Page 49 of Wild Heart
“So, things are going well with the big man?” Clay raises a brow and pats over Star’s shaky body. “You sure look good. You’re so pretty with those long eyelashes and bright eyes. You sure are…”
“Clay?” Hayden’s voice is thick and his tone questioning. “What the fuck?”
“He’s talking to the dog, Hayden.” I giggle.
“Holy fuck, Hay. Did you really think I was chatting up your woman?” Clay roars, and Star’s ears dart back.
Hayden looks down at me with a soft crease on his brow and pouty, sumptuous lips. “Sorry, Clay. I’m just…”
“You’re in love, asshole.” Clay smirks, pulls out a syringe and flicks the lid off. “Next you’ll be getting down on one knee and proposing.” He pinches a roll of skin on Stars scruff. “Which, let me add, would be the best news.” The needle jabs the layer of fat, and Star doesn’t even flinch.
“It’s coming, Clay. It’s coming real soon.”
I look up at Hayden’s side profile, shocked and feeling a little hidden in the man-to-man conversation, like I’m intruding on a private moment. “Is that so?” I whisper.
“Here you go. She’s a picture of health. You’ve given her a chance in life, Hayden.”
“It wasn’t just me, this one looked after her too.” Hayden beams. “I need to ask you a favor, Clay. “Will you watch her for a few days?”
“Sure.” Clay shrugs.
I gasp loudly and snatch Star from Clay’s outreached hands. “Why? What’s going on? I don’t want to leave her, Hayden.”
“Yes, you do.” The corner of his mouth hitches up with a lazy, sexy smile. “We’re going away for a few days.” Hayden nods at Clay, and I notice him wink.
“Where to?” I ask, feeling a flutter in my chest.
“We’re going to the coast, so I can see this body in a bikini.” The low rumble of his voice buzzes around my core. “Cocktails, sunshine, sand and sex, lots of hot fucking sex without my dad next door.” He laughs.
“Perfect,” I squeal as we burst into the reception.
Ellie is standing by the door, twiddling her hair with an odd look on her face.
“Everything okay, Ellie?” I ask, looking out of the window to where she’s staring.
“Some guy called in to talk to Clay. When I said he was busy sticking a needle in your dog’sass, he just grunted, and asked if I’d let Clay know that he left a box behind the desk.” Her eyes search the street. “His name was Shane.”
“Was that your buddy, Shane?” I look up at Hayden.
He shrugs. “He’s the only Shane around here.”
“Well, he’s just driven off in that Chevrolet.” Ellie nods her head toward the distant truck. “Would you let Clay know please, Hayden?”
Once Hayden slips in the back, Ellie looks right at me. “Shane… pfff, what a cocky asshole.” She huffs.
“Did he say something to you?”
“No.”
“Omigod, you fancy him.”
“I do not! Just because he’s male, doesn’t mean I fancy him. That guy is absolutely, one hundred percent, not my type.”
Hayden strolls into the waiting room with his shirt tucked in and hat tipped slightly so his eyes gleam when the light hits. “Let’s go get lunch, I'm starving. I asked Clay to join us, but he just took an urgent call about a goat with its head stuck between bars.”
A lazy half smile graces his teasing lips, it’s the kind of smile that lives in my waking dreams. My ribs pinch my heart to let it know this is real, he’s real, our relationship is real. I huddle into his side with Star in my arms, and for the first time, ever, I feel like I belong.
The End
