The girl might not show it, but she was still terrified.
When she got out of the car, Garrison shook his head. “You should stay here while I check to make sure it’s safe.”
“Trust me, no one is in my house.”
Garrison held out his hand. “Then you won’t mind me checking, will you?”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, the color blanching, and he had to admit…he sort of liked that.
Stop it, you idiot. She isn’t interested.
Especially in what he was interested in. He again recalled the way the cuffs had looked on the woman’s wrists last night, how hard he’d gotten watching her touch the toys.
Yeah, this woman wouldn’t be into that, which meant it would never work. Garrison had long before accepted that he’d never be happy with a vanilla relationship. He needed that other part to a relationship, needed a woman who would want to play those games, who would melt at his dominance, who craved it. That woman wasn’t Sunny.
Still, she handed over the keys, then lifted her eyebrow as if letting him hang himself.
Which seemed odd, but Garrison let it go. People in moments of stress did lots of strange things.
She walked with him, and while he’d have preferred she stayed in the car until he knew the house was clear, he also understood that allowing a man she didn’t know into her home wasn’t easy, so he compromised.
He slid the key into the lock, then opened the heavy, black security door. Different keys went to each of her locks inside—there were two deadbolts plus the one on the handle—and he couldn’t fault her security. It was easy to figure out, since the locks were a different metallic shade which matched the key that went with it.
Once he’d made it through all the locks and pushed the door open, an odd, deep sound came from inside.
He frowned, listening carefully, until his eyes adjusted to the interior dimness and made out where the noise came from—a black Neapolitan Mastiff, his lips curled up and his teeth bared.
Garrison jumped backward, because the damn thing hadn’t even barked in warning. It could take his arm with one bite if it wanted to.
Sunny let out a chuckle that was far too amused before she knelt in front of it. “It’s okay, Spike.”
The huge dog chuffed in Garrison’s direction before knocking Sunny backward, onto her ass, when it butted her with its head for attention.
She laughed—a real one this time—as she snuggled the gigantic black beast. And wow, that laugh was something.
“Spike?”
She dug her fingers into the loose skin behind the dog’s ears, lavishing it with attention. “From an old cartoon. It was a dog who chased a cat.”
Garrison thought back, recalling how the cat in it had chased a mouse. It seemed fitting, in a way. Clearly, she saw herself as the mouse, and she’d gotten the dog to keep the big bad cat away…
“So this is how you knew no one would be in your house?”
She nodded before pushing Spike off her.
Garrison extended his hand to her, so used to the motion it didn’t strike him as a bad idea until she stared at his outstretched hand.
Right. Probably doesn’t want to touch you.
Still, Sunny did, as if she had something to prove.Brave girl.She stood with his help. “Yeah. Spike here keeps an eye on my place. I started out with just locks, but there isn’t anything that feels quite as safe as having someone living to watch your back. I found him at the animal shelter when I went there to volunteer, and big black dogs are rarely adopted. So, I ended up bringing Spike home with me.” Loneliness sat in her voice, and it made Garrison want to do…something.
What, he didn’t know. In reality, all he had to offer was a bit of help at the moment. He doubted she’d let him give anything more.
“Well, can I check the place out anyway?”
Sunny gestured to the open door. “Go ahead, if it’ll make you feel better.”
Garrison entered, the house cozy and quaint. It was small—only one bedroom, two bath—which told him she had no intention of bringing anyone else into her life.