Doggy Tales

Doggy Style

Genna Pangborn sat three rows back from the defense table and tried not to cry. She watched as Lester leaned in to his attorney and whispered. The attorney nodded and scribbled something on his yellow legal pad.

How did she get to this point? Her family had long since disowned her. If Lester went to prison, she was alone.

Well, except for the supposed “support network” Lester insisted would care for her in the “unlikely event” he was convicted.

It was her own fault for trusting him in the first place. Four years later, and she had no money of her own, nothing to her name except her clothes and her car, and Lester never failed to remind her it was his money that bought everything.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

She never met any of his “associates.” She almost pictured the air quotes around those euphemistic expressions from Lester’s lexicon. Bottom line, she knew damn well what he was, but her voluntary ignorance saved her from going to jail with him. Or worse.

He was a hit man, and she was his goomah. Technically. Although since they weren’t married, and she only lived with him, that supposedly elevated her in status to lower than wife but higher than whore.

She’d been looking for a way to escape when this happened. Dumb shit got himself, and his license plate, caught on security video when he gunned down his mark. The police banged on their door at three o’clock the next morning and hauled him off in handcuffs.

Genna had spent the next several hours vacillating between hysterical laughter and hysterical tears. Her prayers, answered? Or would he skate on the charges?

Genna tried to scan the courtroom without being obvious. She didn’t see anyone that fit the Sopranos or Godfather stereotypes. The only one wearing pinstripes was the State Attorney.

Briefly, she locked gazes with one man, very handsome, on the far side of the courtroom, near the jury box. His golden eyes burned into hers, and she forced herself to look away when her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. Hopefully he wasn’t family of the deceased.

She looked up as the jury walked in. Lester and his attorney stood, and when the verdict was read, Genna squeezed her eyes tightly shut and prayed Lester’s incarceration would mean her freedom.

“On the first count of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant…guilty.”

Genna didn’t hear the rest.

She must have sat there with her eyes closed until after the courtroom was cleared, because a hand touched hers. Lester’s attorney stood over her.

“You can come say good-bye to him.”

She nodded and mutely followed. She honestly couldn’t label her tears as sorrow, but at least she looked right. She felt lighter despite the trouble ahead. She could handle being broke. She’d spent most of her life that way.

She could practically taste the freedom awaiting her.

Living without fear. Not day-to-day fear of Lester, per se, because he’d treated her fairly well. Never threatened to beat her or hurt her. It was the implications behind their lifestyle and his veiled, and not-so-veiled, comments about what would happen if she tried to leave before he was ready to end things that kept her in a constant state of fear.

The unending vigilance to make sure she never overheard anything.

The ability to only pay attention when Lester wanted her attention.

Playing dumb, literally, so no one would ever suspect she knew anything.

Lester kissed her cheek. He was already shackled, and two large guards glowered nearby, ready to take him.

“Someone will call you in the next couple of days,” Lester said. “I promise, you’ll be fine. We’ll get it overturned on appeal.” He sounded a thousand times more confident than his attorney looked.

Genna nodded. “Okay. But I’m going to need to get a job, I think. Won’t I?” Another lesson learned, don’t think for herself. Always put it out there and let Lester think it was his idea. Playing dumb…again.

Lester started to protest then agreed. “Probably for the best.” He smiled. “It’ll keep you busy and out of trouble. You’ll wait for me, and we’ll have a blast when this is over, right, sugar?”

She forced a smile she prayed looked authentic. “Yeah. You’ll be out in no time, I know it.”

“I love you, Genna.”

“I love you, too, Lester.” Then, more for effect than genuine emotion, she added, “What am I going to do without you?” She hoped she wasn’t smiling through her tears.

“Aw, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry.” The guards led him away and she took a deep breath. Alone with the attorney, he opened his briefcase and handed her a bulging manila envelope.

“I’m to give this to you now. The Feds will most likely seize his assets when they file the RICO charges, so I suggest moving sooner rather than later. This should help you get started again.”

She wanted to open it, but thought better of it and tucked it in her purse. “Thank you.”

The attorney eyed her. “I never said this, but if you can find a new apartment and job somewhere else—anywhere else—it might not be a bad thing for you.”

She met the attorney’s steely gaze. “I never said this, but I already had the same idea.”

He smiled. “I knew you were smarter than Lester thought you were.”

Halfway to her car, a male voice called her name. “Ms. Pangborn? Genna Pangborn?”

Christ! She was sick of reporters and knew from experience if she ignored them it was almost worse than turning and giving them a no comment.

She turned to find the golden-eyed man from the courtroom striding toward her. Damn, he was big! Well over six feet, broad shoulders. He looked like his tailored suit was sprayed on his hard body.

“Yes?”

He stopped a respectable distance away. “May I talk with you for a moment?”

“I’m sorry, but I have no comment.”

“I’m not a reporter.” His calm, deep voice screamed confidence.

She looked around. The area was well populated, and hopefully someone would call 911 if she yelled for help.

As if reading her thoughts, he dropped his voice. “I just need a moment of your time.”

Genna eyed him. “Who are you, and how did you know my name?”

He slowly reached into his jacket and withdrew a business card, extending his arm across the void to her, forcing her to move a step closer to accept it.

“My name is Jeremy Bruin.”

She glanced at his card. Bruin and Associates, Consultants. With a local Tampa address.

“What do you want, Mr. Bruin?”

A half smile caressed his face, turning his strong jaw into a soul-melting, mouth-watering, heart-tripping sight. “I need an administrative assistant.”

He made no reference to being an “associate” of Lester’s. In fact, she got the distinct impression Bruin didn’t think much of her unofficially ex-boyfriend.

Lester hopefully wouldn’t figure that factoid out—that he was ex—for fifteen to life. She wouldn’t know for sure until after the sentencing hearing though.

Bruin’s cell phone rang. He hesitated after answering and said to Genna, “Can you come to my office at ten Monday morning for an interview?”

She nodded, still captivated by his eyes. In the sunlight they shifted from butterscotch to amber to gold and back.

“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so rude, but this is an important call. See you Monday at ten, Ms. Pangborn.”

He strode away talking, his powerful legs disappearing into a firm ass that…

She shook her head. Sleeping with the boss was what got her in this fucking mess in the first place.

Never again.

Ten minutes later, Genna sat in her car, waiting for the AC to cool it down in the scorching Florida heat. She stared at Bruin’s card.

Couldn’t hurt to talk to him. Right?

Genna easily located the large, four-story building near Raymond James Stadium. Well-maintained and tasteful landscaping highlighted the grounds. Apparently the entire building belonged to Bruin and Associates.

Inside the cool and tastefully decorated lobby, Genna started toward the reception desk when a massively large black and silver dog padded around the counter and stopped in front of her. His shoulders had to be as high as her waist, and she was a respectable five eight. His large grey eyes terrified her. Did she think he was a dog? He looked like a wolf.

