Love Heals All (Once Broken Book 2) Page 7

  “Sit, Brody,” Brooke calls to him and he listens, but I can tell he’s excited and struggling to stay still.

  “Good boy, Brody.” She drops his leash and walks away. His bum starts to come off the floor, but I look at him and hold up my hand, telling him to stay, and he does. After a few minutes of him sitting, he lays down and relaxes a bit. I’m proud of my buddy already. I place his dog bowls down in the kitchen by the back door while Brooke grabs his bed.

  “Where do you want this?” She holds it up.

  I shrug. “My room?” It’s more of a question than an answer, but she does as I ask without trying to change my mind.

  We really got a lot of stuff. I have a dog brush, shampoo, treats, food, toys—lots of toys—and a basket to put them in. I toss a few of them on the floor near him and he begins chewing on the one he chose, while I put the remainder in the basket in a corner of the living room.

  Brooke comes back into the kitchen. “You have a nice place.”

  “Thank you. It’s small, but it works for now.” I toss the bags into the trash and try to figure out where I’ll store his food.

  “You’re really going to want to get him on a feeding schedule. What time do you leave in the morning?” She leans on my counter top.

  I go through the morning routine I’ve created with Callen. She’s happy to hear about our run, she tells me it’ll be good for him. He’s a high energy job. She tells me to feed him as soon as I get home from our run and take him out right before I leave. That should eliminate any accidents during the day, since he’s already trained…or at least I’m hoping. Then I need to feed him again as soon as I get home. Grabbing a cup from the cabinet, I give him the amount of food she recommends and fill his bowl with water.

  “Now, what would you like to eat?” I ask, pinning her to the counter top she’s leaning against.

  “I’m not a picky eater.” She looks up at me, biting her lip. I stare into her eyes, thinking about how much I’ve wanted to bite that lip. I slowly lower my lips to hers, pausing as our noses are about to touch. My intentions clear, she releases her lip from her teeth, closes her eyes, and I gently press my lips to hers. I glide my tongue across the seam of her soft, full lips and she instantly opens for me. Our tongues collide, meeting for the first time. She tastes heavenly. I run my hands up her arms and into her hair, tipping her head just enough for me to deepen the kiss.

  We suddenly feel a tail smacking us in the leg, breaking our moment. I press my forehead to hers and chuckle. “I think someone’s already jealous.”

  “I think you’re right.” I rub my nose on hers and gently kiss her one last time before I step away to pet Brody.

  “There are take-out menus in the drawer right beside you.” She pulls them out and we flip through them, deciding to share a pizza and some breadsticks. We both typically eat pretty healthy, but agree we deserve the splurge from time to time.

  While we’re waiting, I send off an email to the apartment management office, letting them know that I did, in fact, get a dog, and that I’ll be by on Monday with his papers and the check for the deposit.

  A short time later the doorbell rings. It’s the pizza guy. Brody starts barking and I tell him to calm down, it’s okay. He answers the door with me, tail wagging. Brooke grabs his collar to control him while I pay the guy.

  “That’s some attack dog you have there,” the guy pokes fun.

  “Scared the shit out of you.” The guy chuckles handing off the pizza and runs down the porch. “Good boy.” I pet him and he runs back into the living room with us.

  I set the box down on the kitchen counter while we get plates. “There’s water and beer in the fridge.”

  She opens the refrigerator door. “I’m going to have water. What do you want?”

  “Water is good. I have to bring you home later.”

  She pulls two bottles of water from the fridge while I place pizza and breadsticks on some plates for us.

  We take a seat on the couch to eat while we watch some TV. Brody lies at my feet, calm and relaxed. We begin talking about shows we enjoy and different things we like to do. We learn that neither of us watch TV much and would rather be out doing stuff. I put my plate on the coffee table when I’m done. I’ve left a piece of crust there that I was too full to eat.

  “Bad idea,” she warns. “Dogs are quick. Always keep food out of his reach. The last thing you want is for him to get used to people food.”

