Paws and Prejudice

by Alanna Martin

  “I can’t help it. I don’t think I ever heard you swear before.” She narrowed her eyes as though assessing him in a new light. “Is that something you only do during sex?”

  Ian sipped his water, thankful it was cold and might be able to cool him off. He’d been doing fine with any post-sex awkwardness until this. Kelsey’s perceptiveness gave him the feeling that he’d exposed more of himself to her than he’d intended. How many women had ever commented on his language before? None that he could recall. “No, but I try not to swear much.”

  “Morals?” Kelsey raised an eyebrow. “Religion?”

  “No and no. My father swears a lot, and I try not to be like my father.” If there was one topic he’d like to avoid more than dogs, it was his father. No matter how bad an idea it was to flirt, he was changing the subject. “However, if you’ re going to take ‘fuck’ as a command, I can rethink my policy on swearing.”

  Heat swept over Kelsey’s face, then she steeled herself, pushing her shoulders back. “I don’t take commands, but nice try. How about a dog?”

  Since he’d told himself that dogs were preferable to his father, it was time for him to steel himself. “Let’s do it.”

  Kelsey bit her lip, looking as nervous about this as he felt, which was still not nearly as nervous as he should have felt. “Stay in the kitchen. I’m going to get Juliet. I’ll have her on a leash at all times. Okay?”

  Ian swallowed, doing his best to project confidence. It might be too late to hide his phobia from the gorgeous woman, but he could avoid making a fool of himself at least.

  He hoped.

  Kelsey jogged upstairs, resulting in another chorus of barking, and Ian took a couple of deep breaths. Closing his eyes, he cast his mind back to ten minutes ago. Kelsey’s mouth on his. Her legs wrapped around him. The taste of her on his tongue and her scent in his nose. It was difficult to be anxious and turned on at the same time.

  The sound of multiple feet on the steps brought him back to reality, and Ian turned around. He’d hoped Kelsey had been getting the smallest of her dogs, the all-white one, but she had not. This one was a mix of white and black with patches around her eyes and a stripe down her forehead. Her tail wagged enthusiastically as Kelsey led her on a purple leash into the middle of the living room.

  “Sit.” Kelsey might not take commands, but she gave them with authority. The husky sat, her head swiveling between her owner and Ian. Kelsey kept the leash looped around her hand. “Juliet is the most chill, so you’re going to meet her first. See the way her tail is wagging? She’s excited to meet you. She likes you already.”

  “That’s one of us.” Ian attempted a smile.

  Kelsey knelt next to her dog and gave her a hug. For her efforts she was rewarded with a bark and a tongue to the face. “She’s way more likable than I am. If you can learn to appreciate me, you can learn to like her.”

  “I don’t know. I’d bet your bark is worse than your bite.”

  Kelsey scoffed. “Don’t be so sure. If we’re speaking metaphorically, I can bite pretty hard.”

  “And if we’re speaking literally?” He was thinking of the way her teeth had grazed his chest earlier, and damn if that didn’t almost distract him from the forty or so pounds of fur and teeth next to her.

  Kelsey shot him a look that clearly said Don’t. “You can come closer anytime. If you want to get really close, first hold your hand out so she can sniff you. But only come as close as you feel comfortable. I’ve got her; she’s not going anywhere.”

  Ian breathed deeply. He could do this, and it wasn’t only because Kelsey was watching him, although he had to admit that was part of it. But as long as he had this strange post-sex calm, he should take advantage of it. Juliet still looked wolfish to him, but Kelsey didn’t only have her leash, she’d wrapped the husky in her arms, snuggling her. His stomach twisted harder, and his pulse sped up, but Ian kept walking forward.

  She’s not going to hurt you. This dog is not a threat. He repeated it over and over, but his brain and his body were having a serious disagreement about the matter.

  Don’t think about the dog. Think about Kelsey. She kept turning her attention and those big blue eyes between Juliet and him.

  Before he knew it, Ian was a mere couple of steps away. Somehow he wasn’t fully panicking. Was it the sex, or was it that he trusted Kelsey? He wasn’t sure.

  “Hold out your hand to her,” Kelsey said. Juliet was straining to get closer to him, but Kelsey didn’t let go of her grip

  Wincing—internally only, he hoped—Ian held out his hand a couple of inches from the husky’s face.

  Juliet attempted to stand and lunge for him, but Kelsey held her down. “Calm. Sit. Good girl.”

  The dog sniffed Ian’s hand, tail wagging again, then barked once.

  “What did that mean?” Ian asked.

  Kelsey smirked. “It means you’re tormenting her like you tormented me earlier. You’re a damn tease.”

  Unbelievably, he laughed. “Not quite the same.”

  “So you think. She wants to kiss you and play with you.”

