Page 29 of Radar (Iniquus Certified Cerberus Tactical K9 #2)

Elyssa

Sunday

Lumberjack, Alaska

Her watch, buzzing on her wrist, woke Elyssa.

That alarm meant she had thirty minutes to get out the door and over to the parking lot where her ride would pick her up.

It was too soon.

Elyssa wanted more time to get to know Xander Belov. He made her feel special, cared for, and most of all, respected.

She’d spent a wonderful night with him—yeah, everything about their time together was incredible. She felt amazing.

Elyssa could use more nights like last night in her life.

Couldn’t every woman?

Lying in Xander’s arms with Radar at her feet had a magnetic pull, keeping her in bed, clinging to every moment she could stay here, and regretting the medical condition that was forcing her onto an early flight home.

Despite her POTS condition, Elyssa was not a dainty flower by any stretch of the imagination.

Yes, she had a delicately featured face, and she preferred romantic clothes and long hair. But for real, Elyssa had never led a rose-petal lifestyle.

She was, even after the sunset on her athletic career, a woman with defined muscles, and muscle was heavy.

That, coupled with her height, which was the same as the average U.S.

male, gave her privileges her smaller friends didn’t enjoy.

She felt safer doing things like declining to fawn and pet the Gastons of the world.

There were, after all, only so many men who could physically lift her.

Especially since, as Xander had pointed out during their chat in the lodge, men often skipped deadlift-butt day.

Xander could lift her with ease.

What an amazing sensation Elyssa enjoyed when he tossed her around the bed like she was a rag doll.

It was glorious! And fun. And weirdly freeing.

Up until her sexy time with Xander, Elyssa couldn’t imagine the appeal. But now, she understood why her friends raved when they found a man who could manhandle them (in the best sense of that word).

It had set off something primal and wild in her psyche.

Exquisite, what other word could she choose?

Addictive. If Xander is a drug, shoot it straight into my veins .

Her watch buzzed her again. Ugh.

Decisions had been made when hitting the snooze button. Possibly poor decisions, but Elyssa had now waited until the very last minute before she needed to leave Xander’s arms.

“If it’s okay,” Elyssa said, sliding from under the covers, “I’m just going next door to grab my bag, then get dressed here?”

“Whatever works best for you.” Xander came up on one elbow as he watched her wrap herself in the extra blanket that had been draped over the foot of the bed.

Instead of bending over and risking a racing heart, Elyssa curled her toes into the fabric of her pant leg, pulled her knee to her chest, and passed them to her hand.

As Elyssa rifled in the pocket for her key card, Xander climbed out of bed and came to her side. She noticed Xander was already wearing his hiking pants. Had he gotten cold in the night?

She felt like she should say something about last night, and that she was glad they’d met, she edited the finally from her thoughts.

But what could she say? “That was memorable in every good way, thanks.” Nah.

Elyssa ended up choosing. “The Pentagon area is a subway ride from my place. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Elyssa, it’s freezing out. And that’s too hard on you.” Xander took her key card from her hand without asking for her permission. Bare-chested, because she was wearing his shirt, Xander pulled on his coat, shoved his feet in his boots, and went out the door.

Luckily, Elyssa hadn’t unpacked anything from her backpack. Her purse was sitting on the desk in Xander’s room.

She was glad Xander went. Despite her efforts, her chest tightened in pain as her heart went into hyperdrive, trying to move blood around her body.

Elyssa sank to the floor, and Radar came over to lie across her outstretched legs.

The pressure helped improve her circulation, and by the time Xander came back with her pack, her chest pain had subsided.

“Are you okay?” Xander asked, squatting beside her and lifting her wrist to check her pulse. He reached up for her purse and handed it to her so she could get to her bottle of electrolytes.

How did he know how to take care of her?

How did Radar know, for that matter?

“Better,” Elyssa said, after gulping down the entirety of the bottle.

“I only found the backpack,” Xander said. “Nothing was lying out. No suitcase.”

“The airline lost my luggage, so that’s all I have.”

Xander’s focus was on Radar. “I think you have a new friend. He’s going to be sad when he’s left with only my company.”

Dog and man locked gazes, and Elyssa would pay good money to know what they were communicating to each other.

It would have been nice, she thought, if Xander had added that he was going to miss her.

Instead, he said, “I’ll set this in the bathroom.” He stood and moved her pack to the other room.

Radar must have sensed that the dizzy sensation had lifted because he climbed from her lap and gave her a lick. “Thank you, sweetheart. That helped.”

