Page 18 of Ruthless Beasts

I rolled onto my back when my alarm started blaring. Another fucking day and… fuck. I didn’t want to face it. Thoughts of Bellamy kept me up last night, even long after I did a run to the store to grab a few things, hoping that would solve the tug on my conscience.

It’s funny how we all live with so many secrets in this house. It’s a constant game of tiptoe. But Bellamy? Her secret, the one she tried so fucking hard to hold close, was the easiest to read. All it took was observations. I would not tell, though I should.But it wasn’t my place. The only place I had in this house that involved her was protection, and that shouldn’t involve the feelings it provoked.

I showered, trying to ignore the sound of Bellamy on the other side of the wall. Then, I took Lady out for a bathroom break. It was Ace’s turn to cook, which worked out in my favor because by the time I finished with Lady’s outing and sat down at the table, Adam strolled in. He looked at the three of us, each already sitting down, and paused.

Had he forgotten he demanded she join?

A few blinks, then he spoke. “There is a dog in my dining room.” We were all silent. I was sort of hoping if I said nothing, the problem would go away. But then Lady barked, greeting him and expecting a pet, and well, he blew that hope to smithereens. His eyes fell to me, clearly knowing who owned it. How? I wasn’t sure. “You will keep your mutt away from the table.”

“Lady,” Bellamy whispered.

His head turned toward her. “Pardon?”

“Her name.” She toyed with her lip, looking afraid to speak. I wasn’t sure why; he would never hurt her. “It’s Lady.”

“Well, I see you and the dog are intimately acquainted. You should have no problem helping him keep Lady away from the table.”

“Yes, sir.” Her eyes looked up from the table before correcting, “Adam.”

“Good.” He pulled out a chair, and when she looked away, for the briefest of seconds, I swear I saw his eyes soften. Then the moment was gone and the hard wall was back in place. I was on to him. The only reason he wasn’t throwing a fit was because he knew the girl liked the puppy. He was just pretending to not care.

Forty minutes later, and everyone at the table had dispersed, including Lady, who followed Bellamy around like sheworshipped her. It was my turn to do dishes, but Adam cleared the table. He had just put a pile of dishes next to me when I said, “Softy.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You’re a fucking softy. If it was just me, you’d have that dog gone the second it stepped foot in this house. But she likes her, so you’re allowing it.”

He leaned a hip against the counter. “Would you rather I have you get rid of it? Because that could be arranged. I’m indifferent to the situation.”

“Too late. Your wife is in love, and you know how you get about females and their happiness.”

That might have been the wrong thing to taunt him about because a thousand emotions filtered over his face, before his brows pinched and his emotions turned hard. “Keep the dog in line, or I’ll take her to the pound myself.”

Had he forgotten how soft his wife had made him once? How he’d do anything for her happiness, even if it cost him his own? Bellamy may not have been Elizabeth, and she never would be. But fuck if she wasn’t a part of him now, filling the same role. Whether he intended to or not, I’d seen the momentary seconds of softness toward her.

“I’ll keep her out of the way.” I promised.

“And for fuck's sake, train her,” he growled before straightening his suit jacket and walking away.

Though he couldn’t see me, I shouted in his direction, “I planned on it!”

And I did. I already had her enrolled in training classes that started in a few weeks, and her round of shots would start in two days. It was the soonest the vet could get her in, and I didn’t see a reason to rush it if she was acting healthy. But now that I thought further into it, I wondered if she should be around Bellamy without her shots.

I pulled up my phone, doing a quick Google search, which eased my comfort a little. Then I went to my room and grabbed the stuff Bellamy would need for the day in order to care for the dog. It would be good for her. At least I hoped. At nearly a week here, all she did was lock herself away in that room. It was a shame, since the grounds had so much to offer here, and so many crevices to explore.

With an arm full of stuff, I knocked, then waited for her to answer. A minute later, she pulled open the door. The pup was right on her heels as she licked and smelled everything. I held up the armful of puppy care products, “I brought doggy daycare supplies.”

Her teeth tugged at her lip, and damn if it wasn’t tempting to reach up and save it. Her bad habit was becoming my obsession, and I knew how bad that was. That couldn’t let me fall victim to the lust it caused. But I felt like an unknowing fly stuck in a spider's web. The more I told myself to get thoughts of her out of my head, the more I was stuck in one spot.

Her hand swept toward the bed. “Go ahead and put it there. Do you want it back? Or is this mine to keep for the duration of my dog sitting duties?”

She was buzzing with excitement, even if she tried to play it off like this was a chore. I passed her on my way to drop off the stuff. “You can keep it. I’ve got enough shit for this little lady. She probably won’t use half of it.”

I flopped the stuff down, seeing her eyes go wide at the jar of vitamins I threw down with it. Yeah, little girl. I knew. And now she knew I knew. After she practically confirmed it last night, I couldn’t sleep. I ran to the store, picked up the vitamins because there was no way we weren’t taking care of our own in this house. She couldn’t hold her secret forever, and I wouldn’t either. But at least until then, she was taken care of.

“I—“

“Listen,” I cut her off. “It’s none of my business. But what is my business, are my best friends and their interests. Keep that in mind. I should be back early afternoon to pick up my little Lady. She can run this afternoon’s errands with me.”

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