Page 34 of River Wild

He cocks his head to the side, dark eyes appraising, arms still folded over his chest. “If it’s not your dog, then how do you know it’s a she?”

“Um … because she’s cute and sweet, obviously.”

The dog starts to wriggle in my arms, forcing me to put her down.

She immediately goes over to another flower bed where she cocks her leg up and has a pee.

Huh. I guess she is a he.

“And, now, your gender-confused dog is pissing on my flowers. Awesome,” he grumbles.

I daren’t tell him that I trod over a bunch of his precious flowers back there.

“Well, clearly, she’s a boy dog—I mean, he’s a boy dog!” I huff at him while I gather up my hair and wring out the excess water.

I’m soaked through.

My pajamas are plastered to my body, and … sweet Lord, I’m not wearing a bra!

As the realization hits me, I snap my gaze up to find River’s eyes on me.

And he’s not looking at my face.

Nope. His eyes are firmly fixed on my bra-free chest. I fold my arms over my boobs and loudly clear my throat.

He lifts his eyes to mine. All dark and moody.

He doesn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed after being caught staring at my breasts.

Jerk.

“So … I guess I’ll be on my way.”

“And the dog?” The guy wears a perpetual frown on his face, but he still manages to frown on top of his frown.

Figure that one out.

I look over at the dog, who is now cutely growling at the grass. Or whatever is on the grass that’s making him growl.

I walk over and pick him up. The growling ceases immediately, and he snuggles into my neck, like he’s seeking comfort and contact.

For some reason, a lump forms in my throat. Must be pregnancy hormones playing me up. “I’ll take him home with me and try to find out who he belongs to.”

River gives a humorless laugh. “Trust me; that dog doesn’t have an owner anymore. No collar and tag. He’s skinny, and his fur is matted to hell. Someone got rid of him a while ago.”

Now that I feel him in my arms, I register just how small he is, and I just thought his fur was matted up from the unexpected swim. But, now that River’s pointed it out, I can see this dog is all alone. And my heart breaks in this moment.

I hold him a little tighter to me. “Why would anyone do that? Put a sweet, defenseless, little dog out onto the streets, all alone.”

“Because people are selfish cunts.”

I flinch at the harshness of his words.

He’s staring at me. I look into his eyes. And what I see there surprises me.

It surprises me because I know that look. I used to see it in my own eyes every time I could bear to look in the mirror. I still see it now.

Like your soul is empty. Hollow.