by Loni Ree
As a smile lights up her gorgeous face, I slide the pizza box around on the table and open it in front of me to hide the growing bulge in my pants. “I couldn’t go three whole days without seeing you, so I took a chance and brought pizza for dinner.”
Elyse looks a little shocked, but she sits next to me at the table. She asks me about Duchess and my day, and I fill her in on everything that’s happened throughout our time apart. Being here with her feels so natural, and I barely contain the growl that tries to erupt from my throat when some cocky asshole sticks his head in the door to tell Elyse she’s needed in a room.
“Sorry, it looks like my break is over. Thank you for dinner.” When she leans over to kiss my cheek, her delicate scent surrounds me, and my cock turns iron hard. At that point, I realize I’ve set myself up for more frustration and pain tonight. I’m not sure seeing her has helped my situation. In fact, the only thing that will help this situation is stealing Elyse away and keeping her hidden away somewhere permanently.
After somehow making it through another torturous night, I take my ice-cold shower and dress. Duchess grumbles when I force her lazy ass to get up early so I can feed her.
While she’s slowly eating and giving me disgruntled looks, I call Zander. “This better be life or fucking death. If it’s about your dick, I swear I’m going to cut it off.” He sounds pissed, but I ignore his attitude.
“I need to drop Duchess off at your house, please. Would you bring her to the shop with you?” I’m going to need to make this up to him at some point.
There’s rustling on the other end of the line and swearing then a long growl. “Fuck. How do you inherit a fucking dog, and I’m the one suffering? Give me twenty minutes to shower then drop her off.” The line goes dead, and I realize I need to make this up to my best friend, too.
When I turn onto the long tree-lined road leading to Zander’s home, Duchess jumps up in the seat and begins wagging her tail excitedly. By the time I open her door, she’s pulling at the restraint and whimpering to get out of her seat. Zander flings the door open, and she nearly claws her way out of my arms, trying to get to him. “What are you doing to get my dog so excited?” After I set her on the ground, she runs over and dances around his feet.
The asshole rolls his eyes and leans down to scratch the little traitor behind her ears. “You’re abandoning her for another female. She comes to me for attention.” Jesus, I have a jealous dog on my hands. Running my hands down my face, I realize I need to spend more time with my girl and my dog. Fuck!
“Come on, Duchess. You’re going with me to Elyse’s house.” I make the decision to kill two birds with one stone.
Zander rubs Duchess’ head for a second then hands her over. “Did you have to wait until after you’d fucking woke me up two hours early to decide to take her? Damnit, man, you’re killing me. I’ll be late coming in today. I’m taking a fucking nap.” I still hear him bitching after he slams the door behind us. When I stop at the store this morning, I’ll get him several steaks. That should make the fucker happy since everyone knows Zander’s stomach is his weakness.
I get several critical looks as I walk through the market with the furball sitting in the front of my grocery basket. I refused to leave her out in the truck alone, and I wasn’t going to drive her all the way home then go back to get her after my shopping trip, so here we are getting nasty looks from little old ladies.
I’m sitting in my truck waiting for Elyse to come home when George Henderson knocks on the window. “Young man, can I help you with something?”
It’s been a long time since someone has called me a young man, but I smile and point at Elyse’s front door. “I’m waiting on Elyse to get home from work. I brought breakfast for her.” Hopefully, I don’t have to argue with her overprotective landlord. Sensing the tension in the air, Duchess lays on the seat and whimpers.
A frown creases his wrinkled face as he runs his finger over his lips. “Just a friendly warning: I’ve got my eyes on things over here.” He walks away, grumbling about young kids these days, and I shake my head. This shit is getting so fucking complicated, but I know there’s no walking away from Elyse at this point, and even the furball has begun to weasel her way into my heart.
Elyse parks beside my truck, and I grab the groceries in one hand and the furball in the other. After stepping out of the truck, I look my girl over, and anger heats my blood. Elyse’s ponytail is hanging lopsided down her back, and there are dark circles marring the perfect skin under her eyes. She smiles at me and points at the bags in my hand. “What’s all this?”
