Chapter 19
SUTTON
Two Years Earlier
This is it. This is how I die.
I feel the crushing weight on my chest, pressing down on me, and I look into the eyes of the giant black and tan animal on top of me. I’m going to be mauled to death by a wolf or whatever this thing greeting me at Kelsey’s door is.
Or wait… maybe licked to death?
Instead of biting or clawing, my face is met with lick after lick from the giant dog. I guess she did say he doesn’t bite.
“Felix! No!” she calls out, trying to pull the dog off me by his collar. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry.”
I remain pinned to the ground, while the huge, furry dog—who I now know as Felix—stands with two paws on my chest. He stops licking and looks down at me. I swear this dog actually speaks to me through those deep brown, soulful eyes.
“Hi, Felix.” The words sound more like wheezing than a greeting.
He seems to accept that though and takes another lick of my face.
“You get enough or do you need more?”
He tilts his head and seems to ponder my question.
“Damnit, Felix. Get off him. He’s mommy’s snack, not yours.”
He must be satisfied with his cleaning job on my face because he finally steps off of my chest. I gasp and suck in a deep breath.
“You know I’d consider myself more of a meal than a snack.” I prop myself up on my elbows and watch as Felix flops onto his back beside me. “I’ll settle for dessert though.”
I look up to find Kelsey looking at me. Instead of rolling her eyes at my joke, she’s focusing on me with equal parts curiosity and concern.
Her eyes search my entire body for any sign of injury before she looks back at her dog, who’s still rolling around on his back next to me.
Having that kind of focus on me is something I’m not used to, and it feels good to have a woman like her look at me like that.
“Are you OK? I’m so sorry about that. He might look huge, but he’s basically still a teenager.”
I huff a laugh and wipe his saliva off my face. “Yeah. I’m fine. Glad you were right though.”
Her soft laugh makes me completely forget that I was fearing for my life just seconds ago. “About what?”
“That he doesn’t bite.”
She kneels down with Felix still between us. She reaches out and runs the backs of her fingers over mine.
“You don’t have to—” Her voice trails off and I hear the doubt creep in before she looks away. “Stick around? I get it if that kind of ruined the mood.”
I sit up straight and reach over to tip her chin up so that our eyes meet again. Even in the dark entryway of her apartment, her stormy gray eyes steal my breath.
All the subtle little shades of greens and blues hidden in the cloudy gray remind me of the rare storms that would roll in over the vivid mountains back home in New Mexico.
They were precious to the farmers there, but all I remember is how unique and beautiful those clouds on the horizon were when they’d clash with the different hues of granites and stones of the mountains they engulfed.
Even when the rain started to pour, I would sit there and soak up that beauty.
That’s what I see when my eyes find hers—stunning, beautiful understated contrast that I can’t make myself look away from—not that I would ever want to.
“Two things, Shadow.” I trace my thumb over her bottom lip. “It would take a lot more than getting tackled by your giant wolf to scare me off.”
The corners of her lips twitch under my thumb and I grin back. “You don’t have to hide that smile from me. I like it.”
She rolls her eyes and blows out a breath that fluffs her bangs. “What’s the other thing, Pretty Boy?”
I close the distance between us and press my lips to hers. Her lips are so fucking soft, but it’s the little gasp when she parts them that makes my heart stutter and my cock throb in my jeans.
I break the kiss and look back into those storm clouds. “I’m not leaving unless you tell me to.”
The column of her throat shifts when she swallows and she practically whispers. “Good.”
“Besides, I don’t have a TV set up at my place and I want to see if Brooke finally leaves Randy.” This time, she doesn’t hide her smile.
She gasps. “Oh my god, you really do watch it.”