by Codi Gary
When the credits finally rolled, he tried to adjust his arms so he could pick her up and carry her to her room, but she groaned and glued herself to him, her mouth now pressing against the skin of his neck.
Oh, fuck. His hard-on pushed against the fly of his jeans, and he wanted badly to adjust it, but he’d hate to have her wake up to find him holding his dick. She might get the wrong idea, and despite current evidence to the contrary, unconscious women did not do it for him.
She stirred as he tried to pick her up. “What are you doing?”
Her voice was soft with sleep.
“I was going to get you settled in bed and then go home.”
“ ’S’late. Shouldn’t be driving.”
He knew she probably had no idea what she was even saying, but having Dani trying to get closer to him didn’t exactly make him want to run for the door. Besides, it sounded like an invitation to sleep over, even if it was made with a slight slur.
Picking her up in his arms, he carried her up the stairs of the townhouse, being careful of the narrow hallway so he didn’t crack her head on the wall. He walked into a dark room, the light from the hallway shining inside and highlighting the queen-size bed and bright floral comforter.
He laid her down on top of it and awkwardly tried to pull it down so he could place her beneath it. Finally, he settled for covering her with the quilt from the end of her bed.
Tucking it around her, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Good night, beautiful.”
Suddenly, she sat up. “Where are you going?”
“I was going home.”
“Don’t go,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he said automatically.
And then, she flopped back on the bed with a snore.
Tyler wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or her just being tired, but he went downstairs and locked the doors. Crashing on her couch, he turned on a Jason Statham movie and settled in. He could have just gone to bed with her—it wasn’t as if he would push his advances on a sleeping woman—but he actually didn’t want Dani to wake up and find him in her bed. He wanted her to be clearheaded when she invited him into it, but she was right about one thing. It was late, and he’d rather travel across town in the early morning than after two.
Before the first car chase, Tyler’s eyes grew heavy, and he fell asleep with a smile.
Staying the night with a woman before he’d even slept with her? Imagine that.
THE NEXT MORNING, Dani stirred to life with a groan, her head pounding like the dickens. She should have known better than to drink too many glasses of red wine before bed, but last night she’d been throwing herself a bit of a pity party.
Cracking one eye open, she squinted at her surroundings. She was in her bedroom, which was strange because the last thing she remembered was being on the couch with Tyler.
She sat up swiftly, and her head protested at the pain of the movement. Tyler must have carried her upstairs after the movie ended.
Looking in the bed next to her, she half expected to find him, but it was undisturbed. It had been nice of him to put her to bed after she’d passed out on him. She’d have to call him today and thank him.
Stretching as she sat up, she checked the clock on her nightstand. It was just after eleven thirty, which meant her mom would be dropping Noah home soon.
Dani climbed down the stairs and could swear she smelled coffee brewing. Had Tyler set the timer to go off?
As she hit the bottom of the stairs and saw him standing in her kitchen with his back to her, his sweatshirt gone, she stopped short.
Shit, he had stayed the night. Did that mean they . . .
“Ahem, uh, hey,” she said clumsily.
He turned with a smile. “You’re up. Here.” He set a glass of water and two white pills on the counter. “For the hangover. Coffee is almost up, and I’ve got pancakes made and keeping warm in your oven.”
“Thank you.” Sitting at the counter, she downed the pills and half the glass of water. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and nearly groaned aloud at the horrible disarray of her hair. Not to mention her mouth tasted disgusting . . .
Oh, God, please don’t try to kiss me.
“So, you, eh, you stayed over . . . ” How to ask this delicately? “Upstairs?”
He set a cup of coffee on the counter near her elbow with a grin. “Are you trying to ask if we slept together last night?”
His teasing made her face burn. “It’s not funny!”
“No, I did not take advantage of the beautiful, passed-out girl in my care. I carried you upstairs, and when you brought up the fact that it was late and not safe to drive, I crashed on your couch. Which, by the way, is incredibly comfortable.” He turned his head from side to side, and his neck cracked. “Hardly a crick.”
Relief swept through her. “So, no sex?”
“Disappointed?”
“No, believe me”—when he paused, shooting her an affronted look, she rushed on—“I just meant that if I’m going to have sex for the first time in almost three years, I’d at least like to remember it.”
His coffee cup stalled on its way up to his lips, and his eyes widened. “Three years?”
With a smirk, she sipped her own coffee. “I’ve been a little busy.”
“Three years,” he mused.
“It’s not as if I couldn’t have gotten some, I just didn’t want to fall back onto bad habits. And there’s more to consider when you’re a mom. I’m not going to go home with some guy I just met and take the chance that he’s a serial killer. None of the guys from my past are men I want to go down that road with again, as you’ve witnessed from my last ex.” Running a hand over her messy hair, she sighed. “It was just a better option to be celibate.”
By the way he avoided her eyes and turned to pull out a plate piled high with pancakes, she had a feeling his dry spell wasn’t as long as hers.
“Where’s your syrup?” he asked.
“In the cabinet next to the fridge.”
