Dex’s face tingled when he spotted his phone sticking out of a pocket at the side of Hammer’s jacket, and he reached for it, hoping neither his abductor nor their host would notice. Paws stampeded over the wooden floor and Hammer spun around, leaving Dex to retreat empty-handed, but when a pale puma the size of a German Shepherd pushed past the other door and faced them with interest in large green eyes, he hid behind Hammer with a loud yelp.
“You didn’t tell him?” Cora asked with a chuckle and approached the massive cat with thick paws.
“Nah, I thought it would be funnier if he found out for himself,” Hammer said and winked at Dex as their host kneeled next to her pet and scratched it under the chin, as if it were a regular, if overgrown, house cat.
“Look at that, Baby, we have guests!”
“It’s not funny at all!” Dex said but didn’t have the guts to step away as his heart rattled. Why was he being mocked if he’d done as told and acted like a good little submissive?
But when the puma purred, shutting its eyes in response to long fingers caressing its jaw, Dex couldn’t help but smile.
Cora stroked Baby’s head behind the ears. “She’s a rescue. I took her in when her original owner discovered she had heart issues, and I had her since then. She’s harmless, but treat her with respect or she’ll claw your eyes out. We’re soulmates, she and I.”
Dex’s heart was still rattling, but when Cora made space by her pet and smiled in encouragement, he scooted down and extended his hands to the animal. He wouldn’t be missing out on an opportunity like this just because he was here as a hostage. “That’s so cool.” He glanced up at Hammer with a smile.
Warm fur pushed against his fingers, and he froze in awe as Baby smelled him, moving her muzzle along Dex’s wrist. He would have lost his balance if Hammer wasn’t there to hold him upright.
“Because of her, never open one of those doors before making sure the other’s shut. Cora forgot to do it today,” Hammer said with a little grin, which prompted her to groan.
“It’s not even six in the morning, and you decided to knock on my door uninvited. I should have left you to wait in the car. Maybe my heart just got too soft.”
Dex barely kept himself from squealing when Baby tasted his sweat. This animal could kill him if it bit through his throat, but it was so cute. Jag would have loved this—or would he? He had claimed to have killed a jaguar in the past, so Dex wasn’t sure if his encounter with Baby would have been as friendly as this one. When the puma yawned, showing off her massive teeth, Hammer pulled on Dex’s nape, urging him up.
“You haven’t collared him yet?” Cora asked, confusing Dex until he understood that Baby wasn’t the subject of the question.
Happy to play along, he grinned at Hammer, meeting his piercing gray eyes. “Exactly. Two years together, and I still have no collar.”
Hammer’s eyelid twitched, but he showed no other signs of annoyance. “It’s never been my thing, Cora. My style isn’t… structured, and you know that as well, boy,” he said, twisting his hand in the front of Dex’s top before bringing him close for a breathless moment of intimate proximity that made Dex believe he might be kissed.
He should have learned by now that Hammer was an excellent liar, but the butterflies in Dex’s stomach were too dumb to get the memo, still fluttering their wings and making his face overheat.
“I know, I know, but a boy can dream,” he said with a chuckle.
Cora shook her head and led them farther into the sprawling house. Wood covered almost every surface, making the interiors reminiscent of a woodland cabin with luxurious yet unpretentious furnishings. The puma followed them with interest, but then settled on a large leopard-print sofa in front of a massive TV, which their host clearly didn’t want to part with to obtain the money needed to pay off her creditors.
“Right, Mr. I-don’t-like-rules,” Cora teased Hammer, grabbing a set of keys off a marble kitchen island. “You always had to get your way. I’m surprised you decided to keep a sub of your own in the first place, never mind their gender.”
Oh,thiswas juicy. This Dex wanted to know more about. “It’s always his way or the highway. But what was he like back then?” Whenever then was.
Cora frowned, walking through the large open space in the middle of the house like a queen through her boudoir. Her bare feet sank into a plush Persian rug covering most of the floor on the way to a corridor watched over by the massive wooden statue of a grizzly.
“I’ve always known you like a brat, but if he were my sub, his ass would be as pink as his lips.”
Dex’s stomach twisted when Hammer’s big, warm hand moved along his shoulder and squeezed his nape in warning.
“Like a child, he likes to test the boundaries of new people.”
Dex was both offended and confused. For once, he decided to keep his mouth shut despite the alarm bells ringing in his head.
Cora flashed him a dangerous grin. “Shall we have a little tour of the implements you might use to celebrate your anniversary?” she asked, but the question wasn't meant for Dex.
“Oh, I’m curious what improvements you’ve made,” Hammer said, leading Dex past the bear, along a corridor smelling of incense. “Is there someone else in the house?”
“No one else lives here. I like to have my own space. My boys visit when they’re needed.”
“Wouldn’t they be useful if your creditors—”
“I do not need my puppies to defend me,” Cora said in a tone so sharp it could have skinned a man alive.