Four Letter Word

by J. Daniels

  “Nope,” I replied cheerfully, liking that he remembered what my four trusted recipes were. I came to a stop in front of him and held out the plate proudly. “Well, it is but it’s not a new fifth. It’s the same one I burnt up before, but now it’s not all burnt up. See?”

  He took the plate from me and admired the dish.

  “Damn,” he mumbled appreciatively. “This looks good. Really fucking good.” His eyes lifted to mine. “Like your designs along the edge. Nice touch.”

  Ah! He noticed!

  I wanted to pirouette around the room but instead I chose to satisfy my need to celebrate with a less obnoxious bop of my shoulders.

  “Thanks! And it should taste just as good as it looks. I left all the bitter out this time.”

  A laugh rumbled in his chest. His eyes warmed.

  “Didn’t need to do this,” he said, leaning in and kissing me quick. “Appreciate it, though.”

  “Anytime, babe.”

  He gave me a slow smile as he pulled back.

  “Ready to eat?” he asked, setting the pie plate down next to his book, opening up the silverware drawer, grabbing two forks, then coming back over to stand next to me. “Need to taste some of this,” he murmured to himself, not bothering with a plate and sticking his fork into the crust like he was starved, digging out a heaping bite that needed to be warmed but apparently he wasn’t bothering with that either, and shoveling it in, chewing and moaning in potpie heaven.

  “Savage,” I joked.

  He gave me a wink.

  “I’m a lady so I’m using a plate.”

  I went to move around him to get to the cabinet that held the dishware when that quiet barking sound came from upstairs again.

  I slapped the counter.

  “Seriously? How do you put up with that? Aren’t your ears bleeding?”

  Brian slowly turned his head.

  “Huh?” he asked through a mouthful.

  I gestured at the ceiling conveniently after another Jamie kink bark sounded.

  “That!” I snapped. “How can you stand here eating homemade potpie while your best friend is upstairs acting like a house pet?”

  He shrugged, swallowed, then stated matter-of-factly, “Really good potpie, babe.”

  “That’s…” I lowered my hand and joined it with the other, knotting my fingers together. “Really?” I asked softly, leaning closer.

  Brian nodded through a smile.

  I inhaled sharply and curled my toes against the wood floor.

  The urge to do another celebratory dance was stronger than ever, but I kept myself composed.

  I’d wait until he went to the bathroom or something.

  Brian dropped the fork in the dish, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and reached for mine, tugging me to follow behind him as he led us out of the kitchen.

  “Come on. I’ll show you the house pet,” he said, heading up the stairs.

  Panic tingled up my spine.

  As if the weird, freaky bastard could hear me, he barked again.

  I pointed up the stairs, then turned that finger on Brian and waved it in his face. “No thank you.”

  Brian shook his head through a laugh, grabbed the hand I had suspended in the air, and resumed tugging me behind him as he continued climbing.

  “I’m not sure why I gotta keep saying this but you seem to keep forgetting, don’t care what the fuck Jamie is doing or who, not my business and I never want it to be my business, which eliminates the possibility of me ever wanting to show you anything he’s doing in there.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” I commented on a sigh, reaching the top of the stairs and being led to the right, down the hallway where Brian’s room was located, not Jamie’s.

  Thank God.

  Brian stopped in front of his door, turned the handle, and pushed it open.

  “Good thing this guy here’s keeping guard, ’cause you even thinking that makes me wanna throw you on the bed and spank the shit out of you.”

  My eyes widened for two reasons.

  One, I was turned on. Immediately. Really turned on and absolutely wishing he’d go through with his threat. The way Brian spanked had me begging for it and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that.

  He was really really good at it.

  And two, I didn’t miss the first part of his sentence, which led to me investigating with searching eyes what guy he was referring to that was keeping guard, leading me to spot only a second later the metal crate in the corner of the room next to the dresser and the puppy leaping around inside of it.

  Not just any puppy. A boxer puppy.

