The apartment even smelled nice, like freshly hung linen. It was a light scent, not overwhelming to his senses. It wouldn’t be since Reese was a shifter and any strong odor would be too overpowering.

  Diablo padded over to Reese’s bedroom door and listened. He heard light snoring coming from the room.

  Satisfied his mate was sound asleep, Diablo shifted and headed for the back door. There was a large balcony out back, with steps leading down into the fenced-in area where Reese let animals out for exercise. Beyond that were woods, giving the back of the building all the privacy one could ask for.

  Diablo hopped the fence then shifted and ran home where he always kept a stash of clothing in the woods, as well as his cell phone and cash, in a waterproof bag that he’d shoved into a hollow tree. As soon as he was dressed, he headed into town. It was a long walk, but it felt good to be in his human form.

  He headed right for Loose Lips, the local watering hole, and ordered some food. He might like doggy treats, but the food sucked. Diablo inhaled the delicious aromas of grease and onion rings that clung to the air, as well as the smells of booze and sweat. Music was playing from the overhead speakers, and there was a soft din of conversation throughout the place.

  Diablo winced when he noticed who was sitting in the back booth. Luke and Maynard. He was tempted as hell to walk over and introduce himself, as a stranger, not as Luke’s dog, but he refrained. They thought their dog was safely tucked away in a cage at the clinic. Why tempt fate?

  Diablo also wanted to order a Red Spanking—alcohol made specifically for nonhumans because they couldn’t get drunk off of human booze—but that would tip Merrick, the wolf shifter who owned the bar, that Diablo wasn’t what he appeared to be, although it wasn’t Merrick behind the counter tonight. It was a guy shifter named Nolan who helped out from time to time. A black panther who was easy-going with a smile at the ready.

  Thanks to the elixir he’d bought off some shady fuck in a back alley, Diablo was able to mask his scent so no one knew he was a shifter. Not even Reese knew, and that hit Diablo square in his gut. Even if Xylem wasn’t hunting him down, Diablo wouldn’t confess what Reese was to him.

  Who wanted to be mated to a hellhound? A half-breed hellhound. Their kind was hated by everyone in the preternatural world, and Diablo didn’t blame anyone. Hellhounds were notorious for their ability to zap all happiness from a person. Thank fuck being a half-breed saved Diablo from that ability.

  His kind was also known for being complete asswipes, taking pleasure out of torturing people before their victim died. Diablo wasn’t a psycho and hated the fact that he was part hellhound.

  When his food arrived, Diablo dug in, moaning at how good it tasted. The cold beer felt good going down, and as soon as he was done, Diablo ordered a second helping.

  “Hungry?” Nolan teased as he set the plate down in front of Diablo, who was seated at the bar.

  “Starved. Compliments to the chef.”

  Nolan grinned. “Glad you like it. Need a refill on your beer?”

  God, how Diablo wanted to order a Red Spanking but nodded instead. “Thanks.”

  Nolan rapped his knuckles on the bar, refilled Diablo’s drink, then headed off to serve someone else.

  As much as Diablo was enjoying his night out, he knew he had to get back. When his meal was finished and paid for, Diablo headed back to the clinic. He stashed his clothes, phone, and cash in one of the dog houses in the exercise area. Even if a dog came into the tiny house, he wouldn’t take Diablo’s shit.

  He walked up the steps leading to the balcony, and froze when the back door swung open, Reese glaring at him.

  Chapter Two

  “You have five seconds to tell me who you are before I call the cops.” Reese should have done that before he’d opened his door, but he’d been worried because Diablo had disappeared. He’d woken up to get something to drink, only to find Luke and Maynard’s dog gone.

  Now this gorgeous stranger stood on Reese’s balcony, naked as the day he was born, his hand out as if to turn the knob and come in. Either this guy raided homes in the buff or he was Diablo.

  He didn’t smell like a shifter, but even so, Reese had always gotten funny vibes around Diablo. Some sense that the dog was more than he seemed. Since Reese couldn’t prove that, he’d always dismissed that feeling.

  Now that feeling was back, and Reese would swear that the naked stranger was Diablo. He just felt it in his gut. He also saw scars crisscrossing the stranger’s chest, arms, and legs. They weren’t pronounced but faded and silvery.

