzzy rabbits,” I argue, touching the tip of her nose with my finger to emphasize my point.
“Are you trying to tell me baby cows and pigs are any less cute? Especially after we just stuffed our faces, guilt-free, with both?”
“I’ll give you the fact they’re cute. But they’re not fluffy cute.”
She laughs, questioning, “Is that even a thing? Fluffy cute?”
“Yes, ma’am. Fluffy cute. And it’s where I draw the line.”
“Am I fluffy cute?” she asks seductively, turning towards me.Well, shit, that sounds like a trick question.
I pull her into my arms, turning her so she’s lying on top of me with my arms locked around her waist. The feel of her soft curves hugging my body sends uncontrollable shivers of desire to my core, and my cock goes on high alert.
“No, mama, you’re not fluffy cute.”
“Why not?” she asks, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout. I’m about two seconds away from tipping my head up to suck that gorgeous little lip before ravaging her mouth again.
But I can’t miss a chance to talk dirty to her. “Because I’d eat you in a heartbeat. Every sweet little inch of you.”