Why wasn’t she more freaked out by him being there? Or by the fact that her mom could show up any second with Noah and she was a grumpy disaster in the morning?
Because he put you to bed last night, and instead of taking advantage, he slept on the couch? Or perhaps you like the way he looks in your kitchen.
“Glass measuring cup?”
God, why did she think he was so cute bustling around her kitchen? “Under the silverware.”
He poured syrup into the measuring cup and heated it in the microwave. He grabbed two plates from her cupboard. “How many pancakes?”
“Two, please.”
“So, what time is your mom bringing Noah home?” he asked.
“After church gets out, usually around noon. Unless my parents take him for lunch after.”
His gaze flicked toward the clock on the oven. “I guess I better hurry up and eat then. Sorry I slept so long, but like I said, your couch is comfortable.”
“It’s okay; it’s not as if Noah hasn’t met you before. He knows you’re a friend.” What the hell? Why was she saying it was okay, when five minutes ago she’d panicked seeing him still there?
“I imagine your parents will probably have a lot of questions if they find me here. You sure you want to deal with that?”
Just imagining her mom drilling him and her with questions was enough to turn her stomach.
“Never mind, just eat your pancakes. We’ll save the parental inquisition about my intentions for another day,” he said.
The two of them doctored their pancakes and ate in relative silence for several minutes. Dani studied him, wondering why he had really stayed. She didn’t buy that it was late and he was tired. Had he been hoping she’d wake up and they’d get frisky?
“Why did you really stay over? I know you; it wasn’t just because it was late and I asked you not to drive.”
“Would you believe it was because I was worried and wanted to make sure you were safe?”
“I might. Is that the truth?”
A knock on the door interrupted his answer.
“I guess the end is nigh, huh?” he said.
Shit, her mom was early. Dani’s heart threatened to pound right out of her chest. “If I asked you to hide, that would be immature and unreasonable, right?”
Around a mouthful of pancake, he said, “I can try, but the plate and second cup of coffee is a dead giveaway. I can, however, put my shirt on if you give me a second.”
He was right. She would just have to deal with her mom like a mature, independent adult.
Dani waited until he was decent before she headed for the door, pulling it open with a bright smile for Noah. “Hey, buddy! Did you have fun?”
Noah flew into her arms, and she squeezed him hard, burying her face in the soft skin of his neck.
Suddenly, he was squirming to get away from her.
“Tywer!”
She released him, and he shot across the room to Tyler, who picked him up with ease. “What’s up, Noah? Want some pancakes?”
A cleared throat turned Dani’s attention from the scene, and she faced her mom, whose eyebrow was hiked up her forehead.
“Well, aren’t you going to introduce me to your . . . friend?”
No avoiding it now, especially since her mom pushed right past her, stepping on her foot in the process.
“Sure, Mom, come on in. Tyler, this is my mom, Laura. Mom, Tyler. We met a while ago, when Tyler came in to evaluate some of the dogs at the shelter. He’s a trainer for that military program I was telling you about, Alpha Dog?”
Her mom held her hand out to Tyler, who adjusted Noah on his hip to take it. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, considering I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you.”
Ouch, dig number one. Dani tried to convey an apology with just her eyes, but Tyler was focused on her mom.
“Well, we’ve known each other for over a month, but we just struck up a friendship recently.”
“A friendship, really?”
“Mom, where’s Dad?” Dani asked.
“He dropped us off and went to go fill the car up. You were saying, Tyler?”
“Well, ma’am, we were watching a movie, and both of us fell asleep. Because it was late, Dani offered to let me sleep on the couch, and I decided to return her kindness by making her breakfast.”
Dani could tell her mom was studying the living room for signs that he spoke the truth and noticed the rumpled blanket on the couch.
“I see.”
“Do you want some pancakes, Mom? They’re really good, and Tyler made a huge stack.” Finally catching Tyler’s gaze, she mouthed I am so sorry.
He shrugged with a smile.
“No, I’m fine. Your father and I were going to take you to lunch, but I can see you already ate.”
Tyler set Noah at the table with a stack of cut-up pancakes. He did it with such ease, as if it had happened a hundred times, and she could only imagine what her mom was thinking.
“Well, ladies, I should let you visit. I need to get Duke home anyway.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Dani said.
Once she closed the door behind them, she leaned against it with a groan. “I am so sorry.”
“Seriously, it’s fine. My mom would have been the same way.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” she said.
“A little. Is it working?”
Putting her hands and her forehead on his chest, she breathed deep. “Thank you.”
He laughed as his arms circled her waist. “Wow, the way you act, I feel like I should have more battle wounds.”
Her arms wrapped around him. “How are you not running right now?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got a good feeling about you,” he said.
“Well, you’d better take that feeling and get the hell out of here before my dad shows up and then there are two of them.”
He cupped her chin with one hand and brought her gaze up to meet his. As his lips dropped and covered hers, she hardly had time to worry about her breath before his mouth was moving over hers in a soft, loving kiss.
When he finally released her, she leaned back against the door in a daze.
“I’ll call you.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said breathlessly.
