The Pet Stylist and the Playboy

by Rebecca James

  “Blaze said we won’t be seeing you anymore,” he eventually said.

  I sucked in a breath. “What? No. I mean...I’ll be busy, but I’m not deserting everyone.”

  Isaac shook his head. “You can’t be everywhere at once.” He cleared his throat. “It’s pretty obvious you’ve up-graded who you sleep with.”

  I stopped, hand on his arm.

  The expression on Isaac’s face when he turned to me cracked my heart, and I knew I’d been the one to put it there. I hadn’t been able to leave him alone. I’d gone to his place, and I’d kissed him. I’d slept with him, knowing it would hurt him when I had to turn away, despite what he’d said.

  “I saw the girl you were with,” Isaac said. “She’s very...fancy.”

  I let out a small laugh. “Yeah. Felicity Bogart-Beezey. I call her FB-B. Not to her face, of course.”

  Isaac’s lips twitched. “It is quite the mouthful.”

  “I’m not exactly with her. She’s just my date for the party. I meant what I said about always being there for you. You can call me if you need anything, you know that, right?”

  Isaac sighed softly, turned, and resumed walking.

  I hurried to catch up with him. “Isaac.”

  “I’m fine, Dante. I’m a big boy who can take care of himself.”

  Frustrated that I couldn’t figure him out and hearing the sound of voices nearby, I took Isaac’s hand and pulled him into an empty utility building, shutting the door behind us. Shadows of mowers, rakes, shovels and the like loomed around us. I couldn’t find a light switch, but the small window on the far wall let in enough light from the rising moon for me to see Isaac’s face.

  “It’s not that I don’t think you’ll be okay on your own, it’s just that...” I trailed off.

  Isaac’s dark eyes questioned me, and the quirky curve of his mouth flattened out. He wasn’t going to let me off the hook. “Just that, what?”

  I sighed. “You matter to me.”

  Isaac grunted. “Just because you saved my life by picking me up out of that bathroom doesn’t mean you’re responsible for me. This isn’t the middle ages, or—I don’t know—wherever it is they have those kinds of ideas. You aren’t responsible for me, so I wish you’d just stop. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about. You’re not happy.”

  “I’m okay.”

  Isaac grabbed me roughly by the arms. “No, you’re not. You hate this life, or you wouldn’t have left it. You’re only here out of some kind of skewed sense of responsibility to your parents.”

  I shook off his hands. “It’s not skewed. You don’t get it. My parents may not be perfect, but I owe it to them to be the person they raised me to be. I’ve had my fun, but now it’s time to settle down.”

  “Why do you owe it to them? Children don’t grow up to be slaves to their parents. That’s not how it works.”

  “How would you know?”

  Isaac looked like I’d slapped him, and I wished I could shove the stupid words back into my mouth. Fuck, I was such an ass.

  “I’m sorry.” I reached for him, but he stepped back in the limited space, avoiding my touch, dark eyes wide and hurt.

  “I may not have grown up with a real family, but I know enough about life to realize only selfish parents would expect their child to live for them,” he said.

  I reached for him again, but he evaded me. “Isaac, please.” I sounded as wrecked as I felt. I hadn’t meant to hurt him, and knowing I had made me sick to my stomach.

  “I’m sorry I said that. I didn’t mean it.”

  “Yes, you did. You think because I grew up in a string of foster homes I couldn’t possibly understand the parent/child dynamic. That I’m flawed in some way. Broken. And you know what? You’re right.”

  “No...”

  His plump bottom lip trembled, and I wanted to hold him, reassure him, but he kept stepping away from me. Finally, I lost patience and pushed him against the door, hands cupping his face to force him look at me.

  Pressing my forehead to his, I whispered, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” I saw the sheen of tears in his eyes before he squeezed them shut. After a moment, he nodded, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  And then I kissed him. God, the feel of his mouth on mine again was indescribable. I thought I’d imagined that from before—the way he’d seemed to consume me when we came together.

