They dozed a while afterward, and when Owen finally pulled out, Mark sighed. He tightened his grip on Owen to keep him from moving any farther, but Owen coaxed him into letting go with a few words and kisses. Mark rolled onto his back after Owen headed to the bathroom for a washcloth.
Mark closed his eyes. “You feel like seeing Lo and Keith tonight?” he asked as the mattress beside him dipped under Owen’s weight. “They drove up last night and their cabin is only about a half mile east. Lo said they’d make dinner if we wanted to get together, and they have a second bed if we get too drunk to leave.”
Owen laughed. “Sure.” He ran a warm cloth over Mark’s belly. “You sure look comfortable right now, though. You think you’ll be up for socializing if you get in a nap, old man?”
A laugh rolled through Mark and he opened his eyes, his heart thumping as he watched Owen’s smile. “Yes, I’m sure I will. You going to lie down with me or hang out with your new furry friend?” He eyed the tablet on the nightstand to Owen’s right. “Please tell me you’re not going to do any work.”
“Definitely not. I’m going to read, because I’m not tired right now. Pretty sure I can hang out with you and the dog at the same time, too.” Owen let out a low whistle and exchanged a grin with Mark as the air filled with the click-clack of doggy nails on the wood floor. He laughed as the white dog dropped its chin on the mattress and whined.
Mark rolled his eyes. “Oh, God. You want to take him back to Boston with us, don’t you?”
“Eh, who knows?” Owen scrubbed the dog’s scruff with his fingers while it wagged its tail. “If no one shows up to claim him before we leave, I think we should take him back to the office and ask around, yes. But until then, I think we can just keep him on as a buddy and see how things go.” He glanced Mark’s way and Mark knew he’d lost this battle, too, before it’d even been fought.
“Okay, I can live with that.” Mark reached over Owen’s legs to rub the dog’s head. “What do you think, dog? You okay with Owen’s plan?” He squawked as the animal leaped onto the bed and subjected Mark to an onslaught of licks and whoofing doggy breaths, while Owen’s rollicking laughter echoed around him. “Holy hell.”
“Holy hell is right,” Owen said, still breathless from all the hilarity. He sat back against the wall while the dog turned itself in a trio of circles, and rubbed its flank with one foot when it finally settled down on the mattress by Mark’s knees. “I guess we’ll see who’s ready to let go of whom by the end of the week, huh?”
“I guess.”
Mark knew very well that the dog would be headed back to Boston with them, provided it really did need a home. And that was okay. Owen’s building had rules against pets, but Mark’s didn’t, and if taking on a furry roommate made everyone happy, he’d do it without complaint. Mark thought he might be ready to share his apartment with Owen sometime in the not very distant future, too, and what better way to practice for that day than with a friendly white dog?
With a yawn, Mark rolled onto his side. He pressed his nose close to Owen’s hip, smiling when Owen rested a hand on Mark’s head and the white dog’s tail thumped against the mattress. And as Mark drifted off to sleep, he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Fin
About K. Evan Coles
K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.
K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.
K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.
Contact
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Other works by K. Evan Coles
Pride Publishing (Totally Entwined Group)
~ Tidal Duology w/ Brigham Vaughn (Novels) ~
Wake
Calm
~ The Speakeasy w/ Brigham Vaughn (Novels) ~
With a Twist
Extra Dirty
Behind the Stick
Straight Up (TBD)
~ Boston Seasons (Novels) ~
Third Time’s the Charm
Easy For You To Say (TBD)
Wicked Fingers Press (Self-Published)
~Stealing Hearts Series (Novellas)~
Thief of Hearts
Healing Hearts
A Hometown Holiday (Short Story)
Moonlight (Short Story)
Off Topic Press (Self-Published)
Inked in Blood w/ Brigham Vaughn (Short Story)
http://www.kevancoles.com
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading! Please add a short review on Amazon and let me know what you thought—I would love to hear from you.
If you enjoyed this story, check out Book #2 in the Stealing Hearts series, Healing Hearts, available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Some hearts are made to be mended.
Zac Alvarez never expected to start his life over at forty-five, but his recent divorce means doing just that. Luckily, his career as a nurse in Boston keeps him busy and he has friends who understand Zac’s need to be as careful with his heart as he is with his diet.
Acting on a whim one fall afternoon, Zac buys lunch from a food truck and meets Aiden Marinelli, a bold young chef who is taking the city’s food scene in new directions. Aiden is only thirty, a fact that doesn’t sit well with Zac, but both the chef and his food prove impossible to resist.
An attachment forms between the two men and, as the winter holidays draw near, Zac begins to emerge from the protective shell he’s built around himself. A chance encounter with his ex-husband shakes Zac’s newfound confidence, however, and he pushes Aiden away, unaware how deeply the act will hurt them both until it is too late.
Now, Zac must decide if he is brave enough to go after what he wants and mend not only Aiden’s heart but his own.
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Did you love Thief of Hearts? Then you should read Healing Hearts by K. Evan Coles!
Some hearts are made to be mended.
Zac Alvarez never expected to start his life over at forty-five, but his recent divorce means doing just that. Luckily, his career as a nurse in Boston keeps him busy and he has friends who understand Zac's need to be as careful with his heart as he is with his diet.
Acting on a whim one fall afternoon, Zac buys lunch from a food truck and meets Aiden Marinelli, a bold young chef who is taking the city's food scene in new directions. Aiden is only thirty, a fact that doesn't sit well with Zac, but both the chef and his food prove impossible to resist.
An attachment forms between the two men and, as the winter holidays draw near, Zac begins to emerge from the protective shell he's built around himself. A chance encounter with his ex-husband shakes Zac's newfound confidence, however, and he pushes Aiden away, unaware how deeply the act will hurt them both until it is too late.<
br />
Now, Zac must decide if he is brave enough to go after what he wants and mend not only Aiden's heart but his own.
Healing Hearts (Stealing Hearts Book 2) Page 10
