I Need a Hero (4 page)

“Wait, me?” he asked.

“Yeah, you. You’re helping me, and I have other things to take care of, so you’re in charge of the program’s public image.”

“I barely have a Facebook page,” he said.

“Welcome to the modern age,” she said.

Oliver opened the car door with a rueful smile. “Why me?”

“Maybe this will teach you not to get into bar fights,” she said, her mouth twitching with humor.

He groaned, and before she realized what she was doing, she grabbed his hand. “Hey, thanks for lunch. By the way, can I see your phone?”

“Why, so you can put your number in it?”

Her eyes shot up to meet his, but he looked just as surprised as she felt.

“Actually, yes, since we’ll be working so closely together,” she said softly.

Oliver handed Eve his phone, and she released his hand. He leaned over to watch her fingers fly over the screen as she entered her number.

When she finished, she handed it back to him. “Call me when you find out about the dogs.”

Oliver took the phone, but before she could pull away, he caught her hand. His grip shifted, and he brought the back of it to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss there. “I’ll call you soon.”

Eve’s insides turned to Jell-O, and she said nothing as he released her hand and got out of her car. Tingles still lit her skin on fire, and she lightly ran her thumb across the place where he’d kissed her. She could still feel the warmth of his mouth.

Chapter Four

F
IVE DAYS LATER
, Oliver stood in the kennels in the back of the facility. There were twenty-five chain link kennels lining the far end of the laminate floor, and although most were empty, there were a few large dogs barking and whining at him, including several shepherds and Labrador mixes, breeds he recognized. Sparks had told him that while the kids were there training, the dogs slept in crates in their bunks. This handful of dogs were the only ones that hadn’t been assigned yet.

Sparks stopped in front of the last kennel. “Oliver, this is Beast. You’ll be training him.”

Oliver looked through the kennel gate, saw the huge brown dog, and scowled. The mutt had a wrinkly, flat face, and his large body rippled with muscle as he stood up. After a long, lazy stretch, he slowly loped over to the front of the kennel. Oliver had spent the week working with several of the kids from Best’s group and their dogs, but up until now, he’d avoided having to train one himself.

Oliver had told Sparks about the dog auction and their involvement, and Sparks had protested until Oliver had told him that Eve’s father was the general. Unless he wanted to end up on the general’s shit list, too, Oliver had suggested that Sparks pull up his big-boy panties and deal.

It wasn’t like Oliver wasn’t going to be up on the stage with him. Eve had come up with a detailed plan for the event with duties for everyone, and she hadn’t missed a beat. All of the head trainers would be leading out a shelter dog for the “Picnic with a Pooch” auction and after lunch would give the winner one basic lesson in obedience training. The kids would be leading their dogs around the facility with raffle tickets to sell for several large prizes Eve was collecting. Oliver had actually been relieved at how easy the gig at Alpha Dog had been so far.

Then this morning, Sparks had informed Oliver that Best had found just the right dog for him to work with, and he couldn’t wuss out now. He had told Best he would help train dogs and work with the kids while he was here, so he wasn’t about to go back on his word.

Even if he was pretty sure Best was using the ugly dog to mess with him again. He should never have admitted that he wasn’t a big fan of dogs.

“Do you have anything with less drool? Why can’t I have one of the Labs?” Huge-ass dogs with massive jaws and saliva hanging from their lips hadn’t been what he had in mind to train.

Sparks opened the kennel and attached a leash to Beast’s collar. “Nope, just Beast. He’s been at the shelter for several months; people kept passing him by because of his size and looks, but with a bit of training, he’ll make a great military or police dog. Best said he would be a good match for you, since you’re both stubborn sons of bitches.”

“What am I supposed to do with him?”

“Take him home with you. I take Dilbert home.” Dilbert was Sparks’s canine charge, a huge black-and-white pit bull that liked to stick his face in Oliver’s crotch. “Best temperament-tested him before he brought him over, so he should be shiny. Oh, but he did say that they are transitioning him onto the program’s diet, so he might be a little gassy.”

Best
would
set him up with a giant slobbering fart factory. “I’m going to kick that guy’s ass.”

Sparks slapped the leash into Oliver’s hand. “Do what you gotta do, but I am going to grab Dilbert and get the rest of the guys ready for this photo shoot.”

At the mention of the shoot, Oliver’s skin hummed with anticipation. He hadn’t seen Eve since Monday, but they had talked on the phone. She’d called on Tuesday to find out about the dog’s temperaments, and when he’d confirmed they were good to go, she’d been off and running. The first thing she’d wanted to do was get the pictures taken, and Saturday was the only day that worked for all of the trainers.

