by Maggie Marr
“First your sister passes out and doesn’t feed me, and now I have to eat my Chinese food alone? What kind of people are you?” I was going for funny sarcastic, but Trick’s eyes widened.
“Sophia, I’m sorry, but I really have to take care of this dog and—”
“Oh my God, what kind of heartless bitch do you think I am? Of course we have to take care of this dog, and then we’re going to eat our Chinese food together and drink our six-pack of beer. I’m not going back to the bungalow to eat my Chinese food in front of Lisel, okay? She just grunts at me. Between Lisel and the dogs, you’re the best human interaction I’ve had in days.”
A smile slowly widened over Trick’s face. “Sounds good. Come in with me. Don’t sit out here in the truck.”
Trick got out and walked around to the passenger side and opened the front door. Slowly, carefully, as though he were lifting the most fragile and the most precious thing he’d ever carried, he lifted the poor trembling pup from the floorboard.
A whimper burst from her throat. For the tiniest second my heart hurt. The poor thing. Sadness filled her eyes. She looked so lost and that sound … My heart nearly cracked in half. I jumped from the backseat, ran ahead of Trick, and pulled open the clinic door. As Trick passed by me with the sad pup in his arms, I again fought the urge to reach out and pet her and tell her she’d be okay. Her eyes met mine, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, I wasn’t scared.
Chapter 13
Sophia
“Nothing’s broken. Everything looks good. She seems a little dazed and maybe a bit dehydrated, but I think she’ll be fine. We’ll keep her in here until tomorrow when Luis comes by to assess her behavior. Jill’s going to give her a bath and a trim now.”
I looked toward Jill, a tiny fireplug of a girl with long blonde hair and tattoos up and down both arms. Jill buzzed with energy. She walked over and took the pup into her arms. “Come on, pretty girl, let’s see what we’ve got under there once we get you clean. Bet you’re a beauty.”
“I bet she is,” I said.
Trick and Doc looked at me.
“You want to eat here and see her once she’s all cleaned up?” Trick asked.
“I do.” Heat flamed up my neck and into my face. I did. I definitely wanted to see what pup 3479 looked like once Jill had finished with her beauty treatments.
“We can eat in the lounge. Bet we get done about the same time Jill does. Doc, we’ve got plenty if you want to join us.”
“Smells great, but I was just in the middle of dinner when you texted. Think I’ll head on back to my salmon and my documentary. Another time.”
I followed Trick to the lounge. Two well-worn but comfy couches were in the room as well as a stove, a refrigerator, and a flat screen TV. I set the bag of Chinese food on the table in front of the couch and Trick headed toward the drawers. He pulled out plates and a bottle opener. He popped open two Stellas and handed one to me.
“You like that dog.” Trick lifted a box from the takeout bag.
I shrugged. Maybe I did. I hadn’t felt like this about a dog before. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d ever liked dogs. After all, I’d been bitten when I was five.
“She just seems so helpless and then someone just dumped her. Who does that? I may not like being around dogs, but I don’t wish anything bad on them.”
Trick nodded. “You’d be shocked at what some people do to animals.”
I opened a carton of rice and he handed me a pair of chopsticks. I put the rice onto my plate and then poured the Kung Pao scallops on top of the rice. My stomach growled.
“Eat, eat!” Trick said. He seemed thrilled with the idea of me eating. He didn’t have to tell me twice. After plowing through two plates of Chinese food I fell back against the couch cushions and pressed my hand to my stomach.
“I am so full.”
Trick grabbed the two fortune cookies from the table. “Pick one.” He held both in the palm of his hand. I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath. The cookie was crisp under my finger and I snapped it open. I pulled out the long strip of paper caught in half of the cookie.
“What’s yours say?” Trick leaned close and he smelled like soap and the outdoors. An electric thrill shimmered over my skin with his nearness. I fought the urge to tilt my head just slightly and feel those beautiful lips on mine.
He pulled back the tiniest bit. “Sophia? What does it say?”
