Page 50 of How to Trust a Hellhound
It was Wilder’s turn to sigh, although he had a fond smile on his face. “Mei Ume…”
I leaned my head into his chest. “No, I don’t want to talk about all the super insane stuff that happened last night, because I have work today. And I really just want to sit down and have a nice breakfast with my boyfriend.”
I blushed at the last part, glad Wilder couldn’t see my face since I was cuddled into his shirt. It felt weird but really good to call him my boyfriend, and I hoped that he was okay with it.
He gave me a squeeze—that seemed to be his way to reassure me, and it really did work—and kissed the top of my head. “Ok. Let’s have breakfast, then.”
So we did. More of Aiden’s baked goods, and coffee that was made just the way I liked it. We chatted about our plans for the day, and Wilder actually seemed interested in hearing about my work, which was definitely a first. Seb and Toby always listened to me talk about what I did, but I knew their eyes sort of glazed over. And Rick… Well, he used to cut me off when I started talking about work.
But Wilder listened, asked questions, and laughed when I told him about the client who didn’t realize there wasa difference between paying sales tax and state and federal taxes. The guy had been shocked, and more than a little confused, when I tried explaining it all to him. Some people had great products and were fantastic at customer service, but they were financially clueless. You kind of needed to be savvy in everything to run a small business, or you needed to hire someone to fill in the gaps. Which was where I came in.
“You help people,” Wilder stated as we cleaned up breakfast. “You allow them to achieve their dreams with less stress in their lives.”
I laughed a little. “I don’t know if I would go that far. I’m just a finance guy.”
Wilder walked over and put his hand on mine. “Don’t sell yourself short, Josh. You’re smart and capable, and people depend on you. Some of these small businesses wouldn’t have survived without your help. You help people live their dreams. Don’t ever underestimate that.”
I mumbled a bit, but Wilder swooped in and kissed me, cutting off any protest to what he’d said. The kiss was scorching and passionate, and Wilder completely took control of my mouth, licking and nibbling and turning me into jelly in his arms.
He gentled it, though, bringing me down easily. It was amazing how he knew how to do that. He ended with a light peck to my lips.
“You’re beautiful, Mei Ume. Never underestimate your worth. I’ll bring dinner over later? Or would you like to go out?” he asked.
“Do you want me to cook?” I asked. “I’m not bad in the kitchen, and I’d like to cook for you.”
Wilder smiled. “Perfect. I look forward to it.”
With that, he kissed me again and took his leave. I sat down at my computer, ready to log in to work on some client’s books.
For the first time in a long time, I couldn’t wait until the work day was over.
Chapter 18
Wilder
Iheaded over to Liam’s place after leaving Josh. It was tempting to just hang out and watch him work, but I wasn’t sure of his comfort level. I would’ve moved in with him, except yesterday’s conversation over rent made me think that he would’ve thought it was “too soon.”
If I stayed every night but kept my things somewhere else, that didn’t count as moving in, right?
I wasn’t sure why it was too soon. We’d been courting since Josh broke up with Rick, and we were obviously compatible in all ways, from dealing with my pack of rowdy boys to conversations to sex. Josh knew all about hellhounds now, as well.
Well, that might’ve been a bit of an issue. I wasn’t sure how much he had really processed all of that. Giving him time with it was the least I could do. I didn’t think he really had an issue with the fact that I was a hellhound. I think his issue came more out of the fact that supernatural things existed in the first place.
I pondered that as I walked into Liam’s house, heading to his office. Quinton was at work, so it was just Liam, and he was, as usual, sitting in front of his monitors.
“We might have a problem,” Liam commented, not even looking up.
I sat in the vacant seat next to him and raised my eyebrows. I hoped it wasn’t too technical of a problem—when Liam got started on computer talk, he tended to lose me completely. His affinity for technology was amazing.
“So… Rick is causing a bit of trouble,” Liam muttered.
I crossed my arms. “Hmm. How interesting. Just a guess here, but perhaps it has something to do with two hellhounds who went over and threatened him.”
“Yeah, I know. We shouldn’t have done that. But Quinton was all fired up, and Atlas suggested it, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Liam shrugged.
“What’s Rick doing?” I asked.
“Posting about supernatural creatures all over the freaking place. All his socials had a description of what happened, but I was able to take those down pretty quickly for ‘violating community standards.’” Liam snorted. It was apparently very easy to disrupt someone’s social media posting.