  Isaac pushed up against me, not to fight me, but to get closer, hands bunching up the back of my shirt, mouth opening, tongue twisting around mine in a sensuous twirl. I could feel how hard he was against my thigh and suddenly wanted him in my mouth more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

  Dropping to my knees, I looked up at him. “Let me,” I breathed.

  Isaac’s mouth parted, lips swollen and wet from my kisses. He nodded.

  Knowing I was making mistakes all over again and not able to make myself care, I fumbled with the zipper of his pants, breath catching when I caught sight of what was underneath. I paused, staring. Pale pink lace. He was wearing the thong I’d bought him. The purchase had been a whim. I’d wanted to make up for the pair I’d taken from his room. I’d thought he’d wear the bathing suit beneath his clothes to the party, not...I ran my thumb over the lace.

  “You like them?” Isaac asked softly, running his fingers through my hair until the tie fell out and the strands cascaded over my shoulders.

  “You know I do. I chose them.” I let his chinos sag to his knees and pulled his cock out one side of the pink lace, suddenly unable to wait another second to have the weight of his cock on my tongue. When I took the rosy head between my lips, Isaac tightened his grip in my hair and moaned.

  I was starving for him. I sank down until the tip of his cock touched the back of my throat, then withdrew and did it again and again, hollowing my cheeks as I sucked hard. The whimpering sounds he was making drove me to go deeper, wanting to see him fall apart. His legs shook, and fuck, I wanted him.

  “Dante.” He called out to me over and over. I pulled my mouth off him and breathed hard into his skin, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to regain some sense of control. I should just finish him with my mouth. I knew I should.

  “Please,” Isaac said, tugging me up by my hair, and I gave in. I got to my feet and pulled a lubed condom out of my wallet with shaking hands. Isaac turned around and tugged the pink panties just under his pale ass. The sight made me fumble and drop the condom.

  I picked it up and tore it open with my teeth. I couldn’t get the thing onto my hard length fast enough while he squirmed and begged against the wall. I’d lost all reason, and the moment I sank into his warmth, I knew I wouldn’t get it back anytime soon. Isaac moaned and wiggled against me, trying to pull me deeper, sending sparks of pleasure straight to my nuts. With a strangled cry, I began fucking him hard against the wall.

  Isaac let out a grunt with every thrust, his face pressed to the whitewashed wood. His moans and cries filled the small building, along with my grunts and the slapping sound of our skin coming together. Isaac’s thighs were confined by the panties and his feet by his chinos, making everything even tighter, and I wasn’t going to last.

  I reached around and stroked him, his cock hot and hard in my hand. I pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and then bit him. Isaac gasped and jerked, and I let out a string of senseless obscenities as my orgasm charged through me.

  We stood panting, my front pressed to his back, both of us still in our shirts and with our pants around our ankles.

  Regret and annoyance with myself slowly seeped in. I’d told Isaac it could only happen once, and now I’d gone and initiated it a second time. It didn’t matter that he’d wanted it, too; I’d known better. What we’d done would only make things harder.

  I gently pulled out of Isaac’s body and tugged up his pants with a last, longing look at the strip of pink before getting rid of the condom and fixing my own slacks.

  We walked out of the shed together, probably lo
oking like we’d been blasted out of a wind tunnel.

  “They’re going to be looking for you,” Isaac said.

  “Isaac...”

  “I get it, Dante. Really. You didn’t do anything I didn’t want. Go on back to the party. I’ll grab something to eat, and then Blaze and I will go.”

  I stopped and put my hands on his shoulders. I’d had many quick sexual encounters in my life, but I’d never felt like such a heel.

  I ducked my head to look into his dark eyes. “You know I didn’t invite you here, so we could do that, right? I didn’t even have it in mind when I took you into that shed.”

  Isaac smiled and nodded. “I know. But just like last time, I’m not sorry it happened.” He winked at me and resumed walking, leaving me staring at his back a moment before I could collect myself and catch up. When we rounded the corner, we almost collided with Blaze and Lake. Blaze’s eyes snapped with anger while Lake looked smug, and I wondered what they could’ve been talking about for so long.

