by Odette Stone
And then he lifted his head, taking his perfect lips with him. I opened my eyes, stared up into his face, my breath coming out of me in tiny little pants. I couldn’t read his expression. And then he stepped back from me. I clutched the sides of the counter, unable to tear my gaze from his face. He pulled his hat down over his eyes and turned and walked out of the kitchen. I sat there frozen, as he took long strides across the room and then my body jarred as I heard the heavy sliding door open and then slam shut. Feet pounded down the steps. I heard his truck start and then drive away.
I paced the length of the kitchen, completely blown away by that exchange. I remembered the feeling of his mouth on mine, the way his firm arm yanked me hard against his torso, the way he tasted and the searing heat of everything that made him Jackson. I groaned and put my face in my hands.
Those two kisses were the most significant two moments of my sex life. Those kisses made me want many more terrible things that I should not want.
Chapter 24
I finished cleaning up the kitchen. I needed to focus on my looming wedding. A wedding I couldn’t seem to bring myself to plan. I needed to go pick up my invitations and start mailing them out. I needed to do a cake tasting. I needed to go to a dress fitting. The caterers wanted a confirmation on the menu. I had no desire even to try and attempt to make these decisions. Instead, I just pushed everything off for another day.
I heard the sound of Jackson’s truck. I froze and looked at the clock. Only 15 minutes had passed. I looked around. Should I hide in my room? Should I just pretend that he hadn’t wholly devastated me with yet another kiss? Maybe we needed to talk about it.
I heard his footsteps on the stairs, and then he opened the door. It looked like he carried in his arms a dirty white stuffed animal. That dirty bit of fluff lifted its head and looked at me with fearful wide black eyes.
“What’s that?” I gasped, rushing forward.
He looked down at what he carried in his arms. “I found this little one on the side of the road. I couldn’t leave it.”
It was a dog. Long white fur matted with blood and crusted with dirt. It looked skinny and pitiful in his arms. Big floppy ears, black eyes, and a black nose. It had a long, wide scratch down its nose. It smelled terrible.
“Oh,” I said, galvanized into action. “Put the dog on the couch.”
Jackson looked at me. “She’s pretty dirty.”
I grabbed a big white throw and laid it on top of the couch. “Come on, put her down.”
Jackson gently laid the dog on the couch. It curled up into a ball and whimpered in misery.
“Is she hurt?” I asked as I crouched next to it.
Jackson moved beside me. I watched as he expertly ran his fingers gently over its legs and body. “No broken bones but she feels skinny.”
I held my fingers to the dog’s nose, and she timidly lifted her head up and licked my fingers.
“Oh, baby. You’re such a sweetheart, aren’t you?”
Jackson spoke, “I can take her to the shelter tomorrow, but I just didn’t want to leave her out there.”
I turned and gave him an incredulous look. “You won’t be taking this dog anywhere.”
“We should get it some water.”
I jumped up, almost tripping over myself to get to the kitchen. I placed a bowl of water on the floor. The dog slowly crept off the couch and looked at us warily before she started to drink with great big gulps.
“Easy girl,” Jackson said, as he pulled the bowl away. “You want to go slow on that.”
The dog whined. What if it had internal injuries? What if it needed a doctor? I tamped down my fear. “We need to bring it to the animal hospital. Make sure she’s okay.”
Jackson looked at me. “Right now?”
I stood up.
“I'm going to get my purse.” I stopped and looked at him. “Uh, can you drive us?”
Jackson patted the dog’s head. “Looks like we are going to the hospital, buddy.”
The dog lay in my lap while Jackson drove. It panted in fear. I had wrapped her up in the white blanket, and she did not attempt to try and move. Her weak state worried me.
Jackson carried the dog into the hospital, and the staff showed us into an examination room. Jackson comforted the dog on the waiting table while I sat and filled out the paperwork. Not that I knew anything about the dog, but I added my phone number and address.
The vet walked in. She was tall and blond, and her hair pulled into a ponytail. She had high cheekbones and gorgeous brown eyes. “What have we here?”
“Found this one along the road,” Jackson said.
She smiled up at him. “A good Samaritan. I like it.”
We watched as she performed a full exam.
She took her stethoscope off and put it around her neck. “No signs of injury other than she just seems weak and severely malnourished. Do you want to drop her off at the shelter?”
I stood up. “No. I'm going to keep this dog.”
Jackson gave me a wry look. “Are you sure?”
The vet gave a flirty smile. “Your girlfriend seems pretty dedicated to this one. Hope you like dogs.”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, we’re not dating.”
Her eyes went back to Jackson’s face. “Oh. Interesting.”
She turned around. “I'm going to give it a few shots. Assuming that she hasn’t been immunized for anything. I'm also going to prescribe some nutritiously dense food to help put some weight on. Don’t restrict quantity. Let her decide how much she wants to eat. I think as soon as she has some food, she'll perk right up.”
