When Chloe had said she had the perfect pet for Marcus, I'd figured she meant, like, a turtle. Or an iguana. Or a naked mole rat—because, hey! no feathers, no fur. And I figured it was fair turnabout for abandoning me with her. But when she'd called to Mr. Jenkins and that big old softy had laid his head on her shoulder—come on! I really didn't have a choice, did I? But this? This was not what I had expected. Not this big-ass, eats creatures whole, scaley, squeezy—

"Snake?" The word came out of my mouth in a much higher and more uneven tone that I would have preferred, and I cleared my throat. "Isn't that thing a little... big? Is it even legal to keep it as a pet?"

Marcus shot me a dirty look. "You know how I feel about referring to animals as it."

I gulped, holding Princess and Sally's leashes a little tighter. I was fairly certain Mr. Jenkins could hold his own against the constrictor, but just in case, I took a couple steps further away from the glass tank.

"Whisper is seven point five feet long and the snake doctor Daddy talked to said she was probably about ten years old."

Marcus was looking nose-to-nose at the snake through the glass, making me nervous. "Ten? Does that mean she's old?" Like, not going to live much longer?

My hopes were dashed when Chloe shook her head. "No, she's probably a teenager. She will probably live at least another ten years, but could live for as much as thirty years. Though that's rare." She sounded like a freaking textbook. And another thirty years? That was more commitment than a kid! And I wasn't even ready for that responsibility. 

"Here's the adoption papers," Chloe was saying. "You can give them to the adoption desk at the front. You know the drill." 

That last phrase was so ridiculously cute, it almost made me forget how uncomfortable I was with the damn. Giant. Snake.

"You're not seriously going to take that thing home, are you?" I asked Marcus. "Where are you going to put it?"

Marcus looked torn. How could he be torn about a dog eating monster? "Killian is right, my apartment is a little small."

Chloe took Marcus's hand and tugged his gaze down to hers. "Marcus. You and Blubby are lonely. You need Whisper. Besides. It's very difficult to home boa constrictors her size. Lots of people like the idea of them, but because they live so long, they get tired, and give them away. Just imagine how sad Whisper is, knowing that no one wants her."

Blubby needed Whisper like he needed a freaking shark. But I knew I'd already lost the argument. 

"That thing..." at Marcus's glare, I started over. "Whisper is not going in my freaking car."

Marcus gave me puppy dog eyes, and don't get me wrong, they were beyond adorable, but nothing in this world was adorable enough to convince me to put a snake in my car. Especially one as big as Whisper. Who could eat Princess in one bite. Sally in two. She could probably handle Mr. Jenkins in a day.

Marcus took the papers from Chloe and she stuck her hand out to him, her face solemn as she shook his hand. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'm afraid I must go, however. Other animals need me."

"Worst date ever," I moaned, shaking my head, and Chloe's father laughed. 

"She has that effect on people."

"Oh, you two hush, she's a precious gem and a unicorn. The world needs more like her," Marcus chided us, stroking the glass in front of Whisper. Her tongue flickered out and I shivered.

"I'll come back for you, sweet thing," he said. "We just have to convince big, mean Killian that you're harmless."

Harmless my ass.

"Let's talk about something, anything, other than snakes," I said as he took Mr. Jenkins and Princess's leashes from me, Princess still riding Mr. Jenkins like the royalty he was.

"Can we talk about food? Because I'm starving."

Thank fucking goodness. "Food is completely acceptable. How do you feel about truck food?"

"My fave," Marcus said, and proceeded to find the tallest, widest, most loaded platter of nachos I had seen in my life.

"Is that to share?" I asked.

"You can have some if you want," Marcus said with a shrug as we found a clear picnic table. Mr. Jenkins sat politely at his feet and Princess curled up on the bench next to him, but Sally pranced impatiently in place, drooling at the scent of his nachos. "I can totally finish this whole thing by myself, but I don't need to, that's for sure."

I took one nacho, making sure it had all the basics: meat, cheese, jalapeno salsa, sour cream. "You can finish this by yourself?" I didn't buy it.

Marcus looked suddenly self-conscious. He flipped his hair, and I saw his wall come sliding down in a way I hadn't seen since we'd slept together. Before he could lock it in place, I nudged the platter to him. "Game on."

His mask faltered. "Wh-what?"

"Prove it. Prove you can eat that whole thing."

Marcus scoffed. "I don't have to prove anything."

I shrugged. "If you can't, you can't. It's okay. But now I just won't be able to believe you when you make claims like that."

The mask fell completely, and the Marcus I knew was in there smiled with fierce competition. "Is this a timed contest?"

I waved airily. I didn't care whether he ate that whole damn platter or not. I didn't know why that mask had come back, but I knew I didn't like it. If this distracted him... "No time. I just don't think you can do it at all."

Marcus rolled his neck and cracked his fingers. "Watch and learn, Killer."

And I had to admit, I was impressed. Not only did Marcus eat the whole platter, he didn't seem uncomfortable after doing so.

Marcus tapped the corners of his mouth primly after finishing, and then said, "Done. So do I get a reward?"

He didn't say anything more suggestive with all the kids around, but his eyes spoke volumes. I had to adjust myself in my pants.

"Sure, Blondie. Anything you want."

His eyes dropped into a sultry look. "Anything I want?" His leg caressed my inner thigh under the table and I gulped.

"Anything." My eyes drifted closed.

"I want to take Whisper back in your car."

That sent me crashing back to reality, and I opened my eyes to see Marcus shaking in silent laughter. "Anything but that, you asshole."

I'd never had this with anyone before, this mix of laughter and sexiness and... and family. I'd been infatuated with Marcus for a long time, but I was pretty sure I was stepping into something deeper with him. I couldn't name it. Not so soon. But it whispered tantalizingly in the back of my mind.