  “I wasn’t even thinking.”

  “Having a dog around takes getting used to, but you don’t want him to eat something that could make him sick.” She’s right. I take both our plates and scrape them into the trash. When I get back, she’s petting him while he relaxes in the same spot he was in when I left. I take a seat next to her.

  She leans in close. “Thank you for dinner.” She presses her lips to mine.

  “Thank you for finding me the perfect dog.” I slip my hand into her hair and kiss her again. This time our tongues meet and the kiss becomes more intimate. She climbs onto my lap. My hands run up her back under her shirt, feeling her silky soft skin.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” She grinds her pussy against my cock. I didn’t realize she has wanted me as much as I’ve wanted her, and she doesn’t give me the opportunity to question it. Her mouth crashes back down on mine. I flip her so she’s beneath me on the couch. I rub my hard cock against her squeezing her breast through her bra. She moans into my mouth. Trailing kisses along her jaw toward her ear, I bite down gently on her earlobe. This time she whimpers, and it causes a reaction from Brody, who jumps up and puts his front paws on my ass.

  I turn to my dog. “What? She’s fine. Look.” He licks her face and she bursts into laughter.

  I sit up, pulling her with me. “Is this what my life is going to be like now? You interrupting my time with Brooke?” I pet his head. “Go lay down,” I tell him but he doesn’t budge. He sits there staring at me like I’m crazy.

  “It’s getting late. Maybe I should head home. What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “Nothing. I’ll be with this crazy guy trying to adjust.”

  “How about I show you two a really great dog park not too far from here.” She looks so excited and I think it’s fucking adorable.

  “That sounds good to me.” I look at the dog. “What do you think, buddy? Should we go to the dog park with Brooke?” I lower my head and pet his face. He licks me, full of excitement. “Well, I guess that makes it a date.” I hook his leash back onto his collar and we all head out to take Brooke home.

  Chapter 7

  Vaughn

  What’s that noise and why is my face all wet? I jump up. “Shit, Brody. I’m sorry, bud. Need to go out?” he whimpers again. I hurry out of bed and throw on some shorts. I grab his leash on my way to the back door. I’m trying to hurry. He had a rough night sleeping in his new bed, and I don’t want him to have an accident. No sooner do we get out to the yard than he starts sniffing around. I lead him over to the far corner of the yard where I would like him to go. He digs around a bit but then does his business like a good boy. He’s really excited, he starts jumping around and running as far as the leash will allow him. “Tomorrow we’ll go for a run, buddy.” I tug his leash gently, telling him it’s time to go in. “Come on, Brody. I have to shower before Brooke arrives.” Brody lights up at the mention of Brooke’s name and runs for the door. I laugh. “Okay, okay, calm down.” We get inside and he goes straight to his bowl. I pour his food in and head to my room to get in the shower.

  When I’m done getting ready I realize that I never called the gate to let them know I was expecting a guest. I grab my cell phone and quickly dial the number, hoping I get to them before she gets there. I told her to be ready with her ID because they won’t let her in without it. They tell me it’s all set, and that she hasn’t tried to get in yet. While I wait for her, I pack us a picnic for lunch. Nothing too crazy, just sandwiches, chips, fruit, and some carrots and humm
us. I stick everything in the fridge to keep it cold until she gets here. I gather some essentials like bottled water for both us and the dog, a plastic bowl for his water, a couple of his toys, and a blanket for us to lie on.

  I have everything together in the living room when there’s a knock at the door. Brody runs to the door, barking like crazy. “Brody, calm down. It’s Brooke.” Unfortunately my thought that those words would calm him are wrong. He starts jumping like crazy. I grab his leash and open the door to find Brooke laughing at Brody’s reaction. “Did you hear him? He got louder when I mentioned your name.”

  “I know. I could hear him going crazy through the door.” I shake my head. She steps through the door and stops to pet him. She calms him down and tells him to go lay down. He listens and takes a seat in the living room. “What’s all this?”