  No…fucking…way…

  “Oh, my God!” I shrieked with more excitement than I’d ever felt in my entire life, jumping into the air repeatedly with my hands covering my mouth while the puppy shared in my enthusiasm, barking and whining for attention.

  I bolted across the room and fell to my knees in front of the crate.

  “Look at you, you sweet thing. Were you the one making all that noise up here?”

  The puppy pushed his nose through a slot and started sniffing and licking the air while his paws kicked out and slid along the metal floor.

  “It’s a boy,” Brian said behind me as I offered up my fingers for playful nibbles. “Hope you don’t mind but I named him already. He seems to like Sir.”

  I turned my head with my eyes stinging.

  Brian was leaning against the frame, arms crossed, watching me intently. He tipped his chin at the crate.

  “He’s yours, Wild.”

  Oh, God…

  Brian bought me a puppy. That’s where he went today and why he didn’t inform or include me in it, but not just any puppy. The puppy I’d wanted most of my life.

  I was going to start bawling. I knew it.

  This was too much and too perfect all at once.

  Nodding, I wiped wetness off my face with the hand not being licked and nibbled.

  “He’s ours,” I whispered, and Brian’s eyes melted into warmth hearing that. “And he’s beautiful,” I added, turning my head back around.

  He was beautiful. Fawn, with an all-black nose and white markings on his chest, big paws, and a docked tail.

  Regal.

  I giggled through my tears and stuck more fingers through the metal slots, allowing for even more playful nibbles.

  “Thought about it,” Brian began. “Figured I can take him to work with me so he doesn’t need to be crated all day if we’re both gone. Let him hang out at Wax.”

  “One of the boys,” I murmured, smiling and stroking Sir’s nose.

  “Breeder gave me a bag of puppy food for him but it’ll only last a couple of days. We need to go out and get him some more.”

  “Absolutely. We can go after dinner,” I suggested. “We need other stuff, too. Collar, leash, bowls, comfy bed for when he doesn’t want to sleep with us. Chew toys. A brush for his coat.”

  “Syd…”

  “Maybe one of those training books. And he absolutely needs teething sticks. Dental health is very important.” I leaned closer to the crate. “Right, Sir? We need to keep that smile pretty. Don’t we?”

  Sir shook out his coat and went back to biting at my fingers.

  “Wild.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You gonna let him out or are you just gonna keep torturing him?” Brian asked with a smile in his voice. “Had to crate him so it could be a surprise when you got here. I’m sure he wants to play.”

  Sir’s little tail started wagging like crazy.

  Of course. What was I doing?

  “I’m sorry. Do you want to play, sugar bear? Let’s get you out, okay?” I whispered anxiously, then sat up tall on my knees and scooted back a little, unlocked the two latches on the crate, one high and one low, pulled the door open, and fell back with a squeal when Sir barreled out and slammed straight into my chest, pawing his way up my body so he could lick all over my face.

  “Sir!” I laughed, tilting my head back and la
ughing harder.

  He had that fantastic puppy smell I thought came in the top five of best scents ever, and the softest coat.

  I didn’t know what Brian’s plans were but I’d already decided Sir wasn’t sleeping in the crate tonight.

  His place was at the foot of the bed, or sharing my pillow if he preferred.

  Scrunching up my nose, I turned so he could nip and lap at my ear.

  My eyes locked with Brian’s.

  My boy did this for me. He was making sure I was living that life we talked about weeks ago.

  He didn’t know just by having him, I was already living it.

  It was ours.

  Thank you, I mouthed, feeling so happy I feared my heart would pop.

  Love you, he mouthed back.

  I closed my eyes, dropped my head back, and kept on laughing.

  And that life? It was perfect.

  Chapter Seventeen

  BRIAN

  Two Weeks Later

  Standing outside of the emergency entrance at NHC, back pressed against the door of my Jeep and arms crossed, I turned my head toward the driver’s side window where Sir was hanging out and let him sniff and lick the side of my face when he started whining.

