A Mutt in Disguise (2 page)

Mary gasped at the
sheer venom behind those accusing words, but Declan wasn't finished yet.

"Mother
warned me of getting involved with the likes of you. Like mother like daughter,
she said, but like a fool, I didn't listen to her. But this ... this
stunt
of
yours ... it ends now."
 

The accusation
stung, but before
Anja
could say or do anything, Mutt
flew through the air toward Declan. He managed to twist out of the way, and
Mutt's teeth snapped thin air instead. Declan's booted foot, however, made contact
with the dog's ribs and he crumpled to the floor with a yelp. The agonized,
almost human sound galvanized
Anja
into action, and
she got between human and dog, but not before Declan got another kick into
Mutt's soft underbelly.

"What the
hell do you think you're doing, Declan? It's not enough to insult my mum. You'd
kick a dog while he's down. Jesus, what is wrong with you?"

She took a step
back, mindful of Mutt's renewed growling as he struggled to get up on his paws,
and Mary's now stony-faced expression. Several of the regulars had formed a
semi-circle around them, and the air was blue with colorful language.

"Now,
looky
here, that
ain't
no way t'
b'have
'round a lassie like
Anja
here." Scott, a burly, middle-aged ex-bouncer slammed his fist into his
hand repeatedly, and Declan narrowed his eyes. He stepped backward and away
from the little group. "
Yer
own t' lady
an
'
pology
."

Declan sneered in
answer, and whatever shred of respect
Anja
had left
for him fled at his next words.

"I would if
there was a
lady
present. All I see is a younger version of the whore
who married beneath her."

Mutt's growls
joined the general uproar erupting around her, and
Anja
had to shout to make herself heard.

"How dare
you! That's my mother you're talking about, and there is more dignity in her
little finger than there is in all of your family put together. Get the fuck
away from me and stay away."

"Gladly!"
Declan turned on his shiny heel and marched to the entrance. He turned around
at the last minute, and the look of disgust he threw at
Anja
made her wonder what she ever saw in him. "See how you get home now. I'm
sure one of these vagabonds can give you a lift."

He slammed the
door shut, and seconds later the high pitched wail of his powerful car signaled
his departure. Too late,
Anja
realized that her
handbag was still sat in the passenger well of his Jag.

Shit!

She was dimly
aware of Mary trying to calm down the agitated men, and she sank down next to
Mutt, surprised to find him licking the tears off her face. Why the hell was
she crying?

Chapter Two

Anja's
soft, small hands
curled into his fur, her hot tears scalded his skin, and Ethan growled his
annoyance. He'd have liked nothing better than to tear that sorry excuse of a
human male limb from limb. As satisfying as that would have been, he'd come to
his senses mid-leap and angled himself away from the motherfucking bastard,
earning himself a humdinger of a kick to his ribs. Temporarily winded, he was
spared from further injury by
Anja's
intervention,
and it meant Declan would live—for now. However, if
Anja
didn't stop crying soon, Ethan would not be able to hold his wolf side back for
long.

The cover of the
Tamaskan
dog served him well, but he was and always would
be a wolf, and as such, every one of his senses had kicked in to protect the
fragile woman whose scent had held him in thrall from the first minute she'd
stumbled upon him outside the shelter. Hurt after a run-in with a gang of
youths whose burglary attempt he'd interrupted, he'd sought shelter in the bin
area.
Anja
had found him when she'd taken the trash
out, and her immediate concern for his well-being had broken through all of his
defensive walls in an instant.

Mary's shelter was
one of the few that allowed the homeless and their dogs in, but even Mary had balked
at the suggestion that
Mutt
ought to be allowed in without an owner. He
should have been offended at being called
Mutt
, but from
Anja's
lips the usually derogative term sounded like a
caress and he'd followed her meekly into the warmth of the shelter. He'd lost
himself in the expressive jade pools of her feline eyes as she'd run her hands
over his sides. She'd tucked the long tresses of her hair behind her ears in an
impatient gesture he would always associate with her.

He curled himself
around her now, his injured ribs already healing, and inhaled deeply. He would
quite happily have stayed like this, but he needed to make sure she was okay.
She clearly cared more for that bastard than she'd let on. He nudged his nose
into her neck and exhaled. A shudder went through her slender frame, and,
encouraged by her response, he did it again until she giggled.

"Stop it,
Mutt, that
tickles."

He nudged her
again and showed his teeth in a wolf-like impression of a grin, and her smile
deepened.

"You know,
sometimes you seem almost human to me, as though you understand exactly what
I'm saying to you."

