Page 77 of Wanting More
They both looked over at Vic's furious face as he pointed to the ground next to him. "Sit," he commanded.
Giving her one more longing look of murder, the dog happily dropped down and came to a sit next to him.
Sapphire's heart thudded so painfully in her chest that she feared she would be sick.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Vic came toward her, his hands out to grab her and pull her down from the truck.
Sapphire shook her head frantically, her curls spilling partly over her face as she scooted back further, feeling the glass at her back.
Vic's face flashed to fear and then set into stone. "Don't!" he commanded her sharply, and both she and the dog looked at him questioningly.
Reaching out, Vic gripped her ankle and pulled her until she was off the glass.
"That truck is old, and I don't want you crashing through the windshield," he explained, keeping his hand on her ankle as if to be sure she would not move back again.
Sapphire wanted to tug at her foot and tell him she was not going anywhere near that Hound of the Baskerville when she heard Hayden and Joel.
"Sapphire!" Hayden yelled out.
She looked up to see both men sprinting from the opposite side of the house, their faces masks of worry. She could see them take in all the details of the scene from her sitting on the car, the beast sitting obediently on the ground, and Vic standing in front of her with his hand still around her ankle.
Joel was the first one to shove his way to her, breaking Vic's contact with her.
"What are you doing up here?" he reached for her, but she shook her head.
She knew he wanted to take her off the truck and back onto the ground. She eyed the dog worriedly over his shoulder.
Seeing this, Vic stepped back up to the truck where Hayden was now standing as well. All three men blocked her view of the dog and stared up worriedly at her.
"Krrsantan wouldn't have hurt you," Vic said reassuringly. "He just loves women."
"To eat them?" she threw back suspiciously.
Vic laughed at that. The deep sound and wide smile settling perfectly on his handsome face. Sapphire looked away. He was an asshole, she reminded herself.
"No, he just likes them. If you would have stayed still, he would have jumped all over you, kissing you anywhere he could." Seeing her confusion, Vic continued. "All he ever gets around here are men to interact with. So, women are his favorite. He just wants to play, I promise."
Tentatively she leaned a bit closer until she could see over their shoulders at the panting dog behind them. As soon as its black eyes made contact with hers, he snapped his mouth closed and looked at her with renewed interest. Sapphire shuddered and sat back, shaking her head. Screw that! She knew murderous intent when she saw it.
Joel, whose hands were still bracketing her thighs, gave her a soft frown. "Are…are you afraid of dogs, sweetheart? Is that why you screamed?"
Now that the spike of pure fear was slowly dying down, Sapphire reassessed her current predicament. Still sitting uncomfortably on top of the hot truck hood, Sapphire stared back at the wall of men shielding her from the giant hound. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. Shifting on the uncomfortable metal, she looked away and nodded.
She could practically feel their curiosity as they waited for her to say something. She let out an impatient sigh and looked back at them. Meeting Hayden's worried-filled eyes, she gave him a soft smile before staring down at her jean skirt.
"I was attacked by a dog on my way to school when I was a kid," she admitted flicking the fraying material just above the faded scar on her thigh.
Both Hayden and Joel let out a curse as they followed her gaze to the discolored marks on her thigh.
"Is that where you were attacked?" Vic asked, his hand reaching out to where her fingers toyed with the frayed material.
Hayden's hand clamped around his suddenly, and she looked up startled as both men looked at one another in a silent heated exchange. Snatching back his hand, Vic scowled back at Hayden, even as Hayden let his hand settle possessively on top of her thigh.
"Jesus Christ," Joel exclaimed, his hands on her tightening. "Yourmother," he said the word with hateful disdain. "For her sake, I hope to God I never see her again."
Sapphire shook her head she wanted to defend her mother. That particular instance wasn't her fault, and her mother had actually threatened to burn down the man's house if he didn't cough up the money for her hospital bills. It was one of the rare memories Sapphire had of her mom actually taking her side on something.
"Well, Krrsantan is not like that. As I said, he just wants to play," Vic promised as he stepped back from the truck. Immediately the dog got up and walked over to him and thrust his big head under Vic's hand.
