Chapter Three

The following day, Emily frowned as she cleaned out each cage in the shelter. She allowed the dogs to run around on the grass chasing the ball in the meantime.

Had last night even happened?

One moment Dalton claimed she was going to enjoy every moment of him claiming her virginity, and in the next, his men were escorting her out the door, sending her home. How was that claiming her virginity? Had she not been paying attention during biology lessons?

Why force her to come to his place, only to send her away afterward? They hadn't had sex.

Emily shook her head and finished cleaning the cages. She gave Zero's blanket a good shake, allowing the dust and dog hair to blow out into the yard, and then placed it nice and neatly back on his bed. She hated referring to their places as cages, but what else could she call them?

Every morning, she took the time to get as many cages clean as possible. She felt that a nice tidy cage might appeal to more people, and her hope was for all these dogs to find their forever homes. They were all amazing, loving, adorable dogs. They just had a bad start in life. Kind of like her and Dalton.

Dalton had the worst start in life. She had some semblance of what he went through. She never visibly saw anyone hurting him, but those scars he carried were very much real. For her own drama, her mother simply ignored her. She was more interested in looking beautiful and trying to catch a rich husband so she didn't have to work. Emily knew she was a constant reminder of fucking up.

She had never told anyone this, but the only reason her mother had gotten pregnant was to snag a rich man. It had taken her a few years to realize that her own father had been a married man, passing through town. He'd been on business, and her mother thought she had hit the jackpot.

Once he realized she was pregnant, he'd left town. She knew he had visited from time to time, but Emily never knew who he was, and she never cared to either.

She didn't for a second think it had broken her mother's heart—just her wishes of getting a sugar daddy of a husband. That was all her mother wanted.

Emily would never rely on a man. It was why she always worked hard. She put the blanket neatly over the bed, and placed in several toys. She made sure every single dog had a toy or two.

All dogs ever wanted was love. She saw it every day. They didn't make stupid demands like sex for a mother's freedom. They were never mean, and didn't put brown paper bags in girls' lockers, or force them to fall over in front of the whole school. They certainly didn't sneak into the school's changing room and hide to film them getting changed.

Dalton had tried to do that, but she'd hated her body for so long, she never changed out in the open. She used the bathroom. He got quite annoyed that day, told her she was a fucking fat bitch and a waste of space.

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and turned toward Zero. The dog was a mongrel, and there were no distinctive features on his face to determine what kind of dog he was.

Either way, she loved him. He was always so playful. Like now, he rolled on his back and growled into the air, making her laugh.

"What are you doing?"

She gasped at the sound of Dalton's voice. How long had he been standing there watching her? She tried to glance behind him to see if anyone saw them, but no one was there. It was still quite early, as she liked to get in before anyone else.

"I work here."

"You work at the animal shelter? Didn't you volunteer here when we were kids?"

Zero had rolled onto his stomach and was now looking toward Dalton. He was a good dog, but she didn't know what kind of man Dalton was.

Was he a good man or a bad one?

There were a lot of rumors circulating about who he was exactly, and she didn't have a clue if any of them were real or not. That was the trouble with gossip. In most situations, they were all lies.

Before she could answer, Zero got up and walked over to Dalton. She watched in amazement as he sat down at Dalton's feet.

Did Dalton even realize that he bent down to pet him without even looking at her?

"Yeah, I work at the animal shelter."

"Why?"

"I love dogs."

His brow went up and she tried not to laugh at how shocked he seemed to be. Was it so hard to believe that someone could work at an animal shelter out of love for animals?

"Zero has taken a liking to you."

"Zero?" he asked, frowning.

She nodded at the dog at his feet.

"Fuck me, this dog is ugly."

"You can't say that. He's adorable and he's never acted that way for anyone." She was quite amazed. "I know this is a long shot, but have you considered rescuing?"

Why was she even asking him this? This was insane.

Dalton looked down at Zero and then back over at her. "Is that what it will take?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I follow?"

She couldn't help but tense up as Dalton picked Zero up into his arms. Zero settled in and she watched as his head rested on Dalton's shoulder. It was adorable.

He took several steps toward her, but she couldn't bring herself to back up.

Was he about to use the dogs to get his way? It made no sense because she had already agreed to be with him once.

****

One night was never going to be enough. Dalton didn't want just once chance with her, he wanted a fucking lifetime.

Staring at Emily, holding this cute and amazing dog, Dalton knew he might have hit the jackpot in acquiring her just the way he wanted her.

One night was for her mother's freedom.

These dogs would get him forever.

He had seen her growing up, always rescuing animals, loving them.

