Pretend You're Mine (The Protectors 12.50)

Chapter 1

Devon

“Why are you being such a little bitch about this, Seb?”

I paused what I was doing as the angry voice drifted over the back fence. My dog, Kirby, began whining nervously as he paced back and forth in front of the tall, rickety panels.

“Sebastian,” I heard a second voice say quietly… too quietly.

“Do you have any idea how bad you’re going to make me look if you back out now?”

“I can write a check instead—”

“A check? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the talent, Seb! The only reason most of those people are going tonight is because they were promised a private performance by the great Sebastian DeVille.” The last part of the statement was said with a sneer, then the asshole attached to the nasty voice added, “They don’t know what a spineless whiner you are. You need to just get over yourself, Seb.”

“Rick—” the quiet voice that I assumed belonged to the Sebastian guy began to say, but he was rudely cut off once again. By that point, I’d already moved closer to the six-foot fence, though I had to crouch down a little so my head wouldn’t be seen from the other side.

“Enough,” Asshole snapped. “Don’t push me on this, Seb. I won’t be made a fool of.”

There was a beat of silence and I practically held my breath as I waited to hear what Sebastian would say in response. Kirby came up to seek out the comfort of my hands. I’d gotten the little mixed-breed rescue only a few months earlier and while he was settling in well, raised voices and loud noises were among the many things that still made him anxious.

“Will he be there with you?”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Asshole snapped. My blood began to boil in my veins.

“Okay, buddy, I need your help,” I whispered to Kirby. The little dog beat his curly tail on the ground, then jumped up to lick my face. “Just be you,” I said to him as I reached for the bottom part of the fence. Most of the wood panels had rotted through their fastenings on the lower part, so it was easy to make a small opening for Kirby. “I’m right behind you,” I said to the dog.

I smiled when Kirby gave me another sloppy kiss, then wiggled through the fence. I was on my feet a second later and striding toward the gate about halfway down the yard. Since the fence was on my property, the latch for the gate was on my side and I hadn’t been good about keeping it locked since the house next door had been vacant for a while.

“Are you serious right now?” Asshole yelled. “Why do you always obsess over shit that doesn’t matter? I explained why I never told you about Darren. I swear, you’re just fucking like him. Always complaining when things don’t go your way—”

Kirby’s well-timed bark cut off the man’s tirade.

Good boy, Kirby.

“What the hell?” Asshole said just as the quiet voice murmured, “Hey, little one, where’d you come from?”

A weird shiver ran over me at the lyrical quality of the man’s voice.

Another bark reminded me that my dog was waiting for me to do my part.

“Kirby,” I called in my best concerned voice. “Kirby, where are you, buddy?”

“He’s here!” I heard the yummy voice call back. “Next door.”

I waited a beat, then opened the fence door and hurried through it like I was in a complete panic. “Oh thank—”

My words got caught in my throat as my eyes settled on the man holding my dog.

“God,” I blurted as I stopped just a few feet from the gorgeous specimen cuddling a very content-looking Kirby in his arms. My dog was licking the man’s cheek.

“He’s okay. I think he managed to sneak through the fence,” the guy said as he looked at me nervously. I felt something stir in my belly when his eyes met mine.

He was beautiful.

Never in my life would I have thought I’d use that word to describe another guy, but nothing else fit. He was several inches shorter than me and not anywhere near as heavily built. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t muscled. That was pretty clear from the skin-tight yoga-style pants he was wearing. His leg muscles were incredibly toned and shapely, giving his lean body plenty of definition. He was wearing some kind of loose-fitting tank top so I could see that his upper half was just as fit as his lower half. His skin was pale and flawless… I didn’t even see a stray body hair or bit of facial scruff on him. His big, dark green eyes were framed by thick black lashes that contrasted heavily against his light skin. There was a tiny hoop earring in his right ear and his black hair was cropped short.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I managed to get out, though for some reason, I was having trouble pulling my eyes from his. “I should really get that fence fixed.”