“Okay,” he said. “Not quite yet.”
They fell silent for a while. Which worked for him. Silence always worked for him. Around them, the night carried on. The water slapped at the rocks at the shore’s edge. The crickets were going to town. Far in the distance came a howl of something, and then a beat later came a matching howl.
Lilah shivered.
Brady stroked a hand down her back and pressed his face into her hair. Coconut again, and something else, the combination both sweet and sexy. She was cold, her nose especially, which he knew because she had it pressed to the base of his throat. Her hands were tangled in the material of his shirt, her ass snug to his crotch. He was doing his damnedest not to fixate on that, but she was squirming a little.
He was aware that he shouldn’t be turned on while holding an upset woman, and he gripped her hips to keep her still.
“Why are you here?” she finally whispered, voice hoarse.
The question of the day. “A friendly visit?”
“It’s late for friendly. It’s more like booty-call hour.”
He tightened his grip on her booty and rubbed his jaw to hers. “Don’t tease me.”
She choked out a laugh-as he’d meant her to-and then there was more easy silence, which was his favorite kind. They continued to watch the night go by, and when her occasional shuddery inhales had dwindled away completely, he hugged her. “Tell me.”
She sighed. “Sadie’s mommy showed up.”
“Does she have only three legs, too?”
She let out a mirthless laugh and rubbed her hands over her face. “Her human mommy. I had to give her back tonight, Brady.”
Shit. He ran his hands up and down her back and neck, over her muscles which were rigid and tense. “So you reunited a family.”
“Yes.” She didn’t say anything else, just sat there staring out at the water looking lost and sad. “Which I realize is the point. But… ” She closed her eyes and fell quiet.
“You had this one awhile.”
“Four weeks, three days.”
The pain in her voice killed him. “You get attached. Emotionally.”
She turned her head away from him, signifying he was an idiot. Which, of course, when it came to this stuff, he totally was. “I guess that’s the brutal reality of your job, right? You care for them until you can reunite them with their family or find them a new family. I mean it sucks to let go, but doesn’t it also make you feel good? A job well done?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “But the letting-go thing. I have a hard time with that. Always have. I loved Sadie,” she whispered. “So much.”
He’d never felt so useless in his entire life. “But it’s okay to let something go out of love,” he said, trying logic and reason. “When you’re being part of a solution, in making a situation better.”
Lilah’s eyes filled again, and he realized his mistake-there was no logic and reason for her right now.
“I hate letting them go,” she whispered thickly.
“You’d rather keep them all?”
“Yes.”
Well, if that didn’t completely lay out their differences right there, he had no idea what could. “You have others still. Like that last wild kitten. Boss?” At her nod, he went on. “And you have all the others you care for, even if they’re not technically yours, like the piglet. And that duck. And the lamb-”
Another tear escaped, running down her cheek. “Lilah,” he said helplessly.
She choked out a laugh and dropped her head to his shoulder. Again he pulled her in, wrapping her in his arms, which by sheer luck seemed to be the right thing to do.
Letting out one shuddery sigh, she nuzzled in and he tightened his grip on the most confusing, baffling woman he’d ever met.
“Brady?” she asked, sounding waterlogged.
“Yeah?” He was still gob-smacked that logic hadn’t worked but a hug had.
“About that booty call,” she whispered, and it was his turn to choke out a laugh.
Lilah woke up with papers stuck to her face. She was in bed with her books and laptop.
She’d fallen asleep studying, again.
“Mew, mew, mew.”
Boss, not Sadie, and her heart stuttered. Life went on… And Boss clearly felt that she’d slept long enough. He worked at climbing up the mountain that was her bed. It took him a while. He was tiny and new to his claws, but finally he stood triumphant on her chest.
She sighed and stroked him, and he began to rumble with his little baby purr. She’d pleased him.
She wished someone would stroke her until she purred.
Last night had been rough. Brady had brought her home, and though she’d attempted to pull him inside with her and let him distract her from her spectacularly bad night, he’d resisted. He’d tucked her into bed, kissed her long and thoroughly, then left.
Just as well, really. She’d been waaay too vulnerable, and given that being in bed with Brady tended to strip her down to a naked, raw, earthy emotional state such as she’d never felt before, she was grateful he’d been smarter than she.
Because last night? She would have fallen in love with him for sure.
So she’d forced a smile when he’d pulled free of the bone-melting kiss, playfully swatted him on his very fine ass, and watched him walk away.
And then, apparently, she’d studied until falling asleep. She dragged herself around the rest of the morning, finally stopping for a quick lunch break. Cruz had left the newspaper opened to page 2, which held a funny commentary about Dr. Death complete with a picture of Brady looking big, bad, and tough as hell standing in front of the Bell 47. Lilah grinned, tore out the picture, and taped it to the kennel’s refrigerator, making Cruz shake his head.
Then she went back to work. With summer in full swing, people were in and out of town, many leaving their animals at the kennels. This was great for the bank account. Not so great for free time, not with midterms coming up, and Cruz readying to leave on vacation.
Three nights after having to give Sadie back to her owner, Lilah was in desperate need of a night’s sleep that didn’t include waking every hour to a ball of anxiety choking her. So she took two Tylenol PM and while waiting for them to kick in, sat at the table to study. Once again she fell asleep there and dreamed about a set of warm arms.
Brady’s arms.
Mmmm… So nice of him to show up in her dreams. Smiling, she clung to him as he carried her off somewhere. Hopefully to an island. Maybe somewhere in the South Pacific, where it would be just the two of them, a sandy beach, warm sun, and no responsibilities. She loved her life, but sometimes she dreamed about a day that didn’t begin at the crack of dawn to clean pens and stalls. No dealing with the daily grind of running two businesses. No heartache…
She sighed in pleasure at the thought. “Just a day…”
The arms holding her tightened. “Shh, I’ve got you… ”
She struggled to come out of the haze, but he nuzzled her hair. “Sleep,” he commanded softly.
She woke up in the morning alone in her bed. Boss was standing on her, eyeing her accusatorily for having slept for so long. Her reading glasses were on her nightstand, her clothes on the chair in the corner of her tiny bedroom-
Wait a minute. Lifting the covers, she stared down at herself. She was in a big T-shirt and her panties-and nothing else.
She’d have recognized the T-shirt by the scent of Brady alone, and she brought the material up to her face for a big, delicious sniff of him.
God, she was a sap. A sap who smelled coffee. She followed the scent to her kitchen, a wave of sadness hitting her when there was no Sadie to trip over.
On the counter sat a large coffee, and next to it-be still her heart-two breakfast burritos. And a bright red shiny apple. For the first time in a few days, she smiled. “He’s good,” she said to Boss.
The kitten gave her a look that said, Of course he’s good, he’s a man, isn’t he?
By the time Lilah showered and dressed, she was nearly late at opening the kennels, and her day got crazy from there. It wasn’t until Cruz’s shift in the afternoon that she managed to walk over to Belle Haven.