Head Over Paws

by Debbie Burns

  “Whoa,” Olivia added, fanning her face and leaning back. “I’d almost guess he timed that.”

  “I’m not kidding about him being put out. But the gas thing—that’s just him and old age, and it’s always worse at night.” Gabe reached for her hand and pulled her a safe distance from the couch and straight into an embrace. Olivia loved the feel of his arms wrapping tightly around her.

  “Next time I come over, I’ll bring Samson a giant Kong filled with enough peanut butter to keep him busy for hour or two, and maybe he won’t even realize he’s missing out on something.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Gabe said between kisses, one hand at her back, the other cupping the curve between her ass and the back of her thigh, making her want to melt even closer into him.

  She felt the swell of him pressing into her low belly again, and her body heated all over in response. She ground against him, ready to melt the last of that fear away.

  Gabe pulled back as things got heated and released a breath. “You know, that reminds me. I’ve got a dental chew that’ll buy us twenty minutes tonight.”

  Olivia slipped her hands underneath Gabe’s shirt, running them along the ridges of muscle along his abdomen and sides, her knees going weak as they locked around his deltoids. “Twenty minutes? Considering you already rocked my world in about five, I feel like we could get a lot accomplished in that time.”

  Gabe’s easy laugh reverberated through his chest and against her hands. “I’m ready if you are.”

  She reached up and brushed her lips over his. “I say we do this.”

  As if anticipating he was about to be ousted, Samson let out a single baritone woof.

  “Yeah, we’re going to need that chew.” Gabe cleared his throat and shot a glance toward the kitchen. “I’ll get it and lock him out here. You, uh, want anything? Like your water?”

  Olivia pressed her lips together but couldn’t stifle her laugh. “I’m sorry, it’s just… How much cardio is this going to involve?”

  After a grimace, Gabe was laughing along with her. “Yeah, guess that didn’t come out right.”

  Sensing her nerves had her close to slipping into the out-of-control laughter zone, Olivia took off for the back of the apartment. At the last second, she grabbed her purse in case she needed to dig out the condom that had come in the emergency survival bridesmaid pack she’d gotten from the December wedding she’d been in.

  After finding the light switch, she flipped on the light and did a double take. Gabe’s room was tidier than she might have guessed. The bed was made, and no clothes were strewn about. But the mattress on the floor, and the sawed-off legs of the nightstand next to it threw her.

  Samson’s hips, she guessed after spotting a flattened circle in the middle of the bed where the dog likely slept. A smile lit her face. All these things only endeared Gabe to her more.

  She slipped off her sandals and, after dropping her purse on the dresser, fished out the condom from the bottom of the side pocket. Clasping it in her palm, she headed to the bed and sank onto the edge of the mattress, her bent knees nearly as high as her shoulders.

  She’d hardly given the condom a thought over the last several months, except for the few times she was fishing for change or a package of ibuprofen. Now that there was occasion to make use of it, the words “Nirvana Collection” stood out in stark detail, and her heart thumped with the vigor of a brass band.

  Suddenly, Gabe was walking into the room and closing the door behind him, looking exceptionally tall from her spot on the floor. She might as well have been caught with the hot potato by the way her palms began to sweat. It’s too late to hide it now.

  “I, uh, figured we should get the protection talk out of the way right off the bat.” She held it up between her thumb and forefinger.

  Gabe kicked his shoes off next to hers. Rather than taking a seat beside her, he sank into a squat at the end of the bed, facing her. He locked his hands around the backs of her calves, and she could feel the heat of them even through her stretchy denim jeans.

  “Yeah, sure. Nirvana, huh? Looks a little nicer than what I was going to be able to offer on the fly.”

  “Yeah, well, it was in a bridesmaid gift awhile back.”

  He nodded. “I’m good with that. Wearing it, I mean. And about the bed. In case it comes across a little teenage boy, there was a frame and box spring till last fall when it got too hard for Samson to get up and down.”

