Free Sanctuary (Freaks MC Book 2) by Sarah Osborne

tongue trailed across his throat, and, grabbing her hair, he pulled her head back and began to kiss her, more forcefully than before. Fuck it, he wanted her to do with him whatever the fuck she liked.
     
    ~ oOo ~
     
    “ Is he okay?” Deke leaned his forearms on the kitchen table and watched as the dog struggled to his feet.
    “ He's old.” Emma scratched Blue's head. “Doubt he'll last until the spring.”
    “ Shit. Isn't there something you can do?” He knew the dog was old, but he hated the thought of Emma losing her companion as well as her home, and if he was honest, he was fond of the old mutt.
    “ Not really. I give him supplements to help his joints, but I'm not going to let him go on much longer. The poor guy's in pain, and it isn't fair on him.” She smiled a little sadly. “He's had a good long life and I'll miss him, but it would be selfish of me to let him suffer.”
    “ Shit.” His voice sounded gruff and he cleared his throat in an effort to dislodge the lump that was stuck there. Blue took his usual place under the table and rested his head on Deke's lap. “Can't the vet give him something for the pain?”
    “ Yes, and she does. But I don't want him to end his days unable to enjoy life.” She sat down next to him and slipped her hand into his. “That's the good thing about being a dog. If you are suffering, someone will end it for you. We humans don't get that option.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “He's got awhile yet.”
    He looked down at the mutt. Who knew what his parentage was. He'd guess there was a bit of greyhound in there, but the rest was a mystery, and the result wasn't pretty. It wasn't that he didn't like dogs – or any animal for that matter – but he didn't get people keeping pets. If she'd had a Doberman or a German Shepherd, something that was an effective guard dog, he would have understood it. He even sort of understood something cute and fluffy that she could cuddle. But she had chosen a lanky, mottled gray, wirehaired hound with mismatched eyes and a face that only a mother could love. The fucking thing had pissed in his boots, had farts so bad they probably contravened some UN resolution, and would try to kill the chickens the second he thought your back was turned.
    He smiled and scratched Blue behind his stupid, too big ears. Of course Emma didn't want some badass beast to protect her or some hairy rat thing to cuddle. That wouldn't be her at all. She'd gone to the pound and picked out the ugliest, most unlovable looking dog there, simply because she knew no one else would. And because she loved him, Deke loved him, too. He ran his thumb across her slender fingers. “When he… When you... You call me, okay?”
    “ Of course.” Her fingers weren't soft under his thumb, they were rough and callused, and there was dirt under her fingernails. “But I'm not going to wait around until you get here. If he gets sick, I'm not going to prolong it. I've got this, Deke. I don't need you rushing across the country to hold my hand.”
    “ I know, baby girl. But I'd like to be here if I could.” He brought her fingers to his lips – they smelled of linseed – and kissed them softly. “I like holding your hand.”
    Sometimes, like now, she would search his face as if looking for something. He wasn't sure what, but when those pretty blue eyes bored into his, he knew that lying to her was never going to be an option. She smiled, as if she'd found whatever it was she was searching for. “You really are a good man.”
    “No, I ain't. I'm far from that.” He gripped her hand tighter.
    “ Deke. I'm not some starry-eyed kid. I know what I see when I look at you.”
    “ No you don't.” He slammed his hand on the table and Blue flinched, then sloped off into the corner. Deke felt a pang of guilt, but suddenly this was important. She didn't know what it was she was looking at. She had no idea what he was capable of. “I'm a dangerous man to be around.”
    “ Deke..”
    “