Page 3 of Enforcer’s Little Warrior (Little Paws Haven #3)

Romy

Romy eyed his mate and tried to think beyond the desire to climb up his body with how adorable he looked when he wasn’t being all bossy and demanding. Although, Romy did like that side of Bash, too.

He got the impression that he’d stood too long when Bash’s head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed. Romy attempted to recall what Bash had asked. With no clue, he nodded at the hole. “So, what are you doing to the front lawn?”

“Oh.. yeah, I was thinking about how the summer’s approaching and how warm it gets. The little ones don’t wanna be cooped up inside and maybe y’all needed a wallow.”

It was impossible to resist the big lug when he was being so thoughtful. Romy’s smile emerged like the clouds had shifted and revealed the sun behind them.

“You’re so damn pretty it hurts my eyes,” Bash murmured, his eyes appearing glued to Romy’s face.

Before Romy could think of a comeback—not that he had one, as no one had ever called him pretty like that before—there was a loud crash from inside. “That’s the little ones,” he said like a moron and fled back into the house, cussing himself out for stating the obvious.

He skidded to a halt in the bedroom doorway when instead of rhinos there were two little blond boys looking guiltily at him.

The slightly bigger boy of around five or six pointed at his brother, who was possibly three or four. “Wasn’t me whose broke it, Nambi did it.”

“Did not,” said Nambi, revealing a front missing tooth as he wrinkled his nose at his brother. “Toofus, ya did it!”

As days went, Romy hadn’t had a better one in a long time. His smile remained in place despite the pieces of broken chair scattered at the two boy's bare feet. “Nice to meetcha Nambi, Toofus, I’m Romy.”

“Hi,” Nambi said shyly. “Where’s your clumsy friend?”

Romy chuckled at the apt description of the big enforcer. “He’s digging us a wallow. Wanna see?” He held out his arms, holding his breath as both boys looked warily at him, then at each other.

Nambi rose first, lifting his arms up. “Carry,” he murmured, looking now at the mess on the floor.

Romy side stepped the wooden bits and effortlessly picked up the boy, tucking him on his hip, who weighed nothing compared to his rhino form. Nambi slung one arm around his neck and gave him a shy smile that Romy felt hit his heart with all the feels. First Bash, and now this, Romy’s heart was taking a few hits, removing the barriers better than a bulldozer.

He looked at Toofus and smiled, holding out his other arm. “Wanna come too?”

Toofus hesitated, the desire there on his face as he eyed Romy and his brother. “Is it safe?” he whispered, breaking Romy’s heart.

He swallowed past the lump that had developed in his throat and nodded. “Bash is going to protect us. Keep us all safe.” When he uttered the words, he knew he was speaking the utter truth. The enforcer had proven himself to have only their safety at the heart of everything he did. Yet the wallow showed something else—thoughtfulness.

It seemed Toofus heard the truth too, as he rose and held up his arms. “Can you ask him to make us burgers with all the cheese? I like burgers a lot.”

Romy released a shuddery breath at how Bash would do whatever the little tyke wanted. Gods, he’d grown attached to the little rhinos and Bash . “I can, but don’t you want to ask him yourself?” he encouraged, needing them to see that Bash wasn’t a threat to them more than he’d admit to the big lug.

Toofus looked undecided as he copied his brother and put an arm around Romy’s neck over his brother's as he settled on Romy’s hip. “Will he shout?”

“He’s loud, I know, but he’ll never shout at you, I swear.”

Another hesitation before Nambi nudged his brother, giving him begging eyes. “Okay… I’ll ask him,” Toofus muttered.

Those words captured hold of Romy’s heart and tugged with the bravery. He’d lost his family and had no one to shower with all the love he had held inside him.

As Romy walked through the house, thinking about what Bash had done for him, for the boys, he grinned to himself. Whether Bash realized it or not, he’d opened a door today into Romy’s heart and now there was no escape. The big enforcer had better be ready for what came next because Romy was ready to fight for his future.

Bash

Seeing Romy step outside with both boys in their adorably human forms, left Bash frozen, spade poised midway between the wheelbarrow and the ground. That they had shifted meant they weren’t stuck and hadn’t become trapped in their rhino forms the way the other imprisoned young had. That alone was enough to let Bash breathe a sigh of relief. What added to it was the knowledge that they had grown comfortable enough with them, or at least Romy, to show them who they were. Now they had additional descriptions to add to the ones they’d already circulated—discreetly—of course.

“Toofus, Nambi, meet Bash,” Romy said, looking all kinds of pleased.

Nambi had his thumb in his mouth as he eyed Bash with wide eyes, while Toofus gave a little wave.

“Heya, boys,” Bash said, being careful to keep his voice low, especially with how much bass it carried.

“Can you make us burgers with all the cheese?” Toofus blurted as he clung to Romy.

“Pweeeese,” Nambi added around his thumb.

“Of course,” Bash said, eyeing them and then the wallow that was just about done. “I tell you what, let me get a little water going and you three can have a little cool off while I clean up and take care of your food.”