  She brushed one fingertip over the ridge of his chin, savoring the hint of roughness. “I figured as much.”

  Suddenly it seemed everything had been said, and it grew quiet enough to hear Samson on the other side of the door chomping on the chew he’d been given.

  She swallowed back a laugh that would probably sound a touch hysterical if it slipped out. “Just a heads-up—if you don’t start kissing me soon, I think I’m going to lose it.”

  Gabe didn’t need any further encouragement. He leaned forward, and her legs opened reflexively as his body pressed against hers. His mouth met hers in a kiss with pressure as light as when he’d swept his fingers through her hair. Soon their tongues and hunger for more deepened it, and Olivia found herself sinking back onto the mattress.

  She was glad when her blood started to boil again and those capable hands caressed her in all the right places, turning the soft heat into an inferno and helping her fight back the three little words that had been doing their best to push to the surface. Three little words that should never be said to someone she’d only known a single week. Three little words that were suddenly the biggest truth she knew, even when they remained unspoken.

  He slipped her shirt over her head, and their eyes met. He gifted her with a little wink before his mouth found her neck. Olivia lost her fingers in his hair and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer. The light was on, and if he looked, he’d see all her imperfections.

  But enmeshed in that same feeling that had her wanting to shout out those three words that couldn’t be taken back was the confidence that even if he noticed them, he wouldn’t care, solidifying their truth even more.

  She loved the way he was with his dog and with her. Loved that he’d found his calling in the throes of tragedy. Loved the small cleft in his chin, the sheepish grin that popped up when she didn’t expect it, and the brilliance of his bright, playful eyes. Loved listening to the couple of voicemails he’d left when she didn’t have her phone and looking at the flowers on her desk that he’d dropped off at school.

  And just like she knew she would, when their bodies joined together as one, she loved him even more completely. And for that instant, the only other thought that pressed to the surface was that everything in her life had been leading her to this moment, right now.

  Chapter 21

  The constant din of weak meows filling the shelter’s small exam room could pass for a badly remixed sound track but was coming from the eight tiger-striped kittens Gabe was examining. In turn, each kitten was making it known how unhappy he or she was about being poked and prodded. They were supposed to be settling down in the blanket in the laundry basket that had been used to bring them in from their kennel in quarantine, but each protesting kitten continued to set off the rest.

  It was a lucky thing the kittens were as vocal as they were. Their feral mom had moved them under a broken grate into a shallow storm drain behind a QuikTrip, and an employee had heard their plaintive meows while emptying the trash. Had they not been found and brought to safety, it was likely the drain would have flooded and drowned them when this afternoon’s storms rolled in.

  Fortunately, a feral cat rescue group had come to their aid. Luckily, with a bit of cunning, the group’s members had even been able to catch the anxious mom by luring her into a trap with a heaping bowl of tuna fish. Gabe had already examined her, pulled some blood, and done a fecal exam. The young tortoise-shell cat was a feisty th
ing, and Gabe wouldn’t be surprised if she was feral born. For a nursing wild cat, she had good muscle tone and weight, and as a result, her exceptionally large litter was healthy too. There were two runts who were nearly identical with their darker color patterns and shorter fur. Although names were being tossed about for the rest of the litter, it seemed Abbott and Costello had been decided on for these two.

  Costello, whose meow sounded a bit like his head was stuck inside a tin can, fought Gabe’s gentle prodding with a fierce determination. “Sorry, little guy.” Gabe did his best to get the kitten’s temperature on the first try after he finished checking inside his mouth and ears.

  “This one’s a bit on the anemic side, based on how light his gums are. Just like the other one his size.” Gabe glanced at Patrick, who’d become his go-to helper in the exam room when it didn’t interfere with Patrick’s nearly set-in-stone routine. “He has his share of fleas. They all do, but it seems like I spotted more on him. Since they can’t be treated for another week, you’ll have to remove them manually. Have you got enough staff for that today?”