  Lake’s eyes ran over me and then Isaac. “Better straighten up a bit before you go inside,” he said before sauntering off. Blaze watched him go, an inscrutable look on his face, before turning to give us the once-over.

  “He’s right.”

  I ran my hands through my disheveled hair, which now hung loose. Isaac took an elastic band from around his wrist and handed it to me. I smiled at him in thanks and pulled my hair into a loose knot before tucking in my shirt a little better. I didn’t miss the caustic look Blaze shot me when Isaac was busy straightening out his own clothes.

  “I have to go in. You guys have some dinner,” I said.

  Blaze nodded. I couldn’t look at Isaac. I headed inside to face the music for having been gone so long, feeling like the biggest ass in the world.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Swish

  Blaze and I filled some plates and sat by the pool, eating. He didn’t ask me where Dante and I had disappeared to, and I didn’t question what kind of weird conversation he’d been having with Lake Adams before we’d interrupted.

  Sometimes I got the feeling Blaze was a closed book someone would need a stick of dynamite to blast open. On the surface he was this friendly, hot-as-fuck guy. He’d helped more than one club member out of difficult times. He was also one tough son-of-a-bitch when he needed to be. I’d once seen him beat the hell out of a dude who’d been giving Cupcake a hard time when Foghorn was out of town at a rally, and he was fiercely protective of the people who worked in his films. Blaze was true to his club brothers and never cheated on his women when he was with them. But I’d seen a change in him since J’s death. He’d fallen into fits of brooding. I’d been hoping he’d snap out of it, but so far that hadn’t been the case.

  Ready to head out, we looked around for Dante. I spotted him with that FB-B girl. Their arms were looped, and Dante was laughing at something she’d said. They looked good together. My stomach dropped. I turned to Blaze.

  “He’s busy. Let’s just go.”

  Blaze nodded. On our way across the parking lot, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks and glanced at me.

  “I know you and Dante have always been close, but I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  I wanted to say it was too late, but I just nodded.

  After Blaze dropped me off at home, I went through the house, turning out lights and checking on all the animals. The kitten was asleep curled up close to the stuffed cat we’d put in the basket with it.

  Deirdre had left a note letting me know when they’d walked the dogs. I poured a glass of milk and stood in the dark kitchen drinking it, skin still tingling from Dante’s touch. Seeing him kneeling in front of me had been so damn hot. His mouth on my dick had made me crazy. I was weak where Dante was concerned. I had to remember that, although I knew Dante was fond of me, he didn’t take sex seriously. And, after seeing him in the community he’d grown up in, I knew he belonged there. And I definitively did not.

  I rinsed my glass and walked upstairs, Banjo at my heels. I stripped down and crawled into bed. Lying in the dark, I stroked myself while reliving Dante’s mouth sucking me dry, his wicked smile and heated blue eyes looking up at me while his tongue circled the head of my cock. My balls tingled, drew up, and I shot off in my hand with a loud groan.

  Shutting my eyes tightly, I took deep, even breaths. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t. Dante had never made me any promises. On the contrary, he’d told me there could never be anything between us. I’d been the one to insist we sleep together, and I couldn’t regret that. I’d consented to what had happened in the shed, too, but that had been a major mistake.

  My cell phone vibrated on the table. I was surprised to see Dante’s name on the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey. Where are you?” I could hear the party still going on in the background. There was a whoop followed by a splash.

  “At home.”

  “You guys didn’t say goodbye.”

  “You looked busy with your guests. We didn’t want to bother you.”

  “I wasn’t, really. Just trying to be a good host.”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Well, happy birthday, Dante.”

  “Isaac...”

  “I gotta go. See you ‘round.” I hung up, eyes burning.

  The screen lit up with a text.

  Dante: Are you all right?

  I considered not answering, but knowing Dante, he’d just call me again.

