Not that it deters the Great Dane from wagging his tail so hard his entire body vibrates, and god help the person who stands behind him. That’ll bruise. He pants and butts Liam’s thigh again. Liam doesn’t stumble, which is impressive given Tiny’s size. Liam chuckles then rubs the dog’s neck. He scratches Tiny behind his ear, and the dog arches his neck in ecstasy.
"Tiny." Dorian yanks at the dog who has obviously decided he’s not going anywhere. He barks, then brushes his head against my hip with so much force I stumble.
Liam catches me about my waist, and pinpricks of heat shudder out from his touch. Oh, no, no, no. Not falling for that again.
I pet Tiny. "Hey, Tiny. How’re you doing? You keeping everyone busy with your antics?"
Tiny barks, then moves to get closer to me. I brace myself for his weight, but Liam steps in front of me, and Tiny plows into him instead.
"Hey boy, want a treat?" He pulls a clear package from the inside of his jacket, then extracts a treat and holds it out, above Tiny’s head.
“Down, boy.” His voice crackles with authority. “Sit.”
Tiny blinks, then sits on his bottom, the best way to see the treat above him. His gaze shifts between Liam and the treat, his mouth hanging open.
“Good boy.” Liam tosses him the treat, and Tiny grabs it out of the air. As he crunches, he watches Liam with eager eyes.
“Lay down, Tiny,” Liam orders.
Tiny hesitates, his gaze held by Liam’s. Then, Liam crouches and holds the treat on the floor. Tiny follows him with his eyes, then with his head, and finally, with his body. Once he’s lying on the floor, Liam feeds him the treat.
By the time Liam is standing, Tiny has already polished off the treat, is back to sitting, and is looking for more.
Hmm, no way Tiny would stay sitting, unless he’s ordered to. Even then, it’s anybody’s guess what he’ll do, but... Apparently, Liam is alpha enough for Tiny to do so without being told by him.
Tiny whines. Liam chuckles, "Okay, that’s it for now, but you behave yourself, and you’ll get more before we leave."
At this point, Dorian tugs on his leash, and the dog allows my brother to lead him away and into the living room.
"Well look at that. You came prepared?" My mother looks at Liam with big heart eyes. Well, apparently I needn’t have worried about how she was going to receive the news. She seems to have fallen for him without finding out anything about him. Of course, the way he’s dressed in his tailor-made suit, clean-shaven jaw, and that dark hair which is so black, there’s almost a bluish cast to it. Not to mention, those deep gray eyes which currently wear a slightly bemused expression. I’d have fallen for him, too. If I didn’t know what an asshole he truly is. But you wouldn’t know that, looking at how he smiles broadly at my mother.
He takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles. "Enchanted to meet you, Nadine," he rumbles.
My mother blushes. Good god, her cheeks actually flush. "Oh, you are a sweetheart, aren’t you?" She tugs on his arm. "Come, meet the others."
9
Liam
"How did you know to bring the doggy treats?" she hisses as we follow her mother into the living room.
"You should know better than to ask that question." I smirk.
Her features darken. "I suppose you found out about Tiny when you had me investigated. No wonder he bypassed me and went straight for you. That was a cheap trick, carrying treats for him." She huffs.
"It worked, didn’t it?" I can’t stop myself from grinning wider.
"Don’t think you can win over the others the same way." She brushes past me, making sure to grind herFerragamo-clad heel into my shoe. I chuckle. She’s curvy but weighs barely enough for me to feel the pressure.
She moves into the room, then pivots and begins to walk back past me.
"Hey," —I grab her wrist— "where are you going?"
"It’s worse than I thought. They’re all here. All of them."
"Who? Your extended family?" I blink.
"They—" She gulps. "My mother’s entire knitting club is here."