Page 18 of Her Protective Biker
“That is unreal.” One of the pups came over and plunked its little butt on my boot. “What do you want?” I smiled despite the fact that the motion wasn’t one my lips tended to make.
“You ever had a dog before?” Hannah asked.
I shook my head. “My brother, Asher, and I were half feral as it was. Not to mention, barely scrapping by. Didn’t have the money to feed another mouth.” Our parents were addicted to whatever they could get their hands on when we were young. I figured out how to cook, clean and most importantly, steal before I was out of the first grade. Asher was my number one priority.
“I’m sorry you had to grow up like that. Where is your brother now?”
“He lives in Springwood, in Canada where I grew up. He owns his own mechanic shop.”
“Are your parents still around?”
I shrugged. I hated talking about them. “Mom took off when I was five. Dad was arrested for drug possession when I was nine. Haven’t seen either one of them since.”
“You did a good job raising your brother.”
“He’s a good kid, but I guess I did something right.”
“You did.” She gave me a hug. “When did you leave Canada?”
“I aged out of foster care when I was eighteen, then stuck around until Asher could fend for himself. I bounced around from place to place until I met Nomad. He used to be part of the Savage Kings. Now he is more of a go-between for different clubs. His old lady, Reyna, mellowed him out. He recruited me and I liked the guys enough to stay.”
She slid an arm around my waist. “Well, I think after the life you’ve lived you deserve a fluffy little friend. By the time you leave today you are going to want to adopt all five of these sweethearts and Peaches, too.”
She grabbed a length of rope with a bunch of knots tied in it and sat down in the dirt, waving the toy in front of the pack of pups. They were on her in a second, biting at the toy, nipping at each other’s ears and climbing all over Hannah. She laughed as Squirt climbed her chest, nipping and licking at her chin. These creatures had had a shitty life and in a matter of days, Hannah had them literally eating out of the palm of her hand. Daisy stayed nervously off to one side.
“What’s with the big one?”
Hannah glanced over at her and her eyes grew weary. “I would imagine her previous owners weren’t very nice. She is probably nervous around men since they were the ones she was taken from. Here,” she patted the ground next to her, not to call the dog over but to call me.
“I’m not exactly house trained, Doc, but I could learn to come when you call.”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “Noted, now sit.” I did as she instructed, realizing that she had me eating out of her hand as much as the pups.
“Daisy needs to learn that you are not a threat, that not all people will treat her the way those awful men did. It’ll take time. The best thing to do is give her space, and let her come to you. Here.” She handed me a dog bone shaped cookie in a weird shade of dark green. I took it from her.
“Now what?”
“Hold it out towards Daisy. Don’t be offended if she doesn’t take it. This is only day one of socializing her with a man. It was a male officer who saved her from that house so with any luck, she can learn to trust and find an amazing home.”
She took my hand in hers and guided me until my hand was flat on the ground with the cookie in it. Daisy sniffed the air, but didn’t make any move towards me. “Stay perfectly still.”
I did as instructed and just when I was starting to think Daisy might take a step forward, all four pups descended on the treat and I was swamped. The next thing I knew I was on my back at the bottom of a puppy pile.
Hannah laughed, so I grabbed her around the waist and added her to the mix. She riled up the pups, scratching their ears and rubbing their bellies all while lying on top of me. As Hallmark as this moment was, having her writhing around while her hips were pressed against mine was bringing up memories of being in her bed and what we would have done if my fucking phone hadn’t rang.
The cookie was long gone and the pups were once again focused on the rope toy. I grabbed it and threw it across the lawn. As soon as the pups had run after it, I grabbed Hannah around the waist and rolled us until she was under me.
The laughter on her lips died, and she bit her lip as she looked up at me. We were both covered in grass and probably other things I didn’t want to think about.
It didn’t matter. I’d do anything for this girl.
Chapter Twelve
Hannah
Iprobably stank like puppy breath, but when Moose rolled me on my back, I had no other plans for the day besides finishing what we started in my bed that morning.
I wasn’t an aggressive person.Niceis the word I would usually use to describe any of my dating interactions. Lovely kisses and sweet love making.