The receptionist laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s friendly.”

When Genna was four, a stray dog attacked her. At the time it looked to be as big as this one, but she knew that was due to her relative size. Thirty stitches and years of nightmares later, she was definitely not a dog person. Although this…dog?...simply stared at her, testing the air with his nose. He didn’t growl or advance any closer than five feet from her.

This was still a Huge. Fucking. Dog.

Genna nearly turned around and walked out, but terror rooted her feet to the tasteful Italian-marble tile floor. She tightly clutched her purse, forcing the words out through taut lips. “I’m here for a ten o’clock appointment with Mr. Bruin,” she whispered. “Can you please call your dog off?”

The receptionist’s face paled. “You’re his ten? I’ll let him know you’re here.” She grabbed the phone, and even though the dog hadn’t been called, it backed up several slow, cautious steps.

As if it feared scaring her.

Genna didn’t breathe until he was hidden behind the desk. Even then she stood where she was, afraid to get too close to the monster dog.

The receptionist hung up and pointed to the elevators. “Fourth floor. He’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” Genna bolted, struggling against her tears. Once the door slid shut behind her, she took several ragged, gasping breaths. If she had to work anywhere near that…dog…she’d have to refuse the job. She couldn’t do it. It terrified her.

Over the years, she’d progressed to nothing more than slight jitters around small, friendly dogs. She could sometimes tolerate, for short periods of time, larger dogs like Labs or golden retrievers, if they were calm.

But she’d never overcome her lifelong fear of massive dogs, especially ones as large as that, practically big enough to saddle and ride. She’d seen compact cars smaller than that beast.

Mostly composed by the time the doors opened at the fourth floor, she stepped out and her heart skipped. This time at the site of Jeremy Bruin casually leaning against the far wall. His snug, short-sleeved golf shirt and khaki slacks emphasized his great body.

Her mouth dried. Okay, having a hunky boss isn’t a bad thing. Just can’t sleep with him, that’s all.

He stepped forward, extending his hand. “Ms. Pangborn, thank you for coming. You’re early.”

She was only ten minutes early, but thankfully didn’t wet her pants at the site of Dogzilla in the lobby, which would have forced a return trip home to change.

His grip was firm and warm and dry, his enormous hand dwarfing hers. He had to be at least six five, maybe taller.

“I hope I’m not wasting your time today, Mr. Bruin. I have some administrative skills, but I don’t know what I’d be doing.”

He motioned her to follow him through a maze of hallways, past closed offices. Then into a private reception area where an empty desk stood silent sentinel outside his office door.

“If you can competently perform basic office tasks, you’ll do fine.” He ushered her into his office and closed the door behind them, waving her to a chair in front of his desk.

Bruin waited for her to sit before he did. She couldn’t guess his age. He had very little grey in his dark-brown hair, but while his face didn’t look old, he possessed an aged air about him, like he was careworn or had a lot of living under his belt. He appeared to be in his late thirties, but she could easily be wrong.

Genna handed him a one-page résumé. “I’m sorry it’s not more, Mr. Bruin. I am good with computers. I can answer a phone and take messages. Filing, of course. I don’t have any accounting or technical training, though. I have an English degree. I can write and proofread letters and things like that. I’m a pretty fast typist.”

Her eyes glanced around the office. Tastefully decorated, not over the top, on the stark side. Mahogany paneling and Scandinavian furnishings. One wall of books.

No sign of a dog anywhere.

“How old are you?” he asked. “Not that it matters, just out of curiosity.”

“Twenty-eight.”

Her eyes returned to Bruin as he scanned the paper, nodding. “Your last job ended three years ago?”

She’d hoped he wouldn’t ask about it, but that was too much to hope. “Yes.”

“And why was that?” He focused those eyes on her again, melting her. She’d never felt like this about Lester, ever. Today, Bruin’s eyes looked like caramel pools in his face, burning holes through her core, making her clit throb and sending a hot flood of juices straight to her pussy.

“Well, as you witnessed Friday, I’m not the best judge of character.”

A slight teasing smile curled his lip. “So I was right that you were Lester Corcoran’s girlfriend?”

Genna froze, sensing a trap. “Yes.”

Bruin leaned back, dropping her résumé to his desk. “No, I’m not one of his ‘associates.’ It’s just a happy coincidence I was in the courtroom. When I saw the attorney escort you out, I made the leap in logic.”

She swallowed to form spit. “Why did you want to hire me?”

He shrugged, a heavy, rolling motion that made her want to leap across the desk and rip his shirt off his chiseled chest. “I told you, I need an administrative assistant. I’m guessing with him going to prison for several decades that you needed a job. Saves me from having to put an ad in the paper if it works out for both of us.”

That wasn’t the full truth. She sensed it. Years of being around Lester and his ilk had finely honed her senses in that way. Usually in favor of her own self-preservation, learning when not to ask questions. “What else?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Very perceptive. We do a lot of, shall we say, confidential work for clients. I need someone who can keep their mouth shut and show discretion. Either you really didn’t know anything, which I doubt, or you were smart to overlook things and ignore natural curiosity, keeping yourself purposefully in the dark as to his dealings. Someone like that I could use working for me.”

She relaxed only slightly. “I don’t want to work for someone doing anything illegal. I’d like to return to some semblance of sanity in my life.” She looked down at her hands. “Meeting Lester was the biggest mistake of my life, and I’d prefer a fresh start in all ways. Including I only want to work for someone who doesn’t engage in illegal activities.”

“That we don’t do, Ms. Pangborn, I assure you. There are many reasons for secrecy involving legitimate enterprise, especially where industrial secrets are important to a company’s survival.”

She relaxed even further. She could deal with that. The rare times Lester talked at all about his “associates,” they usually involved construction, waste disposal companies, or Northern unions.

But one more issue needed to be dealt with. “I have to be honest with you, I’m not comfortable working with that huge dog in the lobby.”

A frown crossed Bruin’s face. “And why is that? Did he growl at you?”

She shook her head. “No, he didn’t. I was attacked when I was child. I’m terrified of dogs.”

He templed his fingers. “That is a problem. We allow employees to bring their dogs to work.”

Her heart sank. “Oh,” she quietly said, tensing to stand. “I’m sorry I wasted your time today. Thank you anyway—”

“I’ll pay you fifteen hundred a week to start, for the first three-month probation period. We can negotiate salary after that.”

She froze. That was damn good money.

Alternately, her bullshit buzzer sounded. “Fifteen hundred a week? For answering phones? What’s the catch, Mr. Bruin?”

“That’s to start. You’ll be handling sensitive documents, contracts, information. I’m not in the office a lot. I spend quite a bit of time traveling. You would have a lot of responsibility once you’re up to speed. You won’t be merely a secretary answering phones. You’ll be my executive assistant.”