  “Whoa, this isn’t my house.”

  “Nice try.” Reese wasn’t afraid. He was a wolf shifter that could tear the stranger’s throat out in a blink of an eye if he tried anything. He clearly didn’t have a weapon in his hands, and Reese was ten times stronger than a human. If this naked whacko came at him, Reese would snap his fucking neck.

  But the stranger had a death grip on Reese’s attention. Not because he was naked. No. Reese wasn’t looking at his impressive form or noticing—too much—how the porch light gleamed off of golden skin. The guy’s hair was dark, and he had a day’s worth of growth on his jaw.

  Ruggedly handsome and Reese’s type. That was what had his attention.

  What in the hell was he thinking? This couldn’t be Diablo, and no way was Reese going to flirt with the naked god. But his gaze kept going back to the scars. Diablo, as a dog, had had multitudes of scars hidden under his fur, and Reese couldn’t discount that weird feeling, either. Could this stranger really be Diablo?

  “Look, I don’t want any trouble,” the stranger said. “You weren’t even supposed to find out about me. I seem to be fucking up a lot lately, and now this.” He ran a hand through his silky black hair, which was long enough to run past his shoulders in soft waves. The ends curled slightly, and if Reese wasn’t careful, he might start drooling.

  Reese crossed his arms. “Are you Diablo?”

  The guy looked at him with the most amazing hazel eyes.

  “Tell me the truth,” Reese said. “If you don’t, I swear to god I’m going to neuter you.” He dropped his gaze to the man’s impressive package and thought it would be a shame to cut the man’s balls off.

  “Yes.”

  Reese’s gaze swung up to Diablo’s face. “How? You don’t smell like a shifter.”

  “Can I at least get dressed before we finish this conversation?” The night air was cold, and Reese felt guilty about making Diablo stand on his back balcony in the nude. He wasn’t sure why he felt guilty since none of this was his fault.

  “Yeah. I’ll put on a pot of coffee.” Reese walked back inside, confused as hell about Diablo’s scent. Masking agent? Reese had heard about something like that. He worked in Willow Point, but occasionally he teamed up with Dr. Valentine in Brac Village, and he knew a guy named Maximus Brisco who’d taken an elixir to hide the fact that he was a shifter, so Reese knew such a thing existed.

  The question was, why was Diablo in hiding? Who or what was he running from? As Reese put a pot of coffee on, he thought back to when Luke had brought the dog in. Diablo had been starved and scarred. He’d been tied up in a yard at an abandoned house. If Diablo was a shifter, how was that possible? No rope would keep a shifter from getting free.

  Too many questions circled his brain as he heard the back door close. Reese grabbed two mugs as Diablo entered the kitchen. Good god, even in clothes the guy was a sight to behold. He wore denim jeans, a black Henley, and had dark boots on his feet. He was muscular, but he seemed hesitant as he leaned against the counter.

  “If you want me to keep your secret, you better start explaining yourself.” Reese frowned. “Now I feel like a fool for petting you and calling you a good boy.”

  Diablo’s chuckle was deep and seductive. “I enjoyed every second of that.”

  Reese’s pulse quickened, but he refused to be charmed. “Explain what’s going on, or I’m calling Luke.”

  Diablo gave a small growl. “Then you’d be signing my death warrant.”

  After pouring two cups of coffee, Reese handed one to Diablo. “Then tell me what’s going on.”

  With a sigh, Diablo took a sip. “I’m in hiding, Reese. Some demon named Xylem is after me, and he won’t stop until I’m dead.”

  “But you’ve been with Luke for two years.”

  “Demons don’t let go of grudges,” Diablo said.

  “And when you were tied up in that yard?”

  Diablo’s jaw clenched. “A simple spell on a rope that I couldn’t untie myself. I thought I was going to die in that yard until Luke came along.”

  “And the scars?”

  “Not up for discussion.” Diablo took another sip of coffee. “I mean you no harm, Doc. I just need to lay low until I can figure this out. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about me.”

