His Human (The New Neighbors #2) - M.A. Innes Page 0,29

product can be consumed dry or as part of a roasted mix of nuts and other edibles?”

Dry?

“Granola?” I had to smile as he nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe I’ll get some when I go to the grocery store next time.”

“Yes. I shall help you shop and make sure your kitchen is fully stocked.” He glanced around the room like he was taking personal offense at the state of my cabinets.

“I’ve been busy.” I managed to shrug. “And there are a lot of takeout places around here.”

He made a low, almost disappointed sound. “If you are too busy to care for yourself in a safe manner, you may be working too many hours, my little human.”

Yep, I knew that’d been coming.

“Possibly.” As he fed me another bite, I ate it slowly to drag out the moment. When I couldn’t put it off any longer, I swallowed. “Business has been going great and I appreciate that, but yes, I’ve been working a lot.”

“Is that a requirement of your business plan or is that voluntary?” As he scooped up another bite, he kept questioning me. “I do remember your insistence that my control does not extend to your career, but I would like to know the parameters of that rule.”

We were going to have to talk about him using big words before the sun came up.

“I appreciate you remembering that, but questioning me about things isn’t breaking the rule.” He shifted me slightly, freeing up my fingers so I could stroke his limb. “I’ll look at how many hours I’ve been putting in and see what’s necessary and what’s not. Is that fair?”

Because honestly, if he was going to come over every night, I needed to adjust my schedule at least a little.

“I think that is a fair compromise.” Pleased with himself, he fed me another bite of oatmeal. “And as you adjust your schedule accordingly, I will help you to maintain an adequate food supply in your home.”

That seemed to translate into we were going grocery shopping as soon as I got off at a reasonable hour.

Finishing my bite, I mentally smiled because that was probably the most interesting thing a Dom had ever focused on. It was kind of cute.

“Do you have any meetings this afternoon?” His schedule was almost as bad as mine, but he was working the equivalent of three part-time jobs, so I couldn’t complain.

“No, I do not have any conference calls today. They are still discussing my new design modifications. They will come to realize I am right, but based on their previous timelines, I have at least two more days before they will need to discuss them again.”

Evidently, humans were very predictable.

“Then would you like to go to the store later? I’ll take off work early and we’ll go run errands.” It was probably the most boring date I’d ever suggested, but Maverick’s entire body perked up in excitement.

“Yes. That will be a good way to spend our evening.” His tentacles started rippling over me, sending a shiver through me. “Humans require a broader variety of nutrients than are currently present in your pantry.”

It wasn’t that bad.

Maverick didn’t agree. “I have been researching the appropriate caretaking of humans. You are surprisingly difficult to keep healthy, but I will be diligent.”

He knew I wasn’t some kind of rabbit he was keeping as a pet, right?

But the excited way he was talking about taking care of me was kind of cute.

Maybe being his rabbit wouldn’t be so bad.

Chapter 10

Trip

I couldn’t believe we’d gotten serious so quickly over the past few days that I was willing to brave hell for him.

“Hi, Mom.”

It was the craziest thing I’d ever done for a guy, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate the sacrifice at all.

“Oh, I know that tone in your voice. What happened? Did you meet someone? Did you break up already?” She could’ve kept going, but when she took a breath, I jumped in.

“Mom. Stop worrying.” I made the mistake of taking a breath and it was her turn to steer the conversation again.

Damned need for oxygen.

“Did you try one of those sex apps instead of something nice? I told you that you need to find a sweet religious boy or someone—”

“Mom!”

She scoffed and kept going. “You know I’m right. Nice boys don’t hang out on naughty apps trying to score sex in a back alley somewhere.”

What the hell was she reading?

“No one has sex in alleys.” That was just gross.

A blow job tops, but certainly not sex.

She made a