  Over the next few minutes, Ian let Kelsey talk him into kneeling a couple of feet away from Juliet, which said a lot about both his state of mind and her ability to persuade him to do anything. He even, after a couple more minutes, got close enough to pet Juliet on the head. That went surprisingly well on his end until the husky decided it wasn’t good enough and she wanted to lick him. Ian yanked his hand away and jumped to his feet, feeling stupid but unable to stop his heart from pounding in his ears.

  “Hey.” Kelsey snapped her fingers at Juliet. “No. I’m the only one around here who licks Ian.”

  Juliet barked at her, and Kelsey glared back.

  It would have been funnier if he hadn’t broken out in a sweat wondering which one of them had won the argument.

  “Dogs don’t exactly get the concept of consent,” Kelsey said, giving the husky another hug. Juliet licked her face, and the two tussled on the floor. Ian supposed that’s what Kelsey meant by playing, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that it was fun. “How are you doing?” she asked him. “Had enough?”

  “I think so. Honestly, that went better than I thought.”

  Kelsey grinned. “It went way better than I expected. I think a good next step might be for you to hang around her some more. She’s super excited because you’re new. Once she gets used to you, she’ll be a lot calmer.”

  Ian suspected the same couldn’t be said for him, but on the other hand, this plan would bring him back into Kelsey’s presence. “All right. Let’s try it.”

  Ian wasn’t sure what was driving him more—the chance that he might actually overcome his fear or the fact that having had sex with Kelsey was making him crave more sex with Kelsey. Both were strong motivators, but only the first was good for him.

  15

  KELSEY PICKED A collapsible shovel off the shelves at Lucky Hardware and considered how many times she might have to hit herself over the head with it before her brain would move on from two nights ago. Once? Twice? If she did it enough, she might knock herself out. Theoretically that ought to do the trick, only she’d dreamed about Ian the last couple of nights, so maybe not.

  This was ridiculous. No doubt she’d messed up by going for so long without sex. Her body and brain had forgotten what they were missing, but now they were like a dog who’d discovered the taste of steak, and going back to dry food was never going to cut it.

  On one level, she was thrilled. Sex with Ian had been amazing—his word, not hers, although she agreed. She’d passed the test she’d created for herself, and that meant she could put the last stubborn issue preventing her from completely moving on from Anthony behind her.

  On another level, it created these complications. These cravings for more. Ian had already been a potent force invading her thoughts prior to
taking his clothes off. Now he’d basically taken up residency in her brain.

  Naked residency. She’d called him pretty, but the man was such perfection that even the tight T-shirts hadn’t done him justice. From his broad shoulders to the sprinkling of hair over his chest to the hard stomach and the impressive organ hiding beneath his pants . . .

  “Hi, Kels.”

  Rather than smacking herself in the head with the shovel, Kelsey almost dropped it at the sound of Maggie’s voice. Sticking it in her basket, she turned around. “Hey.”

  “Resupplying your car?” Maggie’s gaze turned questioning as she glanced at the basket, which, along with the shovel, contained an ice scraper, a thermal blanket, and a prepacked first aid kit.

  “It’s for Ian Roth. He’s woefully unprepared for winter, so I thought I’d give him a starter set for his car.”

  “Ah.” Maggie smiled in a way Kelsey did not at all care for. “I told you the guys were nice.”

  “It’s more like I owe him. He offered to compensate me for my help, and in doing so went way above and beyond what he might reasonably owe me. So now I’m stuck owing him. It’s annoying.”

  She’d told herself the same thing since she’d come to the decision to buy Ian some supplies. It was a better reason than I’m scared Ian will blab my secret profession to the entire town, so I need to placate him. And it was a much better reason than The man gave me the two best orgasms of my life and repaired the lingering hole in my self-esteem, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since.

  Way, way better than that last one.

  But regardless of the reason, the decision was stretching Kelsey’s monthly budget and yet she was doing it anyway. So possibly the real reason was temporary insanity.

  “You’re going to get locked into a cycle of owing each other.” Maggie laughed, heedless of the distress her comment caused. “So, since I’m assuming you’ve spent more time in the men’s company since we last talked, have you found out the answer to my burning question?”

  Maggie had asked a question? Shoot. Kelsey’s brain had dumped all nonessential, non-Ian information over the past several days. “Um . . .”

  Maggie lowered her voice. “Are they together? Are they single? Are they looking?”

  Kelsey glanced down the aisle to either side. Lucky Hardware was large, but it wasn’t empty today, and it was possible Ian or Micah was roaming somewhere unseen. “That’s three questions, and, uh . . .”

  How did she answer that? I hope Ian is single otherwise he’s a shitty boyfriend for banging me against a wall on Monday?

  No. Best to keep that to herself.

