Dirty Addiction (Dirty 2)

“You sure about that? Because your body is telling me differently.”

I glare at him. “We are done.”

He reaches for the gate and opens it, thinking now is his opportunity to walk inside and catch me off guard. I’m sure he thinks, if he can get close enough where I can smell his cologne again, close enough that I can see his charming dimples, close enough that I can hear his beating heart, then I’ll change my mind. I’ll just fall back into his arms again, just like we were back on the beach in our fantasy world. That bubble burst the second he sent me the text message with the big-tits woman.

“Don’t take another step forward!” I shout.

He doesn’t listen. I release Grumpy and release the rest of the dogs with a look. I just wish, for once, they were actually capable of attacking a man when I needed them to. Instead, they run over and attack him all right. Just with kisses and hugs and tail wags.

But it gets the job done. He can’t move, and I take the opportunity to run inside. I slam the door shut and lock it tightly behind me as I lean against the door. Can this day get any worse?

10

Brody

God, how I’ve missed her.

I’ve missed her sass.

I’ve missed her wit.

I’ve missed her charm.

Her smile, body, intelligence, fierceness. Everything. I’ve missed everything.

Except, now, she hates my guts. I knew sending her that text message would bite me in the ass one day.

I look down at the dogs that are jumping all over me. Slobbering and getting hair all over my suit. I’m not a dog person or an animal person of any kind really. I could be, I guess. But I’ve never spent any time with them or thought I needed to have an animal in my life. I prefer my alone time in peace rather than having to take care of another living thing.

So, I have no idea how to get them to stop. I slowly back up toward the gate and manage to wiggle out without letting the beasts loose.

I take a deep breath as I walk back to the car I rented and move on to plan B. She clearly isn’t happy to see me, but I do know her weaknesses, what she won’t turn down.

I open the back door and pull out the bottle of tequila and Chinese takeout. I put on my most charming grin as I walk back to her front door and knock loudly.

I wait, knowing that she’s going to be stubborn and not want to open the door. But a few minutes pass, and she slowly relents, coming to the door.

“I brought food and tequila because I’m sure you don’t have any food in the house,” I say even though I don’t know if that’s true. I just know that she cares about her animals more than she does herself. That’s clear from where I sat in my car, watching her before I got out.

I stare at her more closely, getting a good look at the changes since the last time I saw her months ago. Her hair is pulled back, but it no longer has the blue streaks that ran through her hair before. Her hair is no longer jet-black either; it’s more a medium brown. Most of her piercings are no longer covering her face. The tattoos are hidden by her long sleeves underneath her scrubs even though it’s the middle of summer.

Her eyes are what give me the most concern though. People change their appearance. Maybe she was going through a rebel phase that she’s trying to get past now. But her eyes are expelling a sadness that I’ve never seen before. Maybe this is the same sadness that she was running from on vacation. Whatever is in her eyes is what she needed me to fuck away and make her forget. Now that I’m gone, the reality of that pain is back.

She opens the door just a little and snatches the food and alcohol out of my hand. Then, she slams

the door in my face before I have a chance to push my way inside. Not that I would. I like control, but I would never make her feel unsafe.

I sigh. On to plan C. I walk back to my car and drive the half-mile back to the clinic where my new favorite vet tech, Alicia, is.

“No luck, huh?” she asks when I step back inside.

“Nope, but I have a plan C. And, if that doesn’t work, I’ll try plan D and so on.”

She smiles. “And you want my help?”

I nod.

“I shouldn’t help you, but Skye doesn’t need to be alone tonight. She could use some company even if it’s bad company.”