Genna sat again. “But I’m not that experienced. I’m not even sure what exactly you do yet.”

“I can train you. It’s easier to train skills than it is discretion.”

Dogzilla’s grey eyes haunted her. “How many people bring their dogs to work?”

“Several. Not every day. Ivan rarely leaves Lindsey’s side when she brings him. He’s great for keeping walk-in salespeople out,” he joked.

So Dogzilla’s name was Ivan.

Bruin continued. “If you enter the building as you did today, your only contact would likely be Ivan, unless you ran into someone in the elevators or outside in the parking lot. I can make it known that you aren’t comfortable with dogs, and that our staff should accommodate your fears.”

“Fifteen hundred a week?”

“And fully paid health insurance on top of that.”

She considered it. It was a lot of money. She’d already signed a lease at an apartment not too far away, the first six months paid from what turned out to be over twenty-five thousand in cash in the envelope.

“When would I start?”

He smiled, twisting her heart again. “Immediately, if you wish.”

“Is the day after tomorrow okay? I have to finish moving.”

He nodded. “All right.” He called someone and spoke to them briefly. When he hung up, he stood. “I’ll take you to Human Resources, and they’ll handle everything.” At his office door he held out his hand. She shook with him, but this time she almost fell into his deep, piercing eyes. “Thank you for coming aboard, Ms. Pangborn.”

Three hours later, Genna was back at the house she’d shared with Lester, packing another load to take to her new apartment. She didn’t bother with any of the furniture, just some books, pictures, CDs, and other items she wanted to keep. The attorney told her the Feds wouldn’t hassle her when they went after him on RICO charges, especially if it looked like she barely took anything. She’d already purchased a bed, due to be delivered later that afternoon. She could easily afford to buy new furniture with the money she had left over, stashed securely in a safe-deposit box.

By midnight she collapsed on her new bed in her new apartment. The place was a disaster, but she didn’t care.

For once, it was something all hers.

Genna still had at least three more carloads to bring over from the house, but she could tackle that in the morning. She’d forwarded her mail to a PO Box in Palma Ceia, over twenty minutes south and a pain in the ass to get to, but she didn’t want to risk Lester’s “associates” finding her too soon. If they’d even bother looking for her.

She fell into an exhausted sleep and dreamed about a large, wolflike dog, much like Ivan.

Only this massive animal possessed Bruin’s butterscotch eyes. Where Ivan’s coat was black and dusted with silver, this enormous beast was dark brown with traces of black around his piercing eyes.

In her dream, she lay in bed and watched him pad toward her, suddenly shifting and morphing into Jeremy Bruin—naked and throbbingly erect—and he crawled onto her bed.

Damn, what a fantastic dream! She felt his hands hot against her skin, and decided it was fine to have erotically charged wet dreams about the boss as long as she didn’t do anything about them. She’d always had vivid dreams, but this was beyond her wildest imagination.

His lips scorched her flesh. His teeth gently bit at her pebbled nipples, and she squirmed beneath his massive form as his throbbing cock brushed against her leg.

Real-life sex had never been this good with Lester.

Genna groaned with need as he lifted his head from her breasts. He yanked her legs apart, diving between them, his lips and tongue working at her mound, flicking her clit. She gasped, trying to squirm against him, but he gripped her thighs with his massive hands and held on tight, forcing her to stay still as he mercilessly brought her to climax three times in quick succession.

When she lay gasping and spent, he effortlessly flipped her over, driving his enormous cock home in one hard thrust, making her cry out.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to her knees as he fucked her from behind.

“Mine,” he growled, his other hand reaching around to cup her throat and pull the back of her neck against his lips.

She didn’t respond, too busy enjoying the feel of his large cock bottoming out, stretching her in a way Lester’s small tool never could.

He jerked her body, hard, against him. “Mine!” he growled again, his teeth raking against the back of her neck, sending erotic shivers through her body that settled in her suddenly very sensitive clit. “Say it.”

“Yours!” she gasped.

His tongue traced a slow path down her spine as he stopped thrusting, holding himself still deep inside her.

He growled. “You’ll never want anyone else, will you?”

Fuck no, not if the dreams were this good! “No,” she whispered. Hell, it was just a dream. Who cared what she said as long as he started banging her again.

His hands dropped to her hips, and he gripped her, hard, as his pelvis shot forward, taking her even deeper than before.

Doggy style, how ironic.

She stifled a laugh. Even in a dream she considered it rude to snicker at the guy fucking her. Especially when he was dream-fucking her so well.

He folded his body around hers and pumped into her, impaling her very depths. His breath, hot and heavy on the back of her neck, made her shiver. “Then I claim you…now.” He bit into the back of her shoulder as he rammed into her one final time, his arms around her hips, shooting his hot seed deep within.

She cried out not from pain, but from the unexpected orgasm that nearly ripped her apart from the inside out. She never came like this! Holy crap, this is fucking great!

Panting and trembling, she collapsed to the bed. He was already standing, looking at her with a strange expression.

“Go back to sleep. This is just a dream.”

Genna weakly nodded. “Of course it’s a dream, dumb fuck. I know that.” Holy hell, his cock was still huge.

Before her eyes he transformed into the dog again, silently padding out of her bedroom. She dropped her head to her pillow, content and ready to resume boring sleep when a long, loud howl outside her patio startled her eyes open.

“What the fuck?”

She climbed out of bed and peeked through the window. Outside, the dog tipped its head back and howled again, long and eerie. A moment later, two more howls sounded in response from a few blocks over, it sounded like.

Wow. What a dream! Okay, so it felt like she had come—and was sore from being fucked—but she’d been asleep and the sound of that dog outside was what likely triggered it. And the soreness was most likely due to all the moving.

Genna sat on the bed and closed her eyes. She felt exhausted. If she could dream like that every night, she had no reason to get involved with anyone.

She reached behind her, touching a sore spot on her shoulder, where the Dream Bruin had bit her. She felt something there, a raised bump, maybe? But it was already feeling better. Probably a damn mosquito. If she’d really been bitten, she’d hurt like hell, right?

When her alarm clock went off at seven the next morning, Genna wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. But she needed to get into the habit of getting up for work, and then memories of the dream snapped her wide awake.

Wow.

She took a hot shower, her sore muscles protesting another day of moving and organizing. Out of curiosity she wiped the steam from the mirror and turned to look at the spot on her shoulder. An odd pattern of pink bumps, no longer sore even, but probably from a damn mosquito repeatedly feasting on her bare shoulder all night long.

That’ll teach me to sleep naked.

Jeremy padded away from her apartment, feeling conflicted. He reached his car, parked in a dark patch of asphalt under an oak tree. No one around and hidden in the shadows, he shifted back, pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, and got into his car.