  After a second of contemplation, Patrick nodded. “There’s a woman coming on at two who makes a point of helping to bathe the cats whenever she can.”

  Gabe pursed his lips. “Interesting woman, I bet, but good timing. Considering the color of his gums, I’d like to see these fleas off him sooner than later. And no soap, as I’m sure you know. Just warm water and a flea comb.”

  After a nod, Patrick said, “Your girlfriend can help. If she wants to.”

  “I bet she’d like that, but I’ll let her answer that.”

  “I wasn’t asking you to.”

  Gabe glanced up from Costello, who was just as unhappy at having his belly gently stroked to determine abdominal and intestinal health as he’d been at having his temperature taken. Gabe wasn’t sure if he was expecting to spot a touch of indignation on Patrick’s face, but it was completely free from it. It seemed, as usual, Patrick was just stating what seemed obvious to him.

  He’d never intended on dating someone in his workplace environment, but Gabe didn’t mind that everyone here was figuring out he and Olivia were a couple. He was a young, single vet, so it shouldn’t have surprised him when a handful of animal-loving women about his age had seemed to have more than an amiable interest in him, both here and at his office. He was hopeful that as word got out he was in a committed relationship, that sort of thing would quiet down.

  Gabe and Olivia had just entered their second official week of dating last night, a Friday night, and they’d celebrated with a trip out to the Missouri wine country where they’d had a relaxing dinner on the patio of the Hawthorne Inn. He couldn’t remember being so eager to be around someone he was dating before, with the possible exception of his first girlfriend at seventeen. He’d seen Olivia eight of the last nine days, though two of them had been for mere minutes. One of them had been when he’d dropped her off a surprise lunch at Westbury Middle, and the other time she’d swung by his office before going home with a loaf of vegan zucchini bread she and her aunt had made the night before.

  The rest of the times had been actual dates, two of which were supposed to have been quick dinner dates but had turned into three-hour meals. The rest had drawn on longer, culminating at his place and resulting in a lot more treats for Samson. In addition to the Kong, Gabe’s freezer was now stocked with a couple packages of doggie “ice cream” cups—a blend of Greek yogurt, bananas, and peanut butter—that bought them almost the same amount of time as the Kong.

  And his sawed-off nightstand was now stocked with a much bigger variety of condoms and a eucalyptus massage oil that about sent him over the edge each time he applied it to Olivia’s supple body.

  As crazy as he was about her, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise that his sex drive had kicked into hyperdrive. Clamping a tight lid on his libido the last five years to get through vet school and enmesh himself in a new practice certainly hadn’t caused any harm now that he was active again. Thankfully, Olivia was matching him stride for stride when it came to the desire to find new ways to keep Samson busy on the other side of his bedroom door.

  Finished with Costello’s exam, Gabe returned him to the basket of roly-poly, uncoordinated kittens. After a few wobbly strides, the kitten collapsed next to his creamy-colored, much bigger sister and began to lick his paw with what came across as a clear look of indignation.

  “These last two could use another few cc’s of formula three times a day, assuming Mom keeps allowing them to nurse. Now that she’s hydrated and eating her share, her milk production should pick up. Still, with eight mouths to feed, it’ll be good to keep a watch on all of them. You know the signs of anemia?”

  Patrick nodded. “Pale gums, lethargy, loose stools, high pulse.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got it covered. Considering the litter size, you’re fine to supplement the rest with formula if you feel the need… You guys know how to raise kittens.”

  “Yes, there’ve been three litters so far this year. Last year, there were nine, two of which were bottle-fed.”

  Gabe peeled off his gloves. “Any others today?”

  Patrick shook his head. “This is the last for today.”

  “Then I guess I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  “If you want to stick around, there’s a film crew expected in fifteen minutes. Do you remember Pepper, the Rottweiler who was one of the rescued fighting dogs from the Sabrina Raven estate?”

