Chapter 4
Mylah
“Come on, boy,” I call out to the little dog that I currently have in the yard to train.
He comes running and sits at my feet just like I trained him to do.
Dog trainer. That was never a thing on my list of things to be when I grew up, but here I am.
I love animals, and I love teaching them new things.
I also train protection dogs, which is a huge thing for me. It’s what keeps me in business.
“How’d you do that?” I look over when I hear his voice.
“What are you doing here?”
“Heard this was the best place for a dog,” Tide tells me.
“You don’t want a dog.”
“I do. I have for a while now. Just been a little busy.”
“Dogs need people full-time. Not people that are in prison for months at a time.”
“I don’t plan on goin’ back any time soon.”
I nod my head, knowing that’s probably a lie. Just one more reason I can’t get involved with him.
“What kind of dog are you wanting?”
“Protection trained,” he says.
“Which breed?”
“What do you suggest?”
“I have Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, and German Shepherds. You name it, I can train it.”
“You think that highly of yourself?” Is that a dig at me? I sure as hell hope not. I’ve been doing this for ten years since I was seventeen. I know what I’m doing, and I’m damn good at it.
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Didn’t say that,” he says as he steps closer to me. He cocks his head to the side as I whistle once, and my Pitbull, Riley, comes running. He sits at my feet and looks at Tide like a piece of meat.
“Down,” I tell him, and he hits the ground on his stomach. Tide just watches the interactions I’m having with him before he smirks.
“You gonna get your dog to attack me?”
“Not unless I need to. My dogs don’t come cheap,” I tell him.
“I know. I’ve researched. Never said I couldn’t pay.”
“Why do you want one?”
“I have a lot of enemies. And honestly? I’m lonely. The dog would have to be good around other people and kids, though. The clubhouse is full of people.”
“I can handle that,” I tell him.
“I bet you can. What’s his name?” He asks, nodding toward Riley.
“Riley. He’s an American Pit Bull. A lot of people are afraid of them, but they’re smart and easily trained. They make great protection dogs.”
“Show me around?” He asks. I nod my head and call for the little dog I was working with and Riley to follow me.
They both do as we walk back toward the building.
I don’t keep my dogs in kennels all the time.
I think it’s wrong, and they have no interaction with other animals.
So when we step inside, the dogs are running freely.
“You train all these?”
“Yes. They aren’t mine. I home train most of them, and then after so long, they go home with their owners trained and ready to roll.”
“That one’s pretty,” Tide says, pointing out the German Shepherd I’ve been working with.
“He’s a handful. He’ll be a great dog once he learns a little more. He’ll be up for adoption soon,” I tell him.
“Is he an option?”
“If you want him to be.”
“Can I pet him?” Tide asks. I like that he’s asking and not just going over there.
I nod my head and call Rebel over to me.
He jogs over and sits at my feet as I nod to Tide to go ahead.
He reaches down and runs his hand over his head, petting him.
Rebel seems to love it. In fact, he seems to be taken with Tide.
I can’t say that I blame him for that either.
There’s just something about him that calls to you.
“He likes you,” I note.
“I think I like him, too. He needs to be groomed more frequently, right?” He asks. I’m surprised that he even knows this as I nod my head.
“He has a lot of fur, so brushing him every day is a must. You think you have time for that?”
“I do. What do we need to do so I can adopt him?”
“He isn’t quite ready yet. I still have some more work to do with him first. You aren’t in a hurry, are you?”
“No. I’ll let you do your thing first. Can I come visit him?”
“Of course. In fact, I would encourage you to. That way, he gets used to you being around. That’s important,” I tell him. He nods his head as I lead him out of the room and into the side office. That’s when things shift. He changes. He’s closer. Too close.
He steps into me and presses my body against the wall. His breath dances over my flesh as he breathes too close to me. His scent is making me crazy. He’s making me crazy.
“I do like a little challenge when it comes to my women, Mylah.”
“What do you mean?”
“This song and dance we’re doin’. The game of cat and mouse. I like a good chase.”
“I’m not playing any games, Tide.”
“I think you are. And I think you like it too. You like it when I have to chase you. You like it when I come to you. Just admit it,” he says as I swallow hard. Am I that transparent? How can he see straight through me? I do like it when he does this, but I shouldn’t. God, I know I shouldn’t.
“Christian,” I whisper his name.
“Is a grown man. We’re all adults here, Mylah.” His hand comes to rest on my waist, his fingers slowly gliding under the hem of my t-shirt. I swallow hard once more as a chill wraps around my body. There’s a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, one I want more of.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re adults. This can’t happen.” I try to sound strong and sure, but I’m not. Not even close. I have no idea what the hell is happening right now, and I want to find out even though I know it’s wrong.
“It can happen.” Then he’s there. His lips are on mine.
He’s kissing me like I’ve never been kissed before.
He’s an expert with his tongue as it sweeps into my mouth.
His tongue finds mine and slowly caresses it.
I moan as our lips collide and our bodies press closer together.
His hands that were on my waist now move higher.
He has his hands under my shirt, caressing my breasts through my bra, then all of a sudden, he’s gone.
The door opens, and my assistant, Bella, walks in.
Tide has already moved away from me, but I’m still a blushing, panting mess.
“You okay?” Bella asks.
“Yeah, this is Christian’s dad, Tide. He’s looking at Rebel.”
“Really? Rebel is a great dog. He’s so smart.”
“He seems to be. He’s beautiful, too,” Tide says as he looks at her.
I see the way he takes her in from head to toe, and a hint of jealousy sparks in my chest. I want him to look at me like that.
I want his attention for some stupid reason.
I try to tell myself that this is wrong and that it’s a bad idea, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t care. Apparently, a jealous part of me.
“He is that. You’ll love having him around,” Bella tells him as she steps behind her desk, ignoring the stares he’s giving her.
“Well, I’ll walk you out,” I tell Tide. He turns his head to look at me and nods once, but I know he can see the fire in my eyes.
I can feel it there. I step away from the wall and walk toward the door with him right behind me.
When we get outside, he grabs a handful of my ass and squeezes it roughly.
“You have to stop and not look at my co-workers like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to fuck her over the desk.”
“I didn’t peg you as the jealous type, darlin’, but I think I fuckin’ like it.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“You are. I can see it all over your face. Just know this, Mylah. I might look at them like that, but the only pussy I wanna slide into is yours.” With that, he walks away and leaves me a heated mess.