I switched off the vacuum and stood still for a moment, unable to believe my ears until he roared again. “Aly! Open the fucking door! The walls are paper thin and I can hear you vacuuming!”
That was when I padded to the door and opened it a crack to find Jake standing on the other side with a tiny chocolate-colored fur ball in his hands.
“Jake? What are you doing here?”
He pushed the door all the way open and strutted right into my apartment without a word. “Shut the door, Aly. It’s bad enough these walls are crap. The neighbors are going to hear enough.”
I couldn’t answer; I simply stared at him openmouthed. The only sounds in the room were little whimpers coming from the puppy.
Jake frowned at me, then shrugged. “Okay, I’ll do it.” He crossed the room again and pushed the door closed with a muddy boot, flipping the lock while still cradling the pup.
Turning back to me, he said, “Listen, I’m sorry I pushed the issue of you moving. What I’m not sorry for is meeting you. By some cruel twist of fate, I was meant to meet you, to meet a woman who’s way too good for me, but who needs me to take care of her. So if you don’t want to move, I bought you a dog. He may be little now, but he’ll be great protection for you.” Then he grinned at me, a huge grin that clearly said he was quite proud of himself.
“A dog? Jake, I work long hours, take the bus . . . I can’t take care of a dog.”
I grabbed the back of my couch, needing to prop myself up since my knees suddenly felt like they might fold under me. A strange combination of nerves, excitement, and fear shot through me, coursing through my blood and making me dizzy.
There was a dog in my apartment. Being held by Jake, the man I’d been having crazy sex dreams about for the last few nights. He’d stormed into my life, larger than life and full of himself, so certain that I needed him. And maybe I did.
Everything was changing and it was all so overwhelming. He stood there staring at me, expecting some sort of reaction, but I was such an emotional mess, I found myself speechless.
Finally Jake shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. I can stop by and let Maverick out when I’m traveling between gyms, but he’s here to stay.” He set the puppy down on the floor and the little bugger made a beeline for my bare feet, licking and sniffing every inch, his tail wagging.
“Maverick?”
“Aly, meet Maverick, your very own personal bodyguard.”
When another wide grin spread across Jake’s face and his eyes lit up, I felt myself relenting. How could I not?
“Maverick? Hardly seems like a bodyguard to me.” I bent down to pet the little fluff ball, and he immediately rolled over on his back.
“Not yet, but he’s a Lab. He’ll grow fast and will bond with you. He’ll be so fucking attached to you, no one will be able to get near you. Right, Maverick? He’s a tough dude, you better believe it.” Jake crouched on the floor next to me, wrapped his arm around me, and breathed the next part in my ear. “Except for me.”
His words were warm on my skin, igniting a path straight from my ear to the area between my thighs. I shifted a little, uncomfortable at the tingle that started there. It reminded me of my dreams, and the pent-up desire they’d triggered.
“It’s too much,” I said. “I don’t even know the first thing about taking care of a dog.” I kept my gaze on the floor, running my hand in figure eights on the furry belly in front of me, fearful of looking into Jake’s eyes. One glance, and I was afraid I’d sell my soul for this man.
In my whole life, no one had ever gone all-out for me, not like Jake. No one had ever tried to take care of me before, and I wasn’t that kind of girl, someone who needed a man to take care of her. I was a strong, independent woman who put herself through law school. The whole time Jake spoke, I kept reminding myself of this—I didn’t let outsiders in.
“Aly-cat, it’s not too hard. I already got food for him, and a crate in the truck. We’ll take him to the vet to make sure he’s up on his shots, and you’ll take him on walks. And don’t worry about the expense, I got that covered.”
His words sent my thoughts into overdrive, pinging from one issue to the next.
Aly-cat?
I got that covered.
I’m a strong, independent woman falling for the bad guy.
“How do you know all this? That he’ll bond with me and will take care of me? Or even what food to feed him?”
My knees were protesting from being crouched down so long, so I slid down to the floor even closer to Maverick. Unable to stop myself, I bent lower and I took a deep whiff of the tiny pup. He smelled heavenly. I was so in love already—with the dog, that is.
Jake reached out to tug gently on the pup’s ear. “I spent the weekend with my brother, Lane, and his wife, Bess. She has the best dog, Brooks Bailey. A long time ago, she went through a dark time and she rescued Brooks from the pound. Now those two are thick as thieves, and you should see the way that dog watches every move she makes . . . well, when he’s not watching their baby. He sleeps underneath the crib now. So, I know.” He lay down on the floor opposite me with Maverick, my new guard dog, between us.
“He is super sweet,” I admitted, taking another whiff. “But it’s too much. We just met, had one date, and now you’re buying me a dog and calling me Aly-cat. It’s all too much for me. This doesn’t happen in my world.”
He brought his hand on top of mine, our entwined palms now resting on Mav’s chest, absorbing his rapid heartbeat together.
Yes, I already had a nickname for the dog—Mav.
“It’s not too much,” he said, his voice softer than I’d heard it before. “I don’t believe in all that love-at-first-sight bull or kismet nonsense, but I’ve been in therapy long enough to know some things are meant to be. And I was meant for you, Aly, for however long you’ll let me stay. So, let me in.”
He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, its heat practically singing my fair skin before he continued. “Plus, I adopted him from the shelter where Bess found Brooks. We’re doing a good deed, you and me, giving this guy a home. Up there in the country, dogs have litters all the time, and usually they’re dropped off at the rescue place. Not all of them can be adopted, so some of them have to be put down. It seemed like a good thing to make sure that this little guy didn’t go that way.”
At that info I looked up at Jake, making full eye contact for the first time since he showed up at the door, and dutifully nodded.
Jake didn’t waste any more time on words or glances. He just leaned in again, this time kissing me on the lips, a soft, tender, closed-mouth kiss. It was obvious he hadn’t shaved in a few days because he had the beginnings of a scruffy beard, and I lost myself in the dual sensations of the sweetness of his lips and the coarseness of the little hairs rubbing my chin.
My eyes drifted shut and all I could feel was Jake. His mouth on mine, taking his time exploring my lips, all while three hearts beat in tandem, creating their own symphony. He ran his tongue along my lower lip, seeking permission to enter, and I opened for him. For the first time in my life, I felt lucky, certain that I was the girl everyone envied because Jake Wrigley was kissing me.
This thing between us—whatever it was—was odd, and definitely moving fast. Jake and I just met; I hardly knew anything about him, and he barely knew anything about me and my poor upbringing. My dad’s memory was always with me, and my mom’s dementia and the weight of my school loans loomed over me, but a beautiful, sensitive man was kissing me as if I were the most special girl in the world.
Yes, I was the lucky one.
He tasted minty and salty—all man—and I wanted more. I gave my own tongue permission to seek his, exploring his mouth the way he’d just explored mine. Jake slipped his hand around my back and pulled me closer, dropping his thumb and stroking the side of my breast through my sweatshirt. I felt myself get wet below, a pool of desire dripping into my pajama bottoms from one innocent twitch of his thumb. A small whimper escaped me, and he brought his hand underneath my sweatshirt, slowly sliding up to my breast.