Big Man’s Happily Ever After

by Wylder, Penny

  Jon puts down my bag and kicks off his shoes. “Well the one sitting on you is Georgie, but I’ll point out the rest of them when they’re calmer. Speaking of, I have to feed them. Dinner time, guys!”

  All the dogs go running after him to what I presume is the kitchen, but Georgie stays on my lap. His tail is still going, but he leans his head into me like he knows that I need the comfort. I scratch him behind his ears. “You want to stay with me? That’s nice of you.”

  Faster wags.

  “Thank you for being so nice. I feel safe here,” I say. That same exhaustion that I felt before pulls at me, only this time, it’s stronger. It’s easy to close my eyes and relax into the warmth of a dog on my lap, the soft couch underneath me and the knowledge that I am safe. That Jon is keeping me safe.

  8

  Jon

  I watch from the doorway as Sadie drifts off to sleep on my couch. Georgie doesn’t seem interested in moving from her side, and that’s okay with me. She needs the comfort and the safety.

  Glancing behind me, I check on the dogs to make sure that they’re eating. And they are. I trained them out of stealing each other’s food a long time ago. When they first got here, they were so starved and desperate that they’d fight over any scrap of food. But now, they know there will always be enough food, and they only eat from their own bowls.

  Sadie looks beautiful as always, curled around Georgie, already fast asleep. She looked exhausted when I first got to her house, and I can’t blame her. Death threats aren’t something that you get used to.

  Frustration and anger rise in my chest. The fact that she went after Jack pisses me off. I warned her that he was dangerous. But I didn’t get specific. I should have. I should have gone into explicit detail about what he does to people who get in his way, and how other people always take the fall for his crimes.

  But it is my fault, too. I dangled something in front of her that she desperately wanted. I should have known she couldn’t have resisted it. It was a mistake. But that doesn’t mean it is any less damaging.

  When I saw the story on the news—because I watch just for her now—I had to run down to my gym and beat the hell out my bag for a couple of minutes. Not because I was angry at her. I was, but that wasn’t what drove me to beat the shit out of something. I was terrified for her.

  I didn’t want anything to happen her. This week has felt like forever since I last saw her, but now I don’t want to let her out of my sight. It is good that she is here. Where I can keep her safe.

  The alarm is set, the dogs are fed, and she can’t sleep on the couch all night. “Okay Georgie,” I say softly. “Let me put her to bed.”

  He looks at me like if I try to hurt her, he’ll hurt me. I’ve never seen any of my dogs act like this about anyone. None of them had really looked at Kristy as part of our pack, and they practically knocked Sadie over as soon as she walked through the door. Their reactions really give me something to think about.

  But right now, though, all I want to do is make her feel safe and comfortable. I give Georgie a couple of scratches behind his ears. “It’s okay, boy, I’ve got her.”

  Satisfied, he gets down, and Sadie reaches for him in her sleep. I pick her up gently, trying not to disturb her, and the way she curls into me pulls at my gut. This woman…she does things to me. Things that I can’t fully explain.

  This house is new enough that my guest room isn’t fully set up. There is a bed, but the mattress is still wrapped in plastic. Frankly, there isn’t really a reason for me to have a guest room. I don’t have many friends and I’ve never expected any visitors.

  My bedroom is the one I’ve taken the time to make comfortable and amazing. That’s where I take Sadie. I can sleep on the couch.

  I lay her on my bed, but as I pull away, she reaches for me. “Don’t go.” Just a whisper.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Stay. Please. Take my mind off things.”

  I pull off my shirt before I lay down next to her. “You don’t have to do this,” I say quietly. “You don’t have to feel…obligated.”

  “I don’t,” she says quietly, still sleepy. “I promise. And I mean that one. But first I need to know that you forgive me.”

  I roll over her, loving the feel of her body underneath me. “Sadie I forgave you already. You don’t need to ask. But the thought of you getting hurt—” I take a breath. “That’s terrifying. But you’re amazing, and so brave.”

