It wasn't ruined for me. I continued to take in every dip and bulge of Garret's amazing body while he argued with Gage. So far, he hadn't shown me more than I saw when they worked out. But he was undoing his fly now. My mouth went dry. He had boxers on beneath. They got pushed down with the jeans, but clung to his . . . oh, my. He was hard.
My stare popped up to Garret's face and found him grinning. I don't know what came over me, but I grinned back. That made him smile even wider. And then he pushed his boxers down. And I looked at what was revealed.
Not just looked. I stared at the most beautiful piece of male flesh I'd ever seen. Garret was manscaped, his dark curls clipped short, and the sides shaved clean. Out of that nest, a thick length of rock-hard flesh rose, topped by a plump, pink head. One look and I knew it would be a perfect fit. I could almost feel it inside me.
“Son of a bitch,” Gage growled, then took a deep swig from his bottle.
“Yup, score one for Garret. Indie likey,” Gideon said and laughed.
I glanced at the men and when I looked back, Garret was crouched, hiding the goods. I almost protested, but then he went blurry. I blinked, thinking it was my vision, but Garret only blurred more. He became a haze that grew and bulged into a form with four legs. The blur tightened and focused. I gasped as it came together like a view through binoculars.
A massive dog stood before me. No, a hound. Its fur was glossy gray, its paws as big as my head, and when it grinned at me, it displayed a set of teeth sharp enough to take a hand off. It looked a little wolfish, but beyond its size, there was nothing hellish about it. Scary, yes, but not paranormal.
And then the dog went transparent.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed and jerked forward.
Garret vanished altogether, and I jumped up. I don't know what I intended to do. I suppose it was an automatic reaction.
Then Garret reappeared—back in his human body.
“Dear God,” I whispered. I was too shocked to ogle him. I just stared at his face.
“Are you all right, Indie?” Garret asked.
“Just get dressed, asshole,” Gage said as he stood up and put an arm around me. “Sit down, Indie. Come on, darling girl. Sit down. It's okay. You're okay. He's still Garret. Nothing has changed.”
I sat down and looked at Gage. He handed me my cider.
“I'm fine,” I said and took a sip. “Really. I'm fine. I, uh, wow.”
My mind raced, but it kept circling back to the same thought—they weren't monsters. Silas had made me think that as soon as I saw them in their other forms, I'd be terrified and convinced that they were demons. But I was neither of those things. They were just dogs. No horns or scales. Nothing monstrous beyond their size. And that felt right to me. If they were paranormal guard dogs, they didn't need horns and glowing eyes or fire coming out of their noses. It also explained why they'd need weapons. If they had to defend themselves against people like Silas, who had supernatural strength to match theirs, they'd need more than teeth and claws. Especially if they wanted to stay in their human bodies to fight. Yes, I was feeling good about Garret's dog form. It was pure animal, but he was still in there. And just seeing it made me certain it was his second form, not his main body. For one thing, he hadn't lingered in it.
“I'm good,” I said. “Thank you, Garret. That really helped. Now I don't have to wonder anymore.”
Garret looked up from fastening his jeans. “You're welcome, Indigo Darling. I enjoyed it too.”
“Ugh! Sit down, Magic Mike!” Gideon threw a pillow at Garret. “Show's over.”
I burst out laughing and that put the men at ease enough to join me. Thank goodness. Maybe I could trust them now.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day, we were leaving one of the local diners when a dog ran out into the road. Someone shouted a name, but I didn't hear it. I was staring at the pickup on a collision course with the animal. It was going to get hit. No question. And I couldn't look away. Not enough time. Oh, this was going to scar me.
A blur passed on my right and then Gideon was across the street, holding the dog. And it was a big dog. A husky, I think. I don't know. I've never had a pet. The pickup came to a screeching stop, and the driver gaped at Gideon while another man ran across the street with a leash in his hand.
“Oh, fuck,” the man exclaimed. “Thank you. Thank you so much! The clasp on his leash broke. Shit. Eddie.” He crouched and hugged the dog. As the dog licked his face, he looked at Gideon again. “Thank you. You were so fast! That was insane!”
“No problem.” Gideon petted the dog, then got up and ran back to us across the street.
The traffic had stopped in both directions and as Gideon crossed the road, people applauded. It started with the ones in the cars and spread to everyone on the sidewalks. More people came out of the shops to add their cheers to the mix. I started to clap too. I couldn't help it.
Gage snorted. “Shit, the only thing he could have done to impress the people here more than that would be to save a baby.”
“They do love their dogs here.” Garret smirked. “We fit right in.”
“That was incredible!” I exclaimed as Gideon made it over to us. Then I hugged him. “You're a hero.”