I jerked my head back. Wow, did I look like a lovestruck girl? “Oh, right.” I plucked the fortune from my palm. The words … oh my, the words. How come sometimes the fortunes we got just seemed too true?
“Confronting your fears can lead to a bright future.”
“That seems applicable,” Trick said.
“Okay, okay.” I folded the fortune into a little square and tucked it into my jeans pocket. “What about yours, smart guy?
He glanced at the strip of paper he held between his fingers. Was that a blush in his cheeks? “Mine says ‘love appears in a familiar place.’”
My heart bounced in my chest. Love, huh? In a familiar place? Like Pawtown, like here, like … my breathing slowed and my eyes focused on Trick and his were focused on mine … was he leaning in … was I leaning in … damn, those lips. His lips were so close and his breath was sweet and my heart thumped in my chest and—
“Come and see our beautiful princess!” Jill called.
I slammed myself back and away from Trick. I jumped up from the couch. “Oh, I can’t wait to see her,” I said as I moved toward the door.
What the hell?
Had we been about to kiss? I looked over my shoulder at Trick. He scrubbed his hand over his head and down the back of his neck. His eyes met mine.
I couldn’t. I wanted that kiss. My body wanted Trick. This man. That man sitting on the couch. Instead I turned toward the door and walked into the hall. I followed Jill toward the giant scrub area where there were three stainless steel tubs, a grooming table, and all kinds of tools that she used to groom the dogs.
There she was. The pup we’d found. Like any girl, after a good bath and a great haircut, she not only looked good, but she seemed to feel prettier. She stood taller and her tail thumped for me when I entered the room.
Oh my goodness. That sound. Her thumping tail. Was she smiling at me?
Conflict, confusion pulsed through me. I wanted to walk right over and give this good-looking girl a giant pet and yet … and yet … I stood in the doorway unable to move. I couldn’t help but smile. She was happy to see me. This pup was happy to see me. My heart bounced against my ribs and fear careened through my belly. She looked beautiful. She had gorgeous black and white fur. How had Jill managed to get the tangles out and make her so beautiful?
“I think she’s got some spaniel and some collie in her,” Jill said.
“She looks good, doesn’t she? All cleaned up.” Trick’s voice was like a caress down the back of my neck. My whole body alerted to the fact that he stood just behind me. My nipples tightened against the fabric of my bra. My sex clenched. I stroked my tongue over my lower lip. “Want to pet her?” His body was so close he nearly pressed into me.
“I was just getting ready to feed her a little something. You want to do it?” Jill stood beside the pup that was still standing on the grooming table. Jill grasped her leash and helped her down. I stepped backward and pressed to Trick. I felt him. I felt all of him. The hard angles of his chest against my back, the scent of the mint of his breath, the hardness of him, his erection pressed against me.
There was so much I wanted in this moment.
I pressed my lips together. Jill led the dog toward two bowls, one filled with water and the other empty. She bent down and grabbed the empty bowl. “Here,” Jill said. “Go on and give her two cups. The food is in the cupboard.”
An unfamiliar mix of arousal and fear pressed along my insides. A tiny drop of sweat trickled under my arm. I glanced over my shoulder at Trick. Those damn blue eyes. Those damn lip
s. He gave me a tiny smile and then he nodded at me. I walked across the room and grasped the food bowl. I didn’t look at the dog, who kept her gaze on me. I turned my back on her and Jill and went to the food bin and scooped out two heaping cups.
“Put a cup of water on it.” Jill called.
I turned on the tap. My heart thumped against my ribs. How would I put this bowl in front of that dog? Sure, she looked cute. But we didn’t know her, I didn’t know her. She might take off my fingers, or bite my face. I turned off the water and pivoted around. She thumped her tail at me and what looked like a smile came my way.
“Great. Just put it down right here,” Jill instructed.
I glanced at Trick and again he nodded. I could do this. Right? I could do this. Slowly I walked toward Jill and the dog. I made a wide circle and set the food down. Jill held her tight, but the pretty girl stayed on her tush and didn’t jump or lunge or bark. Her tail just kept thumping away on the ground.