  “I hoped that you’d think that. Even though I broke my promise, I hoped you’d think that.”

  I kiss her. Hard. Deeply. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Sadie.”

  “I know.”

  We don’t need words after that as I kiss her again. This time we go slow. I have condoms here, and we undress each other carefully. I taste her skin as I peel away her clothes. Her pussy hugs my cock like a glove, so hot and tight that I’m instantly undone.

  But just like that first night at the club, I keep it slow. This time I have no plans on speeding up. We move together, slowly, building up. Sadie’s soft moans make me harder, and I swallow the sounds that she’s making.

  We reach the end together, shuddering in pleasure at the same time, falling deeper and deeper before we surface. When we come together, I groan.

  I don’t move an inch away from her. I pull her tighter against my body and cover us with the blankets. Sadie’s breath slows until I know she’s asleep again, and I want to stay awake and enjoy it, but I’m pulled down into sleep too.

  * * *

  The sun streaming in the window is what wakes me, and Sadie is still in my arms. Holy fuck, I can’t get enough of this woman. Waking up with her, just feeling her body against mine, already has me smiling ear to ear. It feels impossible to be so affected by this. It’s too soon, too much. But I can’t ignore the feeling in my chest. Sadie already feels important to me.

  This is heaven, lying with her next to me, and I don’t want to move. But I can hear scrabbling at my door. The pups want breakfast, and they’re expecting their morning run. Nerves spike in my gut at the thought of leaving her here alone. But I’ll set the alarm and double check that every door and window is locked. She’ll be safe. I’ll be back in less than an hour.

  The thought of getting back to her makes me fly through the distance of my run faster than I normally would. The dogs love the pace, and they’re smiling and slobbering the entire way. Frank’s probably going to kick my ass later for pushing too hard, but I don’t care. I don’t have a fight for at least another two months, and even though I am on a strict practice routine, I can diverge from the schedule today. Getting back to Sadie is the most important thing for me this morning, and making sure she’s safe is a higher priority than any workout.

  A low-riding car drives toward me on the road, and I move to the side to get the dogs out of its way. We don’t get too much traffic out here normally, but occasionally I’ll run into someone.

  I’m almost past the car when the voice calls out. “Lawson.”

  I go still too quickly, nearly stumbling as I turn and see Jack Singleton in the window of the car. Fuck. Fucking fuck.

  He nods his head toward the car and I walk back to him, despite the dogs’ eagerness to get home for their breakfasts. I stand back few feet, not wanting to put myself any closer to him than I have to. “What do you want.”

  Shifting intentionally so that his jacket falls open and shows me the gun tucked into his waistband, he smiles. “I know that you have her in there. Or at least you did.”

  “Fuck off, Jack.”

  All he does is smile as he drives away. The creepiest fucking smile in the world. And then his words sink in. He’s driving away from me in the direction of my house. Oh fuck. I run the remaining distance at top speed. Images of tearing Jack limb from limb fill my mind. I’m fueled by rage. This motherfucker has caused so much harm. I’ll be damned if he lays a finger on Sadie.

  As I sprint through the gate to my property, and quickly unclip
the dogs’ leashes, I start yelling her name. Throwing open the front door I scream up the stairs, “Sadie? Sadie, where are you?”

  “I’m upstairs, where you left me,” she calls, and the relief that I feel nearly puts me on the fucking floor. I bend over and lean on my knees, heaving in breath after breath to try to get my heart rate down. The dogs are all inside, laying against the cool marble floor, panting too.

  “Holy shit. Are you okay?” I look up and see her standing at the top of the staircase. She’s running a towel through her hair, so casually, and she is such a contrast to the things I was imagining just minutes before. She’s dressed for work in a perfect suit, she looks fine. Healthy. Jack just said that shit to mess with my head. I want to pull her into my arms and never let her go. But I’m covered in sweat, and I don’t want to ruin her suit.