“Thanks,” I said. I moved next to Jackson and put my hand on the dog’s head. “Can we give her a bath?”
“I would highly recommend it,” she laughed. “Please use pet shampoo. We have some special shampoo that is gentle on a dog’s skin. She doesn’t seem to have fleas or bites of any kind, so no need to use anything else.”
“You're just the cutest little thing I have ever seen,” I cooed into the dog’s face. It stared up into my eyes and then licked my nose. “We're going to take such good care of you.”
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “This dog doesn’t know it yet, but it just checked into a 5-star hotel with room service.”
The vet laughed. “We have an assortment of leashes and collars and other dog paraphernalia in our store. You might want to take a look on your way out.”
While Jackson cuddled the dog like a baby in his arms, I rushed around like a mad person in the store. I bought a dog bed, shampoo, squeaky toys, chew ropes and even a frisbee. I bought three collars, an assortment of leashes, dog food, dog treats, food bowls and a book entitled, “How to be the best dog owner in the world”.
While I waited for the receptionist to bag everything up, I heard the vet speak in a low voice to Jackson. I looked over. She stared up at him and then she wrote something on the back of a card and tucked it in his shirt pocket.
Jackson swung into the truck beside me and looked over at us. “Well, no one can accuse you of doing anything half-assed.”
I leaned forward, my lips on the dog’s ear. “That’s Jackson. He’s super nice. You're going to love him.”
The dog whimpered, and I could feel her tail wag against my leg.
Jackson snorted and started backing up the truck.
“So, what else did the vet say?” I asked as I cuddled my face on top of the dog’s head.
“What do you mean?”
“She wrote something on a card and gave it to you. Any other tips for our baby here?”
He paused. “It was nothing.”
“Well, it was something because she wrote on a card and handed it to you.”
“She gave me her number.”
“Like for house calls?”
“Uh, I think for other things.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stared at him in amazement. “Did you ask her for her number?”
“I did not.”
“That’s jus
t rude,” I cried. “She’s at her place of employment.”
I spoke into the dog’s ear. “Your vet is a shameless opportunist.”
Jackson laughed. I looked up at him because I was physically unable to not look at him when he did. He was so unbelievably beautiful when he laughed. And I realized with a shock of jealousy that ripped through my body that he had every right to call the vet.
I worked to keep the jealousy out of my voice and said in a sweet voice. “Well, she's gorgeous. Are you going to call her?”
“Why are you so intent on setting me up?”
“I'm not.”
“Sure seems like it.”
I leaned forward and spoke into the dog’s ear. “Don’t listen to Jackson. He’s a very bad man.”
He laughed again. “Tell your dog there that I'm not going to call the vet.”
“Oh?” I said airily, “Not hot enough for you?” Unable to ignore how my heart gave a squeeze that he wasn’t interested.
“Nah. I just like to do the chasing.”
Chapter 25
The dog wandered around the loft, sniffing and smelling things. I put a handful of food into the bowl which it downed ravenously. At Jackson’s advice, we decided we'd just give her a little bit of food every hour so that she didn’t gorge herself and get sick. We also did the same for water.
The dog had a sweet personality, and after she sniffed everything, she awkwardly hopped up on the couch beside me and laid her head on my lap. I lavished all the care I had within me on this stinky little dog. I was already in love. Jackson sat across from us and watched us.
“Well, are you going to name your dog?”
I pursed my lips. “She needs a good name. How about Mia?”
Jackson winced.
“What?” I asked.
“Ex-girlfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “How about Mandy?”
“Uh, Mattie might kill us.”
I giggled. “Good point.”
He studied the dog. “She looks like a Chloe.”
I gasped. “I love that name.” I looked down at the dog. “Is your name Chloe?”
Two black eyes looked up at me, and a tail wagged.
Jackson had a lazy smile on his face. “Chloe and Emily.”
I stroked the dog’s head. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me the best gift anyone has ever given me. I have never gotten something I loved so much from anyone.”
He cleared his throat. “We should bathe her. I can smell her from here.”
“I’ve never given a dog a bath before,” I said with wide eyes. “Maybe I should YouTube it and see how it's done?”
He laughed and rubbed his eye. “I think we can handle it. Do we have a bathtub that has a shower hose?”
I nodded. “Your bathroom.”
“That figures,” he said, as he stood up. “Come on Chloe. Let’s go.”
As if she knew her name, the dog got up on shaky legs and followed behind Jackson.
“We should've YouTube'd this,” Jackson said through gritted teeth. He was thoroughly drenched, and so was I. The only one who didn’t seem to be getting any wetter or cleaner was Chloe, who apparently hated getting a bath.
She drenched us when she kicked an incredible amount of water out of the tub. Then she jumped out of the tub, causing Jackson to chase after her. She managed to outrun him and simultaneously shake water everywhere. Jackson slipped and slid after her, trying but never quite getting her in his arms. I laughed until my sides hurt. When he finally captured her in his arms, they were both panting. While he carried her back, Chloe repeatedly licked his face.