  “Yeah. She was adopted awhile back, right? She was one of the first dogs I examined here. Sweet-natured dog.”

  “Yes,” Patrick replied with a single nod of his head. “She’s being honored for her bravery.”

  Gabe was about to ask for clarification when Patrick lifted the basket of kittens off the table and headed out of the room.

  With a shrug, Gabe headed out as well. He didn’t mind hanging around to see for himself, especially with Olivia here.

  Although she hadn’t planned on it, she’d ended up sleeping over last night. It hadn’t made sense to head back to her aunt’s at midnight, then turn around and drive back to the shelter this morning. Gabe had done nothing but welcome this next step, especially when she made it a point to let Samson in the room after they’d exhausted themselves with a few rounds of intercourse that topped out as their best yet. “I don’t mind cuddling with you so Samson can have his usual spot,” she’d said, sliding under the sheets next to him after coming out of the bathroom.

  After enjoying bachelor life so long, he was surprised by how easy it was to welcome in this new phase. It was too early to say it aloud, but as far as Gabe was concerned, she could sleep over indefinitely. In addition to getting to lose himself inside her as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the blinds in the east window, there’d been the intimacy of showering together, then scrounging through his picked-over pantry contents to assemble a breakfast of the last of the oatmeal, some stale Honey Nut Cheerios, and a smoothie made from a very ripe banana and a bag of blueberries she’d found in the bottom of the freezer. Tomorrow, he had every intention of doing some serious restocking.

  When he’d left for his office at a quarter to eight, she’d headed out to the park with Samson. Her shift at the shelter hadn’t started till ten o’clock, and she’d be here through three today.

  He’d gotten a glimpse of her taking out one of the dogs awhile ago but had stuck to the business at hand. In addition to the new cat and her kittens, he’d done physicals on the six new dogs that had come in this week. Now that he’d finished up for the day, he figured he wouldn’t be skirting any duties by hanging out with her for a while. With no animals in critical condition staying overnight, he didn’t need to head back to the office today.

  After a quick scope of the kennel area without finding her, Gabe headed through the back door and outside under the mostly sunny midday skies. He spotted her long,
red hair right away. Her back was to him, and she was a few hundred feet away in the new training pen behind the play area. Tess was out back as well, supervising two Labs in the nearby play area.

  Even from where he stood, he could tell the Labs had some energy to dispense. They were chasing each other with enough exuberance that he heard the impact when they crashed.

  Not to his surprise, Olivia was in the pen with Morgan, reminding of him of what Megan, the director, had said earlier about Morgan only having eyes for her. “Do you think he’s the jealous type?” Gabe asked, stopping outside the gate.

  Olivia looked over, and a happy smile lit her face. “Hey there! And no, I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s the jealous type, but if dogs can have OCD, he’s definitely a candidate. His focus is out of this world.”

  “Too many birds nearby?”

  “Not today. He’s decided he likes these salmon-flavored treats. A lot. Watch.”

  Gabe hung by the gate as Olivia walked through a series of basic commands, successfully getting the long-legged, floppy-eared pointer to sit, stay, shake, and come. And the whole time, Morgan’s attention was unwavering, just like when he was a stalking a bird.

  “Don’t you just love him?”

  “He’s something. And Megan was right. He’s done a one-eighty. Though I suspect it’s more him wanting to please you than anything else. The way he was acting two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have thought he’d bond with anyone without a struggle. And certainly not this quickly.”

  Finished with the commands, Olivia walked over to open the gate and waved him inside. “Missed you.”

  “Missed you too.” He planted a light kiss against her lips as he stepped in. “And nice training skills. I would never guess you’re just learning this stuff too.”

  “Thanks. It’s got to help to have such a smart dog to practice on.”

  “He is smart, isn’t he? Smart enough to make a good search-and-rescue dog. Young enough too.”