  “Getting impatient myself,” I told him, then reached up, scratched behind his ear, and turned back to look at the sliding doors.

  Syd got the job she’d interviewed for. Her schedule at the hospital ended up being four ten-hour days, and even though I thought that was plenty of time for her to be working every week, she didn’t agree and told Nate she’d stay on a day at Whitecaps.

  She was dead set on helping him out any way she could.

  I thought that was sweet. I also thought it was unnecessary and knew Nate could figure shit out without her, but I kept that opinion to myself.

  I figured as long as the day Syd helped out didn’t end up being a Sunday, I could agree to it. I wanted my day off to coincide with hers, and I wasn’t shy about telling her that.

  She didn’t argue and kept that day clear. She wanted Sundays with me, too.

  Life was fucking good.

  Had my girl, who was holding true to her word and healing me just by being who she was, giving me so much good I didn’t have the space to feel anything besides what she was putting out.

  Her light and her sweet and that fire that burned inside her when she loved. I’d never felt anything like that.

  Never felt anything like her.

  Syd handed me her heart and pressed her lips to my chest, whispering promises to mine.

  She made sure I woke up hearing that accident wasn’t my fault and I went to bed believing it a little bit more.

  She said she would love me loudly, and she did. Every second.

  Sydney Whittaker was my fucking dream. Soft and Wild and mine.

  Life wasn’t just good.

  It was perfect.

  Waking up to her sexy little body sprawled across my chest and feeling her press back against me at night, ass to cock, my arm over her waist holding her there and hers keeping pressure on top of mine, locking us together.

  Fucking heaven.

  We’d talk for hours. We’d fuck for hours.

  I fell in love with Wild’s voice in my ear. Now I had her in my arms while she was giving it to me, and I was out of my fucking mind lost for this girl. There was no turning back.

  I’d be anything she needed. I’d be everything she needed.

  And I’d spend the rest of my fucking life making her happy.

  She said it was her turn to heal me but I wasn’t done healing her.

  Not even close. Not until she had it all.

  And after tonight, hopefully she’d be one step closer to getting it.

  I pushed off the Jeep as the emergency room doors slid open and Syd walked out, wearing light blue hospital scrubs that hid her curves more than the outfits she normally strutted her softness around in, plain white sneakers, and her ID badge clipped to her front pocket. Her hair was pulled back out of her face and she had a black and pink Adidas backpack slung over her shoulder.

  She looked tired but perked up when she spotted us, a look of surprise washing over her, holding for a second then slowly morphing into the dimpled smile she was always giving me as she quickly made her way down the sidewalk.

  “Trouble, what in the world?” She paused to stand on her toes and gave me a brief kiss. “What are you doing here?”

  A chunk of red had fallen out of her ponytail. I tucked it behind her ear and rubbed her cheek with my thumb.

  She wasn’t wearing any makeup. I could see every freckle and mole and the natural flush of her cheeks she’d claimed was an unfortunate side effect of being a redhead.

  Assholes paid money to stare at beauty like this and I had it in my hands.

  “Wanted to show you something. Thought we could go for a drive, then come back here and get your car.” I slid her book bag off her shoulder and tipped my head at the Jeep. “Sir’s been going fuckin’ nuts waiting for you.”

  Syd smiled bigger. She gave me another quick kiss before moving in front of the window, where she started petting and kissing Sir.

  “Sweet boy, did you have fun today at work?” She scratched behind his ears and let him sniff her face.

  Syd was referring to Wax.

  I’d been taking Sir to work with me so he wouldn’t have to stay crated all day and hadn’t run into any issues so far. In fact, kids got a kick out of him when they came into the shop. Happy kids meant happy parents.

  And happy parents bought a lot of shit.

  Sir turned out to be a smart business investment.

  “Good day?” I asked.