He knew what he’d done wasn’t usual. Claiming a mate was for life. He accepted that and was more than prepared to take care of Genna.

He hadn’t expected to develop feelings for her when he claimed her. She was, technically, still the enemy, even if she was now his mate.

Never mind, that didn’t change anything. Revenge for pack blood spilled by that fucking asshole took precedent over all else. Especially when the packmate murdered was his cousin and best friend.

He started the car and drove home.

It took her most of the morning to finish moving. She made another furniture-shopping run, stopping to get more cash from the safe-deposit box. By evening, she cooked her first meal in her new kitchen.

Okay, so it was a one-person omelet. It was her kitchen.

Now that she had time to sit and relax, Genna thought about the previous night’s dream. How could she dream like that again? She’d do it every night, if she had her choice.

She sipped her chamomile tea. Facing Bruin every day would be a challenge. No doubt his real body matched his dream body. Between her legs, her pussy contracted in a hot and pleasant way at yet another thought of the dream-fucking she’d enjoyed more than any real-life roll in the sack with Lester.

It was hard to go to sleep despite her exhaustion. She was too excited about starting work the next morning, too hopeful the dream would return.

Eventually she drifted, but when her alarm clock sounded at seven, she looked at it with disappointment. No dream lover had boinked her brains out, Bruin or otherwise.

“Well, damn.”

With a disappointed sigh she showered and dressed for work.

Genna decided to go in a little early and perhaps miss the worst of the dog crowd. Ivan didn’t greet Genna in the lobby, though Lindsey sat behind her desk already. The large dog could have easily been on the floor at her feet, but Genna didn’t want to risk mentioning his name for fear he’d come say hi.

“Good morning,” Genna said.

Lindsey smiled. “Good morning. Mr. Bruin called and said he’s running late this morning, but he left some things on your desk to get you started. You’re to call his cell if you have questions. And if you get stuck, call me and I’ll come up.”

“Thank you.” Genna raced for the elevators, breathing a sigh of relief when the doors slid closed behind her without her spotting any sign of Ivan. She’d brought her lunch and would hopefully not have to leave her office except for bathroom breaks. Maybe in a few weeks she’d be braver, but for now she wanted to focus on her new job.

And on not drooling over her hunkster new boss. Or worrying about passing out over a puppy.

There were several folders spread out on her desk in an orderly arrangement. She sat and read through them. The first was a specific list of several requirements Bruin had about her job. She’d signed a confidentiality agreement the other day, and he emphasized her silence was a requirement to keep her job. She could listen to music as long as it wasn’t disruptive or interfered with answering phones. She could take an hour lunch as well as two half-hour breaks during the day.

Wow, generous!

She would be available to him via phone twenty-four seven, three sixty-five for questions or issues, but those instances would most likely be rare. Still, she would receive a corporate cell phone. Travel would be a requirement—paid by the company, of course. Other specifics such as how to answer the phone, how to handle certain calls, it was a dizzying amount of information.

At the bottom of the first list, he included a handwritten comment.

I’m sure you’ll do fine, Ms. Pangborn. Relax.

She smiled at his tidy script. Lester always wrote like a trembling chicken.

When Bruin arrived around eleven, Genna had read through all the information and familiarized herself with the computer system.

He carried a Starbucks cup and wore dark sunglasses. Her heart fluttered as her mind briefly conjured the dream.

“Good morning, Mr. Bruin.”

He nodded. “Ms. Pangborn. Any problems or questions?”

“Not yet, thank you.” He almost seemed a tad…chilly.

Then again, she’d spent less than twenty minutes total with him. Who knew how he normally acted?

He paused at his office door. “I’m expecting a visitor in about twenty minutes. When he arrives, please send him straight in.”

“Yes, sir.” She didn’t want to ask the visitor’s name in case she shouldn’t know, but he looked at her.

“His name is Ivan.”

She shivered. “The dog?”

Then he smiled. “No, that’s a coincidence.” With that he closed the door behind him, and she ran her hands over her arms to smooth the gooseflesh. Her panties were already damp from just the thought of what his dream counterpart’s lips had done to her.

Nineteen minutes later, a large man walked in, nearly as tall as Bruin, with broad shoulders and familiar grey eyes, but she couldn’t place from where. His black hair was dusted with grey. It looked good on him despite how young he appeared, maybe Bruin’s age.

His stern demeanor concealed all emotion. She got the distinct impression he didn’t approve of her presence.

“I’m here to see Jeremy. Ivan Biendino.”

He made her nervous, no doubt about it. “Please go right in, sir. Mr. Bruin is expecting you.”

She held her breath until he closed the inner office door behind him. He was nearly as terrifying as Ivan the Dogzilla. Maybe Ivan was Russian for “can scare the living crap out of you with a look.” If so, both man and dog were appropriately named.

Ivan stayed in Bruin’s office for two hours. At one point she thought she heard raised voices, but she ignored it and continued working. When Ivan angrily emerged, Genna hoped she didn’t jump too much. This time the look he sent her was…

Sympathetic?

His face softened a fraction as he stared at her. “Have a good day, Ms. Pangborn.”

She nodded. “Thank you, sir.” She noticed Ivan’s ass was as cute and tight as Bruin’s.

Bruin opened his door. “Ms. Pangborn, please bring a notepad with you.” He left the door standing open as he returned to his desk and dictated several notes for her to add to one of the files. He made no mention of Ivan.

By five o’clock, she wanted to leave but stayed a little later to finish a few things. The work was easy, and from the looks of some of their clients, she understood the need for stringent secrecy. Engineering agencies, chemical corporations, medical research firms—she still wasn’t exactly sure what Bruin and Associates did, but apparently they coordinated behind the scenes activities that had to remain silent.

Most of what she read was couched in technical terms and legalese. At least she could honestly say, if ever deposed, that she didn’t understand most of it.

That night she settled in and dropped to sleep. Yay sexy dream! The enormous brown dog returned. When the dog changed into Bruin, she smiled and felt a pleasant throbbing between her legs.

He didn’t say anything, just silently stared at her for a long time with an expression she couldn’t decipher. Then he knelt between her legs and looked at her, his amber eyes liquefying her soul.

“Who do you belong to?” he asked.

“You,” she breathlessly replied.

“Louder.”

“I belong to you,” she said, her voice trembling. Damn this was a realistic dream. She felt the mattress move as he shifted his weight.

“You’re all mine, aren’t you?” he growled, lowering his head to her pussy.

“Yes, I’m all yours!”

“Ask me to make you come,” he whispered.

“Please make me come!”

His tongue laved her clit and she moaned.

“Say it again. Say my name.”

“Jeremy, please make me come!” His hot breath on her flesh drove her nearly out of her mind with need. She desperately hoped she didn’t wake up before he fucked her, that it wasn’t five minutes until seven and her alarm about to go off.