  Reese waffled on what to do. Luke deserved to know his dog was a shifter, yet the pleading look in Diablo’s eyes made Reese hesitate. God, Reese was a sucker for a hardcase story. Considering how Luke had found him, Reese cautiously agreed.

  “Fine, but keep trouble away from my clinic and Luke’s house. Whoever this Xylem is, I don’t want him barging in here looking to kill you.”

  “If I’d known those guys had come in with guns to kidnap Maynard, I would have killed them,” Diablo argued. “They were way too fucking quiet.”

  They had been, even when they were demanding Maynard. They’d been too calm for Reese’s liking. “I handled them.”

  “Impressively.”

  Why did Diablo’s compliment make Reese want to preen? He scowled as he added cream to his coffee and a little sugar. He would have asked if those gunmen after Maynard were sent by Xylem, but Reese already knew they were humans with a grudge against the deputy and not after Diablo. “What do you plan on doing as far as Xylem goes? And are you taking a masking agent?”

  “I don’t know and yes.” Diablo shrugged. “It was the safest way to keep Xylem off my radar. He tied me up in Willow Point, and that’s how Luke found me. But I went after him in the demon realm a few months later, so he didn’t know I’d made this town my home. Though after last night, he knows I’m here. He just doesn’t know I’m a shifter or my exact location.”

  Reese stared wide-eyed at Diablo. “He thinks he’s after a human?”

  “He doesn’t know what to think since I was the one who scarred his face, which would be damn near impossible for a human to do.” Diablo took a seat at the small table. “Keeping him guessing is what’s kept me alive. He has no idea what I am or where I am, though now he knows the general vicinity. I’ll crash here tonight, and come tomorrow, you can return me to Luke.”

  “Then what?” Reese asked. “Live your life in hiding at some isolated house?”

  Diablo snorted. “Pretty much. Xylem isn’t the only one after me. He’s recruited help, and I can admit I can’t beat both Xylem and Rochester.”

  Reese tilted his head. “What are you? I mean, what species of shifter?”

  “Dog.” Diablo looked away, and Reese knew there was more to it. Of course he figured dog, but there was something about the dark and handsome guy that made Reese want to help him.

  He also didn’t want any harm coming to Luke and Maynard. Luke was human, an ex-marine but still human. Maynard was an impala shifter. If Xylem and Rochester showed up at their home, Luke and his mate would die. “Why don’t you stay here until you figure this out?”

  Not that Reese wanted trouble at his door. He just wanted to keep his friends safe. At least, that was what he was telling himself.

  Diablo frowned. “Knowing I have two demons after me, you want me to stay here? Are you some kind of sadist that likes this kind of shit?”

  Reese stiffened. “Look, asshole, I was only thinking about Luke and Maynard and their safety. You can go fuck yourself for all I care.”

  That deep, seductive chuckle made a reappearance, forcing goose bumps to surface all over Reese. “Be careful how bristly you get with me, love. I just might enjoy it.”

  “You’re a scoundrel.” Reese hated that Diablo made him want to smile because his was so infectious. Alluring was more like it, but Reese wasn’t going to let himself go there. He didn’t need Diablo to think he had the upper hand. “I’m a sucker for hardcases. It’s one of my many downfalls, like offering to help someone who thinks he’s witty.”

  “Ouch.” Diablo held a hand over his heart. “You know how to wound a guy.”

  “In more ways than one.” Reese drank half his mug before setting the cup in the sink. He didn’t need to get too wired if he wanted to go back to sleep.

  “You keep threatening to neuter me, and I might take you seriously.”

  “You keep trying to charm me, and you better take me seriously.” Reese couldn’t lie. He was enjoying the banter a little too much. Probably because he lived by himself and missed having someone to talk to. His clients and Maggie were nice distractions. But they were just that, distractions from Reese remembering just how lonely he was. With Diablo, it felt much more intimate.

  “And what, pray tell, would you say to Luke to convince him I need to stay here longer?” Diablo arched a dark brow, which only made him appear roguish.

  Reese refused to be baited by that sexy look. “You potentially could have rabies.”

  Diablo coughed, setting his cup aside. He stared incredulously at Reese. “Pardon me?”