  “Well, since we’re going to the dog park, I figured we would have a picnic. I think I thought of everything for Brody, but can you make sure I’m not forgetting anything?”

  She presses her lips to mine. “I love how concerned you are.” She looks through my pile of things I have aside for Brody. “I would add a small baggie of treats to reward him for good behavior. We don’t know how he’s going to react to the other dogs, and it’s a good opportunity to teach him your expectations.”

  I laugh. “I’ve always loved dogs, but I’ve never owned one. What are my expectations?”

  She bursts into laughter. “Well, for starters, we have to get him to calm down a bit and control his excitement. I have a feeling he’s going to be overjoyed when we get there, but we’ll see.”

  “Okay, shall we find out?”

  “Let’s roll.” She calls for Brody, who comes running with excitement. She puts her hand down in front of him and he slows, but still wags his tail like crazy. “Sit, Brody.” He listens and plops his butt on the ground. She clips his leash to his neck. “Stay.” She walks away, leaving him sitting there.

  “How do you do that?” I’m amazed by how well she handles him.

  “First, I’m a veterinarian. I know a lot about animals. Second, I spoke with the woman at the shelter before bringing you to meet him. I wanted a dog that was already pretty well trained for you. He’s young, but was taught well.” She scoops up the blanket and his stuff while I finish tossing our picnic into the cooler.

  “We’ll take my car. It’ll be easier for us to get back on base after.” I grab the cooler and Brody’s leash.

  When we get out to the car, Brody jumps right into the backseat like a good dog, and I load everything else into the trunk. Brooke and I get settled in the car and she leans in to kiss me. As soon as our lips meet, we get licked by Brody, who is very excited to be going out today. We both laugh and I set the GPS to the coordinates of the park. It’ll take us about twenty minutes to get there.

  When we arrive it takes us a minute to find a spot, because it’s quite busy. There are trees scattered throughout, creating nice, shady spots. “Look, there’s the dog playground,” I point out.

  “Too bad Brody is far too big for that one.”

  Brooke climbs out, grabbing Brody while I get the stuff from the trunk. “Look, Vaughn. There’s a perfect tree right over there. Let’s start there.”

  “Sounds good.” I push the button to lock my car and we head over to set up our picnic. Brody is so excited he’s pulling Brooke. “Brody, slow down.” Brooke giggles.

  “Easy boy.” I try to calm him down. There are dogs everywhere. I can tell he’s itching to run free, but we won’t let him. He’s a bit bigger than some of these dogs and I’m worried he’ll hurt them. Plus I don’t trust that he’ll come back to me when I call him…not yet, anyway.

  I get busy setting up the blanket and placing the basket down while Brooke introduces Brody to some other dogs. I love watching her interact with the dogs. She looks so happy kneeling in front of them, talking to the other dogs’ owners. She’s amazing.

  She catches me checking her out in her fitted jean shorts and purple shirt. I didn’t think it was possible, but her smile grows even bigger when she catches me watching her. She stands biting her lip and holding Brody’s leash. She walks toward me, but Brody never budges. “Brody, come,” she says, never breaking eye contact with me. Lord help me, this woman makes my pulse race.

  Brody sits at our feet as she looks up into my eyes. “Were you just checking me out?” She smirks.

  “Guilty as charged.” I try to fight my grin but fail.

  She grabs my shirt and pulls me down for a kiss. “My ass best be the only ass your eyes are on.” She looks at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “You better believe it.” I place my hands on either side of her face and press my lips to hers one more time. Brody barks, letting us know he wants our attention. “We really need to work on that with him.” She giggles and the sound is music to my ears. We both take a seat leaning up against a huge tree trunk and Brody lays beside us. I put the bowl out for him with some water and he begins lapping it up.

  “I bought him a treat.” Brooke digs into her bag and pulls out a Frisbee. “I’m not sure he’s ready to use it yet, because I’m not sure if he’ll run wild when we take him off the leash. I would recommend we try it while we’re together, so if he tries to take off, we can catch him.”

