Page 49 of Keeping Her Under
My heart fluttering, I imagine her in my home. We will dance in the living room and sing in the shower and fuck on every surface in this house. Then I’ll take her around the world, and we’ll make love on every continent too. Paris. Sydney. London. Rome.
As I make my way into my industrial-farmhouse kitchen, Asher catches up to me. He leans against one of the concrete counters and grins.
“So that’s going to be one bitch of a mess to clean up,” he says as I open the black fridge to look for something to eat. “Have you ever seen a toddler with a bowl of spaghetti?”
Grabbing two pizzas, I set them on the island. My skin crawls as my stomach tenses. I go over the words in my head as I know he’s going to hate this.
“I know,” I say as I walk over to the oven, preheat it, then open a drawer beside it. “But they deserve a good last meal.”
“A last…? Rath! No!”
“I can’t keep them, Ash.” My stomach plummets as the back of my neck crawls. I haven’t yet turned to face him, but I can imagine the look of panic in his brown eyes; he has always loved animals more than people.
“You saw how quickly they went after the scraps I gave them,” I say as I walk back to the island and strip the pizzas of their packaging. “They’ve tasted meat before. He used them to traumatize her.”
“She has bitemarks?”
I keep my head down as I prepare our dinner. “No, but not every wound is visible.” Something the both of us know all too well. “And just listen.”
Lance’s screams echo up from the basement. The pit bulls are tearing him apart.
“I can’t risk having them around her now,” I say, finally meeting his gaze. I hate seeing the pain in his eyes. I want to give him the world, but I cannot give him this. Softening my voice, I say, “I’ll put them down painlessly, and I’ll buy you some pup–”
“They’re victims, Rath! Just like we were.” His eyes plead with me. He walks around the island to stand directly in front of me. “We grew teeth too.”
I shake my head. “They can’t be untrained –”
“They can! I’ve only had them for one day. And you saw how they stopped when I whistled. They just need someone to not give up on them.”
I’m torn between the two people I love the most. “I’m sorry. I can’t keep them.” The disappointment in his eyes cuts me at the knees, and I’m desperate to think of a solution. “But why don’t you?”
He shakes his head in frustration. “I can’t. I work ten- to twelve-hour shifts.”
“I doubt Lance ever let them off their chains.”
He stiffens. “I’m not treating them like he did.”
“I’m just saying that they might be okay with being left on their own.”
As he contemplates that, I get plates for the table, along with a beer from the fridge for him and a glass of water for me. I want to be fully hydrated for tonight. Fully energized too. Summer’s being taken off all her meds tomorrow, so this might be the last night I have with her for a while.
Although we’ll be an item once she wakes, I’ve never fucked anyone who’s been conscious before, and I don’t know how I feel about that.
Before I can talk it over with Asher, who’s sat down at the table with his beer, he speaks first. “I can’t afford to care for two dogs,” he laments.
“I’ll pay for whatever they need,” I say as I sit in the chair opposite him.
“I told you I don’t want your –”
“It’s not pity. As I’ve told you many times – I owe you for saving my life.”
He snorts. “I didn’t save yours. You saved mine. If you hadn’t killed my dad –”
“You would’ve been fine. You’re a fighter.”
“I didn’t fight,” he says softly.
I lean over the table and tap him on his temple. “You did in here.” I tap on his chest, right above his heart. “And in here.” Settling back in my wooden chair, I flash him a smile. “Lose the battle, win the war, and all that shit.” I take a sip of my drink.