He grabbed her thighs and buried his face between her legs, making her explode twice before sitting up. “Am I better than Lester?”

She nodded, trying to regain the use of her vocal cords. “A lot better,” she gasped.

“And who do you belong to?”

“I belong to you.”

He dropped his voice. “Beg me to fuck you.”

“Please fuck me!”

“You want me to fuck you hard, like I did before?”

“Yes!”

He flipped her over, and she screamed with pleasure as he rammed his stiff cock home.

“How’s that feel?” he asked, his fingers clamping almost painfully around her hips.

“Damn good!” she moaned into the pillow.

He stopped and pulled her up. “How’s it feel, Genna?” he growled in her ear.

“It feels sooo fucking good!”

“Do you want me to keep fucking you?”

“Yes!”

He pushed her down to the mattress and thrust, hard and deep. Then he curled around her again. “Do you want me to come inside you?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t care what he did if it kept feeling this good. Ah, another great dream.

With several hard thrusts he climaxed, groaning and burying his cock deep inside her. She wanted to roll over and bask in the sensation with Dream Bruin, but he was already up and off the bed, standing there and silently staring at her.

That was strange, but hell, who cared. It was just a dream.

He grimly nodded.

“This is just a dream, Genna,” he said.

Uh, duh. Of course it is. She smiled. “Come back every night if you want.”

He paused then almost looked like he wanted to say something. When she blinked he was the dog again. Without another sound, he turned and he padded out of her bedroom.

Genna awoke pleasantly sore. Then again, she’d been sore yesterday morning from moving.

Wow, this was an unexpected bonus. Hot boss, hotter dreams.

Whoo wee.

Bruin wasn’t in the office when she arrived, but there were several things laid out on her desk for her to do. She set to work. He arrived around ten, his dark glasses firmly in place, Starbucks cup in hand.

“Good morning, Ms. Pangborn.”

Her stomach fluttered at the sound of his voice—professional, not the sexy, sultry growl of her dream. “Good morning, Mr. Bruin.”

She breathlessly waited while he walked into his office and shut the door behind him, then she sighed.

If only…

No, crap, don’t even think that. That’s how you got involved with Lester, and look where it got you!

Ivan showed up an hour later and wordlessly nodded to her before walking into Bruin’s office and shutting the door behind him. She wondered if he was one of the “associates” from Bruin and Associates?

Twenty minutes later, Ivan stormed out, leaving the door open behind him. He hesitated at her desk like he wanted to say something to her when he looked at Bruin’s door. Bruin leaned against the doorjamb, a sly, challenging smile on his face, his arms crossed.

Her mouth watered. Damn she hoped she dreamed about him that night!

Ivan left without further word, and Bruin turned, closing the door behind him.

Weird.

But not her business.

She was almost eager to get home and go to bed, hoping her dreams held. She finally got to sleep, and the dream started soon after. The dog reappeared then changed to Bruin. Without a word he stared at her for several moments. Then he knelt at the end of the bed.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Genna,” he softly whispered.

She smiled. “I want you to fuck my brains out.”

He pounced, kissing her hard, her arms automatically wrapping around him.

He breathed in her ear. “Tell me everything you want me to do to you, Genna.”

“I want you to kiss me, and make me come like you did before, then fuck my brains out.”

He lifted his head and looked at her. “Are you mine?” he whispered.

“I belong to you.” Well, in my dreams, at least.

“Are you mine to do with what I want?”

“Do whatever you want to me.”

“Louder,” he whispered.

“My body belongs to you. Whatever you want to do.”

“I want to fuck you up the ass,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

Hell, he could fuck her wherever he wanted as long as the dreams didn’t stop. “Then fuck me in the ass, Jeremy.”

He produced a bottle of lube and flipped her over. She was nervous, but playfully wiggled her hips. First the cool wetness against her virgin rim, followed by the press of a finger as he breached her tight entrance.

She froze. Should a dream include feeling like that? A slight burning that gave way to pleasure as he carefully worked his way past her tight ring of muscle. Then the finger disappeared, he added more cool lube, and two fingers pressed for entrance.

She moaned against the pillow. She’d never do this in real life, but holy fuck, this was the hottest dream yet!

After several long, agonizingly slow minutes, he withdrew and applied more lube, then three fingers.

Genna groaned, working her hips against him, desperate for relief and not finding it. For a second the fingers disappeared. Then she felt his lubed cock press against her.

“Relax and breathe,” he whispered, carefully pressing forward.

She let out a hungry groan. “Fuck my ass, Jeremy!” she gasped. “Please! Do it!”

“You ever been fucked here before?”

“No.” Well, technically she still hadn’t, she thought, because a dream didn’t count, no matter how real it felt.

He maintained a slow rhythm, then wrapped one arm around her hips and found her clit with his fingers, stroking it.

Genna moaned. “Oh, God, make me come! Fuck me!”

“Do you want me to make you come like this?”

“Yes, please!”

“You want me to come in your ass? You never let Lester fuck your ass, did you?”

“You’re the first! Do it, take me!”

He gently rolled her throbbing nub between his fingers, and she screamed as she exploded, the fullness in her ass unlike anything she’d ever felt before. When he knew she was finished, it only took him three strokes to join her. He grunted as he came, then carefully withdrew.

Bruin rolled her over and looked at her. “How do you feel?”

She smiled. “Great. I wish I could have felt like this with someone and not be asleep.” She reached out and touched his face, struggling not to break into tears. “I’ve never felt like this in real life. Thank you. I just wish you weren’t a dream. I think I love you.”

She couldn’t read the strange look that came over his face. He kissed her fingers. Without another word he stood, staring at her again with that same cryptic expression. A moment later, he changed into the dog again and left without a sound.

Dream Bruin sucked at post-coital cuddling, but oh well. No one was perfect.

Genna rolled over and went back to sleep.

Friday was a slow day at work, followed by another smoking hot dream about Bruin later that night. He fucked her every which way he could, and probably a few ways that might not be legal in all fifty states, but it felt good, and she awoke exhausted, smiling, and deeply in love with her Dream Jeremy.

Genna enjoyed her peaceful weekend off. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any more Bruin dreams. Monday morning she walked into the lobby and Ivan—Dogzilla—greeted her at the door.

Genna froze, terror nearly clamping her throat shut. Lindsey wasn’t behind the desk.

She tried not to stare into his grey eyes. Wasn’t that something you weren’t supposed to do?

Ivan stopped a few feet away from her, then sat and dipped his head. He dropped to his belly and crawled the last few feet across the smooth tile, rolling over onto his back and exposing his belly, his tail slowly swishing back and forth.

Genna was too petrified to move. This was a good thing, right?

He opened his mouth, softly panting, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in a…smile?

“Do you want me to pet you, boy?” she squeaked.

His tail swished a little faster. With trembling hands, she cautiously bent over and brushed her fingers along his broad chest.

