Page 4 of Guarded By the Hellhound
I wakeup to a strange noise coming from downstairs. Instantly awake, I bolt into a seated position. My heart beats a mile a minute; Raider sits next to me, fully alert, a low growl in his throat. There’s the noise again. I reach for my phone, but it’s not on my nightstand. It must be downstairs… My breathing quickens, and I feel a panic attack coming up; no, no, no, not right now. I have to keep my head clear…
Raider lets out a bark, but the noise continues. I get up, moving towards the door to get to my stairs, but Raider barricades the way.
“No, Raider, down, boy, I need to get to my phone,” I say. He looks pissed. His ears are pointing back, he is showing his teeth, and he keeps growling. The noises stop for a second,but then they return with even greater force. It sounds as if someone is trying to break into my house!
“I need to get to my phone,” I tell him, but he shakes his head. It looks like he wants to say something… Like he wants to tell me something. I look deep into his eyes; they are glowing from within, and I am hypnotized. They were black before, but now a reddish glow seems to come out from deep within. It feels like the glow is burning its way onto the surface until it explodes.
I take a step back. What the hell is happening to my dog? His eyes are glowing a bright red now, and it seems as if his head is somehow changing…
I struggle to take my eyes off him and look away. I am hallucinating. I must be. Maybe there’s some sort of gas leak? I look at Raider again, but it doesn’t get any better. He appears to be shimmering-blinking in and out of shape; suddenly, his ears are gone, and…
I clasp a hand in front of my mouth, muffling a scream. What the fuck is happening?
I can’t look away, though. One minute, I’m looking at my big, black, fierce dog, and then a tall, lean, menacing-looking man stands before me. Tears are streaming down my face, but I am rooted to the ground. He is huge, effortlessly six feet three, with his jet-black hair brushing the tops of his shoulders and his dark eyes glowing bright red. It’s pulling me in, and I gasp. Can it be... Could it be… Is this… Raider?
My gaze lowers to hints of tattoos on his neck, disappearing beneath a pitch-black dress shirt covered by a charcoal-gray suit. I swallow hard, sex appeal is rolling off him in waves, but before I can take a peek at what’s below his belt, noises from downstairs distract me. We look at the door at the same time, and we both spring into action. I run towards it, but he grabs me and yanks me against him.
“No,” he growls deep in his throat. “You stay here. It’s notsafe downstairs. Lock yourself in the bathroom, and I will deal with the intruder.” He gently pushes me in the direction of my bathroom.
Faced with two unknown dangers, I choose the safety of my bathroom. With one last look over my shoulder, I run inside, locking the door behind me. It takes me a minute to catch my breath, and when I hear him walk out of the room, I hide myself in the tub with the shower curtains drawn. I wrap my arms around my knees, taking deep cleansing breaths, trying to get to terms with what just happened.
Raider, my Raider, my DOG Raider, just turned into a man. And not just any man, a panty-melting, dripping with sex – a dangerous man. Who, just before that, was a dog. I groan. Bad Katherine, someone is trying to break into your house, your dog turns into a man, and all you can think about is how sexy he is. I hit myself on the head before a maniacal laugh escapes me. I am losing it.
A loud crash downstairs alerts me, and I hug myself tighter, curling into a tight ball. I perk up my ears because the masochist in me still wants to know which of the two dangers will be knocking on my door later. I hear a struggle, some shouting, and a lot of loud cursing until…. silence. The silence is eerie, causing tears to stream down my face as fear starts taking over my mind. I hear light footsteps coming up the stairs, walking toward me. They halt in front of the door, and I hear hard breathing.
Then… a knock and a deep voice says to me: “You can come out now; he is gone.”
RAIDER
Iknock on the bathroom door again. “It’s safe, please. You can come out.”
“Who… who are you?” she stutters from inside the bathroom.
“Raider,” I say. “Please let me explain.”
“You can do that from over there just fine. I don’t have to come out for that.”
My mouth goes up in a crooked smile. I knew there was spunk hidden under all that fear. “I could, but it would be easier if I could look at you while we talk.”
“No, thank you,” she says.
I sigh. “What is your name?” When she doesn’t respond, I knock again. “Hello?”
“Katherine… Kat,” she says with a small voice. “Are you going to kill me?”
“NO!” I cry out. Then, I compose myself. “No, Kat, I will never hurt you. I only want to protect you. Please come out so I can explain.”
I hear shuffling in the bathroom. Then I feel her presence on the other side of the door.
“You swear you’re not going to hurt me?” she says in a small voice.
“I swear,” I promise.
“You… are you my dog?”
“Yes.”
“But… but how?”
