Naked Love(61)

“And vegans are in control?”

He laughs. “Sure. And that explains why you’re such a hot mess. You consume too many angry animals’ spirits. They’re pissed off about being slaughtered and having their udders pumped to the point of bleeding.”

“Ew … too far.”

Jake laughs more. “Sorry. Probably a tad too far.”

“Can you love me even if I eat said slaughtered animals?” I slap my hand over my mouth.

Oh my god.

“That was …” I shake my head, mumbling through my cupped hand. “Not what I meant to say.”

“Your life, Ave. Not mine. Your journey. Your conscience. Your beliefs. Not mine.”

He fails to acknowledge the L-word I just flung in his direction. I don’t know if I should feel relieved or terrified.

I twist around when Swarley makes a noise. “Oh my gosh!”

He vomits on the seat.

“Jake! He’s sick.” I unfasten my seat belt and wedge my body behind the console to flip up his blanket so the vomit doesn’t run down behind the seats.

“Okay. Calm down. I’m pulling over.” Jake veers onto the shoulder. Thankfully, we’re not on a main road with heavy traffic. He hops out and opens the back door.

Swarley struggles to get out, so Jake helps him.

“Oh no!” I cover my mouth as Swarley retches again, but very little comes out.

“He probably got into something that’s upset his stomach.” Jake squats next to him and strokes his back.

“Call your friend. Call her now.” My stomach clenches like an angry fist as panic sends my heart sprinting to keep up with the fear that something is not right. Swarley is not a young dog anymore.

“Grab my phone.” He stays next to Swarley.

I get it and push the voice command button.

“Call Megan,” Jake says as I hold it close to his mouth.

Megan. I now have a name for the irrational jealousy that’s on my horizon. It rings on speaker three times before she picks up.

“Hey, sexy!”

Yeah. I hate her. After she fixes Swarley, I will kill her to eliminate my competition. Friend … Addy is his friend. He had sex with Addy. Doesn’t he have any male friends? Look at him … of course all his friends are women who willingly sleep with him. And they stay friends. Will we be friends when whatever this is ends in L.A.?

“Hey, Meg. Are you home today?”

“Depends. Are you coming to visit me?”

“As a matter of fact, I’m thirty minutes away. But I need a favor.”

“Is it sexual?”

I raise my brows, returning a tight smile as Jake tosses me a grimace.

“Uh … funny. No.”

“Am I laughing? Come on, throw me a bone or boner.” Now she laughs.

It’s a terrible laugh, and I’m not being catty or biased. Really.

“Totally kidding, Jake. But single life sucks. I never should have gotten married. The asshole just sucked all the good years out of me, and now I’m used goods.”

“I don’t have time to feed your ego, Meg. I need a favor.”

“You sound serious.”

Swarley retches again, but nothing comes out except tons of drool dangling from his lips.

“I’m traveling with someone. She has her sister’s dog with her, and she’s worried he might be sick or something. He’s vomiting and drooling excessively. He probably ate something he should not have. Would you be willing to check him out?”

“Of course. What breed of dog?”

“Weimaraner.”

“I’ll text you my clinic address and meet you there. I’m at home right now.”

“Thanks, Meg. You’re the best. See you soon.” He ends the call.

“Wow …” I shake my head while removing the soiled blanket from the backseat, retching a few times myself because it smells so bad. “I get to meet two of your friends slash past lovers on this trip. Yay me.”

Jake grabs a few towels from the back of the truck and lays them across the backseats. “Meg and I are friends. That’s it. We met at a fight years ago. Her husband made a lot of money betting on me. They both followed me to countless fights. We all became friends … until he cheated on her. They’ve been divorced now for two years. That’s when she moved to Flagstaff. Meg and I just stayed in touch. No big deal.”

I frown while he helps Swarley into the truck. “He has to be okay. Sydney will kill me if anything happens to him.”

“He’ll be fine. Dogs get sick just like humans.” Jake shuts the back door and turns to me, pulling me into his broad chest. “Okay?”

This space he makes for me feels like it’s mine—his arms, the crook of his neck, the bold, woodsy soap scent clinging to his skin. This is my spot. I don’t want to lose my spot.

As soon as we pull out onto the road, I flip down the visor and check my hair and naked face.

“You’re beautiful.”

“You’ve had your dick in me three times today. I’m worried you’re not really seeing me clearly through your post-coital goggles.” I frown at my reflection. “Ten bucks says she’s wearing makeup and has at least one hair product in her hair.”

“We stayed at a motel last night. You had a mirror and light this morning. Why didn’t you put on makeup?”