She’d probably seen worse while doing her job...
He lifted his head when his ankle became warm and wet. The fucking asshole had his leg lifted and was pissing on him. Marking him like a fire hydrant.
The perfect fucking ending to a perfectly fucked-up day.
He should dropkick the motherfucker across the lot.
But what did it matter? Did anything fucking matter anymore?
He dropped his head back into his hands and groaned. When the quiet of the night swallowed him, he realized the dog was no longer yapping.
No, he was suspiciously quiet.
Maybe the fucker was shitting on his boot. Or humping his Harley.
Leaving his head down, he only lifted his eyes so he could sneak a look to see what torture the little bastard had planned for him next.
He was surprised to see the black and tan Chihuahua standing in between his spread boots, one front foot up in the air and his tail still tucked, shaking like a damn leaf in a hurricane.
He should be scared. He was lucky Rook didn’t have his damn gun.
“Asshole,” Rook whispered.
The dog jerked and only did a little “woof” instead of its constant barking.
Keeping his head tucked, Rook slid his right hand down his leg from his knee to his shin. The dog watched it suspiciously, still trembling.
“You bite me, you’re dead, asshole.” He left his hand on his shin and waited.
Within minutes, a little cold, wet nose touched one of his fingers.
Then poked another finger.
Rook held his breath, waiting for the mini-monster to take a big chomp out of his flesh.
A tongue, not teeth, flashed quickly and touched the back of his hand.
Had the asshole licked him?
Was he trying to make peace? Or was the little fucker feeling sorry for Rook because he recognized the fact that Rook’s life sucked more than a homeless rat. “Trust me, from one asshole to another, tonight my life sucks way more than yours.”
He stared at rat dog and rat dog stared back at him, still quivering, but not as badly.
Then the little tongue hit his skin again.
And again.
The tiniest licks had turned into a peace offering.
Rook slowly peeled his hand off his shin and let the dog sniff his palm. Then he stretched out his fingers and used one to scratch under the tiny chin.
The dog tilted his head and Rook swore he heard a groan when he added a couple more fingers to scratch the fucker behind the ears.
Rook automatically jerked his hand back when the dog lunged.
Not to bite him. Fuck no. But to jump into his lap.
As the dog wedged himself more comfortably in the V between Rook’s gut and thigh, then practically burrowed himself under his cut, Rook shook his head. “Guess us assholes gotta stick together, huh?”
The dog curled up and tucked his nose under its own tail and released a little groan.
“Sucks I can’t name you Jet now.”
Chapter Ten
Jet pressed her eye to the peephole to see who the hell was pounding on her door at midnight on her night off.
Anyone related to her and any of her coworkers would know she’d be trying to catch up on sleep. They would call or text, not do the equivalent of a “knock and announce” on her damn door.
There had better be a gas leak, a fire, a herd of rabid jackalopes terrorizing the town or... something.
The pounding continued as she saw the last person she expected filling up the peephole. “Holy shit,” she whispered.
The very last person.
Why the hell was he here?
Well, Jet, guess you’ll get your answer if you open the door and ask him. Duh. She grimaced and glanced down at herself. Shit.
She was wearing a pair of dark blue men’s boxers and a white wife-beater-type tank. No bra, no underwear, no—
The pounding continued.
Shit, shit, shit. “Hold on, I need to get dressed,” she yelled through the door.
When the pounding didn’t cease, she yelled, “You’ll wake up my landlord!”
And worse, get her evicted. Asshole!
“Open the fuckin’ door.”
She gritted her teeth at the growly demand, flipped open the deadbolt and flung open the door. “What?” she asked, making sure her annoyance was crystal fucking clear. She blocked the doorway with her body, one hand on the door frame and one on the door itself.
He didn’t even ask to come in. He just plowed right through her, knocking her out of the way.
“Hey, come on in!” she muttered, flinging an arm out and turning to face him. Crossing her arms over her unrestrained breasts, she at least tried to cover her nipples which were doing their very traitorous best to poke a hole through the thin cotton. Damn it. “Once again, your greeting skills are lacking, Rook. You really need to take an etiquette class.”
He took his sweet ol’ time raking his gaze from her quickly finger-combed hair, down her sleep-deprived face, over her chest, then her belly and hips before his eyes took a looong lazy stroll down her bare legs, finally landing at her feet.