“Just keep an eye on him for the night.”
“Mel!” my boss’s voice suddenly spears the night air. “Mel!”
Russel quickly extricates his fingers from mine.
“Over here, Nell.” I wave my hand up, but abruptly yank it down when a burning pain hits my side.
“Careful,” Russel scolds, earning a pissed-off glare from me. I might be small but I’m no wimp. My aggressive response makes Russel’s gaze darken even further. He takes a step closer, but when Nell’s voice rings nearer this time, he sidesteps moving away.
She’s Dolly Parton reincarnated—minus the Southern drawl. Her cloud-high blonde hair and thick makeup, in addition to the tight, bright clothes wrapping her hourglass figure make her the spitting image of the country singer.
“Mel! Spank my fuckin’ ass and call me a good girl, did you take part in a catfight? You look terrible, darling.”
Nell is also the bluntest person I’ve ever met, and the craziest. And of course, I love her to death. Death…which will come sooner than I expected by the way my life is spiraling.
“Or should I say a Chihuahua fight? I saw the security video and darling, you’re as mad as a werewolf under the full moon. That guy punched, tossed, and dragged you around, and still, you didn’t let go. My mini ninja.” She sounds like a full-on proud mom. “I’ll make a copy and put it on YouTube. You’ll become famous.” She winks, making me huff with exasperation.
“And hello there. I’m Nell, broody beast. What’s your name?” She is looking at Russel like Garfield looks at lasagna. I can’t fault her though. Still, the thought that she has a better chance at ending up in his bed than me, makes my mouth taste bitter. Or maybe that’s the blood coming from the cut on my inner cheek.
“Russel,” he grunts, just giving her a quick glance before returning his eyes to me.
“Oh,thatRussel.” She makes a knowing, very unsubtle face, which calls Russel’s gaze on her again. A frown on his handsome face.
Fuck!Okay, I might have blurted out how sexy and impossibly gorgeous he is to a bunch of friends. And some strangers might have overheard me mumbling his praises—yes, I talk to myself out loud. Some thoughts need to be heard to really sink in. Anyway, my flirty, puppy drooling behavior around him couldn’t have made clearer how much I want him.Wantedhim. The hit on my head wasn’t that hard to make me forget I’m moving on, and all that.
“You have great taste, darling.” Nell licks her lips while ogling Russel. I can almost see the dirty images shuffling in her head. Then she abruptly turns to me and hugs me. If her huge bosom doesn’t choke me one of these days, her strong flowery perfume will.
“I think you have a chance after all,” she whispers cryptically in my ear, and then adds louder, “I don’t know where you learned to fight like that, but you’re feisty, bitey, and quite scary, darling.”
“The bastard wanted to take and surely hurt my babies. I couldn’t let that happen,” I say less forcefully than I want when she finally lets me go. But my lower lip burns every time I talk, and the bruise near my left eye has its own heartbeat.
“The animals are all fine, thanks to you.” She gives me a sweet, grateful smile. I know she loves them, too. She wouldn’t drive herself crazy finding donors to keep the shelter running if she wasn’t.
“Go home. And rest for at least a week.”
I open my mouth to protest but she cuts me off.
“Garret and Jill will take your shifts. I don’t want to see you till next Monday, got it?” Nell kisses my head and then winces, giving a quick look at my wounds. When she turns and leaves, the paramedic tells me to take some painkillers when I get home. So, gripping my messenger bag, I let go of the blanket, and slide my butt little by little and fucking painfully, to the edge of the ambulance bed. When my feet find the hard asphalt, I push myself up and gasp. The pain from my bruised ribs and knees registers, taking my breath away. I’m suddenly airborne, gasping once again for air, Russel’s arms are holding me bridal style. His hand is careful not to touch my hurting side, the other curled under my knees.
“Easy.” His gravelly rumble makes my insides tingle. But my body is going through too much at the moment, I can’t pay attention to anything but the aches. I let my head fall on his hard pec and even through the shirt’s fabric I can feel the warmth emanating from his body. The light smell of tobacco and honey hit my nostrils, lulling me into a sense of lightly aroused peace. Since I met Russel, I get hard every time I see a jar of honey or Winnie the Pooh—my dick is a real perv.
Nevertheless, the contented sigh escaping my lips is inevitable. It’s the first time I’ve been this close to him, and I want to enjoy it fully since it might be the last. It has to be.
I decided to move on from my stupid crush on him. And it pains me, more than my actual physical pain, to say that Kaiden is the one who convinced me to let it go. He’s a lunatic manwhore, but he has his moments.
Russel reaches his car and effortlessly opens the door before placing me gently on the passenger seat.
“Thank you.” I’d prefer to remain all curled up against him, but that is utterly counterproductive for my seeing-what-the-buffet-out-there-offers new attitude.
He quickly rounds the car and sits next to me.
“Is it okay for your car to stay here for the night?” Russel looks around in search of my supposed car.
“Bicycle. Don’t have a car. Yes. She’s inside the shelter.”
“She?”
“Roberta, my bicycle.” Although I don’t say it, theduhat the end of my reply is clear.