“Yey!!!!!” Toofus said, already wiggling to be put down, but Romy kept a good hold of him until Bash was able to add several inches of water to the bottom of the wallow, and get the sprinkler set up beside it. Not only would the boys be able to roll in it and crawl through the sprinkler, but it would provide an easy rinse off spot for when Bash brought their meal outside to them for a bit of a messy picnic.

I can do this.

How the hell do you make burgers again?

Shit.

Okay. No. It was fine. Sasha would know.

With everything in place, Bash blush-smiled at Romy, then hurried inside, first to shower quickly and clean himself up so he could cook and cool off. The heat had been growing despite how early he’d gotten started. Because he could only sweat in his human form, his rhino was going to come to appreciate that wallow as much as Romy and the little ones, especially deeper into the summer months when the full heat of the season hit. They’d need to keep lots of water on-hand too, which reminded him he’d just done an idiotic thing in leaving his mate and the boys outside without providing a drinking source beside the sprinkler.

That he could quickly remedy.

Stepping from the shower, he hastily wiped the water from his skin, stepped into a pair of cutoff jean shorts, and hurried to the pantry, where a large red and white cooler rested beneath a lower shelf. He meant to fill it earlier and carry it outside where it would be in easy reach while he was working, then the thought had slipped his mind among thoughts of earning another smile from Romy, and by the time he’d remembered he’d already been dirty and so used to discomfort that he’d just convinced himself that it wasn’t a need.

For him, that was fine. He was used to denying himself things and going without. Enforcers trained for sacrifice and that included discomforts like prolonged thirst, hunger and heat exposure. Romy and those boys, however, risked a heat injury if he didn’t provide for them correctly.

Filling it with the two bags of ice he’d had delivered earlier along with their groceries, he added a case of bottled water too, all short, round bottles with flip top lids for easier consumption by the little ones, but also easier if Romy or he needed to help them. He’d filled one whole shelf of the fridge with natural juice blends of all assorted flavors, no sugar added because sugar could dehydrate them in summer according to Sasha, who’d explained that they could give the boys those in place of meals if they ever got too hot to want solid foods. At least, with their request for burgers, they didn’t need to worry about that at the moment. He checked the thermostat on the way out and made a mental note to show Romy where it was so he could adjust it if he ever needed to.

Romy and the boys had shifted and holy shit, his body's reaction at seeing his mate’s rhino form was instant lust-need-holy fuckin’ desire. He knew the front of his jean shorts bulged as his eyes roved over that rear end. He immediately shut those thoughts down out of fear at his bulkier form, trying to trap and mount Romay and wind up hurting the much smaller rhino.

Blowing out a breath, Bash set the cooler down in easy reach of his mate, along with the large new bowl he’d brought out, that he filled with cold water, so they wouldn’t have to shift to get a drink while they played.

Now he could make the burgers, though walking was next to impossible until he adjusted himself when he was certain Romy wasn’t watching, and hurried back inside as quickly as he could manage, which was pretty damned painful.

Fuckkkkkkkkk.

His phone pinged with the recipe Sasha had promised him. He’d already sent her the latest information on the boys.

On the counter, right in front of where he began assembling ingredients, sat four small, state-of-the-art monitors, each linked to the motion sensors and security cameras he’d installed before he’d begun work on the wallow. Nothing would be able to get close to his mate and the boys without Bash knowing about it, and the best part was being able to watch them enjoy themselves.

One of the little boys had his legs in the air as he rolled side to side, coating his back in cool, muddy water and having what looked like the best time ever. The other was a little more cautious, while Romy had sprawled on his side and squirmed in such a way that left Bash thinking about other ways he could prompt him to move like that.

Shit.

Fuck.

Focus.

Blowing out an even bigger breath, Bash scrolled over the directions, then started dicing the onions and mushrooms to be mixed in with the burgers, having to text Sasha a question about where the line was between cheesy and too cheesy and did she really mean for him to put cheese inside the burgers too.

Yes, yes, she did.

Shape burger, insert cheese, add a little more meat, wrap meat around it, add to the pan, and be prepared to melt more on top, but only once he’d flipped them.

Check, check, check.

With careful precision and attention to details, Bash crafted each one, then set the heat between medium and medium-low so they wouldn’t char.

Sasha had been thoughtful enough to give him that tip too, and a reminder about sunscreen for when the boys were human, especially with them being fair-haired blonds.

In between cooking, he ran up towels and body wash for Romy and the boys, then laid out a large, thick blanket for them to have their picnic on. He remembered the sunscreen too and had the whole thing set up for them before he needed to flip the burgers. When they’d finished cooking, he set them on a platter to rest before heading out to see that Romy had already gotten them out of the wallow and was beginning to clean up Nambi, so Bash immediately jumped in, rinsing then washing Toofus and helping to get them settled on the blanket before he retrieved their feast.

“Ohhhhhh Cheesy!” Nambi said, clapping the moment he saw them.

“I hoped they turned out okay,” Bash said as he sat across from Romy, so he could help the boys with their food and give Romy the chance to eat without too much interruption. “I’ve never made burgers before or much of anything, but I promise I will learn for the three of you.”

And with that, Bash carefully filled each of their plates, though the big rhino only took one for himself. It wasn’t that he wasn’t hungry, he was ravenous, actually, but no way in hell was he taking more until they’d eaten their fill. He just wasn’t hard-wired that way.