Animal Attraction

He didn’t have to. Dell already knew it was stupid and pathetic.

But still he came. As he reached out to knock on the door, it opened and she stood there in ragged jeans, an old sweatshirt, and no shoes. Her long black hair was streaked with gray now and plaited in a single braid down her back. Her eyes were black and gave little away.

Dell got his eyes from her.

She didn’t smile, she never did, but he could tell she was relieved to see him as she stepped aside to make room for him.

Waiting there, lined up on the narrow orange and brown trailer couch, were others: two women, an old man, a teenager, and two younger children-all with an animal at their feet or in their laps.

Dr. Doolittle time.

Nila handed Dell a cup of coffee, not meeting his eyes. She never did. He accepted the coffee and moved to the small Formica table, opening his bag, pulling out his laptop. This was an unofficial visit, it always was, but he still kept records as well as he could. “Who’s first?”

The youngest, a girl who couldn’t be more than five, stood up, a tiny kitten clutched in her hands as bedraggled as the little girl.

And Dell’s day began.

Two nights later, Jade walked up to the front door of Dell’s house, not quite sure if she was excited or nervous.

Both, she decided.

Definitely both.

The other evening, when he’d grabbed her from behind… she’d thought she’d expire on the spot from fear and panic. But then he’d shown her how to break free of the hold.

She went to the occasional yoga and Pilates classes, but that was about it for her. She’d never done martial arts or self-defense, but Dell was a big guy and she’d broken free from him.

Crazy as it seemed, it had given her hope. And she’d followed the scent of that hope all the way here.

She’d been to Dell’s house before. They all played poker every few weeks, usually in his dining room. But she’d never come alone, and she might not have now either but he’d been asking for two days and…

And she was curious. And afraid. And… and he opened the door wearing black workout shorts and a T-shirt that was wet and clinging to his torso.

And then she forgot to think at all.

His hair was damp, and he was rubbing a towel over his face, breathing hard, looking like he’d been enjoying whatever he’d been doing. “You came,” he said.

He’d thought she wouldn’t. She did her best to roll her tongue back into her mouth. “You look busy.”

“Nope. Just kicking Adam’s ass.”

Dressed similarly, Adam came into view behind him and snorted. “Not even on a good day, man. Though I’ll give it to you that you’re better these days.” He nodded to Jade. “You should have seen us when we were kids. He was so uncoordinated, he couldn’t walk across a room without falling over his own scrawny legs. At least he outgrew his glasses. Christ, was he ugly. It took him years to grow into his current look.”

“Hey,” Dell said. “You do realize you look just like me.”

“No, you look like me.”

Jade followed them both into the kitchen, marveling at how they seemed to take perverse pleasure in making fun of each other’s vulnerabilities at every turn. And yet the connection between them was unmistakable.

She shrugged it off to the mystery of the male psyche, watching as Dell grabbed two bottles of water, tossed one at Adam, then downed his in long, greedy gulps while Jade stood there looking at two of the finest male specimens she’d ever seen.

Adam tossed his empty bottle into a recycling bin and nodded to Dell. “Be sure to thank Jade for saving your hide. Five more minutes and I’d have been wiping the floor with you.”

Dell grinned. “Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.”

Adam shook his head, like he couldn’t believe how lame his own brother was. Moving to the door, he slowed in front of Jade and lightly tugged on a strand of her hair. “I’m better than he is,” he said with a head jerk in Dell’s direction. “When you’re done pounding him into the mat, I’ll be happy to step in.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dell shoved him out, then turned to Jade. “Want something to drink first?”

“Only if you think a tequila shot before learning how to kick ass is a good idea.”

He smiled. “You’re nervous.”

That was putting it mildly. She’d been thinking about this for two days now, in between fielding calls from everyone in town about her supposed engagement to Dell. Knowing that if she was getting cornered, he had to be getting it way worse, she’d called Leanne and told her that the engagement was off.

Now the story running through town was that Dell had dumped Jade because he was a tragic alpha hero, wounded and terrified of love.

Dell had laughed it off, assuring her he couldn’t give a shit what people made up about them. And she knew he was being honest-he definitely didn’t worry about what others thought. He was classic alpha that way.

But she’d wondered… how much of the whispers were really made up? He’d been very careful in his life in regard to the chosen few whom he trusted. She hadn’t worked for him for eighteen months and not understood that much of that easygoing and laid-back nature was only skin-deep, that no matter what he showed the general public he was actually intensely private and quite closed off.

She figured the mock engagement, and then the supposed cancellation of said engagement-leaving him “wounded” and needing some alone time-worked for him.

“Come on,” he said, leading her down a set of stairs to a basement. “We’d better start before you change your mind and run out on me.”

She was already beginning to sweat. “I don’t run.” Liar, liar. “But I could use that tequila shot now.”

“Be good,” he said, “and I’ll get you something after. Sol used to serve us tea when he was kicking our butts.”

“Tea’s only good if it comes with cookies.”

He laughed. “Tea’s good never.”

“Sounds like Sol was a sweet man.”

“He was two hundred and fifty pounds, and six feet four inches of solid muscle. He was also ex-marine, and didn’t know a smile from his own ass. He wasn’t sweet, but he was… everything else. At least to us.”

The basement was completely finished and had been turned into a gym. Equipment was lined on one wall, a treadmill, elliptical trainer, a selection of machines with a large maximum-load capacity, and free weights were in front of a bank of mirrors. Along one side, across from the riders, was a large padded mat area, as well as a huge flat-screen TV and entertainment center mounted on a wall. Music was blasting out of it. “The man cave,” she said. Feeling a little intimidated, she pulled off her sweatshirt. She hadn’t been sure what to wear but had settled on yoga pants and a tank top.

Dell aimed the remote at the entertainment system and the music cut. He tossed the remote aside and took her to the mats in front of the mirrors. “Anyone can learn this, I promise.”

She nodded, hoping that was true. “Like you learned it.”

“There’s something about getting your ass handed to you daily that motivates you.”

She looked around, curious. “How many women have you brought down here to… help train?”

She expected him to laugh, or at least give off a wicked smile, but he slowly shook his head, his warm brown eyes even on hers. “None.”

“Come on. The way you date?”

“I’ve never brought a woman to my house.”

“Ever?”

“Ever. And you’re stalling. Step onto the mat.”

She touched it with her toe. “Usually a guy buys me dinner first.”

He held out his hand for hers, eyes steady. Calm. “Come on now, tough girl,” he said in the same tone she’d