Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Come on, buddy.” I open the door to the bathroom, and Teddy scrambles toward the bed, jumping on it and landing right in the middle, rolling around on the bedspread.
I sigh. I guess I’ll request a new bedspread as well.
“Come on, Teddy, get off the bed,” I scold.
Teddy does as he’s told, surprisingly. The dog seems to know basic commands, which means either Dragon’s mom taught him, or his father did before his heart attack. Or maybe they got him from the pound, from a family who trained him but couldn’t keep him.
I’ll probably never know, but he’s mine now.
And he fills a little bit of the hole in my heart.
He goes straight to the door again—the adjoining door—and scratches.
Dragon opens the door.
“Hey what’s going—”
Teddy lunges at him, nearly knocking him off his feet.
“Hey, boy.” He gives Teddy a scratch behind the ears and looks him over. “Wow, you look a lot different.”
“It’s called clean,” I say dryly.
“He looks good,” Dragon says. “Who knew you were such a handsome pup?”
Teddy is indeed a nice-looking dog. He looks like a border collie or Australian cattle dog mix. He’s black-and-white mostly, but his paws are white with black specks.
“Cookies and cream paws,” I say to myself.
“What’s that?” Dragon asks.
“Never mind.” I head for the door. “Can you watch him for a bit? I need to get some new towels. I used all of mine to dry him off.”
“Yeah, sure.”
I look back at the patch of wet on my otherwise clean bed. “I need to get a new bedspread too. He jumped on the bed right after he got out of the bath, so it’s all wet.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
Funny. I gave him the perfect opportunity to invite me to sleep in his room, but he didn’t take it.
It’s okay. His head is a mess right now.
And frankly? I need to leave him alone. My head is a big mess too. I lost my dream job on my second day. I may have doomed my entire career.
So why am I feeling…kind of happy?
Is it the dog?
I’ve missed being with animals. I chose the city life rather than the ranch life. I love architecture, and it’s been my dream for I don’t know how long. All that being equal, this silly mutt has made me feel better than I have in years.
But if I’m completely honest with myself, Teddy’s not the only reason.
Dragon is being a dick right now for sure, but being with him…
Being with him is amazing.
I’ve felt things I never knew I could feel. Had desires I never knew I had.
And I want to have them again.
But he has to make the next move. I can’t be the one.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
I shut the door adjoining the two rooms, and then I make a call to housekeeping, ordering some towels and a new bedspread.
“New bedspread?” the person on the other end of the line says.
“Yes. I gave my dog a bath, and he got the bedspread wet. I need a new one.”
“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”
Within ten minutes, someone knocks on my door. I open it, and a hotel staff member hands me several towels.
“What about the bedspread?”
“Right.” She looks behind her. “It’s coming.”
Another staffer approaches with the bedspread. “Here you go, ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
I close the door, replace the bedspread, leaving the dirty one in the hallway, and hang the new towels in my bathroom. Once everything’s in place, I knock on the adjoining door.
Dragon opens it.
“I can take him now.” I look at Teddy. “Come on, sweet pea.”
Teddy stays at Dragon’s side.
“Seriously?” I say. “I’m the one who fed and bathed him, took him down to do his business, and he wants you?”
“Go on,” Dragon says to Teddy. “Go to Diana. She’s much nicer than I am.”
Except Dragon was the one who rescued him from his mother. And he might smell kind of like her too. He probably smells like home.
“It’s all right,” I say. “He can stay with you. Or we can leave the door open, and he can go with who he wants.”
Dragon frowns. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not? Are you afraid you might be tempted to come crawl into bed with me?” I chuckle lightly.
But he’s not laughing. “Diana, don’t do that.”
“Been there, done that,” I say. “Don’t try that dark Dragon bullshit with me. I’ve seen it all. You don’t scare me.”
He casts his gaze to the floor. “I should.”
I take a step toward him, crossing my arms. “Well, you don’t.”
He takes a deep breath in. “You don’t know everything about me, Diana.”
“I know next to nothing about you, Dragon. Doesn’t matter to me.” I reach out to him with both hands. “You’re not the dark soul you think you are. You’re not sin.”
“Oh, I am.” He turns his back on me. “My own parents decided I was. They sent me away when I was barely nine years old, Diana. Did you know that?”