She’d parked next to his truck. Could his day go any more to shit than it already had? He just wanted a fucking run. He knew he should have gotten a vehicle with a keypad entry. At least then he could get in his truck and go when no one noticed.
After an hour of questioning by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, she was free to go and Ivan learned her name was Lindsey Martinez. He had no choice but to jump into the backseat of her car when she opened the door and said, “Come on, boy.”
Thank God. At least she hadn’t dubbed him something lame like Fido or Spot.
She lived in a one-story condo complex in Temple Terrace. Far from the worst neighborhood, but not the best. All the way home she glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
And daammnn, she smelled good. He had to fight not to drool.
He paid careful attention to the address. Jeremy would never let him live this down.
She opened the car door. He had no choice but to follow. To get to a phone he had to follow her, because he damn sure couldn’t shift into a naked guy in public.
Not that he minded following her. Especially when his nose sat right at ass level…
He accidentally bumped into her when she stopped at her front door.
She jumped. “Listen, buddy, we’ll get along fine if you don’t go sticking your nose up my hind end.” Then she smiled.
He looked up at her. We’d get along a helluva lot better if you’d let me do just that.
His heart beat at an unsteady pace. Call Jeremy, yeah, that was what he had to do.
Umm, why?
Oh yeah. Work. He had to get to work.
He followed her inside her condo. Tidy, not fancy, some moving boxes stacked in her living room.
She rummaged in a kitchen cabinet and filled a bowl with water, knelt down onto the linoleum, and watched him drink.
She ran her hands over his body. He closed his eyes and gulped, wishing she wouldn’t do that and praying she wouldn’t stop. As her hands approached his rump, he jumped when she brushed against his balls. It took every ounce of will he had not to shift and fuck her silly right there on her kitchen floor.
Why’d she have to smell so damn good? Even with the last traces of bug spray she smelled right, smelled like—
Mate.
He looked at her.
“You are a boy. I thought so. Hard to tell with all that fur.” She cradled his head again, staring into his eyes. Hers were green, as he’d suspected, a beautiful shade of jade green he could lose himself in.
“Thank you,” she whispered, then broke down crying, throwing her arms around him, hugging him, burying her face in his fur.
He rested his chin on her shoulder. How could he leave her? He wanted to curl up in her lap and stay with her and lick every tear off her sweet flesh.
Mate.
Now that the word had pierced his conscious he couldn’t get it out of his brain. Every beat of his heart hammered it home.
Mate. My mate. My mate.
He’d never felt like this before. This wasn’t wanting a piece of ass. This was deeper, in his blood. In his soul.
When she sat back, he licked her face, whining. Jesus, I love you, Lindsey.
She laughed. “I need to get a shower. Please don’t pee on anything, okay?” She petted his head and smiled. “We need to get you a collar and a nametag, but what am I going to call you?”
“Fuck me harder” works fine for me, babe.
“You’re not some stupid wussy dog. You need a good name, a strong name.” She braced her arms against him as she stood, wincing. “I’ll think about it. I think good in the shower.”
I bet you look good in the shower, too.
He curled up on the floor at the end of her bed and watched her strip. She threw the clothes away and stepped into the bathroom to start the water.
Mouthwatering didn’t begin to express what her appearance did to him. Her nipples tightened into hard peaks as the cool air hit them. Perfect, natural breasts that would comfortably fit in his palms as his fingers brushed over her.
He whined, his erection nearly painful.
She smiled. “Sorry, puppy. That’s illegal. Hope it’s enough for you to know you’re the only man in my life. You don’t have to share me.” Lindsey walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower.
Believe me, honey, I’m not sharing you. Not on your fucking life.
Mate. My mate.
He stared through the bathroom door then reality called. He stood and streaked into the living room. Checking to make sure he was out of view of the bathroom, he shifted and grabbed the phone and called Jeremy. A glance at the clock showed it was almost noon.
He anxiously watched the bathroom door while Jeremy took his sweet fucking time answering his cell.
“Ivan? Why the hell aren’t you back yet?”
“Jer, shut the fuck up and listen. There’s been trouble.” Jeremy listened while Ivan detailed what happened.
“Where are you?”
He read off the address. “Temple Terrace.”
“I’ll be there in twenty to sneak you out of there.”
“No!”
“What?”
Ivan hesitated. “I want to stay.”
“What? Are you out of your freaking mind, Ivan?”
Ivan closed his eyes and whispered the words. “I’ve found her.”
“What do you…Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. I need some time. I’m going to be out of touch for a few days.”
“Are you sure?”
He listened to her in the shower. Lindsey hummed, a light, tuneless melody that tattooed her voice across his soul. “Yeah, dude. I’m sure. She’s my mate.”
Jeremy sighed. “What do you need from me?”
“My truck’s still over at the park. And my clothes. She’s in the shower, but she’ll be done in a minute. I think she’s going to go to the store. Can you wait outside and run me over there after she leaves? I can be back before she returns. Just wait for me in the parking lot here, a few buildings away.”
“Don’t leave me sitting all day.”
Ivan heard her moving around in the shower. “Gotta go. Bye.” Ivan hung up and shifted back, padding into the bathroom.
Lindsey closed her eyes and let the hot water soothe her sore muscles. This wasn’t a normal dog. She wasn’t into crazy psychic shit, but there was something different about that dog. He wasn’t a stray. He was well cared for. Maybe a police K9 dog or something that escaped from its handler.
She should put an ad in the paper. Shouldn’t she?
The thought ripped her heart out. She didn’t want to give him up. It was stupid, silly, and childish, but the dog saved her. He wasn’t just a dog. He was more.
And it felt right thinking about keeping him.
He needed a good name. Not some normal dog name, a name that fit him.
Sensing a presence, she looked down. He’d shoved his head into the shower, the spray dotting his black fur with small drops of moisture.
Was he smiling? If he was a guy, she’d say so.
“Hey, personal space, buddy.”
He snorted, but withdrew his massive head.
“And don’t go dragging your wet fur onto my bed, either!”
Another snort and she watched through the opaque shower curtain as he rubbed his head dry on her bathmat.
She stuck her head out of the shower and looked at him, an absurd idea hitting her between the eyes. “Hey, you.”
He looked up.
“Go get me a soda out of the fridge.”