Never Be Tamed (Impossible Love #6)(4)

"Are you sure this is where you want to be?" Tab asked, nodding to the barking apartment once we made our final trip with the boxes.

"It'll be fine, plus, I like dogs," I said, not remembering anything about pets in the paperwork I filled out for my landlord. "Okay, so we're good to go. Thanks for your help, now let me get you back to the honeymoon suites." I wasn't subtle in my effort to have some quiet time, but it didn't faze Tab. 

"You can make fun all you want, but I know you're going to miss me." She brushed past me and started unpacking the boxes in my kitchen. My kitchen. I liked the sound of it.

"You're right," I said, knowing that I would miss her terribly, even if we were only a few miles apart.

We continued bickering back and forth until we unpacked the very last box, but when I opened the door for her to leave, I saw a rather large black and brown ball of fur out of the corner of my eye. It took off from the apartment across the hall. And shit, the thing was fast.

"Hang on," I called out to Tabby, "I'll be right back."

On instinct, I took after the speedy creature, and picked up speed when I remembered that the door was still propped open. The wild mutt was young-I could tell by the way he, or she, zigzagged down the hallway, not stopping for anything. Great, the last thing I needed was to piss off my neighbor on move-in day.

I sprinted down the hall, hoping I could catch it.

"Hey buddy," I said in a voice that I'd use on a five-year-old kid. Dogs, kids, they were the same anyway, right? "Come on, come back in." I used the calmest tone I could muster.

As I stepped a little closer, I discovered that it was a he … and he was completely ignoring me.

I squatted down near the opening of the door. The mutt had now scooted backwards, with half his body inside the building and half his body outside. Still, he was intrigued by my voice. Holding out my hand as if I had some kind of food, I tried to coax him inside. But he only stood there with his head cocked to the side, not understanding a damn word I was saying. "Look what I have for you, buddy," I said, reaching my hand out to him again. He didn't budge, not forward, not back, so at least I had him at bay for now. I wracked my brain trying to come up with some trick I could use to get a hold of the little bugger. He was wearing a blue collar, and if I could just get my hands around that I'd be able to pull him back inside. Instead, the little shit wagged his tail and took a step back.

The more I thought about it, I became positive that there was nothing in the fine print of my lease about allowing dogs. Not that I had anything against the four-legged creatures, but between finishing my criminal justice degree and the internship that I was doing at the police station, I had enough on my plate without having to chase dogs or listen to their incessant barking all night. And what kind of owner didn't keep watch on their pets, anyway? I had a fleeting thought about making a call to the landlord.

Right. What a dick move that would be. I promised myself I wasn't going to be that guy-despite how obsessed I'd become about following the rules. For me, it was the only way I knew how to keep it all together. I needed to toe the line if I wanted my new life to work. But just because I needed my rules and was going into law enforcement didn't mean that I had to be an asshole.

Still, I didn't have time to think about that right now. An innocent dog was loose and it was up to me to save him, so we sat in a standoff at the doorway while my eyes bore into his, willing him to come back inside.

Turns out, I was no dog whisperer.

The howling of the wind distracted him. It was early spring but blustery as hell, which meant I really didn't want to go chasing after this thing without a jacket on. It was freezing out there. Christ, Chicago didn't have anything on the Land of 10,000 Lakes when it came to weather, and after the brutal winter, I'd been convinced I had moved to the artic.

But as the dog took one more glance behind him and scrambled off to the courtyard, I didn't have a choice about my outdoor wear. We were going outside. Luckily, we didn't live close to an interstate, but this guy could've been a long distance runner for all I knew.



       
         
       
        

I walked slowly out to the area that was more dirt than grass at this time of year. The snow had just melted over the past few weeks, so I really couldn't blame the little guy for planning his escape. He probably just had cabin fever like the rest of us.

"Stay there now," I told him. Then I proceeded to inch my way closer, not that much different than how I had learned to deal with criminals in my law enforcement classes. Cool and calm with confidence and authority. I never expected my first real world experience would be with a dog, however. "Easy now, I'm not going to hurt you," I said quietly. I edged forward again, stepping gingerly on the crunchy ground below.

