A cold nose nudges against my arm, followed by low, incessant whining, and at first I think I’m dreaming. Of a dog tugging on my arm, trying to pull me somewhere, but the both of us getting frustrated because I can’t figure out what she wants.

I crack open my eyes to find Molly’s face in mine and she licks my hand. Immediately I pull it under the covers, but she doesn’t appear offended. No, she pants, practically smiling at me, her warm dog breath blowing across my face and making me grimace. I blow out a harsh breath, closing my eyes, wishing she’d go away.

She nudges my arm again. Then licks it, offering up a soft “ruff” to encourage my lazy ass to get out of bed. I’m not getting out of this.

“All right, all right,” I mutter, keeping my voice low so I don’t wake up Katie. She’s nestled up close to me, warm and naked and too damn delicious to leave in this bed by herself, but I have to. I pull away from her slowly, careful not to disturb her. She murmurs something unintelligible and rolls over on her side, facing me, and I pause, watching her, waiting for her to wake up.

But she doesn’t.

I slip out of bed and grab the pair of sweats I left on the chair in her room the last time I was here. Pulling them on and the T-shirt I wore earlier, I snap my fingers at Molly and she falls into step behind me, the two of us walking slowly. I lead her down the hall and through the kitchen to the door that opens to the backyard.

Molly practically flies out the door the second it swings open, sniffing around the perimeter of the backyard, pausing in spots like she’s discovered something extra good, her nose buried in the grass or a bush, only for her to trot off until she finds the next spot worthy of a good sniff.

I stand on the back porch, shivering in the cold night air as I watch her. I forgot to check my phone, so I have no idea what time it is. Molly stops and pees here and there and I wait for her, knowing this is her ritual, though usually I get it handled before I go to bed. She’ll come up to the porch when she’s done and sit by my feet; she always does. It’s just that some pee sessions take a little longer than others.

My thoughts drift, my mind still hazy from sleep and sex. Earlier with Katie had been especially good. Every time we have sex I feel closer to her. I’ve paid attention, learning her body’s cues, what she prefers, where she likes to be touched. Kissed. Sucked.

Breathing deep, I scrub my arms with my hands to create some heat considering it’s so damn cold I feel like my balls are gonna freeze off. But instead of focusing on my cold balls, I think about my girl and what gets her off. Yeah, Katie likes soft, slow kisses with lots of tongue. Gentle touches that make her shiver and shake. She especially likes it when I suck her nipples, and when I go down on her? I don’t think she wants to like it, but she does.

I wouldn’t mind going back inside and waking her up with my mouth all over her body. Stroking her between her legs, kissing her neck and her breasts, driving her wild before she’s even fully awake . . .

A loud snapping sound comes from somewhere deep in the woods beyond the house, and I lift my head at the same moment Molly goes completely still. She tilts her head back, nose in the air, her nostrils quivering as she sniffs again and again. And that’s when she goes bat-shit crazy.

The low, scary growl she emits is immediately followed by an outburst of constant, ferocious barking, unlike anything I’ve heard come out of her before. She runs back and forth along the back fence, like she wants to jump over it and take off running into the dark, dense woods. I’m damn thankful she can’t. I’d probably never be able to coax her back inside.

I try to get her to quiet down from where I stand on the porch, but she’s too wound up now. Panting and whining in between all the barking, so loud she’s probably going to wake the entire neighborhood. Reluctantly I run down into the yard, yelping when my bare feet hit the cold, wet grass. Molly’s still barking uncontrollably and I grab hold of her collar, offering her a stern no.

She quiets down, her butt hitting the ground and her tail thumping wildly, flicking up moisture from the grass, and it lands on my sweats. She’s still whining; her entire body is tense. Poised to run. Letting go of her collar, I go to the fence and carefully step onto the ledge, hoping like hell I don’t get splinters in the bottom of my feet. Molly’s just behind me, pacing back and forth, the low whine continuous. I peer over the edge of the wood, staring into the dark forest, but I can’t see a damn thing. The moon’s not even a quarter full, so the night sky is dark. Black.

Ominous.

Molly finally settles down—somewhat—sitting directly behind me, whining and fidgety, but I ignore her. Something flickers in the trees—was that a flashlight? I squint into the darkness, mentally willing that flickering to happen again when Molly gives a happy bark and dashes off toward the house.

“What are you doing?”

I turn to see Katie standing on the back porch, sleepy and disheveled and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at her. She turned the porch light on, so she’s cast in a golden glow that makes her blond hair shine. She has a quilt from the foot of her bed wrapped around her and I’d bet money she has nothing on underneath it.

Shit.

Glancing back at the woods one more time, I see nothing. No flickering of light, no movement, not a sound, not even a whisper that something was out there. Molly’s totally over it; instead she’s happy to see Katie’s joined us for our too-early morning adventures, and I hop off the fence, quickly dashing back to the porch so I can join them.

“Molly had to go outside,” I explain when I stop just in front of her.

Katie nods, her eyes barely open. She looks tired and sort of out of it. “Let’s go back to bed,” she whispers.

I check over my shoulder one more time, but no one’s out there. I’m freaking out over nothing. It was probably a small animal that stepped on a branch. Molly caught scent of it and went crazy. I can’t blame her.

“Okay,” I murmur, slipping my arm around Katie and leading her back to the door, Molly right at our heels. I firmly turn the deadbolt into place and we all go back to bed, Molly sleeping on the floor while I proceed to make love to Katie one more time, quick and easy and satisfying, before she falls asleep in my arms. Yet I stay awake.

Plagued by the ominous feeling that never really leaves me for the rest of the night.