After the shoot, they were going to go over her massive to-do list and use the pictures to set up the social-media accounts. But all Oliver cared about was getting to see her again, since he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind all week. Especially since she was texting and calling several times a day to ask his opinion or add something else to the list of things they needed to get done.

The doors that led to the back training field crashed open, and a group of teenaged boys walked in. Jorge Ortiz, one of the kids Oliver had taken off Best’s hands, shouted, “Hey, yo, Sergeant Martinez! That is one ugly ass dog!”

“I’m sure he was thinking the same thing about you, Ortiz,” Oliver said.

The kid’s face flushed, and the guys around him started in, razzing him about his looks, but he smiled good-naturedly. Ortiz was the quintessential class clown who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time smoking pot with his friends. He’d actually confided to Oliver that being in the bunks was better than being home with his mom, who was scary as shit.

Of the three kids assigned to Oliver, he had to admit that Ortiz was his favorite. There had been an instant bond with the teenager, while his other two charges were a bit more damaged. Tommy Drake was a skinny white kid of fifteen with a chip the size of Antarctica on his shoulder, and Darrel Quinn was a towering black kid who hardly said a word. Oliver knew just looking into the kid’s dark eyes that he had seen some shit, and he’d mentioned to Sparks that Darrel might need someone to talk to. Someone who had come out of hairy situations and could relate to what was going on inside the kid.

“So, when is the general’s daughter supposed to stroll in here to crack the whip?’ Sparks asked.

“Eve’s supposed to be here with the photographer in half an hour,” Oliver said.

“Eve, huh?” Sparks smirked at him.

“What, it’s her name,” he said.

“And yet Best was ordered to call her Ms. Reynolds,” Sparks said.

“It’s just because we’re working together,” Oliver said. In actuality, he’d never asked her if he could call her Eve, but somehow, he didn’t think she’d mind.

“Well, when
Eve
gets here, send her out back. Figured we’d set up in the training yard, since it’s such a nice day and it’s the only place where the grass is green.”

Sparks walked away from Oliver, leaving him alone with the monster at his feet. The dog stopped panting long enough to shake his head, sending long streams of slobber flying in every direction, several of which stuck to Oliver’s pant leg. He grunted in disgust.

“You have problems, pal.”

“Well, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” a woman said behind him.

Oliver looked up as Eve came up alongside him decked out in black slacks and a sheer polka-dot blouse. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and those same sexy glasses slid down the bridge of her nose as she glanced at Beast with a smile. “And who are you, big guy?”

Beast’s whole body started to tremble, and then he was on his feet, every muscle working to make him wiggle as he approached Eve.

Oliver pulled back, warning, “Watch out, he’s a mess.”

Eve laughed, and to Oliver’s surprise, she knelt down in her slacks and held out her hand to Beast. “Are you a mess? Huh?”

Her soft, cajoling tone made Beast pull harder, and Oliver relaxed enough to let the dog nuzzle her fingers. She ran her palm across his broad head, rubbing his floppy ears. With a groan, Beast sank to the floor, leaning into her massaging hand.

Eve let out a husky laugh, and when she looked up, Oliver couldn’t look away from those shiny green eyes.

“He is a serious ham,” she said. “We had a big dorky dog when I was a kid, but after Moose died, my mom wanted a Pomeranian. I want to get a dog, but my apartment doesn’t allow more than one animal and I already have a cat.”

Oliver watched her, transfixed by her relaxed, playful manner. He wasn’t paying attention to Beast, who had managed to climb onto Eve’s lap.

“Shit, I am sorry,” Oliver said. He was about to yank the dog away when she wrapped her arms around Beast and laughed again, kissing the big ugly dog on his head.

The click of a camera drew Oliver’s attention to a lanky guy taking pictures of Eve as she cuddled Beast.

“Okay, come on.” Oliver pulled the dog off her and groaned when he saw the mass of short brown hair covering her clothes. “I’m sorry.”

Eve climbed to her feet and brushed at the hair. “It’s okay, it just means you know my secret.”

“You like dogs?” He couldn’t help staring at her. Her sheer joy made him want to let Beast loose again to draw another one of those full-bodied laughs from her.

“No, that I don’t mind getting dirty,” she said.

Oliver knew Eve had no idea how her words affected him, and he tried to cover up the raw lust heating his body as he thought about all the dirty things he’d love to do with her.

“Caleb, come meet Sergeant Oliver Martinez and his dog . . . ”

“Beast,” Oliver said.

Caleb put the camera back in his bag and held his hand out to Oliver. “Pleased to meet you. Evie said you two are planning this thing together.” Caleb leaned forward and whispered, “My advice is to just smile, nod, and do whatever she wants. She can be a pistol when she doesn’t get her way.”