  “Do you really think he’ll take off?” I ask, because realistically, I think he’s a great dog, and although it’s only been one night, he seems really happy with me.

  “Test him. Walk away while I sit here next to him.” She scoots over closer to his leash when I get up.

  I look down to see his ears perk up and he watches to see what I do. He starts to get up, but I stop him. “Sit.” I hold my hand out and he stops, but his eyes never leave mine as I walk the area. “Come here, boy.” He comes running full steam at me, but stops at my feet. “He’s trained pretty well.” Leaving his leash on the ground, I begin to walk away. “Come on, Brody.” He walks alongside me.

  We’re both impressed. Brooke hands him a treat and praises him for his behavior. Once he settles, we both decide to dig into our lunch. “How’s the new job going?” I ask, curious to see what’s changing now that she’s an actual veterinarian.

  “It’s great. I’m doing a lot of the things I was doing before, only now Dr. Kramer isn’t looking over my shoulder when I do them.” She bites into her sandwich. “Legally, he couldn’t allow me to do anything on my own because I wasn’t licensed, but now that I’ve finished school, and taken my license exam, we can work on separate animals.” Her face glows with pride as she talks about it.

  “You really love what you do, huh?”

  She nods. “I do.”

  “How about you? Do you love being a mechanic?”

  “Yeah, I went to a trade school to be an auto mechanic, but at the last minute I decided to join the Army straight out of high school.” I take a minute to pet Brody, who quietly lies beside me.

  “Why?” She turns to look at me with her head rested against the tree trunk. Her hair pulled back into a ponytail showing off her beautiful face.

  “Well, in New York you can get job placement straight out of high school if you go to a trade school like I did. The problem was the jobs I was being offered weren’t going to pay me shit for money. I loved my job, but wanted more than a minimum wage job. I worked hard in school to finish top of my class, hoping to get something decent and I got shit. That’s when I decided to be a mechanic in the service. This way I could do what I love and serve my country.”

  She grins at me. “How much time do you have left?”

  “My time is about up. I don’t know if you know this, but I met Remy in boot camp. We were separated for a bit, and then hooked back up later on. We’ve always stayed in touch.”

  “I didn’t know that. He mentioned he’s known you for years, but didn’t really say how you guys met. What are you going to do when your time is up?”

  “Well, Callen finishes right after me. We’ve discussed opening an auto shop of our own and w
orking it together.” I shrug. “Give the local folks the small hometown shop they all love.” She grins. “It’s one of the things I love about the south, everyone loves to take care of the small town mom and pop places.”

  “It’s so true. You guys would do great down here.”

  “There’s that and then there’s the fact it would keep me close to you.” I lean in and rub my nose on hers. She slips closer to me, places her hand at the back of my neck, and pulls me in for a kiss. She instantly opens to me and our tongues meet, tangling together in a passionate kiss.

  After a minute I pull away, not wanting to get out of control in public. “Stay with me tonight.” It’s more of a demand than a question, and I can’t believe I just made it. I never, and I mean never allow a woman to stay at my house. What if I have a nightmare and scare her away? I stare into her eyes, because despite my fears, I really want her to stay. She looks at me like she can read my hidden fears, but she finally nods. I press my lips to hers one more time. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s pack up this mess and get Brody running around a bit before we leave. Then he’ll be good and tired when we get back to your place.” She wiggles her brows. My sexy girl is thinking dirty thoughts and a ton of ideas come to mind. My dick twitches, and I mentally tell him to chill the fuck out. She picks up the frisbee that she brought. “Brody, you want to play?” She shows Brody the frisbee and he jumps up, ready for some fun. She throws it near me, hoping he’ll run to me and pick it up. He does. I try to get him to give the frisbee to me, but he runs it back to her. She pets his head and she throws it again. He grabs it up and runs back to her. The next time she throws it, I scoop it up before Brody can grab it.