Page 44 of Tempt Me

Squatting next to the mattress, Tack rubs the back of my neck. “This is how I’m wired, Hunter.”

I peek at him and frown. “That’s a copout. Don’t you think I’m pushing myself with you? If embracing your life with the club was easy, I would have done that shit years ago.”

“What’s so hard about it?”

“There are rules with your people that don’t exist in my world. Just like how you act differently at the estate than you do at the farm.”

Tack exhales hard, really wanting to stay in his head rather than engage. Except he also wants to cuddle up with me.

I can often sense when he craves my touch. Now he has access to my heart and body, but they aren’t offered for free. He needs to connect beyond the sex.

“Sleepy is just a dog,” Tack mutters, struggling to form words. “There’s nothing special about him.”

“He’s yours, and I love you. That makes him special.”

Tack looks at me like I’m the bad guy. “I know what kind of pets you grew up with.”

“Yes, my mom has a thing for orange Persians. But I just want an animal to love.”

“Well, Sleepy is my dog,” Tack says and steps back like he needs space if he’s supposed to open up to me. “He licked my hand first out of all the puppies in the kennel. That’s why I chose him. No bigger thought went into it. I didn’t even name him. Noble named his two puppies after the Seven Dwarfs. Since my puppy yawned a lot, I named him Sleepy.”

Studying Tack’s familiar blue eyes, I fight the urge to run away. My life isn’t normally this complicated.

“I’m tired,” I whimper and feel myself spiraling.

Tack yanks off his shirt and drops his jeans. He climbs into bed and tosses back the covers.

“We’ll chill out. I need to watch TV before I sleep. Is that going to bother you?”

I stare at him stretched out on his bed. My gaze flashes to his dog sleeping in the corner.

“What do you watch?” I ask and crawl closer.

“Adult Swim. Just dumb comedy stuff.”

Nodding, I rest my head on the second pillow and take his hand. “You should have told me about Sleepy. I often pictured you here on the farm. I would have liked knowing the dog was with you.”

Tack studies me and nods. “I don’t feel like the real me is worthy of the real you. That’s why I edit out the crap I think you won’t like and add fake shit you might approve of.”

Barely able to keep my eyes open as my latest pain pill kicks in, I mumble, “What else did you edit out or fake?”

“I don’t like my uncle’s house. I just figured you’d like it since the style is classy.”

“But I want a kooky unique house.”

“The fun part of you does. The rich girl part wants a house that won’t embarrass her.”

“No,” I say and force my eyes open. I reach for his face and smile. “I’m too rich to get embarrassed like that. My family has enough money for me to live any way I want.”

“Is that right?”

“I can live where I want, love who I want, and own any dog I want. No one can tell me otherwise,” I say and close my eyes. “Not even my mom.”

Tack leans down and kisses my forehead. As I doze, he cuddles against me. I feel him chuckle occasionally at his shows. At some point, Tack falls asleep with the TV still playing. I open my eyes to find him on his back, eyes closed, looking gorgeous. In the corner, Sleepy changes positions before returning to sleep.

As I put the worst day of my life behind me, I imagine a home where Sleepy claims a new corner, and Tack can be himself.

TACK

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