The Marine's Pet Read Online Free

gay abandon. There were shenanigans of all kinds, paint was spilled, sculptures were made out of various food items, discussions were held simultaneously in English, French, and Italian, or what people insisted was French and Italian, though Sarah insisted that reading the back of imported foodstuffs didn’t count.
    Things were drunk and some things were smoked and other things were left to dissolve under people’s tongues and by the end of the evening Sarah was fairly convinced she was standing at the precipice of the end of the world, casting spells to the amazement of her compatriots.
    And then it went dark.
    “Sarah!?”
    She roused herself from what felt like more death than slumber. It was as if she was trying to swim through molasses just opening her eyes. When she eventually managed to pry her lids open, she found herself on the floor, looking up into the very concerned face of her lover.
    “Sarah, what happened?” Austin reached down and hauled her up to her feet. Unfortunately, her legs weren’t working so she slid back down his body almost all the way to the floor before he managed to catch her and pull her up against his hard frame.
    “I don’t know,” she said fuzzily. “I had a few friends over… a few drinks…”
    “How much did you drink?”
    “Maybe three?”
    “You had to have had more than three to be in this state.”
    “I think maybe there was something else,” she said. “Maybe a pill or something.”
    “Someone slipped you a pill?
    “No.” Sarah shook her head. “Everybody was taking them.”
    Austin’s eyes narrowed at her, then did a quick sweep of the room. “Where’s Nunu?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Austin propped her up on the couch like a ragdoll and went to look for the dog. Unfortunately, he was not successful. After several minutes of searching, it soon became apparent that Nunu was not in the house, her studio, or the garden for that matter. Nunu was gone.
    “The gate was open when I came in,” Austin said. “He’s likely run away.”
    “Nunu!” The word erupted from Sarah in a plaintive cry. She struggled to get to her feet, but failed in the act, plunking back down on the couch.
    “You’ve gotten yourself in a real mess, haven’t you,” Austin sighed. He slipped his arms around her and hefted her to her feet.
    “We have to find Nunu!”
    “I’ll call some of my friends and have them start a search around here,” Austin said. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
    He steadied her on her feet for a moment, then swept her up into his arms when it became apparent that walking was going to be fairly risky business. Sarah was present enough to be simultaneously mortified and worried as he carried her into the bathroom, deposited her gently in the tub, and began stripping her clothes off.
    She could feel the disappointment coming off him in waves.
    “I’ve upset you, haven’t I.” She looked up at him under her lashes as he began taking his own shirt off.
    “Let’s not talk about that now,” Austin said, making her heart sink. He turned the shower on, dipping the showerhead to let the water run down behind her back as it warmed up.
    “I want to talk about it,” Sarah said. “Because I really didn’t mean to go this far, the evening just sort of got away from us…”
    “You don’t need to explain yourself,” Austin said, handing her the showerhead as he soaped a washcloth.
    Her expression crumpled in the face of his detached displeasure. “I can’t stand you being mad at me right now,” Sarah sobbed. “Please don’t be angry at me. Please.”
    He sighed as he kneeled down next to the tub. “You know I don’t condone this lifestyle,” he said. “And I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay relatively sober. You were going to keep the place tidy. You were going to be a more responsible owner for your dog. I come here today, you’re passed out in a pile of filth, and Nunu is God knows where.”
    “I’m sorry,” Sarah said