Catching Him(How to Catch an Alpha #1) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,5

each other’s presence. Obviously Bruce is his; his name and number are on the tag.

He opens his mouth to reply, but Bruce barks, grabbing our attention, and gets up. I follow him through the living room and down the hall, and my eyes widen when he goes right to my bedroom door and lifts his front half off the ground. His big paw knocks down the L-shaped handle, and when his paws slide down the door, it swings inward. Mouse takes his opportunity to escape and flies from the room, zooming past Bruce and then me.

I dive for my cat and shout, “Shut the front door!” but miss him by a mile. I groan as I land on my knees, watching him escape with Bruce chasing after him right out the still-open front door and past a stunned Tyler. Before I’m prepared, I’m lifted right off the floor and tightly tucked into a warm chest that smells way too good. “Please tell me your dog isn’t going to eat my cat,” I say while tipping my head back to look into Tyler’s too-gorgeous eyes.

“I hope not,” he says in return, looking somewhat worried. I push away from him, swearing I feel his arms tighten before he finally lets me go. I step around his huge body and run out of the house and down the steps of my porch, with Tyler behind me.

I can hear a dog barking, so I run toward the sound. I make a left around the corner of my house and come to a sliding stop when I see Bruce. His paws are up on the ledge of an open window of Tyler’s house, and he’s barking at Mouse, who’s just out of reach and looking down at him.

“Shit, I forgot to shut the window after I finished painting that room,” Tyler says from my side.

I look up at him. “Really? It’s been open for a week. Someone could’ve broken in and stolen everything from you.”

“If you saw it’s been open, gorgeous, you should have said something,” he responds, making me feel guilty.

I look away, mumbling, “How was I supposed to know you didn’t leave it open on purpose?”

“Fuck, you’re cute.” He chuckles, grabbing my hand and dragging me with him toward the window. I try to pull away after a tingling sensation shoots through our connected hands and my belly, but he doesn’t let go. Instead, his hand tightens.

“Bruce, heel,” he orders, and Bruce immediately lowers his front paws to the ground and looks between us with his tail wagging. “Good boy.” He takes us closer to Bruce and the window.

My eyes are zeroed in on Mouse, who’s watching us, and I read his next move before he even makes it. “Don’t do it,” I hiss. His golden eyes blink at me before he leaps into Tyler’s house.

“Well, at least he’s in there and not out on the street somewhere,” Tyler says.

“Yeah.” I try to tug my hand free but give up when he doesn’t let go. “And this time, I don’t have to climb through the window or have a gun aimed at me.”

He laughs and drags me with him toward the window and shuts it from the outside, and then he continues to drag me around to the front of the house. He lets us inside, and Bruce starts to take off down the hall but stops when Tyler growls, “Bruce, bed.”

With a longing look in the direction he was going, Bruce moves to a dog bed placed next to the fireplace in the living room and sits down. “Now, let’s see if we can get your cat.”

“Can I have my hand back?” I ask, liking his firm hold a little too much, and his eyes drop to my hand still held in his.

“For now,” he answers, looking at me, and my stomach dips as he finally releases my hand.

I ball it into a fist at my side and then sweep my other hand out toward his back hall. “After you.”

He leads the way and stops at a closed door. He turns the handle, and Mouse—never one to miss an opportunity to frustrate me—runs past us as soon as it’s cracked open. Thankfully, there’s no way for him to get outside. Still, I don’t know if Bruce will eat him for a snack, so I take off after him. When I reach the living room, I scan for his hiding place, then shake my head at him when I see he’s next to