His tail swished even faster.

Her heart racing, she dared pet his chest a little more firmly, and he whined.

“Okay, boy. I need to get upstairs to work,” she managed in a trembling voice. Where the fuck was Lindsey?

He whined again and slowly rolled over, keeping his head bowed, and he backed up.

Backed up!

Damned if it wasn’t like he was trying to reassure her.

His tail wagged nonstop until his furry, dense rump butted against the counter. Genna slowly walked to the elevator bank and repeatedly punched the button until a door slid open. She stepped backward into the car, anxiously punching the “close door” button until it did. With a relieved sigh she hit the button for the fourth floor and managed to make it to her desk before her legs gave out.

Ivan, the hunky two-legged one, walked into the office twenty minutes later. Fortunately by then, she’d had time to compose herself.

“Is Jeremy in?”

His grey eyes didn’t melt her the way Bruin’s did, but something about him…

Genna shook her head. “No, sorry. Would you like to leave a note?”

He smiled, only this time it looked warm and friendly, kind, inviting. “Mind if I sit out here and wait?”

“Sure, no problem. But I don’t know what time he’ll be in.”

He shrugged. Damn, maybe he was related to Bruin. They were both built in a similar rock-hard fashion.

“I have time. I won’t be bothering you, will I?”

“Not at all.”

He made small talk with her then finally asked a question she suspected he’d been curious about. “How did you come to work here?”

Well, that wouldn’t be divulging company secrets. “Honestly?”

“Of course.”

Genna studied her hands. “Mr. Bruin noticed me at my ex-boyfriend’s trial. He was convicted of murder and sent to prison.”

Ivan didn’t seem surprised, but said, “Wow.”

“Yeah. I made a sucky choice there, that’s for sure.” She looked up and felt comfortable opening up to someone, anyone. Especially him, even though she didn’t know why. “I was scared of him,” she admitted. “My ex. He…I didn’t know who or what he was until I’d been with him a couple of years. Then I was too scared to leave. I mean…” She swallowed, hard. “He would have killed me, I think,” she whispered.

There. It was finally out.

Ivan leaned forward. “Was that the Corcoran trial?”

She nodded. “Supposedly some of his ‘associates’ were going to take care of me. He made it sound like they’d support me, but honestly, I don’t know.”

Ivan clasped his hands and looked grim. “Do you fear for your safety now?”

That was something she didn’t want to think about. “I hope I’m safe. I have a feeling if I did run they would find me if they really wanted to hurt me. If they were going to kill me, they probably would have done it before now.”

Bruin appeared then, startled to see Ivan sitting there. “Good morning.” Dark glasses and Starbucks were his morning de rigueur, apparently. “I didn’t know we had a meeting scheduled, Ivan.”

Ivan stood, his face suddenly a hard mask. “We do now. I need to talk to you.” They disappeared into Bruin’s office, and from the release of tension in the air, Genna suspected that, for some reason, Ivan had words for Bruin.

Dream Bruin returned that night. He climbed into bed with her. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

“Genna,” he murmured, “do you enjoy these dreams?”

She nodded, something subtly shifting inside her. This was different. He wasn’t acting aloof the way he had in the other dreams. “I told you, I love you.”

His eyes studied her face. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you enjoy these dreams so much? Why do you love me?”

“They’re just dreams.” She licked her lips. “It’s not like I could ever have someone as great as you in real life, so I shouldn’t complain, right? I’ve always had really vivid dreams.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. He closed his eyes and pressed his face against her hand, nuzzling her palm. “This can’t ever be a reality, so why not enjoy what little good I get?” She choked back a sob. “At least if I’m in love with a dream lover, it’ll keep me out of trouble in real life. I won’t fall for another asshole. I’d rather spend my life with your dream-self than risk that again.”

“Did you love Lester?”

Okay, Dream Bruin wanted to talk instead of fuck tonight? Boring. But she’d take what she could get. “Not really. I thought I did. Then I was too scared to leave once I realized what he was.” She shuddered, closing her eyes. “I’m not glad anyone died, but I’m glad he fucked up and went to jail so I could escape.”

When she opened her eyes, Dream Bruin studied her, a serious look on his face. “You had no idea what he was?”

She shook her head. “Not for the first two years. I mean, I suspected he was into something illegal after a few months, but I had no idea about the rest of it. I didn’t know he killed people.”

“You really were innocent.” His voice drifted, and he looked deep in thought.

This kind of dream she could do without, but she didn’t interrupt him, afraid she might wake up.

He looked at her, his face different somehow, warmer. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her, deeply, with far more tenderness and emotion than any of their other dream encounters.

He spent hours making love to her, not the vigorous fuck-and-fly encounters of previous evenings. Not that she was complaining about the other dreams, because, da-yum. This time, however, it was more than just sex.

It was love.

He left her breathless and exhausted, wanting more, wishing she could open her eyes and find herself truly awake in his arms. Before he left he kissed her one last time.

“I’m so sorry, Genna.”

“Why?” Maybe tomorrow night she’d get old Dream Bruin back. New Dream Bruin was a buzzkill, even if he left her heart fulfilled in a way he hadn’t before.

His eyes traveled her face. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”

She sat up. “What are you talking about?”

He got out of bed, looking sad. “I didn’t know…I thought…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I swear I’ll protect you.” He leaned over and kissed her one last time, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. “I love you, Genna. I didn’t expect to, but I do. I love you.”

Desperate to lighten the mood, Genna smiled. “Hey, you made me yours. You’ve got to come back again, right? Dream hunk or not, don’t leave me hanging.”

He nodded, but didn’t meet her eyes. “Yeah. I did. And I will. I promise. But I have things to do.” He leaned in one last time and kissed her. “I will keep you safe.” With that he changed into the dog. It happened so fast she nearly missed it in the dark room, and he left.

Genna awoke the next morning feeling disquieted, unsettled. Where normally a Bruin dream would leave her with a happy morning glow, that one was just plain…creepy. Not the sex part, because that was great. That he seemed worried, that worried her.

Bruin didn’t appear in the office. At lunch she walked downstairs to eat outside in the shade of one of the trees. It was a beautiful day, not too hot. In the shade it would feel comfortable.

A man leaned against her car. Stiff with fear, she walked toward him before recognizing Lester’s attorney. Heart in her throat, she greeted him. “Hello.”

“I came to let you know we got Lester an emergency appeal. He’ll be out on bond by late tonight.”

She froze. “How did you find me?”

“He made me hire a PI to keep track of you.”

“He knows where I live?”

He snorted. “Of course he does. And where you work. And all about your little extracurricular activities. I came to warn you that you have to leave. Now. Pack and get the hell somewhere away from here. I’d say Outer Mongolia might be a nice choice. He said he’s going to take care of you personally. He wants the satisfaction of getting rid of you himself after what you did.”

