Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Except I found out really quick that the dead weight of a one-hundred-pound dog was a lot different than one hundred pounds of moving dog.
I got him a whole foot from where he was lying before I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do it myself.
“Shit,” I wiped away more tears. “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
I scanned through my memory, wondering who I should call. Each time I’d think of someone, I’d quickly dismiss them.
I had neighbors, but not any that I would trust coming in my house.
I also had Wednesday, but since I wasn’t sure she could help me move him anymore than I could, I knew that there was only one person that I could call.
And the moment that he answered, I knew that he’d come.
“Everything okay?”
“I need your help.”
He didn’t even hesitate.
He came, helped me bury my friend, and then held me until Reggie woke up early.
Then, when my daughter found out about Mogley, he held her, too.
It was the single best day, and worst day, of my life.
Four hours later, my brother had my daughter, and I was at the front door to Travis’ place.
I’d buried my canine friend today with a man that I felt had my back just as much as I’d had his.
We’d become friends over the last couple weeks. We’d seen each other on and off, but each time we came into contact, sparks would fly.
I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling them. I knew it. I felt it in my very core.
So that was what had me standing on the porch of a man that’d done nothing more than offer me a shoulder to cry on, and save me from myself, each time we’d spent any length of time together.
I knocked on the door and felt my heart lurch when he opened it.
“Hannah?”
There was no hesitation inside of me at all.
I moved.
Pushing him with my hands on his chest, I went up onto my tippy toes and laid my mouth straight on his.
“I need you,” I said the moment I pulled my lips from his.
It’d been a short, sweet kiss.
But, by the look on Travis’ face, it’d gotten the point across.
Before I could do so much as explain myself, he was on me.
I had my back against his closed front door, and my legs around his hips, gasping as his mouth slammed down onto mine.
He was like a wild beast.
His beard was rasping against the sensitive skin of my neck, and his eyes were boring straight into mine.
At the same time, his hands were slipping under my shirt, and then shoving it up and over my head moments later. The next thing that went was my bra, which he deftly unclipped and let fall to the floor the moment I got my arms out of it.
He stopped at my mouth, only to drop that talented tongue to the tip of my nipple, lathing and sucking it as he practically worshipped me.
“Trav,” I moaned, fisting my hands in his hair.
He growled something unintelligible, and then switched to the other nipple.
My hands trailed down his back, relishing in the play of muscles that rippled over his strong shoulders as he hoisted me up higher on his hips.
And his reason why was answered moments later when I heard the distinct clink-clink of his belt buckle being undone.
I bit my lip and studied him, running my hands down his side.
“I’m a fucking wreck,” he told me. “I have a brother that is one crayon short of fucked up. My ex-wife is a bitch who’s turning my kid into someone that nobody likes, and I’m a workaholic.”
I blinked and stared.
“So?”
He didn’t crack a smile. “Well, I’m so fucking lost that I don’t know where to start to find my way again. If there was any sense of honor inside me at all, I’d tell you this was a bad fucking idea.”
I stared at him for a few long moments. “I have an ex-husband that calls every three weeks to make sure that I got my payment. My daughter waits for him at our door every Wednesday and Friday night hoping that this will be the week that he comes. That dog you buried? He gave it to me because he didn’t want it anymore. His new woman is allergic to dogs. Oh, and let’s not forget that I’ve not had sex in well over five years, three of those I was married. I have a job that I’m not too sure I want to keep, and an overprotective brother who comes down once a week. I’ll raise you ten.”
He grunted in reply.
Then, without another word, he hooked two arms around my ass and carried me to his bedroom.
“Well, as long as we’re agreeing that this is a bad idea,” he dropped me. “Let’s get started.”
***
Present day