  “Jack,” I say, panting still. “He drove by me on the end of my run. Flashed his gun and made me think he was coming this way.”

  Sadie pales. “Oh my God. He knows I’m here?” How?

  “He must have seen me pick you up last night. This guy, Sadie, he just has eyes everywhere. But this house is secure. You’re safe here.”

  “Fuck.” She walks down the stairs to me, throwing her wet towel over the bannister and plopping herself on the couch. “I can’t stay locked up in here, though. I have to go to work, Jon. And I refuse to let this man terrify me and back me into a corner. That’s just what he wants. To intimidate me. It’s not going to happen.”

  I hate that she’s right, because I want her to be safe. But Jack thinking that he’s terrified her will just egg him on. He’ll fucking love it. So she has to go to work, live her life. “You’re right, but please, let me arrange for some security. Jack is out there right now with a gun. I don’t know where he is, and I don’t know his intentions, but he’s dangerous and unpredictable. I don’t take death threats from him lightly.”

  She nods. “Yeah. That’s fine. I’m stubborn, but I’m not stupid.”

  A knock at the door makes her jump. “It’s Ben,” I tell her. “He shows up every morning around this time.” But I make sure to look through the peephole first.

  When I open the door, his eyes go immediately to Sadie and then back to mine. “Hi,” he says, but it sounds more like a question

  “We have a situation,” I say. “Sadie needs security. I want a full team to travel with her, and then when she’s here, they’re to stick around. She needs to get to work soon, so get started. Don’t spare any expense. I want this done right. And fast.”

  Ben’s eyes widen. “Okay, I can do that. Give me a few minutes.”

  I nod, and he steps into the kitchen, already typing on his phone. He knows me well enough to know that I don’t ask for frivolous things, so for me to tell him to do it at no expense is serious.

  “Why are you doing this for me?” Sadie asks quietly from the couch.

  I find that I can’t look at her. I don’t want her to see any fear on my face, because if she does, I’ll be vulnerable. She’ll know just how badly I need her to be safe and she’ll wonder why. So I shrug. “The money isn’t an issue to me, if that’s what you mean. I have everything I need, and you need this. What good is the money if you can’t spend it on the people you love?”

  Sadie sucks in a breath, and too late I realize what I said. Oh, fuck.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean—”

  But she’s smiling at me and is off the couch and moving toward me in a second. I’m still sweaty from my run, but she doesn’t seem to care. She folds herself into my arms and gets up on her tippy-toes to kiss me.

  I realize as she kisses me that I’ve already given my entire heart to her, so what does it matter if I let the L word slip? On some level, she has to know how I feel. And all I can hope is that she may feel the same way too.

  9

  Sadie

  Alan looks a little disgruntled as he steps into my office. He didn’t appreciate the grilling from the security guard standing at my door. Unfortunately I was on the phone for a few minutes and I hadn’t realized he was trying to get in before I was able to wave away the security guard so Alan could come through. Luckily it’s all but forgotten as he sits across from me and starts updating me on my first, and very successful story.

  “Things are going through the roof, Sadie. The story has been picked up by all the affiliates, and the social media response is absolutely off the charts.”

  “That’s great, Alan. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.”

  “Who’s that?” Alan points to Georgie, who’s sitting by my desk. Jon insisted that he come with me to the studio after the security team arrived, and honestly I’m glad to have the company.

  “This guy?” I say, leaning down to give him a few scratches on his neck. “He’s rescue dog who belongs to my friend. He was actually rescued from a dogfighting ring similar to the one in the story.”

  Alan looks shocked. “Sadie that’s brilliant. We can do a spot tonight about adopting the dogs that are rescued, featuring this one. That’ll keep the momentum going. It’s the perfect angle.”

  Nerves swim in my gut. I wouldn’t directly be reporting on Jack, but still, it could anger him. Despite what I said to Jon this morning about not being intimidated, I can’t shake the unease that last night’s threat left on me. I want to do a good job and take this story farther, but I also have to admit, I’m scared. But Alan’s expression is so eager, and I can’t let him down.