“But…I didn’t testify against him. I didn’t know anything!”

“The PI showed him everything. The pictures, the surveillance video, and he bugged your apartment.” He shook his head. “Bruin sure didn’t waste any time.”

She felt an icy chill despite the heat. “What? What video? What pictures? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Those little sexcapades between you and your new ‘boss.’ I haven’t seen any of the stuff, but from what Lester screamed at me over the phone, it was interesting.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” But deep in her gut a knife twisted, burning.

“Oh, come on, you can drop the act. It’s not fooling me anymore. How long have you known Bruin, anyway?”

“He approached me the day the verdict came in. Out in the parking lot. He offered me a job.” Even her tongue felt numb, unreliably forming mixtures of consonants and vowels that somehow produced coherent words.

The attorney snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re fucking screwing the goddamned guy. You expect me to believe the cousin and best friend of the guy your boyfriend murdered would offer you a job, just like that? I was born at night, sweetheart, but not last night.”

Genna couldn’t go home yet. Her body felt too numb to drive. Her appetite gone, she drifted through the lobby to the elevators in shock, trying to process everything. Lindsey wasn’t there, but Ivan stuck his furry head out from around the corner of the desk and looked at her.

When she stepped into the elevator he streaked inside with her before the door could close. He stared at her and whined.

Genna backed into the corner and watched as he pawed at the button for the fourth floor before turning to stare at her again, whimpering.

Her tears fell. This was too much. She was losing her mind.

“Please don’t eat me, Ivan.”

His hoarse bark could have been a laugh. He shook his head. When the doors slid open, Genna stood frozen, unable to move with the large dog in her way.

He slowly approached, nuzzling her hand, licking it. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of teeth crushing bone. He gently mouthed her hand, using barely any pressure against her skin.

He tugged, whining.

With full acknowledgement that her sanity was rapidly slipping through her fingers, she let the large dog slowly lead her through the empty halls to her office. She had to force herself to breathe several times, scared at any moment he would sink his vicious canines into her. She didn’t see anyone else to ask to help her, and she was afraid to scream for help for fear of scaring him into attacking her.

Once she was in the office, he released her hand and got behind her, head butting her in the ass, nudging her toward Bruin’s office.

Too scared to resist, she let the large dog push her into the office. When she stood before one of the chairs, he backed off and gently woofed. Still clutching her uneaten lunch, she sat.

He wheeled around and loped to the door, jumping up on his hind feet and pushing it shut. Then he turned and disappeared into Bruin’s private bathroom, his low, guttural snarl terrifying her.

Maybe she could lock him in and escape?

Then the guttural snarl transformed into distinct, legible words in a familiar voice.

“Goddamn him, I fucking told him so. I fucking told him so! Where the hell does he—oh, there’s one.”

Ivan—the two-legged hunky version—appeared in the bathroom doorway, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and nothing else.

Genna stared, her jaw lax in disbelief. Dreaming. I must be dreaming. Where the hell did he come from?

He crossed the room in three long strides, kneeling in front of her, his huge hands engulfing hers.

They felt hot—or was she cold? Her teeth chattered. Was this shock?

“Genna,” he said, “listen to me. What’s going on? What happened? Who was that guy talking to you in the parking lot?”

What the hell, I’ve lost my mind anyway. “He’s Lester’s attorney…said appeals…bail…free tonight.”

“Shit.” Ivan closed his eyes. “What else did he say?”

She shook her head. “Something about a surveillance video and pictures. About Jeremy Bruin and I sleeping together…but those were just dreams…” Fear congealed in her gut, and she looked at Ivan.

His grey eyes.

His nearly naked state of dress after Dogzilla Ivan went into the bathroom.

And didn’t return.

“Oh…My…God,” she breathed.

The room swam. Her vision went black.

Genna awoke to low, growling male voices.

“I didn’t know—”

“I swear, Jer, if you weren’t my fucking Alpha, I’d wring your goddamned neck for putting her at risk like this!”

Then a familiar woman’s voice interrupted them. “Boys? I don’t mean to interrupt your little discussion, but she’s awake.”

Genna carefully opened her eyes and realized she was lying prone on the couch in Bruin’s office. Lindsey stood over her, looking down with a concerned expression. Ivan and Bruin suddenly flanked her. Bruin dropped to his knees and grabbed her hand.

“Genna, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know—”

She snatched her hand away, shrinking from him. Please let this be a dream! Please let this be a dream!

“What is going on?” she whispered. No reason for that except she could barely breathe, much less talk.

Lindsey and Ivan glared at Bruin, who flushed bright red. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

The world flared, her vision suddenly bright, her senses aware, desperate fear kicking in. She sat up, pushed past them, and raced to the door. “He said Lester would be out by tonight. I have to go. I have to move, now!”

She blinked and nearly ran into Bruin. How the hell did he beat me to the door?

“Genna, we have to talk first.”

She shoved him. He caught her hands, holding her close. Despite his unbreakable grasp, it felt like he barely touched her. “You can’t leave. We will protect you. I will protect you, I swear.” It was too tempting to melt into his arms, but this wasn’t her Dream Bruin. This was her boss.

She twisted, trying to pull free. “Let me go you son of a bitch! I don’t know what you did to me! He said there was a video, that they bugged my apartment. That we’re sleeping together! I thought those were just dreams!” Someone in the room sobbed, and she realized it was her.

Anguish painted his face. “I’m sorry, Genna. I was wrong not to be more careful. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with you, and I didn’t realize you were innocent.”

Love? The word stopped her struggles as she stared at him. “What the fuck kind of sick man are you? What, did you drug me? Hypnotize me? Lester’s attorney told me you’re related to the victim. That’s how you knew who I was, isn’t it?”

He nodded as she renewed her frantic struggles. This time he let her go, and she bolted, barely pausing to grab her purse and keys before racing for the elevator.

Despite her tremors, Genna managed to drive home without wrecking. She struggled with her tears as she stared at the apartment. She’d have to take only what she could carry in the car.

Her legs failed, and she sat in her living room and cried, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking. She thought she had a handle on her emotions when she glanced at the clock and realized it was after eight o’clock and she’d lost several hours of time.

Startled, she clambered to her feet and raced to the bedroom, yanking her suitcase from under her bed and throwing it open on top. She grabbed armfuls of clothes from her dresser and dumped them in. She had garbage bags in the kitchen. She could fill them and take as much as she could jam in the car—

The back door thumped, glass breaking. She reached over and flicked the light switch off and crouched beside the doorway, silent tears coursing down her face.

“Oh, Geennnnaa. Where are you, darling?” Lester’s sarcastic tone told her more than anything that she was going to die. “I enjoyed the video. Bet you never thought you’d see me again, huh? Fucking whore, you couldn’t even wait until I was in jail a week to start screwing around, could you? Did you fucking set me up or what?”

