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“Yeah, he does.” Jett handed the pizza box to her. “Can you take care of this?”
She automatically accepted the food. “What are you going to do?”
“Try to bring him in.”
She all but staggered. “To your apartment?”
“Yeah.” When she stood there in what he supposed was silent surprise, Jett asked, “Is that a problem?”
“No! No, of course not.” She looked from him to the dog and back again. That soft expression intensified. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Really wonderful. I just didn’t…”
Didn’t expect him to like animals? Didn’t expect him to be compassionate? Yeah, they had a lot of ground to cover. There was too much that she didn’t know about him. But spring break would help with that.
“Thank you.” She touched his biceps, her fingers light, caressing. “I don’t know any other men who would willingly bring in a stray.” Her hand settled on him and her smile went tremulous.
Jett cocked a brow. Why the hell was she thanking him? He was doing it for the dog. But seeing her like this, so…open to him…he was glad he loved animals so much. “It’s not a problem.”
When Natalie said nothing more, Jett turned back to the dog. “You need a little attention, don’t you, buddy?”
The dog’s ears perked up in hope.
Jett knelt down and the dog, while still cowering, started thumping his tail in excitement. He seemed friendly enough, but Jett didn’t want to take any chances.
He asked Natalie, “Would you mind going in by the dining table, just in case he gets nervous?”
Proving she knew little enough about animals, she said, “You think he might bite?”
“He’s scared, honey, of me and of you. A scared animal sometimes reacts defensively. I can handle it as long as I know you’re not going to get hurt.”
“Oh. All right.” Balancing the pizza box in one hand, she stroked Jett’s hair with a new level of affection. “Be careful, okay?” She gave him a fond smile and then moved away.
Deep inside Jett, something chaotic and dangerous settled into a solid, thumping rhythm. Until that moment, he hadn’t been sure that he’d be able to reach Natalie. Really reach her.
Now he knew he would.
Huh. He would have gotten a dog weeks ago if he’d known that was all it took to get past her barriers.
After watching Natalie retreat to the other side of the room, Jett turned back to the dog. He loved animals and couldn’t abide anyone who didn’t share his compassion. Nice to know that Natalie felt the same way.
Holding out a hand, Jett said, “Good boy.”
The dog whined in exultant hope and began army-crawling on his belly a few inches closer. Though Jett laughed at the dog’s antics, his heart nearly broke. The little fellow badly wanted the attention, but he was afraid to trust it.
Sort of like Natalie.
But in the end, Jett knew that his will would win over them both.
“Natalie, how about grabbing some lunch meat out of my fridge? I think a little food will help earn his trust.”
Within seconds she was behind him with not only the packaged meat but a dish of water, too. The dog’s ears shot up and his nose quivered as he sniffed the air.
“Thanks. You can set the water inside the door there.”
After Natalie had backed up again, Jett tossed a slice of meat to the dog. It landed right under his chin, and still he watched Jett warily as he bent to snatch up the food then wolfed it down in one gulp. The pup sat up straighter, anxious for more.
“You liked that, did you?” Grinning, Jett tossed the next piece a little closer to his door, and the next closer still. Making a trail that led into his apartment, he baited the dog and then waited.
As if starved, the dog chowed down on his way in. Jett could see his ribs sticking out; the thinness of the young dog made his paws look that much bigger.
Sitting down on his ass, Jett again held out a hand. Speaking in an even tone, he said, “Now that you’ve eaten all my deli meat, how about letting me pet you?”
Tail going like crazy, the little dog sniffed his hand, licked his fingers and came in close to devour the rest of the lunch meat. Jett emptied the entire package. The dog was too busy inhaling the food to object as Jett stroked him along his back.
After the dog finished it all, he sat back in expectation.
Jett shook his head while cautiously scratching near the dog’s left ear. “You’re a little glutton, aren’t you? Well, that’s all there is for now. I don’t want you barfing all over my floors.” He nudged the water bowl closer. “Come get a drink while we let that settle, and then we’ll see how you do.”