He was definitely inquisitive, studying me as if he was anticipating my next move. He didn't seem afraid though. "Now, I'm gonna tell you what we're gonna do here, pal. I'm going to reach out and put my hands around your collar, gently. I promise it will be gently. And you, my friend, are going to be a good boy. No growling, or biting, or committing any type of bodily harm against me. Got it?"

I extended my hand to try to secure a grip on his collar, and he did as I asked. There was no growing or biting, but he also didn't stay still. He dashed right and then left, forward and back. I resisted the urge to track him and decided to kneel down and stay still. Yeah, this was a game to him. He walked backwards a few feet then, leaving me no choice. I had to follow his move. At least he wasn't running away from me.

He dodged my reach, once, twice, three times. It was getting ridiculous, I needed to get the dog inside so I could finish moving in. I had a big day tomorrow, so this time when I followed his move, I took a more aggressive approach and reached over a little too far, before slipping and falling, leaving me flat on my back.

My head smacked the ground, and my vision blurred for a second or two. And when everything finally came into focus, there was a slobbery face leaning over me. I swear to God, he was smiling, mocking me.

I sat up and leaned forward again, but he shifted away from my head traveling down closer to my legs. I moved slowly so I wouldn't spook him, pulling myself to an upright sitting position. When he didn't retreat, I stood up. He still didn't back away. But what he did instead was far worse.

He looked right in my eyes as he lifted his hind leg and pissed all over me. The mutt had balls, I'd give him that.





Chapter Three




Jenna



Oh, my God! With the dogs in tow, I raced over to reprimand Oscar. "I'm sorry," I called out, hoping there was a chance that I was wrong about who my dog's savior was. But there was little possibility that I'd made a mistake. This guy had a face-and body-I couldn't forget. He was a fantasy come to life, and when his gaze met mine, my head went fuzzy. But this wasn't the guy of my dreams; he was absolutely a man in the flesh. Picture this: milk chocolate, not the dark kind everyone pretends to love, but the creamy, sugary kind. Warm. Melted. And about to satisfy you in the best possible way-starting at the tip of your tongue, before traveling at lightning speed to your brain and nervous system, altering your body chemistry, increasing your blood flow, releasing dopamine, and activating the pleasure receptors in your brain, to deliver immediate gratification that's eerily similar to lust and love. Yeah, that is exactly what his eyes did to me. 

Of course, I never ate chocolate because it comes in at number two on the five worst foods for dogs list, second only to grapes-something I also never have in the house. But I remembered that glorious taste.

Goosebumps peppered my skin, and not because of the weather. It was because of the guy. God, I really needed to get out more.

Molly and Ruby barked in unison, helping me to recover from the distraction. When I did, I pulled my eyes away from the man and found the dog, registering what he'd just done. "Oscar! What do you think you're doing?"

"Relieving himself, I guess." The guy's deep voice reverberated throughout my body. He assessed me, still smiling. It was clear he hadn't placed me yet. I was grateful.

Without thinking, I reached out and placed my hand on his arm, warm smooth skin that covered his rock-hard frame. Once upon a time, this was my go-to strategy for getting a guy's attention. A touch, a smile, a flip of my hair, and even a little giggle would've pretty much got me anything I wanted. And it worked for a while. I did get what I wanted, when I wanted it. Not that it ever filled the hole inside.

There were lots of names for a girl like me. I was probably what you would've called a bad girl, easy, royal bitch, slut, mean girl. Take your pick. But I hadn't been that girl for a long time. Though I did keep up the charade for a few people, because that's what I'd always be to them. What was the point trying to convince them I changed? They'd believe what they chose to, and there wasn't much I could do about it.

Really, all I wanted was a second chance, just like my dogs at the shelter.

"I'm so sorry about Oscar," I said, trying not to get caught up in his eyes again. "And your pants," I added as my gaze drifted downward. Then I glared at Oscar, communicating without words. I started doing this recently to test a theory that I'd read in one of my canine journals about a dog's ability to read its owner's mind. I hadn't concluded whether it was true or not, but it was worth a try.