Page 2 of Untouchable

“Wait, do you two know each other?” My sister looks back and forth between the two of us.

“No,” the man says, holding out his massive hand. “I’m Ox. You called about a stalker?”

I suck in air quickly, knowing my sister is going to explode. Shouldn’t there be some kind of confidentiality thing with a security company? Surely everyone doesn’t need their business spread all over the place.

“Yes.” I sink into his hand, noting the roughness, and my thighs ache a little when we touch. Why? “How do you and Siren know each other?”

She smiles ear to ear. “We dated a year or so ago. You were out in Nevada. Ox couldn’t handle me.”

“Most people can’t handle you.” I smile, though I’m not sure I’m kidding. Suddenly, I’m jealous that Siren had her hands all over this super-hot guy. I’m sure that’s making me petty.

Thankfully, Siren takes everything in stride. It’s likely a bonus of her extreme confidence. “You’re probably right,” she laughs. “So, what’s this about a stalker?”

“I’ll call you tonight and tell you everything. I don’t want to waste anymore of this man’s time.”

She glances down at her watch. “Ugh. If I didn’t have to get back for dinner with Dad, I’d make up an excuse to stay.” Her long hair moves with her as she turns to hug the giant again. “It was good seeing you. We should catch up. I’m only here for the weekend.”

Ox nods and my sister turns back toward me with a stern look. “Immediately after this, call me.”

“As long as you don’t tell Dad about the stalker thing.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m telling everyone.”

“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have mentioned the reason for my visit.” The man’s tone is deep and raspy.

“No worries,” I lie, sweeping up the last little bits from the class. I’ve kept most of the mess under control, but it’s still dirty enough that I wouldn’t want to have a conversation in the middle of it. Besides that, I need to get the animals into the enclosure at the back of the room. I house the goats here until Maddox comes to pick them up. He has his own key.

“Sorry. This’ll just take a second. If I don’t get these goats contained, I can’t concentrate.” I should’ve done this with my sister, but I wasn’t expecting the consultation for ten more minutes.

I open the gate and whistle, tossing treats inside, but no one moves. Well, Petunia does, because Petunia loves me. Everyone else stays sat outside the gate pretending I don’t exist. I glance up at the giant. “Sorry. This’ll only take a second.” That’s another lie. This takes forever. I wonder if he can tell if people are lying.

The second I start walking toward Peach, Petunia runs out of the gate, and when Petunia runs out, Peach and Rascal run in circles with her. They’re all going to the bathroom again.

If this were Chemistry class, I’d be getting an F too.

The man whom I’ve hired to help me with something completely unrelated to this steps forward. “Can I help?”

I pinch my lips together and stare at him. I don’t want to accept his help. I want to do this on my own, but clearly, I’ve lost control. “Yeah, I mean… they’re a little wild. So… good luck.”

He grabs a handful of oats from the bucket beside the pen and stretches out his giant hand to show Peach what he has. He then stands tall and leads them all toward the enclosure at the back of the room. The goats follow in line, one by one, marching toward their enclosure.

Ox drops the food in the bucket and closes the door with a satisfied look on his face.

My shoulders relax. “Okay, how’d you do that?”

“Peach is their leader. You can tell because they all mirror what she does. You show her the food, she goes for it, and the rest follow her. I grew up on a farm.”

I nod and stare at the beautiful, magical man before me. “I’ll try that. Thank you. You made it look easy.”

“It will be for you too, now that you know what you’re doing.”

I laugh. “I doubt it. I love animals, but they’ve never really listened to me.”

“You’ve got to command more. Stand tall, project your voice, be confident. They’ll listen.” Everything this guy says is firm and straightforward. When he speaks, there’s so much conviction that it’s like he’s reading life’s directions from a handbook that only he got.

It’s a little intimidating.

Without a word, he starts sweeping up the mess the goats have made.

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