As Jett spoke, the dog’s ears twitched this way and that. He did investigate the water and made a sloppy mess lapping it up.
When Jett reached out to pet him again, he didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he was overjoyed by the sign of acceptance.
Natalie came closer. “He’s so adorable, isn’t he?”
“If you say so.” Mostly floppy ears had tinges of white on the tips. A marbling of white ran down the oversized straight nose, over his chin and throat, and blossomed out in a diamond pattern on his chest. Two paws were white, and the long tail ended with a white streak.
Jett stroked the dog and although he could feel his bones, he didn’t find any burrs or noticeable injuries. “He needs a bath, a brushing and a lot more food.”
“And he needs someone to love him.” Kneeling down, Natalie reached out for the dog.
Surprised by the quaver in her voice, Jett bent to see her face. Dampness spiked her lashes and left her eyes glistening. Feeling very indulgent, he asked, “Hey, are you crying?”
She sniffed and shook her head. “No.”
Yes she was, and the purely female reaction had a dual assault on his senses. Her tenderness made him feel like the macho protector; she was so quintessentially female that it stirred him on a basic level. Another part of him ached at seeing her upset, because he suspected the reason.
In so many ways Natalie was an enigma, independent and forceful one minute, vulnerable and achingly sweet the next.
She wanted acceptance, but was afraid to trust—much like the abandoned animal.
Seeing her distress left an ache in his chest. “Ah, baby, he’ll be okay.”
Her smile wobbled. “Thanks to you.”
To shore up that statement, the dog curled up next to Jett. He rested his head on Jett’s thigh and let out a lusty sigh.
Natalie reached over to rub his ear. “Poor little guy is exhausted.”
Rather than make a big deal out of her teary-eyed emotion, Jett tried to lighten her mood. “I like his crossed eyes.”
Natalie gave a watery laugh. “They’re not really crossed. Just close together. And with his nose so big…” When she curled her fingers under the dog’s chin, he closed his eyes in bliss.
Making up his mind, Jett said, “You know what? I think I’ll keep him.”
Excitement brightened her eyes more than the tears had. “Keep him? Seriously?”
Jett rolled one shoulder. “Sure, why not? It’s pretty obvious that he’s a stray. And I don’t have a dog, so…” He said again, “Why not?”
She hurriedly settled herself cross-legged and leaned into his side. Smiling at the dog, continuing to stroke his ears, his neck, she admitted, “I’ve never had a pet.”
“Why not?” Growing up, he and his sisters had always had animals. They’d become members of the family, living into old age with a lot of love and affection.
Looking wistful Natalie shook her head. “Dad didn’t allow them when we were younger, and since I’ve been on my own, I figured I wasn’t home enough to give a pet the care and attention it would need.” She fidgeted, adding, “Besides, I’m not sure I trust myself to know what to do since I’ve never had any experience with animals. What if I did something wrong?”
“You wouldn’t.” Jett instinctively knew that Natalie would do anything and everything necessary to protect those dependent on her, whether it be a pet…or a child.
Thinking of her with a kid did something funny to him, something disconcerting because it was so pleasing.
“Jett?”
His right eye flinched. Hell, he’d barely gotten her to agree to see him out of bed and already his mind had gotten way off track.
“Caring is the biggest part of the job.” He put his hand over hers on the dog’s nape. “Because you care, you’d make sure he was fed and clean and healthy, and that he got exercise. That he felt secure. That’s all there is to it.”
Beneath his hand, hers trembled. She skirted his gaze. “You have more faith in me than I do.”
He released her hand to catch her chin, bringing her face around to his. “I’m a damn good judge of character.” And Natalie Alexander was golden, through and through.
“That’s why you got clocked with a keyboard by a female spy?”