Tyler’s hand trailed over her cheek, an indiscernible expression on his handsome face. “But with you, I mean it.”
Chapter Seventeen
TYLER WASN’T SURPRISED that Jeremiah was less than trusting of the trainers at Alpha Dog. Hell, most of the kids who came through those doors were leery of the staff, who tried to earn their trust with structure, understanding, and firmness when needed. But Jeremiah hadn’t been a problem at all. Whereas most of the kids were harsh and angry or attention seeking, Jeremiah was soft-spoken and slightly awkward. Since he’d been at the program, he had hardly said anything, fading into the background. But Tyler hadn’t forgotten about him.
“Jeremiah, why don’t you show us how to put Lucky into a sit-stay?” he called.
Had Jeremiah’s face actually paled? His light blue eyes were definitely wider than usual, but he stepped forward, his longish brown hair falling over his forehead as he stared at the ground upon approach.
Tyler frowned, concerned at the kid’s timidity.
And then, just as Jeremiah reached the front of the group, Tyler heard a coughed word, loud enough for others to hear. Some of the boys started laughing, but Tyler’s body stiffened with fury.
“Fag.”
“Who the fuck said that?” The boys were dead silent, and Tyler stepped up to Jamie Platt, whose laughter died under Tyler’s thunderous expression. “You think hate speech and slurs are funny? Huh, Platt?”
“No, sir!”
“Then why are you laughing?” he shouted.
The teenager didn’t answer, visibly shaken, and Tyler stepped back. “Do I need to remind you that Alpha Dog has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying? That means that hate speech, racial and sexual slurs, and other derogatory violations of members of this group will not be tolerated. This is your one chance; whoever threw out that word better step in front of the group in the next ten seconds or it will get worse for you.”
Tyler waited, knowing that the perpetrator wouldn’t do it, but he wanted to give him the chance anyway. When nobody stepped forward, he shrugged.
“You wanna do this the hard way? Fine by me. Platt, Harlow, Meyers, Fredrickson, and Shields, hand your leashes off to a friend. And start running.”
“Come on, Sergeant Best, we didn’t do anything,” Dwayne cried.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You’re a team while you’re in this program, and when one member is targeted, you should be defending him, not laughing at his expense. Now, get moving. Every four laps, you get a five-minute water break, and you will keep going for the next hour, until someone confesses. At the end of that hour, if no one has stepped forward, then you five will be leaving the program. So, you better hope that whoever the comic was has some integrity.”
Hank stepped forward. “Sarge, it was—”
“Unless you’re about to confess, Hank, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. I don’t want you to turn anyone in; I want that person to be a man and come talk to me. The rest of you are dismissed; take your dogs in and report to study hall. Except Jeremiah. You stay.”
All the boys headed inside while the five others took off to run laps around the perimeter of the yard.
Once it was the two of them, Tyler nodded at the trembling teenager. “Now, show me that sit-stay.”
Jeremiah did as he was asked, and Tyler timed him. A twenty-second sit-stay wasn’t bad.
“Okay, go ahead and give him a treat.” He walked closer to Jeremiah, who was squatting down in front of Lucky. The kid had been a good choice for the dog, and while Jeremiah rubbed Lucky’s ears and told him what a good dog he was, Tyler cross
ed his arms over his chest as he stopped. “Is that the first time that’s happened here? Someone calling you that?”
“No, sir.”
Tyler placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I apologize for that. I want you to feel comfortable being able to tell one of us if you’re being bullied. There is no excuse for it, not here.”
“But calling them out is only going to make it worse,” Jeremiah said.
“I have a hard time imagining they’ll keep harassing you if the end result is them getting shipped back to juvie.”
“They might stop in here, but what happens when we’re out?”
Tyler had a suspicion that turned his stomach. “Whoever has been harassing you is someone you knew before?”
Jeremiah didn’t need to answer; Tyler could see the answer in his expression. But the kid said it anyway. “You can’t protect me from things like this.”
Although Jeremiah had a point, the impotence of the situation pissed Tyler off. “You’re right. You gotta decide how you’re going to handle it, but that doesn’t mean I’ll have someone like that in this program. You might not feel safe anywhere else, but you will here. Go ahead and take Lucky inside and join the rest of the guys in study hall.”
Jeremiah hesitated for half a second. “You didn’t ask me.”
“Ask you what?” Tyler said.
“If I was gay.”
Tyler shrugged. “Gay or straight, it doesn’t matter. He had no right to call you that.”
The kid smiled brightly. “Thanks, Sergeant Best.”
It blew Tyler away that Jeremiah was thanking him for stating the obvious. Then again, he’d been in the Corps with guys who hadn’t thought twice about throwing around gay slurs, but Tyler never had.
He’d seen what his little brother had gone through the last few years after coming out. As much as the world was changing and evolving, there was still bigotry and hate.
Just not under Tyler’s watch.
Tyler focused on the five boys running and already had an idea who had spoken, but he was determined to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not that he wouldn’t be dealt with, but he wasn’t a malicious boy. That was why singling Jeremiah out was so puzzling.
