Lib Novel Page 19
“Fuck.” I shoved his head away, laughing a little as I shook my head. Fucking dogs. For real, man. “You came a long way, buddy,” I murmured, in awe, squatting down so that we were at eye level and no longer crotch level. “Fuck. That’s…fuck. How the hell did you manage that?”
Why would you follow me, of all people?
He whined, and I sighed, curling my hands into fists, unsure if touching him would be welcomed. His head butted against my hands, however, so that question was quickly answered. I scratched along his back, rubbing the downy soft fur behind his ears as he stared up at me beseechingly.
Fuck.
Should I take him in?
I should take him in, right?
I could go to the vet tomorrow. Get him checked out. See if he had a microchip or try to see if anyone was looking for him. But for now it was…what? Three in the morning? And I was dead on my feet.
“Okay, sweetheart,” I murmured, petting him as he practically purred, his big heavy head butting into me again—thankfully not my crotch this time—as his tail thump, thumped against the ground. “Okay. You’re gonna come in, alright?” He woofed happily, and I laughed, finding it more than a little adorable that he’d responded. “We’ll get you sorted, I promise.”
There was no way he knew what I was talking about, so clearly the dog was just a vocal guy.
“Let’s get you all cleaned up,” I urged, rising and stepping back into the house.
He followed after me dutifully. I shut the door behind us, twisting the lock—and then the five bolt locks I’d installed when I moved in. When they were all in place, I could finally breathe again. With a wobbly smile, I stared down at the furry beast, heart fluttering.
It was late, and I was exhausted.
I should’ve felt awful.
But I didn’t.
I’d wanted companionship and I was about to get more than I’d bargained for.
There were muddy footprints down my hallway. The air smelled like damp fur. And the dog splashed like hell when I got him in the bath. I snorted out a laugh, blocking my face as his big, fluffy body sloshed water over the sides of the tub.
“Dude!” I snorted, falling on my ass when his heavy, soggy tail whacked me right in the ass. He leveled me with a look. A look that said he was over my shit. I didn’t blame him. I bet with all that fur baths were not fun. “You were soaked—and covered in mud. You needed a bath. Don’t look at me like that.”
The dog woofed, unamused.
“Fuck,” I giggled, unable to help myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed like this, carefree. Soaked myself, I rose, grabbing the hem of my shirt and tugging it up and over over my head. In my peripheral vision I could see my torso in the bathroom mirror, covered in the scars I avoided, and freckles that barely outnumbered them.
Don’t think about it.
Before I could get sucked into my head, the dog’s cold, wet nose pushed into my abdomen. He snuffled, and I laughed, nearly slipping and falling on my ass again when he stared up at me, giant head right by my bare belly. His blue eyes practically glowed.
His eyes seemed to say, “What are these?” while nudging at my scars.
“It’s nothing,” I hummed, surprised by how easily he’d been able to pull me out of a flashback. Then I shook my head, focusing on him and not my own spiraling thoughts. He looked like a soaked rat. A giant soaked rat. Even worse than before. “Towel,” I reminded myself, reaching for one of the two towels I’d bought when I moved in.
Only the towel barely covered part of him and he was still fucking wet. So I grabbed the other one too—figuring I could dry myself off in the air. Or with an old t-shirt or something. As I ran the fabric over his fur, the dog glared at me, though his tail wagged—so I knew he wasn’t all that annoyed. When I started drying his belly I was able to confirm that he was, in fact, a boy dog.
“Put that thing away,” I laughed, grimacing when his cock began to unsheath, his blue eyes boring a hole into mine. “Fuck. Definitely a guy. Congrats, I guess. That’s one…yep. Uh huh. Okay. That’s one angry-looking thing.”
I avoided his dick, because I could only handle a certain amount of weird and that was definitely past my limit. “You’ll thank me later when I let you into my bed,” I informed him as I scrubbed over the wet fur on his head. His ears went back, big eyes blinking up at me. “Clean dogs get more privileges.”
He stopped grumbling, and for a second it was almost like he really did understand me. Maybe I was being paranoid, but part of me felt there was something…human about him. But I figured I was imagining things. Especially after I’d spent an hour having sex with a werewolf.
Supernatural shit was always on the brain. You’d have to be insane to pretend to be a dog, and while this regal beast bore a lot of similarity to the man I’d let have my ass virginity, even I knew I had a tendency to catastrophize.
“Tomorrow we’re going to the vet,” I informed him after I’d broken out my blow drier and gotten him from sodden to damp to dry.
The dog gave me the stink-eye again, and I laughed for the second time that night. I scratched behind his ear and smiled. “You’re a good mutt, aren’t you?” He wagged his tail in response.