Jett grabbed his chest, as if she’d dealt a lethal blow. Then he laughed and lifted both eyebrows. “That time doesn’t count because it wasn’t her character I paid attention to.”
Natalie shoved him with her shoulder, but her mouth twisted with a repressed laugh. “Jerk.”
“You brought it back up.” He smiled with her. “You’d be a great pet owner, Natalie. Take my word for it.”
“Thanks. But given my lack of experience, I don’t think I’ll test the validity of that on some poor dog.”
Jett could see her yearning, how badly she wanted to believe him. In the normal scheme of things, Natalie was such a confident woman. Seeing her like this twisted him up inside.
He conspired a swift solution that worked twofold; he could give Natalie a chance to accustom herself to the responsibilities of a dog, and at the same time he’d be building one more bond between them. “We’ll share him, okay?”
She went still then jerked toward him, her face flushing with warmth. “Share him?”
“Sure.” Most would consider that a chore, but Natalie acted as though he’d just given her an amazing gift. Her enthusiasm made him want her. Again.
Of course, he always wanted her. The woman could sneeze and it felt like a come-on to him.
Showing great restraint, he held himself in check.
Puzzling over his offer, she asked, “How would that work?”
“We both have full-time jobs, but between us he’ll get plenty of attention. That is, if you’re sure that you don’t mind helping.”
She looked thrilled. “I love the idea.” She put her arms around Jett and squeezed him tight. “Thank you!”
The dog caught on to her excitement and jumped up. With his tail going like crazy, he yapped, turned a circle—and lifted his leg to pee.
With a yelp, Natalie lurched back out of range, but Jett wasn’t quite so lucky. The bottom of his jeans got sprinkled.
He looked at Natalie’s face and knew she was afraid of how he might react. Did she expect anger? Outrage? Abuse against the poor animal for getting excited?
He’d have his work cut out for him, winning her trust.
Jett rubbed the dog’s ear. Deadpan, he said to Natalie, “This might be a good time to mention that there could be some messes until he gets trained.”
Relief left her giggling. One hand over her mouth, she scrambled to her feet and headed into the kitchen for paper towels. “He can stay at my place sometimes?”
Damn, but she kept his emotions in turmoil. How the hell could she be so killer-sexy and still be so damned sweet?
“If you don’t mind the occasional accident.” Maybe with the dog as an incentive, she’d break down and spend the night with him instead of scuttling back to her own apartment even before their breathing had quieted.
Usually he avoided the commitment implicit in spending the night together, but the idea of holding Natalie all night, waking with her in the morning, appealed to him.
Jett tried to take the towels from her so he could clean up the dog’s accident himself, but Natalie bent to the task without hesitation. Her hair fell forward, hiding her face, but he knew she was smiling.
Staring down at her, Jett noted the delicate line of her spine, the flare of her hips and her utter lack of squeamishness. He marveled that she’d come from an entitled background.
Not once had he ever seen her put her nose up at anyone. She didn’t shy away from hard work. She drove a modest car and dressed conservatively, both in style and cost. She laughed easily, spoke her mind and lived independently of her wealthy father.
In no way did she act like one of the moneyed elite. His family would adore her.
Her family, he assumed, would disdain him. Not that he gave a damn what they thought.
As Natalie threw away the paper towels and washed her hands, Jett picked up the pup so it wouldn’t get excited and make more of a mess. He got a big licking-kiss for his trouble.
“That’s what we should name you,” he told the dog as he wiped his face on a shoulder.
“What?” Natalie asked when she returned.
“Trouble.”
She laughed and cuddled close to him to pet the dog. “No way can you saddle such a sweet little dog with that name.”
“Sweet, huh? I need to change my jeans, woman. Nothing sweet in that.”
Twin dimples showed in her cheeks as she bit back a big grin. “He just lost control, that’s all.” And then to the dog, “Didn’t you, baby?”
The dog wriggled with happiness, and Jett tucked him under his arm for a better grip.