“Hey girl,” I breathed out. Damn. I knelt down beside her and a dizziness clutched my head. She was so close. She smelled fresh and clean. I set the bowl in front of her. She didn’t rush toward her food. A giant breath of air burst from my lungs as I released the bowl of dog food. She looked at me with those big brown eyes that made me want to kiss her snout. I reached out and then stopped.
Oh my God, I was about to pet her. My hand hung in the air. She ducked her head down as though she’d meet me halfway and then pressed the top of her head up and into my palm. She was so soft. And so gentle. My hand stroked down the back of her neck and a tiny little whine of happiness came from her throat.
“Eat, sweet girl, eat.”
She went to the bowl as though she’d simply been waiting for my words. My heart filled and I looked at Trick. Suddenly, what he did and why all made sense. I got it. Finally, with this one dog, I understood.
Jill’s gaze went to Trick. “She must have had some type of training. Look how good she is with her food.”
I walked quickly to the doorway where Trick now leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his chest. He leaned forward and I could feel his breath. “Nice job,” he said, his voice low.
A tingle rushed up my spine.
“What’s her name?” he asked.
My eyes were locked on the pup as she wolfed down her food. Her teeth were big, they were long, but they didn’t seem vicious. Trick pressed a little closer. So easy to lean back and rest my head against his chest. If Jill weren’t here it would be easy to turn and tilt my head, an invitation to a kiss I’d thought about all night.
“I think she should be called Estrella.” I turned my head to get Trick’s reaction.
“As in Star?” He nodded. “That’s a good name. Especially on a night like this.”
The name wasn’t just for the night sky filled with little bright lights. I turned back to Estrella, who now licked the bottom of her empty bowl. The name was a reminder. For me. Every time I saw this dog, every time I called her name, every time I thought of Trick, I wanted to be reminded why I was at Pawtown. I wasn’t here because I loved dogs. I barely even liked dogs aside from the one I’d met tonight. And I wasn’t here to meet and become involved with a former actor.
No, my time here was for one reason and one reason only—to get my own star back. The star that had been rising like a rocket through the stratosphere. I needed my star to be rising again. Estrella and her name would be a constant reminder of this goal while I remained here at Pawtown.
“Then that’s her name.” Trick rocked back onto the heels of his boots. “And I think you just found your first charge.”
Yeah, it was obvious; Estrella was definitely meant for me.
Trick
I pushed open the front door of the vet bungalow and stepped aside to let Sophia exit first. Oranges and mint wafted behind her. Her hair a silky mass of lush black. Trouble was dogging me and its name was Sophia Delgado Legend.
My heart thumped harder in my chest. Desire tightened and pulled upward from my groin. Damn. Now that we’d cut through the bullshit, her charm was winding its way around my heart.
Beauty and charm. A deadly combination for any man, but with my past? Sex was a gateway drug to good times and hard partying. I needed to focus—one minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at time. Distractions were not something I needed right now. I had enough on my plate with running Pawtown and the upcoming film shoot.
“I’ll walk you back to your dorm,” I said, leading the way. It was almost 10 p.m. and Pawtown was safe, but dark. There were not a lot of lights along the gravel paths.
“Thanks.” Again she flashed me her killer high-watt smile. That smile had been on hiatus since the beginning of her stay here at Pawtown, but now, after being well fed and rescuing a dog, it seemed to be flashing toward me. Yeah, that smile could end me.
Her shoes scraped the gravel. She walked beside me, close enough that I could reach out and grasp her hand. I could stop. Turn her toward me. Press that body, that body with those breasts and the round curve of an ass, press all of Sophia to me, lean forward and kiss that mouth. That mouth that held words that went from sweet to sour to sweet again. I was interested. She was interested. Her body sent all kinds of signals with her smile, her closeness, her hands flipping her hair. But I was hesitant. Hell, I was fucking scared. Not of her and not of being with her. I could have her in my bed in fifteen minutes flat. Have her wet and ready and moaning in another ten. I could make her fucking scream my name. Getting women wasn’t my problem, pleasing them physically was easy. For me, the problem always came from making the wrong choice with wrong girl. I’d never got that right, and had never managed to create that kind of magic.