  Me: I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just tired.

  No more texts after that. Good to know I could still lie when I had to.

  ***

  The following few weeks were busy, and I was grateful for that. Less time to moon over Dante, something that had become even worse after the party. I adopted out several pets and took on a few more clients due to word-of-mouth in the small town of Henry. Someone left a box of abandoned kittens down by the mailbox, increasing my work load. Hugh came by to examine them and promised he’d post something at his office to help get them adopted as soon as possible.

  The weather turned chilly, and Gus came down with a cold. I tried to spend as much time at his house as possible, cooking him homemade soups and making sure he didn’t overdo it. Deirdre and Caleb both had part-time jobs, but they came to my place to pick up the slack whenever they had some spare time, and we managed to get through.

  I loved living at the shelter and knew I didn’t want to leave the animals or Gus. Every time I shampooed a difficult dog, I asked myself if this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and I was coming to the conclusion it really was. Cleaning and grooming the animals brought me a lot of satisfaction, particularly the working on the strays who came to me looking bedraggled and pitiful. Watching them after I got through with them, looking all fluffy and smelling good, gave me an enormous sense of accomplishment. That they seemed to realize the change in themselves, holding their heads up and excitedly scampering around whereas before they’d been droopy and sorrowful, made me feel even better. The selfless love the animals gave to me began to heal something inside me that had torn long ago, and every night I went to bed feeling more useful and needed than I had the night before.

  I decided it was time to start saving money toward getting my certification in pet grooming. I worked for Gus for room and board, but he paid me something, too. I refused to take much, as I knew he put a lot of his money into the animals. He told me he had plenty, but I assured him I was fine, and I was. But now that I’d decided to put away some money for school, I would need extra work.

  I spoke to Deirdre and Caleb about staying at the house a few nights a week if I were to get a second job, and they readily agreed, saying they enjoyed the animals and really did like having a private place to study and play video games away from Deirdre’s noisy household. Deirdre told me privately that Caleb had anxiety issues and working with the animals and being in a quieter atmosphere helped him.

  That taken care of, I just needed to find a
job. I asked Morgan to help me, and he promised to ask around.

  At the beginning of November, for the first time since I’d moved in, the kennel outside was empty of dogs because all the large breeds had been adopted. On the first sunny day that wasn’t too cold, I took a bucket and mop out to the kennel and thoroughly cleaned out the place. As I was locking up, I heard footsteps on the gravel driveway.

  I looked over my shoulder and smiled when I saw Foghorn approaching.

  “Jesse!”

  “Hey, man. I thought I’d come out and see if you could use some help.”

  I exchanged hand slaps with Foghorn in greeting.

  “I can always use help. Come inside.”

  I put some coffee on and left him in the living room playing with Moe, the kitten that had been injured. Moe was growing fast and was into everything. I had yet to put him into the sun room with the others as he and Marmalade had formed a bond. I ran upstairs and changed out of my damp clothes, then took a fast shower and threw on a shirt and sweat pants. When I returned downstairs, we took our coffee into the sunny living room and sat down to chat.

  “How’re things at the clubhouse?” I asked.

  Foghorn ran his big hand over the kitten’s back, making Moe arch and purr loudly. “Good. We’ve got a new member. Bit of a grump, but he knows bikes.”

  “Really? Who?”

  “His name’s Cane.” Foghorn glanced at me. “Blaze tells me you’re going by Isaac these days.”

  I looked into my coffee and shrugged. “Yeah, thought it was time I did, but you can still call me Swish if you want to.”

  “I get you. Ever since you started calling me by my real name, I’ve been using it more.” He set his cup on the table and scratched under Moe’s chin. “Can I adopt this one?”

  I looked at him in surprise. “You want a cat?”

  “Is that so hard to believe? But I’m not talking about for the clubhouse. I’m getting my own place. Me and Cupcake. We’re getting married.”

  My jaw dropped. “Really? Congratulations!” I smiled, happy for him. “When did this happen?”