She moved slowly to get up, so she wouldn’t retrigger her symptoms. Time was ticking, and Elyssa couldn’t afford to have a full episode.

Xander was back, reaching for her hand to help her up. Then, he pulled her to his chest, but instead of kissing her, he took her face between his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. Something about her seemed to confuse him.

And his behavior this morning, while chivalrous and caring, was nothing like the energy between them last night. He confused her, too.

“I need to get dressed,” she said.

In the bathroom, she pulled on her bra, then decided to pull his Henley back on. Yup, it was hers now. It was as warm and soft as Elyssa had imagined it to be when she’d first seen Xander.

Wearing it, Elyssa had slept long and deep in his arms. It had been a while since she woke feeling so good.

As Elyssa brushed her teeth, pictures of their night together brought a smile to her face and made her throb. It sucked that they’d met under these circumstances, but they’d have time once he got home.

Elyssa liked how tall he was, how athletic.

She’d traced her finger over his only tattoo that nestled below his ankle. It was a red arrow on a black disk about the size of a quarter. “Achilles heel?” she’d asked, hoping he’d tell her the meaning.

He answered her by saying, “I hope not.” Then he dropped it.

Tattoos were often highly personal, so Elyssa had learned to lead someone to the conversation but not insist on the story behind it. Elyssa didn’t share the meaning of her own tattoo with many people. It was a private commitment not meant for public scrutiny.

Bending over the sink to wash her face, Elyssa was thinking about the bruises on Xander’s torso. “What happened?” she’d whispered. “This looks horrible.” She’d bent and kissed a purple splotch.

“Boxing.” He said it so matter-of-factly that she nodded and dropped that subject, too.

Elyssa unfolded a towel and patted her face and neck dry.

Boxing would explain his physique. Though it wasn’t one of the sports she’d imagined when speculating the night before.

Oddly, Elyssa wanted to scold Xander and warn him about the dangers of getting punched in the head too many times.

Such a hypocrite, Elyssa scoffed. How many times had her parents taken her to her wrestling matches and later her rugby matches, and there her mom would sit in the stands with her eyes covered whenever Elyssa competed.

Her mom wanted to be supportive of whatever Elyssa felt called to try, but the dangers were too much for her mom to handle.

Elyssa’s dad would wait until the all-clear, then tap her mom.

The dangers passed, her mom would leap to her feet, shaking her fists, and cheering her.

Elyssa felt melancholy wash over her.

She missed her dad. And she wasn’t sure that she’d ever forgive fate for taking him from her when she was so young.

Elyssa needed to call her mom. They hadn’t spoken since Paris.

Was it odd that the thing she wanted to tell her mom—after all her adventures over the last few weeks—was about this guy she’d known for a couple of hours?

What could she even say? Mom, I met a guy with a gorgeous dog, a kind voice, and a condo near the Pentagon. What more could she add than that they had a fun conversation and she’d spent most of their time together having the best sex of her life?

Nope, she’d keep all of that to herself.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Elyssa saw Xander focused on his Henley that she had tucked fashionably into the front of her jeans.

He didn’t say anything about it, but he looked pleased.

And then he looked conflicted. And then—yeah. The reaction was odd.

She was going to remind him that he had her contact info but decided that would sound a bit too needy. He knew he had it. He’d call if he wanted.

She’d respond if she wanted.

Elyssa couldn’t fathom what was going on for him. Last night, he said he was single.

Maybe he lied? It did kind of look like guilt shimmering over his skin.

As she blinked at Xander, standing there in all his glory dressed only in those hiking pants that sat yummily on his hips, she wondered how they would say goodbye.

The timing was off; it already felt awkward. And her heart started racing.

Radar came over and booped her.

“Hey, buddy,” Elyssa said, reaching down to rough his fur. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Elyssa, do you have everything you need?” Xander’s gaze turned worried. “Electrolytes?”

“I’m set.” She adjusted her backpack. And scooped up her purse.

Yeah, super awkward. This vibe was so different than last night's. And she didn’t need to figure it out. She just needed to leave.

Looking out the window as she shoved her feet into her boots, Elyssa said, “My car's here.”

“I’ll walk you,” he said, moving toward his suitcase.

“Nope. Gotta go. Thanks for everything.” She lifted a hand and gave him a finger wave, then slipped out the door.

My god, what the hell just happened? She wondered.

Cold feet? Self-preservation?

She felt like they had been in perfect balance, that there was a glowing future out in front of them. That she had taken the first steps of a new beginning.

And now?

Now it felt like she was falling from a circus high wire.