No one else mattered as my entire attention fell on Tess and the tiny puppy watching me with trusting black eyes. A shaggy version of a French bulldog with an upturned button nose and inquisitive ears never broke eye contact.
Wait…she was in my office. I’d had countless dealings over the past few months. Some I wanted her to know about and others I didn’t.
Keeping my voice monotone, I demanded, “What did you see? When you were at work?”
“The shelters.”
My jaw tensed. So she had seen that. What about the other charity I’d recently set up?
I stepped slowly toward her, eyeing the mutt.
If she’d seen the animal charity, she might’ve seen the others. The paperwork had been side by side until I handed the finalizing to Frederick.
Glancing at my longtime friend and colleague, I raised an eyebrow. I didn’t know what I asked Frederick, and I didn’t know what his half-shaken head reply meant. Either way, Tess was far too fucking curious for her own good.
Couldn’t I have one secret that she wasn’t aware of? One hidden desire she didn’t need to parade into her light and make me face when I wasn’t ready?
Merde! Shit!
Suzette sidestepped me, returning to her place beside Franco. The moment she left, I strode forward and cupped Tess’s cheek, doing my best to ignore the wriggling fur ball in her arms. “You didn’t have to snoop, esclave. Once the organisation was complete, I would’ve told you.”
She smiled, not caring in the slightest I’d kept it from her. Mainly because she knew I spoke the truth. The minute it was a done deal and something I could be proud of rather than worry, I would’ve told her. I might not have told her about the other charity for some time—giving myself the space to accept what I’d become to suspect—but she had no reason to doubt me. I’d never kept secrets from her…until recently.
“I know, Q. Don’t worry about that. I just—I saw the forms on your desk and made a decision. I—I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.” My hand fell from her cheek, hovering over the soft head of the wriggling black puppy. “However, just because I’ve donated a considerable sum to animal cruelty prevention and shelters around the world doesn’t mean I understand why there’s a dog in your arms.”
Tess smiled, doting on the small fluff bag. “When I saw the forms, I googled the address of one of the closest shelters. I wanted to see for myself and be a part of it, if you’d let me. When I arrived and asked for a tour, a dog was delivered after being rescued from an abusive asshole.”
Her eyes melted into blue sorrow. “Q…the poor thing was howling and in pain. So afraid. The vet tried to tend to her—give her medicine and show her she’d be cared for, but all I could see when I looked at that poor creature with cuts and bruises and terror in her gaze was me. You rescued me from the same sort of environment. Without you, I could’ve ended up belonging to some bastard who would’ve done to me what was done to that poor dog.”
She nuzzled her face into the scruff of the animal. “I just couldn’t leave her there. The cages at the shelter were fine—she would've had a bed and food and grass to stretch her legs—but Q…I just, I fell in love with her.”
Fuck.
The beast inside me rolled onto its back, begging for the same scratch and loving attention Tess doted on the canine. How could I say no to that? How could I ever say no to anything she wanted?
Because she was right.
She could’ve been any number of unlucky slaves untreasured by devils of the world. It was why I did what I did and hunted rapists and traffickers, rehabilitated victims and abused, and now, extended my reach into the animal kingdom because they were the ones with such a raw fucking deal.
All they wanted was a home and a family.
And a lot of them were either loveless or suffered maltreatment.
I couldn’t stand by and let that happen. Neither could Tess. And that made me love her so goddamn much.
I sucked in a breath, my arms aching to grab her in the largest hug. “You did the right thing.”
Relief sparked in her eyes. “Really? Oh, thank God.” Raising the puppy, she added, “I brought the cutest one…hoping he’d sway you.”
My eyes narrowed. “Wait, cutest one? Where’s the other dog you mentioned? Why not take the abused one? Puppies will be easier to rehome than an elderly life-broken bitch.”
Tess bit her lip, glancing at Suzette across the room. “I, eh…I did take the mother. I—you have to understand, Q. They’re family. I couldn’t separate family. How cruel would that be?”
My heart raced, imagining my chateau not only overrun by recovering slaves, but also a first-class kennel to every maltreated animal in France. “What do you mean?”
Tess deliberately broke eye contact, kissing the puppy’s wrinkly forehead. “I took the mum and her three puppies. They’re at home. I thought it would be best to introduce you one at a time.”
What the fuck?
My lips twitched with annoyance and affection. “And what if I’m allergic to dogs or don’t want a pack running through my house?”
“Too bad.”
“Too bad?”
Tess nodded.
My hand itched to spank her for such gall.
“They’re ours now. They don’t have names yet, but the mum is the sweetest soul, and her pups will grow up to know what it’s like to be loved with their family rather than be torn apart and sent to people they don’t know.”