He yipped once and
nodded, making her laugh again. She brushed the remaining traces of her earlier
tears off her cheeks, and her expression sobered as she ran her hands along his
flanks.

"He didn't
hurt you too much, did he
? 'Cause
I swear if he did,
I'll knee him in the balls next time I see him. I knew he was a dick, but fuck
it, he took that to new heights."

"He certainly
did, my dear." Mary interrupted
Anja's
quiet rant,
and she got to her feet. "This is none of my business, but a man with a
temper like that ... well you're best off without him. I'd hate to see you get
hurt,
Anja
. I mean, I got the impression he was a bit
of a snob from what you let slip, but that was unacceptable and he is not
welcome here again. We don't need his sort around here."

Anja's
short laugh spoke
volumes, and Ethan licked her tightly curled fist in an effort to reassure her.
She unclenched her hand and patted his head, causing his wolf to grin and lean
into her. That animal of his was turning into a right sap, over a human no
less. Last time he did that, it hadn’t ended all that well.

"I don't
think you need worry over him coming back here, Mary. I'm sorry he caused such
a ruckus."
Anja's
voice wobbled just a little,
and Mary drew her in for a comforting hug.

"There now,
it's okay. He doesn't deserve you. Come in the kitchen and have a strong sweet
cuppa
before you get yourself on home. And don't you worry,
I'll spring for a taxi. Can't have you walking around these parts by
yourself."

Ethan growled low
in his throat. Damn right she wasn't walking home by herself. She did often
walk during the day, he knew. He'd trailed her back to her modest flat more
than once, marveling at the stupidity of humans, and the male in her life in
particular, who allowed her to take such risks.
Anja
was well-liked in the homeless community, but that wouldn't help against the
many predators out there just waiting to pounce on any female, let alone a
lone, beautiful one like her.

"Don't even
think about it, Mutt." Mary stopped him from following
Anja
through the open door into the kitchen with that sharp command, so he sat on
his haunches and watched her from the doorway.
Anja's
hands were wrapped around her coffee mug, and some of the color was finally
returning to her pale cheeks. The sleek dress she wore had ridden up to expose
slender thighs, and the man in the wolf had a hard time keeping his eyes off
the flash of pale skin exposed. She crossed her legs, and her scent wrapped
itself around him. Ethan shut his eyes and willed his wolf to calm down. It had
been way too long since he'd indulged himself with any female. There was no way
Anja
was that female. His wolf had a far too
unhealthy obsession with the human to risk the man's involvement with her.

Sure, she seemed
different. Far from the gold-diggers Ethan was used to,
Anja
seemed genuine. Her actions spoke volumes, but no doubt she would prove as
flighty as the rest of humankind were she to know who he really was. Last time
he had trusted a female, she’d tried to trap him into marriage, by insisting
the baby she was carrying was his. He shook his head remembering that sorry
episode. For one brief moment he’d allowed himself to think he would become a
father, until common sense had kicked in. He always used protection, and while
that was not infallible, her dates just didn’t match up. The pre-natal
paternity test his lawyers had insisted on had proven without doubt that the
baby wasn’t his.

Nonetheless, the
whole sorry affair had cost him, because she’d threatened to run to the papers,
and to shut the woman up, he’d parted with a considerable amount of cash.

He’d sworn then,
never to trust another female, regardless of what his instincts were screaming
at him. As for
Anja
… he wanted to believe in her,
but he had to be sure. Of course there was one way to test the theory.

His eyes narrowed
as a plan formed in his mind. Time for the world to meet his human side, once
he'd made sure
Anja
got safely home.

****

"I can't take
your money, Mary. Really, I'm fine to walk. Mutt will keep me company, and I
need to clear my head anyway."

Mary still looked
doubtful, but she eventually let her go. Not before lending her an oversized
rain coat that completely hid her dress and some running shoes to replace the
impractical heels.
Anja
had to suppress a giggle. Her
own mother would have a hard time recognizing her in this get-up, and with an
ever-watchful Mutt by her side, she set off on the walk home. The moon was high
in the cloudless sky, and
Anja's
breath frosted in
front of her face as she set off at a brisk walk. There was something very
peaceful about walking along like this, free from any restraints, completely
safe in the knowledge that the imposing wolf-like dog by her side kept anyone
else at bay.

She glanced at
Mutt and was struck again by the sheer size and power of him. He seemed bigger
out here in the open, more menacing somehow, and she could easily picture him
out in the wild, hunting down his prey. As it was he seemed on full alert, his
fur rising up every time they encountered a passerby. Gone was the easygoing
Mutt she knew, and in his stead was a pure predator ready to strike. As a
result most people crossed the road when they saw them approach, which amused
Anja
no end.

