Page 42 of Wild Card
My breath caught. “What?”
He straightened to his full height again. “She’s all yours, Axel.”
I lurched forward, arms going around his neck. “Fuck, really?”
“Really,” he murmured in my ear, sending a shiver of want down my spine.
I suddenly realized I’d thrown myself into the man’s arms. What the fuck? The thought of losing that dog had gotten me all worked up.
I jerked back. “How did you get Rusty to agree?”
Dalton shrugged a shoulder. “I can be persuasive when I need to be.” His eyes twinkled. “I guess we’ve got that in common.”
“I hope you didn’t suck his dick,” I blurted.
“Whoa,” Bailey crowed while Holden quietly swore under his breath.
Dalton looked horrified. “Of course not. I don’t— I mean I wouldn’t— I’d never with, not with?—”
I laughed. “Holy shit, I was just joking. Breathe.”
He blew out a long breath, gaze darting to Holden and Gray. “Your brother is trouble.”
Gray snorted. Holden nodded solemnly. “Thanks for not arresting him.”
“My pleasure,” Dalton said, and I could swear there was a hint of the devil in those words.
Gray leaned in and murmured something to my brothers. Bailey retreated into the garage. Holden looked conflicted but reluctantly followed them inside, leaving us alone.
The silence drew out.
“Well.” Dalton cleared his throat. “I’ve got to get back to the station and revise my report.”
“Right. I owe you one.”
“Well, there is one thing you can do for me.”
“Yeah?”
I expected anything from a sexual favor to a warning to stay out of trouble.
“Come to the animal shelter with me soon? I want to see if we can register you as an official foster. Maybe keep all this on the up-and-up so if there’s an ownership conflict again, we can avoid the handcuffs.”
“I don’t know. That part was kind of fun.”
“We can’t make a habit of that.”
“Don’t worry, Deputy, I’m a one-and-done kind of guy.”
He chuckled. “I actually meant you breaking the law and me bending it to help you out.”
“Oh.” It shouldn’t bother me he had already forgotten the sex. That’s how I liked it. “Well, I can’t make any promises. I like trouble too much.”
“Don’t I know it?” He sounded amused as he climbed back into the car. “I’ll call you about that animal shelter business.”
I watched him drive away, bending to stroke Banshee’s ears.
“Sorry, girl, looks like you’re gonna be stuck slumming it a while longer.”
