Top Dog

It was nice, waking up to a warm, soft woman.

It had been years since I’d laid with anyone. Not since my divorce. My ex and I had had issues from the very beginning; Issues I thought commitment and marriage would fix. But all she was after was my money, and she walked away with everything she could. The house. The cars. Half my bank account and thousands of dollars’ worth of alimony for half the time we were fucking married. She drained me, emotionally and monetarily, and it pushed me away from everyone.

I had trust issues after her. I questioned everyone I came into contact with. My business suffered because of it, so I appointed someone to take over in my absence. I governed my business from afar and moved to the mountains to rid that bitch from my system.

I still had trust issues to this day. It was why I never went into town. It took mounds of vetting to hire Tanya to help take care of Lanie when she came to stay with me. But with Amanda, it was different. I instinctively felt I could trust her. Not only that, I felt like I wanted to trust her. Like I wanted to open up to her. There was something about her that tugged at a part of me that had been dead for so long.

I wanted to trust her. I wanted to tell her everything. About my business. About my divorce. About my shitty childhood being shifted from one foster home to the next, with only my sister and the clothes on my back. Every time we moved, I left more and more of myself in the past. That was where I had met my ex.

She had been my rock as I jumped from home to home, and then she shattered my world the day she left.

“Morning.”

Amanda’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as I looked down at her and smiled.

“Morning, beautiful,” I said.

She blushed at my comment, and it tugged a grin across my cheeks. I looked down at her shoulder and saw the angry mark I’d left behind. I could clearly see my teeth imprinted into her skin. Amanda looked back at it and giggled, turning herself into me before she nuzzled up underneath my chin.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Coming right now.”

I slid from the bed and pulled on some pants. Amanda’s hair was tousled against the pillow as she wrapped herself up in my sheet. She looked good in my bed, all tangled up and spread for me.

If I hadn’t been so hungry for food, I would’ve made her my breakfast.

I padded my way out to the kitchen and started making coffee. Amanda emerged a few minutes later, her beautiful body completely clothed. That fucking sweater of hers was falling off her shoulder, showing me the mark I’d left on her so people would know not to fuck with her. She was mine. Period.

Her eyes followed my line of sight to the bruise, and she turned bright pink.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

“Not really. Looks kind of sexy, though,” she said.

I smirked as I poured her a mug of coffee.

I heard something vibrating before Amanda squeaked. I walked her coffee over to her at the table as she pulled out her phone. She smiled at me and brought the mug to her lips, sighing over the warmth before she took a sip of it.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered.

I stayed in the kitchen to give her the space she needed to take her phone call.

Whoever it was, it was someone who made her happy. I could hear her giggling and getting excited, trying to keep her voice down since Lanie was still sleeping. I heard something akin to clapping taking place before she said goodbye, then I went to sit down across from her as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

“Good news?” I asked.

“That was my friend, Sarah. She didn’t know if she was going to be able to fly in this week because of work, but she can! She gets in this afternoon.”

“Will you still be able to watch Lanie tomorrow?” I asked.

“Oh, definitely. She’s not staying with me. She’s too scared of the cabin right now. She’ll be in a hotel at the bottom of the mountain.”

“What’s wrong with your cabin?” I asked.

I watched her face falter just a bit before she brushed off the question.

“It’s fine. She’s just a little high maintenance . But she’s bringing all my art stuff with her, which is exciting because I have so many ideas running through my head from the hike.”