Her Wild Protector

“You will?” Lola asked. “All right! I’ll save you a seat next to me. We’ll have fun, you’ll see.” Her friend’s excitement was almost contagious. Almost.

“I just want to get out for a little while. I’m not going to stay late and I don’t want you trying to hook me up with any guys.”

“Now, would I do that?” Lola asked. Tara pictured her friend with the wicked grin she knew was on her face.

“Yes, you would and you have. I don’t need a man in my life right now, so no matchmaking.”

“There’s this new guy in my office that might come. You two would be perfect together.”

Tara sighed, loud enough so Lola could hear. “What did I just say? No men! I’m doing fine by myself.”

“Okay, if you call living in a shoe box and eating cereal and frozen pizza for dinner every night fine, then I’ll leave you alone and let you enjoy your life. I hear there are some great movies on PBS on Saturday. That’s where you’ve been hanging out on the weekends, right?”

Tara winced. Her friend was right. However, although Lola’s description did sum up her existence at the moment, it was how she chose to live. No dates, a miserable social life and a simple, undemanding job. She didn’t trust men, and she didn’t trust herself anymore, either. The low-level administrative position she held was all she felt capable of performing right now, even though she disliked it immensely and was often bored. When she thought of taking on a more challenging position, her mind flashed to those hours sitting in the lawyer’s office as Karl had listed her shortcomings, and she shuddered. “Hey, sorry, that was kind of harsh,” Lola said, a note of sympathy in her tone. “I just don’t want to see you dry up and turn into some kind of crazy old lady because of one asshole. There are still a few good men out there and you’ll find one, but you’ve got to get your behind out of your apartment.”

“I know, I know—I said I’d come. I’ll talk. I’ll mingle. I’ll drink. No romance just yet, okay? Promise?”

“All right, I promise. See you soon!”

* * *

“So then I said…hey, are you listening to me?” Lola asked, waving her hand in front of Tara’s face.

“Yes, I’m listening. You said Alice ate someone’s month-old sandwich she stole from the lunchroom refrigerator and got sick.”

“You don’t seem especially interested in my fascinating story. Your eyes are meandering around like your brain is somewhere far away. Are you thinking about anything particular? Something you want to share?”

Tara didn’t. She was thinking about nothing and enjoying it immensely. She listened to Lola with only half her concentration.

Her friend didn’t wait for an answer and resumed her narrative. Tara took the opportunity to focus on a man who had caught a bit of her attention. He had dark hair that was just a little longer than was the fashion, but it looked good on him. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but the rest of his face was attractive, if one enjoyed the rugged, dangerous look. Tara did. Pretty boys made her nervous. She could never be with a man who spent more time on grooming than she did. This one looked like he woke up with the same sexy dark shadow on his chin that he now sported. She crossed her legs, a twinge of heat causing her heart to beat faster.

Dark and Dangerous sat with several other men and women who were dressed like they had just come from their office, the same as her group. His rigid posture suggested military training and his facial expression was serious. Unlike the others in his group, he did not appear to be having a good time. She couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked as if he was drinking bottled water. What was he doing at happy hour?

From what she could see of his upper torso through his button-down work shirt, his body was in good condition, a welcome change of pace from most men she dealt with in her work environment. Too many of them had let themselves go, developing beer bellies and sagging chins at a young age. She leaned a little farther in her chair to get a better look.

“Hey now, you checking out that man candy over there? I thought you weren’t interested in the opposite sex,” Lola teased.

“I’m trying to see that woman he’s with. She looks familiar.”

This was partially true. Tara was sure she’d seen his companion in the finance section once or twice. Right now, the woman was laughing loudly with one of those raucous, grating laughs that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Yeah, she does something around here. I see her a lot, too. Damn, that laugh of hers is enough to make you want to rip off your ears. You think she’s drunk?” Lola asked.

She was something, if not drunk. Her companion had to move more than once to avoid her sloshing drink. Suddenly, all the noise and bar smells got to Tara. Her mysteriously heightened senses had reached overload and it was time to go. She hugged her friend and dug her keys from her purse.

“We’ll do this again,” Lola said. “You had fun, nothing bad happened, you got a few of those cobwebs blown out of your brain, right?”

“My cobwebs are fine where they are,” Tara replied, but smiled. “Sure, it was fine. I’ll come out again.”

She made her way down the stairs but decided she wasn’t quite ready to leave the tranquility of the sea just yet. Wandering between the various shops and restaurants that lined this area of the port, she came to a quiet spot with an unobstructed view of the water. She stood for a few moments, watching the rays of the sun fan out. Once again, her mind slipped into a peaceful place and she stood motionless, letting the breeze lift her hair.