“That was like a greased pig chase,” he said, looking back at the puddles of water that trailed down the hall. After that, Jackson decided to shut the bathroom door.
“Okay, time to get serious,” Jackson took off his wet shirt and wet socks and stepped into the tub, jeans and all. He pulled the scrambling Chloe onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She instantly calmed.
I sat there on my haunches stunned. His body was a thing of beauty. All corded muscles and broad everything. And the way he tenderly cuddled Chloe to his perfect chest took my breath away.
He looked at me. “You're going to have to do the washing.”
“Okay,” I said blinking with nerves. I squeezed some shampoo onto Chloe and started to massage it into her fur. I alternated between using the water hose and rubbing her body. My fingers, more than once, accidentally brushed over Jackson’s warm bare stomach that was nothing but smooth skin and rippling muscle. As I touched him, my insides clenched in weird ways.
He seemed oblivious to my hand brushing against him. He just shifted her to the left or the right so that I could get my hand in between him and Chloe. As I washed her belly, all I could think about was how his hard, corded stomach felt against the back of my hand. The guy radiated heat. How was it possible that someone could be this muscular? He had muscles on top of his muscles. Even though I finished washing Chloe’s belly, I was having trouble pulling my hand away. So I just repeated the circular motion of my hand against her, so that I could drag the back of my hand against his abs again and again. I seemed physically unable to stop touching him. I concentrated to steady my breath. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t stop. I told myself to stop, but my hand kept brushing against him again and again.
“Emily,” his voice was low.
My eyes slid to his face. His eyes burned hot. I swallowed. He reached out and wrapped one huge hand around the back of my neck. Slowly, he tugged me closer to him. With wide eyes, I stared up at him. My lips parted.
And then his eyes went to the door, and he dropped his hand, a second before the door swung open.
“What the hell?” Matt sounded confused as he stood looking at Jackson sitting in the tub, holding Chloe, who was doing her best to look like the most pitiful and bedraggled dog in the world. I crouched on the outside of the tub, soaked, heart racing and probably looking like I was about to combust sexually.
“We have a dog,” I said, as I looked up at Matt from my knees.
He frowned. “I fucking hate dogs.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“God, it stinks in here. Dogs stink. And they’re messy.” He looked disgusted.
“Chloe is different,” I said, indignant on her behalf.
Matt gave Chloe a dirty look. “So you just went out and bought a dog?”
“No. She’s a homeless dog. That we saved.”
“She is probably riddled with disease. No,” he said with finality.
My mouth dropped open. “Matt.”
“She’s going back to wherever she came from,” he said. “Was there any Thai left over?”
“She isn’t,” I said, doing nothing to disguise the stubborn tone of my voice.
Matt rubbed his forehead. “I can’t even deal with this. You have no idea what kind of day I had. Is there any food?”
“In the fridge.”
“Can you help me heat it up?”
I turned back to Chloe. “I can help you later. I'm not finished here.”
Matt stood there for a long moment, and then the door slammed shut.
I avoided looking at Jackson.
We finished bathing Chloe, but this time, I made sure I didn’t touch Jackson. I wrapped Chloe in a big fluffy white towel while Jackson stood up in the tub. His wet jeans clung to his legs. Water streamed off his chest. Our eyes met as he stepped over the edge of the tub.
I swallowed hard. I cuddled Chloe to my chest. “I'll clean your bathroom.”
“You want to talk about it?”
My lips parted, but I refused to look up at him. “About what?”
“About the fact that I can’t seem to keep my hands off you and you don’t seem to mind one bit?”
I licked my lips, unable to meet his eyes. “No.”
He stepped a bit closer to me. I stared into Chloe’s wet face unable to look up.
“Let me know when you're ready to talk about it.”
My whole body trembled. I was wet and cold, but that wasn’t what was making me shake like a leaf. “I should go change.”
I turned and fumbled with the door, and escaped to my bedroom. I rubbed Chloe with the towel until she wasn’t dripping anymore. My mind raced. What had he meant when he said that he couldn’t keep his hands off of me? Was he trying to tell me that he wanted to kiss me?
I buried my face into Chloe’s wet body, as I remembered how his stomach had felt against the back of my hand. I had practically molested him while he bathed my dog.
I looked at the ceiling. I had no idea what to think. This whole situation felt insane. I questioned why so many women were running head first towards the man. Didn’t any of them see how truly terrifying he was?
I needed to go downstairs and deal with Matt and his crabby mood. Why did he hate dogs so much? He just needed to see how cute Chloe was and he would instantly change his mind. I changed into dry clothes and wrapped a new, dry towel around Chloe before I carefully carried her down the stairs.
Chapter 26
I tucked a damp Chloe with a blanket onto the couch. Matt scowled while he ate leftover Thai food.
“How are you?” I walked into the kitchen.
He ignored me, reading something on his phone.