  “I’m sure they know that if you’ve contracted rabies I’d have to put you down. Because of that, I need to quarantine you for at least ten days. That time frame would also hide the fact that your leg is no longer wounded since you healed in your shifter form. Mind you, Luke will come to see you often because, for some reason, he’s attached to you.”

  “Some reason?” Diablo chuckled. “I’m irresistible, that’s why.”

  “Full of yourself is more like it. You can have the couch. No partying or going through my things. Keep your paws to yourself.”

  “You’re one to talk considering you’re a wolf and have paws.” Diablo winked.

  Reese walked out of the kitchen before he really was charmed by the jerk.

  * * * *

  Diablo stayed in his dog form as Reese worked in the clinic. He kept at Reese’s side, even though Diablo had no intention of telling the guy they were mates. Even so, Diablo still felt the need to be near him, a need he’d tried very hard not to give in to over the past two years.

  But now that Reese knew some of the truth and had talked to Luke on the phone about Diablo staying at the clinic, he couldn’t manage to give Reese five feet of space.

  Reese frowned as he looked down at Diablo. “Have you ever heard of personal space? You’re making some of my clients nervous.”

  Diablo was aware of how big he was in his dog form. He didn’t see how he made anyone nervous, though. He’d been very docile the entire day, even enduring some people petting him to prove he was tame enough to roam freely around the place.

  “My next visit is a cat, and I’ve heard you growl around them. Go take a nap in my office while I do my exam.”

  That was because cats were a pain in the ass, always thinking they were superior to dogs. It was just in the way they acted around other animals, like they were above all others.

  “I see you’re getting along fine with our resident badass,” Maggie said from the doorway of exam room one. “He’s nothing but a big ol’ cuddle bunny.” She came into the room and hugged Diablo then scratched him under his chin. Diablo had an urge to nip her so she’d back off, but in truth, he liked Maggie.

  Reese arched a brow. “I highly doubt Diablo is a cuddle bunny. His name means devil.”

  If Diablo could glare in this form, he would have. By nature he really was a nice guy, which contradicted his species of hellhound, but he was only a surly bastard when others tried his fucking patience. Like Xylem.

  “A cutie pie.” Maggie laughed. “Look at him, Dr. Freeman. His tongue is hanging out, and his tail is wagging. How could you think he’s a devil with that precious face?”

  “You don’t know him like I do,” Reese grumbled. “Trust me when I say he has a whole other side to him.”

  Diablo licked her hand then pulled away. There was only one person he wanted hugging all over him, even though that contradicted his resolve about not claiming Reese. Maybe staying here had been a bad idea. The longer he was around Reese, the more Diablo wanted him.

  Reese had a damn fine body under those green scrubs. He was lean with muscles and had a low-trimmed beard and mustache that Diablo was dying to nibble on. He had intense dark eyes and lips that Diablo wanted to explore at length.

  He pushed past Maggie and headed to Reese’s office. His mate had kept the door ajar so Diablo could come and go as he pleased. As soon as he was inside, Diablo shifted and locked the door. He reached over his head and stretched then dropped into Reese’s office chair.

  A moment later a curse sounded right outside the door. Diablo got up and cracked it open to find Reese standing there with a frown. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “You’re supposed to be lying on the carpet in your dog form, not locking me out of my own office.”

  “Didn’t want Maggie walking in.” Diablo sat behind Reese’s desk again, firing up his computer.

  “Scram.” Reese waved Diablo out of his seat. “You should have stashed some clothing in here.”

  Diablo smirked. “My nakedness bothering you?”

  Jesus. Diablo just couldn’t help himself. He just had to flirt with Reese, even though things couldn’t go anywhere between them.

  After Reese sat, he looked up at Diablo. “I’ll admit you have the whole rogue-pirate thing down pat. All you need is a parrot on your shoulder and an eyepatch.”

  Diablo wasn’t sure what the hell Reese was talking about. “I look like a pirate?”

  “A ruggedly handsome one.” Reese turned toward his computer. “One I have no interest in. Go flirt with Maggie.”

  With a grin, Diablo leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, unashamed of his nudity. “She’s missing vital pieces I like on a lover.”