An odd noise, something between a growl and a whimper, interrupted her reverie. She noticed the edge of what looked like a large cage behind a few boxes. Always curious, she walked around the corner of the building. It was a cage and inside was a dog. No, on closer examination she ascertained it was a wolf dog. She’d seen this type of hybrid before and always felt sorry for them. Wolves were not domestic animals. They needed to live differently than dogs and no creature should be kept locked up like this. The cage, while large, barely offered the animal enough room to even stand up. He looked up at her with soulful eyes and she squatted a safe distance from his enclosure.

He didn’t appear to be abused and had plenty of water, but his face looked sad.

“Hey there, sweetie. How’s it going?”

The animal woofed softly and put a paw at the edge of the cage. She wanted to touch it, to give the creature some attention it obviously craved. Tears pricked her eyes. How could someone keep such a beautiful animal penned up alone in this tiny prison cell? Wolves were pack creatures and interacted as a group.

“How about I have a chat with your asshole owner?” she asked, dearly longing to do so, though certain that nothing would come of it if she did. People who didn’t respect animals gave little thought to humans, either.

A sound nearby drew her attention. Great. It was Hyena Woman, still laughing in that grating tone. Tara rose and peered out into the parking lot. Mr. D & D was with her and for a moment all Tara’s attention focused on him. The bottom half was as good as the top. He had long legs and a butt that filled out his work slacks nicely. Her pulse sped up and she bit her lip.

He held the door for his companion and when she was settled in her car, he reached his head inside. Tara looked on with envy, certain he was giving her a delicious kiss. For just a moment, she pictured herself in that car and tasted his lips on hers. She knew they would have the flavor of sea salt and would set her mouth on fire. A zing of warmth flooded her body and a shiver of wanting ran through her. It had been a long time since she’d looked at a man with desire.

Determined not to start that lustful habit that only led to trouble, Tara began to slowly back away. She certainly did not want to be accused of spying on the couple. For all she knew, the parties involved were married, but not to each other. Just as she was about to turn around and tiptoe away, Mr. Dark and Dangerous started to shine. Tara’s jaw dropped and she stopped her retreat to stare. His body was glowing, a faint blue color that grew brighter by the second. It quickly increased in brilliance and became an electric luminescence, coursing through and around his whole body. It was as if he was made of the light. She closed her eyes to clear her vision and then opened them again. He was still leaning into the car and was still lit up like a tacky dollar-store Christmas tree.

The wolf dog barked sharply and she whirled around in surprise, knocking over a pile of boxes as she turned. She looked back to the parking lot to see Mr. D & D stand up from his bent position. The radiant light faded. He turned toward her and their eyes locked for a moment. Then the wolf dog barked again. Tara tore her gaze away and spun around, attempting to right the fallen boxes. As she did, a man came lumbering out of the nearby shop.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Nothing, I just knocked these over. I’m sorry, I’ll pick them up.”

“What are you doing to my dog?”

The man stood with his hands on his hips and glared at Tara. She stopped what she was doing and glared back.

“I wasn’t doing anything to your dog. But what you’re doing is cruel. You shouldn’t keep a wild animal in a cage like that, you know.” Shocked at her own audacity, Tara picked up her purse and turned to leave. The man’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Don’t you tell me what to do—and don’t you be messing with my property.” The repulsive man stood inches away, his foul breath blowing in her face as he talked. She caught a scent of alcohol and cigarettes. Fear replaced anger and she tugged on her arm.

The animal barked loudly once then growled, the sound coming from deep in his throat.

“Let go of her,” another voice demanded, and Tara turned to see Mr. D & D approaching them.

Her attacker dropped her arm and took a step back. “We’re just having a chat—nothing’s going on,” he said, and with a final snarl at Tara, lumbered back into his shop.

Chapter Two (#ue7204cec-ad22-59fd-a376-ddffcc96f2d8)

Tara stared with wide eyes at the stranger. He smiled pleasantly. Around the edge of his body, a faint blue light still pulsed. She blinked her eyes rapidly and rubbed them vigorously, trying to focus.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“F-fine,” she stammered, her heart pounding wildly. She desperately wanted to leave, but he blocked her path.

“Are you sure? Is something wrong with your eyes?” he asked.

She rubbed them with her palms, knowing her makeup must now resemble a Salvador Dalí painting, but determined to clear her vision.