Evie?
Oliver squeezed Caleb’s hand, a niggling of jealousy worming through his brain. Caleb’s advice was too intimate.

“Good to meet you.” Releasing Caleb’s hand, Oliver turned to Eve and said, “Sparks is setting everyone up out back for the pictures. Figured if you wanted some shots of the guys training the dogs, it was the best place to do it,” he said.

“Great. I ordered special jackets for the dogs to wear during the event—with cargo pockets. Easier to carry the money from the raffle tickets. Oh, and I want to talk to Sparks about setting up a demonstration at the event. I’m thinking we could show what the dogs are actually trained to do. It would be exciting. I’ve actually contacted a few of the local high schools to see if we can set up there for everything. I just think it would be easier to use their gym, auditorium, and campus, instead of having to set up fences and rent bleachers.”

“Hey, you’re the boss,” Oliver said.

“Man, do not encourage her,” Caleb said, earning a sour look from Eve that twisted Oliver’s guts up.

“Sounds like you know her pretty well,” Oliver said. Had either of them noticed his sharp tone?

Apparently not, because Caleb just laughed. “Our parents have been friends for a long time, and she used to constantly bug me to play
Clueless
and go to movies with her. She didn’t give a rip that I was a dude; she still tried to make me play Dion.”

“Oh, come on, you loved it. And if I hadn’t kept you around, you never would have met your wife,” Eve said.

“It’s true. I’m actually married to Evie’s best friend, Jenny, who played Ty,” Caleb said. “I owe Evie everything, so I also tend to say, ‘whatever she wants.’ ”

“That’s because you’re a smart man,” Eve said.

Oliver knew it was stupid to be relieved, but he couldn’t help it. The thought of Eve with anyone else grated on him, even though he knew he was playing with fire thinking about her as anything more than a means to get back in the field. Wrecking his career over a woman would be beyond moronic. And despite his reaction to her, a few hours of hot, world-rocking sex wasn’t worth derailing everything he’d worked for.

Too bad his logic was being overruled by every other cell in his body.

“I’m gonna get some other shots of the place, so I’ll talk to you all later,” Caleb said.

Caleb took off, leaving Oliver alone with Eve, who was rummaging through her purse. When she pulled out a lint roller and started running it along her curves, his mouth dried up.

“Is it all gone?”

Oliver realized Eve was talking to him. “What?”

“Did I miss any?” she asked, turning this way and that. As she spun around, Oliver couldn’t stop himself from eyeballing her ass in those simple black slacks.

“I think you’re good.” Oliver met her gaze as she turned back around. A black eyelash rested on her cheek, and Oliver reached out to pick it up before she could move. Holding it up for her, he said, “Make a wish.”

Before she could blow, sharp pain erupted down his shin, and Oliver hollered, jumping back. He bent over and lifted his pant leg to find four red abrasions on his shin where Beast had dragged his beefy paw. The dog had placed himself between Eve and Oliver, and Oliver got the feeling the dog was claiming her.

“It’s on, Fido. I just became your worst nightmare,” Oliver said too low for anyone else to hear.

Beast snorted, snot flying and smacking Oliver in the face.

Oliver stood up with his eyes closed, the cool wet snot sitting on his eyelids. He was just about to drag his T-shirt over his face, when he felt Eve touch his cheek. Before he could move, she was wiping his face with something cold and wet, starting with his eyelids.

“I keep wipes in my purse for when I spill things, which happens about five times a day. I’m one of those people who looks really responsible and put together, but in reality, I’m a mess.” Oliver opened his eyes, watching her as she cleaned him up and continued talking. “I mean, you should see what I carry around. People always joke about everything women carry in their purses, but I am prepared for every disaster.”

As she rambled on, Oliver became aware that he had bent closer to help her reach his face. He inhaled the light, floral scent of her perfume and sweetness that seemed to be all Eve. It was bliss and torture at the same time, having her close enough to touch and taste, yet being denied the pleasure.

When he couldn’t take it any longer, Oliver caught her wrist as she wiped along his cheek. “I can finish up.”

Eve’s cheeks lit up red and she pulled away, holding the wet wipe out to him. “Sorry, I just thought you got some in your eye and was trying to help.”

“I know,” he said, taking the wipe.

After a moment of awkward silence, Eve said, “I guess I should go make sure that Caleb is getting everything. We need to discuss the social-media stuff after the photo shoot, so don’t take off, okay?”

“I won’t,” he said.

As she walked away, Beast whimpered, and Oliver frowned down at the dog. “Look, we’re stuck with each other. She is not going to save you, so you might as well forget about her. She’s not for you.”