Page 12 of Downward Dawg
“Not likely. That shit doesn’t happen as often as the TV shows make out. Rides are usually scoundrel-free. This was probably kids out joyriding.” He took in a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. “I know you didn’t enjoy the ride home as much, but was tonight enough to make you say yes to another dinner?”
Elodie smiled at him, the expression warming as she stepped closer. “I did like the ride home. At least until the immature jerks scared the pants off me. Jerkfaces.” Resting a hand on his arm, she slid a little nearer, wedging herself intimately between his spread legs. “And I think I’d say yes to all the dinners you cared to share, I think.”
“Yeah? You think?” He quickly uncrossed his arms and touched one hand to her hair, fumbling until he found the restraining band and gently wrangled it free. With one hand on her hip and the other tangled in her hair, he tugged her in a little more. “Well, this is me tellin’ you that I’d like to share a lot with you. A whole lot. I don’t have to think. I know.” He bent close and paused just above her smile-curved lips. “And I’m also asking for more. Officially asking, that is.”
She rose to her toes and pressed their lips together for a moment, then backed away an inch, grinning widely. “Want to come inside, Dawg?”
He grimaced and watched the pleasure on her face dim in response. “I hate sayin’ this, more than you know, but I’m gonna have to take a raincheck on that, Ella. I’ve got a couple things to check on tonight.”
Her lips twisted in a wry grin. “Okay. We can move at your speed.”
“This isn’t me not wanting what you’re offering.” He struggled for words, choosing them carefully to mask that the near-miss tonight might not have been the nothing he’d proclaimed. He needed time to make a couple of calls, see what his brothers thought.Keeping her safe means taking the hard road sometimes.His cock gave a pulse in his pants as he took in a lungful of her faint vanilla scent.Killin’ me to do this.He pushed that certainty into his voice when he told her, “Because I do.” Dipping closer, he slid his lips along the line of her jaw, nibbling on her ear. “I really do,” he whispered as he mouthed against her skin. “You have no idea, Ella.”
“Well, Dawg.” She drawled the name out until it filled the air between them. He pulled back and looked down at her, seeing humor in her eyes. “You know where I live. Night.”
Darting forward, she captured his mouth again in a quick, hot kiss, then was gone before he could do more than grasp at air. He watched her skip up the walk and through the door, the dog barking a hello to his mistress as the door closed and lights bloomed behind her drapes.
“Dammit,” he grumbled, pushing the heel of one hand against his cock as he yanked his phone out. Denver’s contact was on his favorites list, and he thumbed the icon with more force than necessary.
Maybe there was a way to salvage his previous plans for the rest of their date.
Maybe.
***
Elodie
“Wait,” she reminded Chicken, as she changed poses. Moving slowly, she sank into child’s pose, big toes touching, knees spread wide. With her arms sagging so the floor supported the entire front of her, Elodie breathed deeply, letting go of the final bits of tension from those terrifying moments of the motorcycle ride.
“Just wait,” she told the dog again in a soft whisper when she heard his body move.
He’d greeted her with great enthusiasm when she got home, as he did after absences of sixty seconds or a handful of hours. She’d quickly let him out to do his business, then changed into her leggings and a tight-fitting shirt. Back in the living room, Elodie had put on music resonating at a low hertz conducive to relaxation. From there, it had been the work of moments to flip her mat out and ground her seat bones in easy pose.
Now Chicken had been waiting for nearly thirty minutes, and she knew he was about at the end of his patience.
Eyes closed, it was natural for her to sink into the healing space yoga created within her. She was relaxed and loose, about to sit up and declare herself fair game for Chicken when a knock sounded from the door.
Huffing underneath her breath, she gained her feet, then smiled at the dog, still poised next to the mat.
“Good boy,” she praised him, and he bounced up as if on springs. He ran around her and attacked the inside of the front door with both paws, wiggling and wheezing his excitement. That alone told her it was someone he recognized, because it was with nary a bark.
She didn’t have any concerns when she pulled the door open and was unsurprised to see Mad Dawg standing there, still bundled in the clothes he’d worn earlier. After all, she’d never heard the bike leave.
“Imagine meeting you here,” she joked as she opened the door wider, ushering him through before Chicken could fully attack. On his back legs, Chicken was wiggling madly as he smiled toothily up at Dawg with a lolling tongue. Lifting her chin regally, she proclaimed, “My minion approves of your appearance.”
He picked Chicken up effortlessly and rolled the dog to his back in his arms, running a calming hand up the dog’s chest and throat. “Well, how does his master feel about it? That’s really the burning question here.”
“His master also approves,” she said in her haughtiest voice, laughing at the end and ruining the effect. “Were you out there this whole time? You should have just come in with me.”
“I’m here now. Does that count for something?” He bent to set Chicken on his feet. “Good boy, watchin’ out for your momma.” The praise was enough to wind the dog up again and he started bouncing on his back feet, front ones planted on Dawg’s thigh. “Good boy, be still.”
“Off,” she instructed, and Chicken stopped jumping and backed up a step. “Good boy. Lava.” The dog whirled and took off at a run across the room, jumping over the back of the couch.
“Lava?” Dawg stepped closer to Elodie and the rough callouses on his fingers dragged gently across the skin of her throat. She tilted her chin to give him more access. He smiled down at her as he asked, “What’s that command?”
“The floor is lava. Means to get your feet off the floor.” She shook her head, reached up and placed a hand to cover his, holding his touch in place. “It’s a silly thing, but always makes me laugh.” His fingers flexed under hers. “And yes, you being here counts for a lot.”
“Good,” he murmured as he closed the tiny bit of distance between them. “I’m glad.”