Was Sophia the right choice?
Probably not. She wanted most of the things I’d left behind in L.A. She wanted the fame and the photos and the fans and the attention. I shoved my hands into my back pockets. I angled away from her and put some cool night air between us and all this heat.
I had no intentions of returning to the Industry. I was fine making the occasional trip to help with publicity for Pawtown and acquire some much-needed donations. Other than that, I planned to avoid the place like the plague.
“So what kind of dog do you think Estrella is?” Sophia asked. She tilted her head toward me.
“I’m guessing a spaniel-lab mix with maybe some collie thrown in. You’ll be able to tell more tomorrow when you see how she behaves. Luis will assess her first thing in the morning. You should try to get back over to the clinic by eight.”
We stopped in front of the Pawtown volunteer dormitory, which was a double sized bungalow with extra bedrooms and bunk beds.
“I thought I was on puppy detail tomorrow?” she asked as stepped up onto the front porch. I stepped up beside her.
“That was before you fell in love.”
My words hung heavy in the air. Again I was too close. Like a live wire, desire leaped between us. Her soft supple mouth and those big brown eyes. Her nipples were tight beneath her shirt. Those hips. I fought the urge to grasp a hip in each hand, just below the curve of her waist, and pull her closer. See if she fit against me like I knew she would.
“You think I’m in love?’ Her voice was breathy and her tongue licked over her lower lip.
I knew these signals and they were good signals. They could be interpreted as an invitation from a woman who had made my cock rock hard and had left my heart hammering in my chest. Right now I needed to make sane, responsible, solid—fuck it.
My lips pressed to hers. Heat that had burned slow and steady like bright red embers burst into flame. I grasped her arms and pulled her tight to me. Her body molded to mine and her hands, her tiny delicate hands, were on my chest. Her head tilted back and she surrendered to my kiss.
This was so fucking bad and so damned good all at the same time. Her lips slid open and my tongue caressed hers. My hand roamed down her arm and drifted around to that big beautiful ass. She pressed into me. Into my
hardness. My other hand slipped down over her shirt and I felt those full breasts. She pressed forward and into my hand. My fingers circled her taut nipple. She gasped.
My body alerted to her sound. My hand pressed her ass harder, pushing her closer to my cock. Her hips rolled in a small circle. Heat thrilled through me. I wanted to strip off her shirt and wrap my lips around the bud of her nipple. I wanted to slip her jeans down over her hips and press my hard—
The front porch light flipped on.
“Lisel,” Sophia whispered. Her breath was hot and short. She pulled away from me. “My roommate Lisel, she likes to watch late-night TV.”
Sophia’s fingers pressed down the front of her her shirt and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. Uncertainty flickered in her eyes. She wanted something from me. Either an explanation or an invitation. Words that might make both of us feel less vulnerable and make what had just happened okay.
But it wasn’t okay.
I stepped down off the porch. “I’m sorry,” I said. “That shouldn’t have happened.” Her lips turned down and she glanced away from me, crossing her arms over her chest. When she looked back at me, all traces of sadness were gone.
“You’re right, it shouldn’t have.”
Lies. Both of us were lying. I was just better at it, more skilled. I could hear the lie in her voice, but from the way her face looked, she didn’t realize that my words were false. My words had been a horrible inadequate attempt to halt the feeling that burned in my chest.
“I’ll see you at the clinic at eight.” I stepped onto the gravel path that would lead me home.
“No problem,” Sophia said. She flashed me a small smile, not the same one that lit my insides on fire. This one barely lifted the corners of her mouth. She opened the door and without glancing back or saying another word she went inside.
Yep, so much for my good choices.