It sounded like he was moving toward the kitchen. If he did, she might be able to make it out the back door.

She held her breath and listened. He was in the kitchen. She heard his steps on the linoleum.

Praying, she launched herself through the doorway, angled for the back door. She’d made it five feet from freedom when a foot caught her in the kidney. She fell to her knees, crying out from the pain.

“No you don’t, you fucking cunt.” Lester kicked her again, in the stomach, and she gasped, trying to curl up into a ball and protect herself. He punched her in the head and kicked her several times before he stopped to catch his breath.

He stood over her, shaking his head, a gun in his right hand. “Treated you right. You would have had a good life, even with me inside. You didn’t flip, a little loyalty was all I asked for—”

“Leave her alone.” Through pain-teared eyes, Genna looked at the door and saw Bruin standing there, his fists clenched.

Lester raised the gun. “Good. Now I can take care of both of you. Saves me time and trouble.”

Behind Lester, the front door exploded in a snarling, swirling mass of black fur. Lester turned, swearing.

“Jesus Christ!”

“You wish,” Bruin growled, suddenly shifting into the brown dog, his clothes falling away.

Genna shrank away from him as he leapt over her toward Lester. The man turned, screaming as Bruin struck, his jaws on the man’s throat. Lester’s startled shout immediately changed to a strangled, pained cry.

Ivan grabbed Lester’s wrist, the one holding his gun. She heard bones crunch as Ivan bit down, the gun falling to the carpet.

A red haze clouded her vision as she watched the two massive dogs hold Lester down. His heels beat against the carpet, a staccato tempo she thought would drive her totally over the brink of insanity until it eventually stopped with one last, gurgled gasp.

When it was apparent Lester was dead, the two dogs released him and turned to her. Ivan shifted back first. He crouched there, naked.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

Bruin shifted to human form, wiping a hand across his bloodied mouth and spitting on the carpet.

“Genna, honey, are you…”

The red haze over her vision transformed to purple, then black.

Oh, she longed for the good ole days, the simplicity of the hot, sexy Jeremy Bruin dreams, where he simply fucked her brains out before leaving for the night and didn’t rip her convicted ex-boyfriend’s throat out in her new living room.

Will I get my security deposit back if the bloodstains don’t come out?

Genna refused to open her eyes. She hurt. All over. Pain contradicted the firm version of reality she wanted to maintain her stranglehold on—crap, horrible choice of word. Death grip? Hmm, not so much either.

She sensed a presence outside her closed eyelids and tried to keep her breathing steady. She wasn’t lying on her bed. She knew that. She didn’t think she was back in Bruin’s office.

Men did not turn into large fucking dogs. This did not fucking happen. None of this happened.

Maybe she really was dead. Perhaps Lester had killed her before the trial and this was some funky version of Purgatory.

Yeah, that’s the ticket. That makes sense.

She moved and moaned. Nope, it was real. Her body hurt like hell where Lester had punched and kicked her.

A large, gentle hand slipped around hers, and she tightly gripped it for no other reason than she hurt and didn’t want to scream.

“Genna, honey, please wake up.”

Bruin’s soft, pleading voice.

Reluctantly she opened her eyes. He’d washed his face and changed clothes, but she didn’t know where she was, didn’t recognize the room.

In response to her unasked question he said, “We’re at my house. Our house. Ivan and Lindsey are outside.”

She would pull away from him, but it hurt too much to even think about doing that.

“What. The fuck. Is going. On?”

“We need to talk.”

They talked most of the night. Lindsey and Ivan brought food and pain medicine and ice packs for Genna. Genna repeatedly asked many of the same questions, unable to grasp the reality, thinking it was the medicine or a psychotic break.

Jeremy shifted back and forth from large dog to man as many times as she asked, sometimes while holding her hand, each time taking her breath away.

“I’m so sorry, Genna,” he said again. He wouldn’t stop apologizing to her. “I thought you knew what Lester was. I didn’t know you really were innocent. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. I should have been more careful not to let them find you.”

She was calling him Jeremy now, and his anguish-filled amber eyes ripped her heart with as much pain as her body had endured.

Despite that, she still felt pissed. “You used me.”

“I didn’t realize he had your place bugged. I was so mad at Lester, I hoped he had people watching you and word would get back to him that you were working for me, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry. I do love you. I realized I loved you after I met you, but it took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to tell you the truth. But I did fall in love with you, I swear.” He’d said that a lot, too. Said it over and over again, repeating it as if his very life depended on it.

Saying that he loved her.

She fell silent and stared at him. He sat, motionless, holding her hand, waiting for her.

“Shape-shifter?”

He nodded.

“So I’ll turn into…”

He shook his head. “No. But as my…as my mate, certain things will happen to you.”

Maybe the pain meds were helping. Irritation had filtered in past shock and pain. “You never fucking asked me if I wanted that.” Not that she was complaining. Or at least, wouldn’t complain once her anger wore off.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes as if to compose his thoughts for a moment before looking at her again. “Bill was like a brother to me. We grew up together. He was my best friend. I wanted revenge so much and never figured I’d have a way to get to Lester personally. And I never dreamed you weren’t willingly with someone like him. I also didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

“I’ll wake up tomorrow and this will be a horrible dream, right?”

“No. No more bad dreams. I will spend the rest of our life together making this up to you, I swear.”

“Is he dead?” she whispered. The idea of that partly horrified her.

And more than partly relieved her. That was one question she hadn’t asked yet, although she suspected she knew the answer already.

“Yes. We took care of it. He won’t ever bother you again.”

“Won’t the police suspect me?”

“No. They’ll never find his body. And I paid off his attorney. He’s going to tell the parole board Lester left the country against the advice of counsel. He doesn’t want anything else to do with Lester, or Lester’s associates, either.”

“What if the authorities question me?”

“Then I’ll tell them the truth, that I was with you all night. And Ivan and Lindsey will testify they saw us together.”

He cautiously reached out and tenderly stroked her forehead, brushing a stray hair away from her face. “I don’t expect you to forgive me now or maybe ever for not telling you the truth in the beginning. But I swear I will try—”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He froze. “What?”

“I forgive you. Because I’ll wake up and this will be a dream. And I love my Dream Jeremy.” That was the safest way to think. She closed her eyes. “Curl up next to me.”

He did, carefully cradling her. When she awoke, her pain was still there. But so was Jeremy.

“This isn’t a dream, is it?” she asked.

He tenderly kissed the back of her neck. “No.”

“I’m scared of dogs.”

“I’ll spend my life helping you get over that.”

She laughed, and it hurt, but she couldn’t help it.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, puzzled.

She tipped her head back. “I never thought doing it doggy style would be so much fun.”

He smiled and gently nuzzled her. “I think I’ll enjoy working my way out of the doghouse with you.”