Page 2 of Lips On My Heart

A boulder comes into view up ahead and it’s the only place we can escape to before dog is on us. As soon as I’m close enough, I use the hand not wrapped around her perfect petite body to hoist us both up on the rock.

The dog comes charging at us, jumps, but falls short. Doesn’t stop him from trying again, barking and bouncing around the rock like he’s on a fucking pogo stick. It’s the reason I haven’t set down the woman still hanging over my shoulder.

“Someone help meeeee!” She pounds on my ass with her fists. I know she’s hitting me with all her might, but I honestly can’t feel a thing; my body is conditioned to handle anything thrown at it.

“Shh,” I coo, pulling her down my body and holding her close to my heaving chest, keeping her far away from the devil who circles in bounds around the boulder. I pull out her earbuds for her to hear me better. “You’re safe, sweetheart.”

She shoves against me. “What the hell is wrong with you, you goddamn giant!” she shouts, looking up at me with coastal blue eyes.Fucking stunning.

Confused by her anger, I frown but don’t let go. She’s tiny—her head barely coming to my chest, which makes me imagine how fun it would be to throw her around on a bed. My cock chooses this inopportune moment to twitch in agreement while pressed against her stomach. This makes her go into full-on panic mode, pushing against me to wiggle free.

“Easy,” I chide, holding tightly to her lush body. I can’t risk her falling into the path of the killer dog.

“Let go of me! You sick twisted motherfucker! You keep your dick in your pants or I’ll fucking bite it off, I swear to God.”

Bite my penis off? Jeeze.

Clearly, she’s freaked out and I need to reassure her, but I can’t help a chuckle from escaping me. This pixie has a mouth on her, and damn if it’s not the sexiest thing ever.

“Look, calm down. I’m not going to touch you,” I say, fighting a smile.

“Stop laughing at me!” she seethes. I laugh again. Her temper is too damn cute, exactly like her.

“Let me go,” she growls.

My eyes track the dog circling us like a shark. “Not a chance in hell.”

“Seriously, let me go, now!” she demands.

“And watch that thing rip you to shreds?” I point at the dog. “The beast was chasing you, and it would have been on your back if I hadn’t swept you up and climbed both our asses here.”

My beautiful pixie stops hitting my chest and looks at me with her eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline. “You thought I was in danger?” she asks, like I’m ridiculous.

“It was going to maul you,” I say firmly, wrapping my arms tighter around her slender frame to hold her closer.Fuck, she fits perfectly.

She shakes her head. Giggles erupt from her before she looks at the dog. “Hades, silent!”

The fucking dog stops barking.

“Hades, sit.”

The dog sits back on its haunches, waiting patiently for her to give the next command.

What. The. Fuck.

The woman turns her elfin face back to me with the most beautiful smile, showing perfect pearly teeth.

Well, I’ll be damned. I just saved a woman who didn’t need saving.

“The hellhound is your dog?” I question, still refusing to release her.

“He’s not a hellhound. He’s a Cane Corso, and he’s my baby,” she says defensively.

I look from her to the giant dog—whose massive tongue is hanging out, making him look like he’s smiling—and back to her again. “If he’s your dog, why don’t you have him on a leash? And why was he running you down?”

She sighs. “Everywhere I go with him, he needs to be on a damn leash. Some places make me muzzle him because of his breed. But he’s a good boy—all bark and no bite. Rolls over on his belly to children, for crying out loud. This is the one place I let him run loose where he goes unnoticed. He was sniffing trees, fell behind, and was trying to catch up to me. Hades only freaked out when he saw you grab me and run.”

I roll my eyes. “You named your hellhound after the god of the underworld.”

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