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I stop, a shiver moving up my spine when I see that Chipper has stopped and turned to face the darkness.
“What is it, boy?” I whisper.
He bares his teeth at a nearby alleyway and lets out a growl far deeper than his size would suggest. I bend down and run my hand across his head, tickling in the way that normally calms him. But his growls only get deeper and longer.
“What is it?” I say, heart hammering now, every instinct I have roaring at me to get the hell out of here.
But where?
Just as I’m bending down to scoop Chipper up – I’ll feel safer with him cradled to my chest – a man steps from the shadows.
A scream punches from my throat against my will, filling the night air.
And then I feel a strange whirring inside of me, deep inside of me, a place I’ve never felt anything before, let along this primal pulsing captivation.
The man is six and a half feet tall, I’d guess, with eyes so blue they seem to emit their own light. His face is strong and yet somehow sophisticated at the same time, clean-shaven with a jawline that could cut diamonds. His hair is silver and swept back, and his body bulges muscularly at the seams of his tight-fitting gray suit. He wears a smirk as he steps forward.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” the man says, his voice deep and shaky, as though he’s trying not to let out a carnal roar. He seems angry. No, enraged. But why? “Or him.”
Chipper squirms and growls in my arms, trying to leap down so that he can sprint at this suited man in the dark.
“Sneaking around in alleyways is a weird way not to scare somebody, don’t you think?” I snap.
His smirk twitches and his eyes glimmer. “Fair point,” he says. “May I?”
“May you what?”
He raises his hand, stepping forward slowly.
“What, Chipper?” I say. “You can clearly see he’s going crazy, can’t you? He might bite.”
He laughs grimly. “I’ve got no problem with biting.”
“Well, that’s pretty weird,” I say, heart still hammering in my ears.
But there’s something about this man, about the way he looks at me. It’s probably the last thing that should be on my mind, but when I stare at him I feel like my freaking womb or something is screaming at me to leap at him, to wrap my legs around him and grind against him. I’ve never done anything that forward, ever. Nor would I. And yet the confusing urge is there.
“Because most people have a problem with biting,” I whisper, staring, enthralled, as he steps closer and closer.
“It’s okay, boy,” the man says quietly, so close now he could attack me if he wanted to. He reaches down and softly strokes Chipper, smoothing his ears. “I’m not going to hurt her. It’s okay. I know. But you don’t have to fight now. You’re safe. You’re safe.”
Emotion whelms in me when Chipper relaxes in my arms, and then, unbelievably, starts to lap at the man’s hand. I can’t help it. I let out a giggle and shake my head in disbelief.
“He’s not normally friendly with strangers,” I mutter. “Especially strangers in the freaking dark.”
The man nods shortly. “I’ve had many dogs in my time,” he says. “They are good judges of people. I’m Torsten.”
“Wow, cool name,” I say, and then immediately feel like the biggest doofus in the world.
Cool name, strange man who just emerged from an alleyway.
“I’m Tammy,” I mutter, and then bring some sassiness back into my voice. “But honestly I don’t know why we’re even having this conversation. I mean, you’d agree it’s a bit weird, right, Torsten?”
“Perhaps,” he says. “But I’ve never been overly concerned with what people perceive to be normal. Are you lost, Tammy?”
“Not lost,” I say. “Just … taking my time to get to my destination.”
He laughs, low, husky. “That sounds like you’re lost.”
“Well, you might want to fix your ears then.”
“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with my ears, believe me.”
“What, you’ve got super hearing, do you?” I fire.
“Something like that,” he says quietly. His whole body seems to strain against his suit as he stares at me, the azure fire of his eyes blazing. “You’re right to be scared, though. Even in this part of the city, it isn’t safe for a lady to be alone at night.”
“Wow, isn’t that just very old fashioned?” I say.
His smirk widens. For a second, I think I see two extremely sharp teeth in his mouth, wolf’s teeth. But then he closes his lips a little and I’m left wondering if it’s just Halloween making me crazy.
“Old fashioned, yes,” he says. “I suppose I am a little. But it’s also the truth. Let me give you a ride home.”
“Um, what?” I say, laughing. “So let me get this straight. You swagger out of an alleyway, give Chipper a little massage, and now I’m supposed to jump in your car and trust that you’re not some serial killer psychopath.”