After the
spectacle with Declan she ought to have been more wary of the animal, but the
connection she had felt to him from the minute she'd seen him lying injured
near the trash cans meant she simply felt safe. She knew instinctively that he
would never hurt her, and she once again regretted the fact that the terms of
the lease on her flat meant she couldn't keep any animals. She would have liked
to have taken Mutt in.

But even as she
thought that, she knew that it would never have happened. Mutt was a law unto
himself. He came and went as he pleased, and since he turned up at the shelter
there had been a steady increase of homeless men and women. This was great, but
it also meant that Mary needed an influx of cash more than ever. Tomorrow's open
day had been
Anja's
idea. She had invited several
members of the press, and she hoped against hope that some of them would at
least turn up.

She was so lost in
her thoughts that she didn't realize they were standing outside her block of
flats until Mutt nudged her and licked her hand. Fortunately, the lights were
still on in her neighbor's flat, which meant
Anja
would be able to retrieve her spare key without having to wake the old lady.
She made a mental note to cancel her bank cards in the morning. She highly
doubted she would ever see her handbag again.
Damn, Declan!
It had been one of her favorites, but there was no
way she would ask him for it back, and in the unlikely event he'd try to return
it, she'd probably ruin it by hitting him over the head with it.

She crouched down
and stroked Mutt's ears. He grinned at her with that almost human smile he had,
and her heart felt lighter. "Now, you stay out of the way while I go and
retrieve my spare key, and then I sneak you in. Only for tonight, mind you. It's
cold out here, and I'm sure you'd like a warm bed to sleep in for once,
right?"

Mutt cocked his
head and his amber eyes searched her face, as though he was trying to read her
thoughts. Heat crept into her cheeks at his silent perusal, and she cursed
herself for a fool.

He's a dog, for
pity's sake. Are you that afraid of being alone tonight that you need to plead
with an animal?

His eyes seemed to
smile at her, and he licked her cheek and nudged her with a small yip.

"Guess that
means you like the idea, huh?"

Anja
smiled as he
wagged his tail, and she indicated the bushes for him to hide in. In a flash he
jumped out of sight.

****

The warmth of
Anja's
flat settled over him like a soothing blanket the
minute he followed her into her home, and he barely managed to suppress a
groan. Her scent was everywhere, and his wolf yipped his excitement.

"
Shh
, no one can know you're here. You're
gonna
get us both into trouble."

Anja
laughed, and he
followed her down the hallway and into the kitchen. She filled a bowl with
water for him, which he drank from with a grateful yip.

"I need to
get out of this damn dress."

Despite the water
he had just drunk, his throat went dry when she wiggled out of her dress until
she stood in front of him in just her underwear. Surprisingly racy underwear.
It seemed little
Anja
had a wild side if the lacy,
see-through, red, barely there lingerie was anything to go by. Slight she may
be, but she had curves in all the right places, and he ground his teeth
together when she unhooked her bra and her breasts fell free. They would fit
right into his hands, the dusky-rose of her perfectly formed areolae a beacon
to the little nipples just begging for his touch. He dropped down on his belly
to hide his body's reaction and rested his head on his paws, feigning a
nonchalance he was far from feeling. She would be appalled at his wayward
thoughts, but he let his eyes roam freely over her almost naked body, ignoring
his wolf's smug expression.

"Ah, that's
better. Only so much scaffolding this girl can take for a day." She smiled
at him, then turned and bent over to pick her discarded bra off the floor.

Ethan dug his
claws into the kitchen floor to stop himself from shifting at the enticing view
of her ass cheeks in front of him, separated by the thin strip of her thong.
She might sleep better for having him in the flat, but this night would prove
an exercise in torture for him. He should have left her at the doorstep, and
not let the wobble in her voice convince him to offer the comfort she so
clearly needed. But this little human raised all of his protective instincts,
damn it, and plenty of other things besides.

He breathed a sigh
of relief when she slipped into a flannel dressing gown. Not that it proved
much better, because the flashes of bare skin he could see when she moved were
enough to send his libido into overdrive. She disappeared into the bathroom,
and when she re-emerged five minutes later, smelling all fresh and adorable
with her face scrubbed clean of any makeup, she looked very young and utterly
edible. He followed her to the bedroom with a feeling of impending doom. Sure
enough she flung her bathrobe off, and he caught another glimpse of naked
flesh, before he flopped down and put his paws over his eyes with a growled
groan.