“Topless”—BreakingBenjamin
She quietly packed a bag. I was leaning against her dresser as she opened a drawer to get some underwear out. When she grabbed several conservative pairs, I glanced down and saw a few lacy numbers that she’d shuffled past. Picking them up, I held them out. “Pack these.”
“What? You can’t be serious.” She looked at me like I had a dick on my forehead.
“I most certainly can.”
Though she looked like she wanted to argue, she shot me a glare and shoved them in the bag she was packing. Once it was stuffed full, she paused.
“Am I still going to be able to take Sasha?” Worry flickered in her eyes but was quickly neutralized. Hearing her name, the naughty puppy ran at Kira and jumped up to shove her head in-between us.
“Why wouldn’t you be able to take your dog?” I asked in confusion. “Sit!” I told the dog and was pleased when she immediately obeyed.
“Because I don’t know where you’re taking me now, so I didn’t know if the option was still there to take her,” she replied with a slight quiver to her lower lip.
Realizing where her fear and worry was coming from, I had to set her mind at ease. “Relax, babe. We’re still going to my place. Pack whatever you need for her for a few days.” Honestly, I wanted to tell her to pack everything she owned because I didn’t ever want her to leave. But I thought that might freak her out a little.
The tenseness left her shoulders, and she seemed to chill out. She walked out of the room to the kitchen where she filled a giant plastic zipper bag with about five or six scoops of dog food. Then she bent over to pick up the dog bowls, and I damn near had to bite my fist at the sight of her perfect ass in the air again.
The entire time, Sasha trailed behind her. If she could talk, I knew she’d be asking why Mom was taking her bowls away. Kira stopped. “Can you occupy her?”
I cocked my head in confusion. She silently tapped on a bag of dog treats. Understanding dawning, I called the big puppy as I walked to her room. “Come, Sasha!”
She raced after me and happily bounced around at my feet once I got there.
Kira walked in carrying a shopping bag that I assumed had all of Sasha’s things.
“Ready?” I asked. She nodded and swallowed nervously. Maybe I should’ve put an end to her worry, but I didn’t want to discuss shit in front of her roommate.
She led Sasha out to my Jeep and I helped her hook Sasha up to the harness rig I had for Zaka. I’d moved it to the back seat so Kira could ride up front, but I wasn’t sure how Sasha would react to it.
I needn’t have worried, because she was simply happy to be going for a ride.
We arrived at my house without a lot of discussion. Likely because we both had a lot on our minds. Also because the wind didn’t allow for a lot of conversation without yelling.
Once we pulled into my garage, she faced me. “Tell me what’s going on. I can’t take this.”
“Let’s get inside and we’ll talk.” I reached up to push the button to close the garage door. Sasha was whining quietly in the back seat. Now that we’d stopped, her patience with the harness was running low. She’d need to get used to it, because she and Kira would be going places with me and Zaka.
At least, after we got the shit straightened out with her father. That had me wondering how I was going to tell her I’d agreed to kill her father or brother in place of her. Maybe she never needed to know that part.
Hell, I didn’t know if De Luca would go for that idea anyway. Then I might have a real shitshow on my hands.
Once inside, I had to deal with the chaos that was Zaka in his crate. I’d kenneled him up when I left because I knew Sasha would be coming back with us. It would be better to reintroduce them in a controlled manner.
“Hold on to her. We’ll take them into the backyard,” I said as I handed Kira her dog’s leash.
“Easy, boy. Settle,” I told him as he damn near shook the kennel apart. He immediately sat and impatiently waited. I opened the door, slipped the harness on him, and clipped the leash to it. “Zaka, heel. Outside.”
He followed me obediently out the back door. Kira followed at a distance, but I knew Zaka had spotted them the second I let him out. He’d probably smelled them on me and was already cataloging them in his mind. He adored Kira.
“Sit,” I told him. He followed my directions like a champ, and I was pretty sure it was because he was showing off for the ladies. I rolled my eyes, and a half-smile lifted my lips.
“Bring her over,” I said softly to Kira, speaking in calm tones. She brought Sasha closer, and I could feel Zaka quivering in anticipation. He was fairly social when it came to other dogs, but you never knew.
“Easy,” I said to him as he sniffed at Sasha. She jumped and darted to the side, but Kira got after her and kept a firm hand on her.
After a bit of letting them check each other out, I could sense they’d be okay. We gave them a loose leash first and they started to play. When there were no aggressive moves by either, we let them off the leash.