“I couldn’t wait to see you. I know you need sleep, but I figured I’d cook breakfast while you shower, then we could eat before you go to bed.”
Elyse leads the way into her apartment and turns to me. “I’ll shower really quickly.”
After dropping the grocery bags on the counter, I point down at the furball still in my arms. “I’m going to take Little Miss out first.”
When I come back from walking the dog, I hear the shower running in the other room and force myself to take several breaths to calm my overheated blood. As thoughts of her standing naked under the spray run through my mind, my jeans become uncomfortably tight, and I realize the next few weeks of taking things slow with Elyse might just cause permanent damage to my dick.
I’ve fed Duchess and have breakfast ready by the time Elyse slowly walks out of her bedroom a while later. The gray sweatpants and light pink t-shirt show off every detail of her curvy figure, and a growl rumbles up the back of my throat. Elyse and Duchess both look at me before I shrug. “You look good enough to eat for breakfast. Come on and have your breakfast before I lose control and keep you up all day.” She looks adorable with her wide brown eyes and lips in a perfect ‘o’.
Time passes way to fast, and I realize I need to let her get to bed. We’re sitting at the breakfast bar, and I see her eyes are drooping closed. I lean over and kiss her soft lips. “It’s time for me to let you get some sleep. You go to bed. I’ll clean the kitchen then lock the door on my way out.” I walk Elyse over to her bedroom door then take her in my arms. As our lips touch, thoughts of throwing Elyse over my shoulder and taking her back to my house run through my mind, and I force myself to pull back and place my forehead against hers. “What time do you usually leave for work?”
She blinks sleepily several times before answering, “Six-fifteen or so.”
After leaning in for one more quick kiss, I pull back and smile. “I’ll be here at five-thirty with a quick dinner for you.”
Before she can argue, I turn to leave. I find my dog stretched out on the floral love seat, snoring.
When I walk into TBD Auto, Brock has Tony pinned against the counter. I hand Duchess to Dennis, one of our long-time mechanics who moved with us from New York, and grab Brock’s arm. “What the fuck?”
“This little bastard has been bringing his ass here for the night to use our breakroom sofa as a free hotel.” Fuck me. The little asshole’s been fucking up left and right, but now he’s finally cut his own throat.
As I’m holding Brock back, I turn to the little shit and bark, “Get your shit and don’t come back. We’ll mail your last paycheck to you, minus cleaning fees.” The little weasel looks like he’s about to argue, but some sense of self-preservation must kick in because he snarls threats at us then shoves his way out the door.
“Well, I want babysitting and hazard pay,” Dennis comments behind me, and I turn around to glare.
“Get in line, asshole. Zander already has first claim to his nanny position,” Brock responds as he pushes off the wall. “Now, put that fucking furball down and get to Mrs. Lawson’s Mercedes. We’re going to be busier than one-armed paperhangers without Tony. The little bastard fucked up day and night, but he was a warm body around here.” After Dennis heads out the shop door, Brock turns to warn me, “I’ll put out feelers for a new mechanic, but we may have to get our hands dirty until we find one. Business is hopping in this smal
l town.”
Before he turns the corner, I call to him, “By the way, have you heard the rumors about us?”
“Yep, we have ties to organized crime out of New York is the last one I heard.” Brock keeps walking, and I shake my head. I guess the residents of this small town need to talk about something.
Chapter 5
Elyse
After working three nights in a row, I should fall into bed and sleep like a baby, but I find myself staring at the ceiling, wide awake. The short amounts of time I’ve gotten to spend with Slater the last three days has only made me miss him more. It’s been less than a week since we met, and he already occupies a great deal of my mind every moment I’m awake. I suspect he may already own my heart, and I’m in love with his little dog, too.
