Chapter 10 #2
“I have no idea where Obi-Wan arranged for you to stay, but I thought you could shower in my room for now. I can stay outside while you take your time.”
“Thank you. I have to admit that the thought of you going one way and me going another wasn’t sitting well with me. I probably shouldn’t admit that, for fear it’ll freak you out,” she said a little sheepishly.
“Not at all. I’m having the same feelings,” Buck reassured her. It was a relief that she felt the same way he did. He wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to leave her here in Guyana when he flew home to Virginia, but he’d cross that bridge when he had to.
He led them to the room he’d stayed in before leaving on the mission to rescue the children, and, after opening the door, saw that everything was exactly how he’d left it. He put her suitcase on the twin bed, then turned toward her.
As he stared at the woman standing uncertainly in the middle of his room, with the unkept and scruffy dog at her side, he felt a sense of rightness move through him.
This was where his entire life had been leading him.
He was thirty-seven years old and he’d yet to meet a woman he couldn’t bear to be parted from.
Now his future was standing six feet from him—and he made a mental vow not to screw anything up.
“Will you…will you help me with Rain?”
“Of course.” Buck had no idea what she needed help with, but anything she wanted, he’d bend over backward to try to give her.
“I want to get some of the mud and gunk out of his fur, but I’m not sure how he’s going to react to the shower,” she said, looking down at the dog with concern.
“I’m no groomer, but I’m thinking we might need to cut some of his fur to get those mats out.
Let me run and find some scissors. You can go into the bathroom and get things ready.
There’s one towel on the rack, or there should be at least. And I’ve got some soap in the shower.
I’ll see if I can find anyone to get us more towels. ”
Mandy nodded.
It didn’t surprise Buck in the least that Mandy was more concerned about taking care of the dog before she got clean herself. That was simply the kind of person she was. Kind to her core. It was probably why she was such a great teacher, and why the children at the orphanage were so devoted to her.
He left the room, and returned just a few minutes later.
He could’ve used his KA-BAR to cut some of the matted hair off the dog, if necessary, but he’d lucked out and found a Guyanese officer leaving one of the rooms who happened to have some scissors.
He had no problem giving Buck a pile of towels, as well.
When Buck entered the room, he heard Mandy talking low and calmly to Rain. Telling him how much better he was going to feel once he was clean. How he’d feel like a brand-new dog. He pushed the bathroom door open…and smiled at the scene in front of him.
Mandy was sitting on the floor with Rain between her legs. She was petting the dog, and they both seemed to be enjoying the one-on-one time together.
“Got what we needed,” Buck said, feeling kind of like an interloper.
As if he knew exactly how Buck felt, Rain padded over to him and leaned against his leg. Reaching down, he ruffled the fur on the dog’s head. “You’re not going to bite us, are you, bud?” he asked. “I mean, when we throw you in that shower and get to work scrubbing the jungle off you?”
“Of course he isn’t,” Mandy said with a laugh as she stood. “He’s too much of a good boy to do something like that.”
Buck wasn’t so sure. He was pretty positive the dog had never been inside a shower stall before. “How are we going to do this?” he asked.
“Do what? Get him clean? We’ll get in the shower with him and turn on the water,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I hate to point this out, but that shower stall isn’t very big. I’m not sure there’ll be room for all three of us in there.”
But Mandy simply shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll sit on the floor with Rain, and you can stand and direct the water.”
Thank goodness the stall had a removeable showerhead. The kind with a long hose attached.
Mandy kicked off her shoes and stepped into the shower with the rest of her clothes still on, and then turned on the water. She let out a girly screech as the cold water hit her, then giggled.
Buck could only stand there and smile. If someone had told him a month ago this was where he’d be—taking pleasure in a woman standing in his shower in dirty shorts and a T-shirt, with a grubby stray dog, while he was about to join her wearing his filthy flight suit—he would’ve laughed in their face.
Yet, here he was. And enjoying every second.
“Okay, bring him in. The water’s warm now,” Mandy said.
Buck urged the suddenly unsure dog into the small enclosure, following along behind him and shutting the shower door.
He was right, it was a very tight squeeze.
Mandy sat on the tile floor and reached for Rain.
“It’s okay. I know this is scary, but you’re doing such a good job.
I promise this will feel good. Trust us, buddy. ”
Bathing Rain took much longer than Buck thought it might, but by the time they were done, he felt closer to Mandy than ever.
Taking care of another living being with her was…
intimate. They worked together to reassure him, to cut off the mats that were too stubborn to comb out.
The amount of dirt that went down the drain was shocking.
When it was over, Rain looked like a completely different dog. His fur was actually a light golden brown, not the dark brown he’d thought it was.
Since they’d had to snip off so much hair, what was left was sticking up in every direction, kind of like Mandy’s.
In fact, they looked a lot alike at the moment, which made Buck chuckle.
Then he had to explain to Mandy what he was laughing at.
To his relief, she joined in and wasn’t offended he was comparing her to the dog.
When they finally opened the door to the shower, Rain bounded out, clearly relieved his ordeal was over.
He shook violently, sending droplets of water across the small bathroom.
Mandy giggled, and once again, Buck felt as if he was in an alternate world.
Giggling women, a bathroom that smelled like a wet dog, now with water over every surface, and him standing completely dressed in his shower.
“I’ll get him dried off and leave you to the shower,” Buck told Mandy, as he stepped out of the small stall.
Without hesitation, he reached for the zipper of his flight suit.
He quickly stepped out of it, leaving it in a puddle on the tiled floor.
Keeping his back to the shower so he didn’t alarm Mandy, considering the more-than-obvious erection tenting his tighty-whities, he took off the grubby tank he wore under the suit, grabbed a few towels from the stack on the counter, and opened the door.
Rain was quick to leave the room, and Buck followed suit.
As soon as the door shut behind him, he let out a long breath.
He felt overheated, even in just his underwear.
Being around Mandy was making him feel all sorts of things he’d never felt before.
None of them bad, just overwhelming at the moment.
Because Buck knew without a doubt his life was forever changed, and all because of the woman on the other side of the bathroom door.
“Come ’ere, Rain. Let’s get you dried and comfortable.
I promise I’ll hurry in my shower so we can get you some grub.
Something better than squirrel and olives.
We’ll need to get you some sort of leash and collar too.
Someone around here will surely protest if you’re wandering around without them. They aren’t so bad though. You’ll see.”
Now he was doing it, talking to Rain as if the dog could understand him. But he had a feeling he just might. He had a way of staring into Buck’s eyes with an otherworldly knowing.
The sound of the shower behind the door he’d just closed was enough to make his dick twitch in his underwear.
Knowing Mandy was in there was torture…getting naked, letting the water sluice over her skin as she ran a washcloth over her body.
But it was also gratifying. The idea he’d been able to provide her with the things she needed to feel clean again.
Buck had never really thought of himself as a protector in the strictest sense of the word. And yet he couldn’t deny the sense of satisfaction he felt right now was immense.
After drying Rain as best he could, he stood in the middle of the small bunk room with his eyes closed, taking measured breaths and waiting for his turn in the shower.
They weren’t on the run from anyone. Didn’t have to worry about being bitten by venomous spiders or bugs in the middle of the night, and soon their bellies would be full. Things had turned out better than he ever could have hoped…
So why Buck still felt a slight sense of unease was confusing as hell.