Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
I can’t believe I get to go out with this angel. Gratitude fills my bones as I look up at her townhouse, remembering how damn good she felt in my arms. I can still taste her sexy mouth. It’s still making me all tingly inside.
Her dog starts barking in the window as I walk up to the door, fixing my flannel shirt. It’s a beautiful spring day—sunny and crisp. It’s the perfect day for a hike up Silvergray Mountain. It’s not too hot and it’s too early in the season for mosquitos—the perfect combination.
I smile when I hear her voice behind the door. “That’s enough, Cutter,” Lucy says. “Please stop. He’s our friend.”
Friend… Hopefully, I’ll be more than that by the end of the day.
I suck in a breath when she opens the door, looking more gorgeous than ever. Her face is all flushed from holding her dog back and her hair is a little disheveled. She’s looking like she just got… Well, let’s just say I hope I’m lucky enough to see her looking like this again…
“Good morning,” she says in a breathless tone as she struggles to hold her huge Rottweiler back. Cutter’s front legs are off the ground as he tries to get to me. I like this dog already. He’s doing his job protecting our girl.
“Cutter!” she shouts, trying with all her might to pull him back. “Stop!”
Cutter is growling as he glares at me. I stare back at him, not showing any fear.
“You can let him go,” I say.
She blows a strand of hair out of her face. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. If this girl is going to be in my life, me and this dog are going to have to get used to one another. We might as well face each other now.
She lets him go and he scrambles right up to me, the black fur on his back sticking up like a mohawk.
He sniffs my legs, looking like he’s trying to decide whether to back down or maul my face off. I just keep my hands on my hips and stare down at him, my breathing calm, my body still. We’re like two alphas sniffing each other down, trying to decide who is at the very top of the pecking order.
Meanwhile, Lucy is watching all of this with a nervous look on her face. I know she wants us to get along. I want it too.
That’s why I brought a secret weapon. A few of them in fact.
When Cutter steps back and growls at me, I pull it out.
His ears go back and his eyes widen when he smells it.
On the way here, I stopped at the bakery to get us some fresh sandwiches and snacks for our hike. They were selling some homemade dog treats, so I cleaned them out, buying the entire display.
The way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach, and I have no bones about buying Cutter’s friendship. Especially if it means I get to spend more time with his owner.
“Is this what you want?” I ask in a chipper voice as I pull a dog treat from my back pocket.
He licks his lips as he stares at it in awe.
“Sit,” I say. He does.
“You going to be my friend?” I ask, holding it just out of reach. He whimpers. I’ll take that as a yes. I give him the treat as Lucy watches with a beaming smile on her face. He scarfs it down and then I give him another one.
He doesn’t give me any more problems after.
“Thanks for thinking of that,” she says, relieved that Cutter isn’t in attack mode anymore. He runs into the house and returns with one of his toys, shaking it at me.
“Of course,” I say as I look her over. She’s stunning in a pair of black yoga pants that hug her curves so perfectly and a long plaid button-up shirt that hangs low. I’m admiring her outfit while undressing her with my eyes at the same time.
“I thought we could go for a hike through the mountains,” I say, trying to keep the huskiness out of my voice. “I picked up lunch from the bakery.”
She’s already blushing as she looks up at me with those breathtaking brown eyes. “That sounds perfect. Would you mind if we bring Cutter? I don’t want to leave him alone while…”
Her eyes drop to the floor.
“That’s why I chose a hike,” I tell her. “So he can come too. I have more treats for him in the car.”
His head tilts when I say the T-word and we both laugh.
It’s not long before we’re driving down a beautiful mountain road—windows open, music blasting, Cutter’s head sticking out the window. His ears are flapping in the wind and he looks so happy with his tongue hanging out, slobber clinging to his black lip in strings. Lucy laughs as she takes a picture of him and then snaps one of me.