  She shrugged, replying, “Busy day. I barely got to sit down. Made the time go by fast, though.” She turned to look at me. “So, what did you want to show me?”

  I nudged her hip gently with my hand.

  “It’s a surprise. Get in so we can get going. I want you to see it before dark.”

  With wide eyes full of interest, she walked around the Jeep.

  “I love surprises,” she said.

  “Know that, babe.”

  I tossed her book bag in the back and climbed in the driver’s seat, taking a hold of Sir and holding him out for Syd to take after she got in and buckled.

  “Tell me what it is, sugar bear, and I’ll give you some peanut butter when we get home,” she whispered against the top of his head as I pulled away from the hospital.

  I breathed a laugh, shot her a quick glance, and asked, “You really want to know? I can tell you.”

  She sat up tall in the seat and shook her head, fighting a grin.

  “Nope. Surprise me. I want to be wowed.”

  I smiled at the road.

  Fuck yeah. I’d wow her. She had no idea this was coming.

  Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up in front of the house I signed the papers for an hour ago, parked in the driveway, and cut the engine.

  Syd sat forward in her seat and peered through the windshield.

  “Is this where your sister lives?” she asked, looking around. “It looks empty.”

  “That’s ’cause it is empty. Come on.”

  I grabbed the leash from the backseat, stepped out, and met Syd around on her side.

  She looked from the house to me.

  “What’s going on? Why are we here?”

  I attached the leash to Sir’s collar and took him from her, letting him down so he could sniff around the yard. Reaching into my back pocket, I produced a set of keys and pressed them into Syd’s hand.

  “Go in and check it out, Wild,” I told her.

  Her eyes moved between the keys and my face.

  “What?”

  “The house, babe. Go check it out for me.”

  She tilted her head, blinked up at me, then asked, “Why would I do that?”

  I smiled.

  So fucking cute.

  Bending down, I kissed her while Sir was tugging on the leash.

  “
’Cause I’m renting it for us, and if you hate it, I need to know. Ink is still wet on the contract. Got time to back out if I have to.”

  She gasped against my lips.

  “What?” she whispered, pulling back and staring up at me as her hand lightly held on to my hip. “You got us a house?”

  “Yep.”

  “You…you want me to move in with you?” She leaned closer. “Really?”

  “Yeah, Wild, really,” I replied, almost laughing at her shock because I thought where this shit was going between us was pretty damn obvious. “Want a lot of things with you and living together is one of them. Needed our own space and figured the way we’re moving, I’ll be giving you kids sooner rather than later and I want us to be settled somewhere before that happens. Somewhere you want us to be. You don’t like it, I’ll back out. You do? We have an option to buy down the road when we’re ready.” I swatted her left ass cheek and tipped my chin at the house. “So go check it out.”

  She stared at me, mouth hanging open and eyes blinking rapidly.

  “You want us to live together?” she repeated, leaning even closer and higher when she rolled up on her toes to stress, “For real?”

  “Jesus Christ,” I muttered. “We’re together every night, Syd. Practically live together already, babe. I’m just making it so we’re living together someplace that’s ours.”

  She fell back on her heels. Her eyes were watering fast and her lip started quivering.

  Syd cried every time I did something for her. No matter what it was.

  The first night I made the hot chocolate she liked and surprised her with it while she was waiting for me in bed, it took an hour for her to calm enough to actually drink it.

  She couldn’t believe I remembered. I made her suck my dick for thinking I’d forget.

  And by “made,” I mean she liked it so much her first orgasm hit with my cock down her throat and her fingers between her legs.

  I had to reheat her drink twice that night.

  Grabbing my face, Syd declared through a trembling voice, “You are way too sweet, Brian Savage.” She tipped her chin up. “Way too sweet.”

  “Only to you,” I replied, looking at the house then back at her, asking, “You gonna go check it out or do you hate it?”

  “I’m gonna go check it out.”

  Fighting a smile, I bent to take her mouth, murmuring, “Good.”