“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Gavin screeched, jumping up and down next to the sweetest man he had ever met. “He is just so adorable! And I love him!”
Smiling, Marcus turned toward him, his cheeks a slight shade of pink. “Well, I’m glad you like him. ’Cause he’s yours now. So you need to feed him, walk him, train him, and make sure he doesn’t piss all over my house.”
Gavin nodded, barely hearing a word he said. The four-legged little dude was just too cute to handle.
Then a thought occurred to Gavin, and he froze.
“Wait. You didn’t beat up and steal this puppy from that lady by the tree, did you?”
Marcus’s mouth dropped open. He appeared shocked and offended by the question at the same time.
“No, of course not. But I’m pretty sure that the blood on my knuckles may have been the reason why the woman practically gave me the puppy for free.”
Gavin hugged the puppy close as the little guy licked at his nose and whimpered.
Okay, so the story seemed to check out. He could live with that, even if the woman did give him a discountedpuppy out of fear of the crazy man with bloodstains on his hands.
“I love you so much, little guy.” The puppy was causing major endorphin overload, and Gavin was finding it hard to concentrate. Then another question occurred to him.
“But… why did you buy me a puppy?” he asked, still confused and overjoyed by the gesture.
“’Cause you seemed like you could use a bit of comfort. Perhaps this little guy will help you through some of the trauma you’ve faced these past few days.”
Marcus was looking at him with what one could only assume was concern when it came to tough biker dudes.
He placed his hand on Gavin’s cheek and locked eyes with him once more.
“You know I won’t let anything happen to you while you’re under my protection, right? The sheriff is going to find that motherfucker, and if he can’t, me and the guys will hunt him down ourselves.”
Marcus’s gaze was so intense that Gavin had no doubt in his mind that Marcus would keep his promise.
He nodded as he tightened his grip on his new puppy. The little furball was actually helping him feel better.
“I know you don’t know me, and don’t have any reason to trust me just yet, but I hope that in time, you’ll feel safe here, behind these doors, and trust that I will never let anything bad happen to you.”
But Gavin already had that feeling. That was one of the reasons he had been falling asleep behind Marcus’sbedroom door these past few nights. Being close to Marcus made him feel safe and protected. Knowing that his big, growly protector was just steps away calmed his nerves enough for him to relax and let his guard down, eventually giving in to the pull of sleep.
Now he had his own little guard dog to protect him and help him feel safe.
He smiled up at Marcus. Who would have guessed that under all that muscle and rough exterior lived a sweet man with a generous heart?
“Now, can you please move so I can grill up our supper?” Marcus growled, covering up the steaks with some foil before reaching for the pile of vegetables laid out on the counter.
Smiling, Gavin turned and walked into the living room to begin some much-needed puppy time.
He still couldn’t believe that the big, growly biker man had bought him a puppy! His very own furry, four-legged bundle of love.
Glancing over his shoulder, he felt his heart expand as he watched the six-foot-four beast of a man chop veggies as he prepared dinner for both him and Gavin.
13
MARCUS
All through dinner, Marcus watched Gavin fawn over the dog. He held the mutt on his lap, trying to feed him scraps from the table—not leftover veggies that Gavin was eating, but bits and pieces of cow flesh that kept magically disappearing off Marcus’s plate.
It appeared that their four-legged friend did not follow inDaddy’sfootsteps, but instead preferred to follow in “Big Daddy’s” steps, as Gavin so eloquently put it.
Marcus liked the “big” part, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about the “Daddy” reference. For some reason, he felt that made him seem old and irrelevant.
