A change in her breathing woke me. I quickly shifted to my fur before she caught me in her bed without clothes on. That wouldn't end well for me.
Her eyes snapped open and locked onto me.
"Now, just hold on," she said. "You're a dog. Act like one. Fur stays at the foot of the bed."
I pretended to mind as I moved to the end of the bed, staring at her the whole time, but I didn't. I was too grateful she hadn't caught me sleeping naked next to her.
"Don't give me your doleful eyes. This is your choice, not mine."
Wait. Did that mean-
"Not that you'd get to sleep next to me in your skin, either. So, don't even think about it."
We were starting to think alike, I thought with a grin.
"If you don't like the end of the bed, you can always sleep on the floor."
The floor? No. My spot was beside her. I just needed to help her figure that out.
After she kicked me out so she could dress, she joined me in the kitchen and spent a lot of time staring at the newspaper. While she did that, I considered what I could do to help her see me as her Mate. An unlocked door at night was a good start. I wanted more than that. I wanted to be the one she talked to when she was upset, the one she came to for comfort, the one to hold her for the rest of her life-
She stood suddenly, jarring me from my thoughts. When she moved to get her house key and her bag, I quickly got to my feet and waited by the door.
She scowled down at me but I didn't flinch away from her gaze. I wore the degrading collar. She wouldn't be leaving without me. For good measure, I shook my neck to jingle my tags.
Sighing, she reached for the leash and clipped it on. I gloated. On the inside.
As soon as we were outside, she pulled a phone from her pocket and dialed a number. I listened to her conversation and found out she wanted to go see a car.
I agreed she needed one. That forty-minute walk to those brick buildings, where she planned to take classes, was too long for her to make each day. There were too many men along the way. Plus, it would get colder. A car would help keep her away from men and out of the cold.
Side by side, we made our way to the address the man had given her. The place wasn't hard to find. An old car sat parked on the front lawn. Gabby paused on the sidewalk, studying the vehicle. It wasn't any worse than what I often saw at the Compound.
"Hello," a man called from the garage.
I swung my gaze to the man as he stepped out and walked toward us. He seemed average height for a human. Middle aged and carrying a bit of extra weight, as they tended to do. He barely glanced at me as he approached. His fixated stare at Gabby made my fur bristle.
"I'm Howard. You called about the car?"
"I did," she said, and without giving her name, she turned toward the car before he could offer his hand. Smart girl.
I lingered, watching her back as she moved away.
"It's a decent car for the price," he said, moving past her and popping the hood. She peeked inside, and he moved close to her. Too close.
I nudged him aside and jumped up, bracing my paws on the front end. The man yipped like a startled pup but backed away as I wanted. Ignoring him, I stared at the engine, comparing what I saw to Sam's truck. I nodded to myself. It looked similar.
"I'll take it," Gabby said.
Just like that? She had too much trust in people. He hadn't even told her much about the car. It didn't seem to matter to her, though.
"Do you have the title ready to sign over?"
"Sure. Let me run inside."
A few minutes later, I contorted myself to sit in the very cramped passenger seat as we drove away.
The car needed a good cleaning. It reeked of stale smoke.