  “Sounds great. I can reach out to the rescues. I’m sure one of them will be thrilled for a reporter with a cameraman to come by and get some footage today. I expect they’ll receive an influx of applications by the morning.”

  “Great. People love animals, and a good story. This pup here will help put a hopeful spin to your story yesterday and keep people invested.”

  I smile. “Perfect.”

  He ducks out, and I go back to work following up on the story while one of my stoic bodyguards stands outside the door. They’re nice enough, stationed at various places between me and the entrance to the studio. Now that I’m here, it seems like a little much. Especially since I’m still the new girl in the office, and I hate to think my colleagues think I’m a diva. But I do feel better knowing that there’s someone watching my back.

  I call around to various rescues, and they’re all excited we’ll be doing the story. I arrange for one of our junior reporters to get some footage, and work through the questions I want her to ask at the rescue. The entire morning I receive emails with cute pictures of dogs and their profiles. I struggle to pick the few that we’ll feature, and I hope the ones we don’t feature will still benefit from the exposure tonight. Once I have my copy written, and coordinate the graphics with the production team and approve the final edit of the video we’ll be running, with Georgie by my side, I head into the studio to start the show. It’s been a chaotic day but he’s been a champ. Snoozing for most of the day at my feet.

  I take my place behind the giant stage desk and place Georgie beside me. “Sit, boy.”

  He does, looking up at me patiently. Honestly, he’s the sweetest dog. They all are. I know now why Jon rescued all of them. Reporting on the dogfighting ring was gruesome. I couldn’t have imagined the unbelievable cruelty people were capable of inflicting on such helpless creatures. I have to look away from sweet Georgie’s face before I start crying and ruin my makeup before we start rolling.

  And Jon…he is amazing. He let slip that he might love me this morning, and it hadn’t terrified me the way that I thought it would. Because it is fast. Really fast, but all that I can think about is the way he cradled me and carried me to bed last night. When I was at my most vulnerable and needed him, he was there. Without hesitation or conditions, he made me feel safe and loved and so much more.

  “Good job,” Bill says, joining me at the desk with a grin. “I think it took me almost two years before I got my first death threat. That you got one on your first story out of the gate means you’r
e doing something right.”

  I give him a courtesy smile, choosing not to correct him. This was very much not my first story. Not by a long shot. The station has used plenty of my stories and research, this is just the first time they let me, rather than Bill, do the on air reporting.

  “Also, that’s a good play with Lawson. The guard out there told me he’d hired the security for you. I guess you guys really it off after that interview.” He leers at me and I feel sick. “I really underestimated you. I hadn’t pegged you as being ruthless. But you use what you’ve got, and I respect that.”

  “What?” I can’t believe what he’s insinuating.

  “I can do the same research you can, sweetheart. I looked into your story to make sure it was solid, just so I could be sure we wouldn’t need to make any corrections. And while I was doing that, I saw Lawson’s name. So I can only assume that he’s the one that gave you the tip.

  “It’s a good play. But don’t use him for too long. Move on when he’s no longer useful for the story. It’s easier that way. You got what you needed from him. Pursue other sources. Don’t get hung up on him.”

  I stare at him as if he’s grown horns from his head. How dare he talk to me this way! I feel nauseous. Not only because Bill assumed my reporting needed his double-checking, but also that he thinks I’m having a relationship with Jon just to use him as a source. That is exactly what I had been afraid of when I gave away Jon’s interview in the first place.

  I hold out my hand to stop the woman who’s trying to mic me, and I leave the desk briefly and approach Damon, the member of the security team who is keeping an eye on me in the studio. “Damon?”

  “Yes, Miss Crawford?”

  “When it’s time to leave, I’d like to go to a hotel instead of Mr. Lawson’s house, if that’s okay.”