The buzzing of my alarm drags me from a deep sleep. When I see it’s three o’clock, I force myself to roll out of bed and stumble into the shower. Slater is picking me up at five, and I want to have extra time to get ready for our date. Emerson texts me four times while I’m attempting to get ready, and I finally turn off my ringer and drop my phone on my bed so I can ignore her.
As I’m about to try on my fifth outfit, there’s a loud banging on my front door. I throw on my worn pink satin robe and rush to the door before the Hendersons come running. Slater is standing on my tiny front porch with his hand raised, about to bang again. “Why the hell haven’t you answered your phone for the last half hour? I thought something had happened to you.”
Before I can answer, he pushes me up against the living room wall and kisses me. His lips devour mine, and my mind completely shuts down as Slater’s tongue slips into my mouth. I wrap my fist in the front of his dress shirt and hold on tight when he lifts my legs up around his waist.
My mind starts to clear a little, and I realize this is moving way too fast. Pulling my lips away from his reluctantly, I lay my head on his shoulder as I unwind my legs and drop them back to the ground. “Uh, Slater, I’m sorry I let things go so far.”
Slater leans his forehead against mine for a second before smiling at me. “You have nothing to apologize about. We can take our relationship at the speed that makes you happy, but I will spank your ass if you ever scare me like that again. No matter what, you need to answer the phone.” After he leans back and looks me over for a second, Slater gives me another quick kiss on my lips and points his head toward my bedroom. “Go throw clothes on because you’re killing me in that short ass robe.”
I finally decided on my black stretch jeans and a light pink top for tonight. There’s barely time to run a brush through my hair and apply lip gloss after all the time I wasted messing around with all the outfit indecision.
When I walk out of my room, Slater wraps his arms around me and smiles. “You ready?”
“Let me grab my purse.”
The entire ride to his house, Slater holds my hand tightly on his thigh, causing my heart to thunder away. When we finally arrive at his home, I’m a jittery mess of nerves and craving. Slater unfastens my seatbelt and pulls me in close to him. “You haven’t said a word the entire ride.” As he holds me next to his hard form, sparks of awareness shoot through my body, and I feel my nipples poking into his hard chest. Slater groans in the back of his throat then kisses me deeply. He suddenly pulls away, and before I realize what’s happening, he’s whisking me into his home.
I was so lost in my nerves as we drove up, I barely noticed the outside of the house, but I take my time looking around while Slater finishes preparing dinner. The sprawling, traditional two-story blows all my preconceptions out of the water. The open foyer leads to a spacious dining room on one side and a family room on the other side. Both rooms are decorated in warm, inviting colors. The family room has a huge leather sectional sofa facing a massive flat-screen television hung above the fireplace. Duchess is sleeping on a pink doggie sofa in the corner. I laugh to myself when I think about Slater buying the piece of furniture for his dog. After I walk up and give her a little scratch on her back, I continue my exploration.
The entire back wall of the room is comprised of windows that face the well-maintained side yard. I nearly jump out of my skin when Slater silently walks up behind me. “I’m about to throw the steaks on the grill. You want to come out back with me?”
Spinning around, I trip and collide with his hard chest. “Holy cow. Make some noise. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
He laughs and holds me closer before kissing the tip of my nose. “I don’t know. I kinda like this. Come on, I need to feed you.” As I turn to head out of the room, he smacks my rear end, and I give him a fake glare over my shoulder. My heart melts when he shrugs and winks back at me playfully.
As we walk through his modern kitchen, I want to drool over the gray granite countertops and matching dark wood cabinets. There’s a sliding barn-style door taking up the entire side wall, and I wonder what’s behind it. My curiosity gets the best of me. “What’s back there?”
Slater turns and looks at me with his eyebrow raised for a second, then he smiles and slides one of the huge doors open. A gasp slips past my lips when I see the heavenly walk-in pantry hidden behind the doors. I can’t help myself. “I could live in your kitchen.”
He drops the plate of meat on the counter and walks over to me. “I’d kill to keep you in my house, but you won’t be staying in the kitchen. At least, not full-time. We can negotiate on how much time I give you in here.” There’s his wink again. It goes straight to my ovaries and causes an explosion.