One of the first times he saw her, she was petting a cat that had walked close to her. For everyone else, the cat attacked, hissing, scratching, and all those things a feral cat does. Emily was able to pet the cat, and eventually take it to a shelter. He knew she visited that cat until it was finally rescued.

Her love for all animals was absolute, but then he saw her with dogs, and knew they were her real passion. There were no bounds when it came to that kind of love.

She always volunteered at this shelter, and it looks like they eventually gave her a job. The pay was shit. Did she even realize the shelter had been looking for a buyer for some time?

"What's that one's name?"

"Bernie."

"And that one?"

"Karla."

He kept pointing at each kennel.

"What point are you trying to prove?" she asked.

"Simple, you love these dogs, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Just what are you willing to do to keep them here?"

"Look, Dalton, I'm not sure what you're getting at."

He put it out, plain and simple. "Jude is selling this land. He can't support the animal shelter and he's looking to retire. He's trying to look for alternative accommodations for the dogs, but some will have to be euthanized unless he's able to find a buyer who is willing to keep the shelter."

He knew he was breaking her heart with each word he spoke. Jude had told him he hoped to retire, but he didn't have a sound plan.

Dalton already bought the land. Jude couldn't turn down his offer with all the ones and zeros. It would be prime space for development, but if Emily wanted to keep it, he'd be willing to make a new deal.

"Why are you lying?" she asked.

"I'm not lying." He touched his head, still holding the dog close. "Shoot, you're right, I am kind of telling a little lie. I already own this shelter, which is why I'm here, of course. I'm hoping to make a decision. Do you realize how many houses I could build on this plot? It's an amazing opportunity for real estate."

"Stop!" Emily held her hand up. "Jude wouldn't sell to you."

"Actually, he did sell to me, and we've already signed all the necessary paperwork." He pressed a kiss to Zero's head. "I'm afraid, Emily, you're going to be out of a job."

"What more do you want from me?" Emily shouted. "You wanted one night for my mother's freedom. What do you want from me now?"

"I guess the real question is how much do you love these dogs? Do you want them to be sent away or possibly killed?"

Emily rubbed at her temples. "What do you want? Name it, it's yours, but you have to leave the dogs alone, and you have to agree to keep the shelter on this land."

This made him smile.

He placed the dog inside its cage. He'd never met a dog who fit him so well.

"How about we make a deal then?" Dalton asked.

"Another deal?"

"Come to my new office." He closed Zero's cage, and it took him a second to walk away. That dog shouldn't be locked in that cage.

Jude had already given him a tour of the land. They had done it a few days ago. Dalton wanted to know everything about Emily, and he'd done it secretly, pretending to be investing in the area.

When he'd first stepped into Jude's office, he'd looked around at the seven filing cabinets. Jude had promised to leave everything for him to deal with. He'd also been told that Emily was the best one to come to for any information about the setup.

It was a short walk back to the shelter's little office. He sat in what used to be Jude's large desk chair, looking up at Emily. She stood on the other side of the desk, her face pale.

"Now, down to business. How would you like to have the opportunity of a lifetime?" he asked, steepling his fingers.

"Why don't you cut the crap, Dalton? Just tell me what you want."

This made him smile even more.

Leaning forward, he put his hands on the desk. "I'm willing to give this to you, Emily. You can have it all. The land, the dogs, and the money. I'll make sure you have an allowance every month, and you'll want for nothing. All of this will be yours."

Emily frowned. "You're willing to give me the whole shelter and to help fund it?"

"Yes."

"What do you want in return?"

"Ah, so you understand that everyone and everything has a price."

"I know you require a price. What do you want?"

"It's simple." He stood up and rounded the desk. After grabbing her left hand, he ran his thumb across that most important finger.

"Dalton? What do you want?"

"I want you to marry me."

This made her jerk back. She tried to pull her hand away but he wouldn't let her go.

"Marry you?" she asked. "You can't be serious. Why would you want to marry me? You're already getting sex out of me, why marriage?"

She was so adorable when she was confused and he loved it.

"Why not? Like you said, you're nothing like your mother. You're a virgin. You can consider this your wedding present. That means you are mine in every way, and with you taking my name, it will mean I own you."

"And you'll give me the shelter?"

"Yes. A wedding present. You can take care of the dogs, or you can do whatever the hell you want with them. Make it an investment if you'd like."

He knew she wouldn't do that. The Emily he knew would never sacrifice dogs for her own gain.

"All you've got to do is marry me. What do you say, Emily? You want to marry that bully you hate so much and become mine?"

"And if I don't?" she asked.

"One phone call and I'll make sure every one of them gets euthanized." He would never do it, but he had a feeling Emily wasn't willing to risk it.