Page 56 of Always Been Mine

Gabe strained his ears and heard the faint click of heels. Beatrice was home.

Because of his injuries, their relationship was developing at a crawl. She insisted on sleeping in the guest bedroom, saying she was such an active sleeper, she might hit him accidentally. He was so happy she’d finally taken him back—even though it took him almost dying to do so—he let her have her way. However, it was getting ridiculous and he was feeling strong enough to manhandle—correction—handle her. Gabe smirked at the direction of his inner monologue.

Keys jingled at the door before it opened. Rhino gave a happy woof and eagerly circled Beatrice as she made her way into the house. Gabe frowned. He had noticed this since he got home. Apparently, the four weeks he had spent in the hospital had been detrimental to his dog’s obedience. Beatrice had spoiled him.

He had to take back control of his house, damn it. “Rhino, bad dog.”

“Oh, Gabe, he’s fine,” Beatrice said, cooing down to his dog and scratching his ear. “Such a handsome dog. Yes, you are.”

Oh, hell no, Gabe thought darkly. “Babe, a word please.”

Beatrice straightened up. “I picked up Chinese food. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Chinese is fine.”

Gabe watched her lower the bags on the kitchen counter while he patiently waited for her to give him her attention.

“What do you want to talk about?” Her eyes searched his face.

“First things first.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a deep thorough kiss. He lifted his head. “Hi.”

“Hello to you too, Terminator.”

Gabe mock scowled at her. “You’ll pay for that later.”

Beatrice’s tinkling laughter made his cock jerk. Hmm . . . why not sooner?

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

She smiled at him knowingly. “You wanted a word with me?”

Oh, yeah. Shit.

“You need to stop babying Rhino. He’s a military dog.”

“I’m not babying him. He’s a sweet dog.”

Gabe groaned. “Babe, he’s a war hero. You’re turning him into a pussy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Gabe.” Her lips were twitching.

“Babe, I’m serious here. When anyone comes in, he needs to sit patiently until you give him attention.”

“He’s not in the military anymore, Gabe.”

“He’s a huge dog, Beatrice. I don’t want him knocking people down because he gets too excited.”

“All right, you have a point there.”

“Also, I know you’ve seen nothing but his playful and gentle side, but make no mistake, he can get aggressive and deadly. It’s important you establish control over him.”

“How aggressive?”

“He’ll rip someone apart if they hurt you.”

Beatrice’s eyes widened.

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