We eat the delicious meal Slater cooked, but I hardly taste any of it because I’m too busy attempting to ignore my overheated blood and sweating palms. Even the way his huge hands grasp the fork and knife seems to send signals to my hungry body. I’m an overstimulated mess by the time we finish eating, and I’ll probably self-combust if he touches me. Even Duchess circling the table, attempting to look pathetic, doesn’t help alleviate my suffering.
“Why don’t you take your wine into the living room. I’ll turn on the television for you, then clean up this mess really quickly, and we can watch a movie before I take you home.” The only part of his question I heard was the “take your wine” part. I plan to chug my wine and pray it cools me down a whole lot.
When Slater joins me a few minutes later, I’ve gotten myself under control. Well, mostly. As he sits next to me on the sofa and wraps an arm around my shoulders, the effects of the wine instantly disappear, and electricity shoots through my body. His fingers lightly caress my neck, and goosebumps break out all over my body. I need to know if he’s intentionally tormenting me. “Are you trying to torture me?”
Slater leans over and runs his nose along my jawline before whispering, “I wouldn’t call it torture, more like encouraging.”
Peeking at him out of the corner of my eye, I clarify, “Encouraging?”
As his teeth close over my earlobe, I completely forget about the conversation we’re having and drop my head back onto the sofa. One of Slater’s hands is rubbing circles on my belly while the other one is lightly touching my neck. Those gentle touches, combined with his lips and teeth nibbling on my ear, shuts my mind off and turns my body on. It takes me a moment to fight through the sexual fog to realize he’s speaking, “Making sure you come back.”
“Getting rid of me is going to be the problem,” I tease, and Slater lifts his hand from my tummy and uses his fingers to turn my face.
While staring into my eyes, he promises, “I don’t ever want to let you go so that won’t ever be an issue.” I fall the rest of the way in love with Slater at that moment. I knew it was happening, but now there’s no going back.
Over the next two weeks, we spend every night I have off of work together. On the days I work, Slater meets me for breakfast and cooks me dinner before I leave for work. Emerson is complaining about all the time I’m spending with Slater, so I invite her over one night to meet him. Slater insists on having dinner at his home to make things easier with Duchess.
I�
�m sitting at the breakfast bar, cutting up veggies for the salad, when the doorbell rings. Smiling at Slater, I jump up. “I’ll get it. That’s Emerson.” After Slater winks and goes back to preparing his steaks, I step over Duchess and head for the front door.
Emerson’s hand is raised to ring the doorbell again when I open the door. “Did I interrupt something?” She wiggles her eyebrows, causing me to shake my head.
“Yep, I was cutting up tomatoes. You missed the down and dirty part.” My best friend looks disappointed as she follows me into the kitchen. Duchess gives one “I’m ferocious” bark at Emerson then runs over to get petted.
When Slater walks over and introduces himself, my usually outgoing, loud best friend stands wide-eyed and silent. I’m getting worried when she snaps out of her stupor. “Hi, I’m Emerson. Just remember, if you hurt my best friend, I know how to make it look like an accident. I’ve watched Snapped since the beginning, and I’ve learned from all those bitches’ mistakes.”
Shock registers on Slater’s face for a moment before he throws back his head and laughs. After Duchess yip at the loud racket and runs off for her bed in the family room, Slater smiles at Emerson and assures her, “I would cut off my own dick before I ever hurt Elyse.”
Emerson turns to me and mouths, “Woah, that’s hot as fuck.” And I know my man has managed to win over my super picky best friend. The rest of the night, Slater is sweet and charming, and Emerson hugs me on the way out the door, whispering, “I really hate you right now.”
As she’s walking down Slater’s stone steps, I call to her, “I love you, too. Call me when you get home.”
Emerson opens her car door and looks up to roll her eyes at me. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow night. I guess I love you, too.” After giving me one last wave, she pulls away, and I turn back to find Slater. It’s time for him to drive me home, too.