  “I haven’t gotten the impression they’re together,” Kelsey said. That was true enough. Anything else would be an assumption.

  Maggie chewed on her lip. “That’s a positive sign. I might need to step up my flirting game the next time they’re in the store. Too bad these work aprons aren’t exactly flattering.” She tugged at the maroon canvas with Lucky Hardware printed across the front.

  “It’s a good color for you,” Kelsey said, recalling that Ian hadn’t exactly cared that she’d been wearing leggings and an old sweatshirt when he’d come over. “For what it’s worth, I get the sense that Micah is more your type.”

  She needed to shut her mouth. It was nothing to her—nothing—if Maggie flirted with Ian, or if Ian reciprocated. As the two of them had discussed, the sex was a one-and-done thing. It wouldn’t happen again, and there was nothing more to come from it. So if Ian wanted to screw every other woman in Helen, it had nothing to do with her. She had no right or reason to feel unhappy about it.

  So damn it, it was beyond annoying that she did.

  Ian was totally back to being insufferable as of this moment.

  “You think?” Maggie raised an eyebrow. “I’m not much into long hair, but he does have a sexy lumberjack thing going on.”

  “Who has a sexy lumberjack thing going on?” A new voice joined the conversation from the other side of the metal shelving that displayed bags of ice melt.

  Kelsey didn’t bother holding in her groan. At least it wasn’t Ian or Micah butting in, but Parker Ivanson was almost as bad.

  He wasn’t only a jerk because he’d broken into the Lipins’ hotel over the summer and tampered with the guests’ wine. Kelsey had taken a dislike to Parker as far back as elementary school, when he’d put earthworms in the girls’ lunches, and his grossly sexist behavior hadn’t exactly improved as he aged. She couldn’t figure out why Kevin remained friends with him.

  Rather than respond, Kelsey turned her well-practiced displeased, disgusted, and definitely dismissive glare on him through a gap between the bags of ice melt, and Parker took a step back. Kelsey smiled inwardly. Nice to know that, despite Ian taking over her brain, she still had it in her to wither a man’s balls with a glance.

  Her mood significantly improved, she opted to buy Ian a snowbrush too.

  * * *

  * * *

  “THAT’S THE LAST of them.” Ian leaned the hand truck they’d been using to transport the kegs of pumpkin ale and a brown sugar stout against the brewery’s wall. The deliveries would go out tomorrow morning. Two more batches down. One step closer to the brewery being financially solvent.

  He felt good mentally, but physically he was exhausted. Filling the kegs and prepping the orders had taken most of the day, even with the additional help he and Micah had hired. His muscles were sore, and his shirt was coated with sweat. How he was supposed to be sociable later was a mystery, but if he were lucky, he might be too tired to be concerned about Kelsey’s dogs.

  Or, more to the point, too tired to imagine all the things he wanted to do to Kelsey that didn’t involve her dogs.

  Tonight would be an experiment. Could he handle being in Kelsey’s house without her holding Juliet at all times? Could he handle being so close to Kelsey without fixating on jumping her bones? Both situations required a lot of his self-control.

  Ian waved goodbye to the guys helping out and shut the brewery’s back door. It was time to go home and shower.

  “Are you leaving?” Micah sounded surprised as Ian grabbed his jacket.

  It was also time to explain to Micah that he was going out. Somehow, he’d managed to “forget” his plans with Kelsey whenever there had been an opportune moment to mention them.

  “It’s after five o’clock,” Ian said. “Aren’t you usually nagging me not to work late every night?”

  “I am.” Micah stroked his beard thoughtfully. “And you’re usually ignoring me. I’m not upset, just surprised. I’m also beat. How does pizza sound for dinner?” It was Micah’s night to cook.

  “Actually, I have dinner plans, so knock yourself out.”

  “Dinner plans?” Micah positioned himself between Ian and the back door. “Do they happen to involve a certain blond-haired woman with an incredible ass?”

  Since the description of Kelsey was apt, Ian shouldn’t have wanted to punch Micah for it, but part of him did. What the hell? He’d slept with her once—an accident. He had no business getting possessive.

  “I have to return her table.” He’d fixed it over the weekend, and the glue should be good and cured. He hadn’t wanted to take it over to her until he was sure it wouldn’t fall apart again.

  “Returning her table necessitates dinner, does it?” Micah did not look convinced.

  Ian sighed. “No, but it’s more complicated than that.”

  “Naturally.”

  “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  His friend scoffed. “Sure it isn’t. I called it back at the coffee shop.”

  “It’s not like that.” So Ian told himself. “She’s working with me on the dog problem.”

  If anything, Micah’s eyes opened wider. “You told her?”

  “It kind of came out when I was helping her u
nload her grandparents’ furniture.” That was vague, but true, and Micah could concoct plenty of scenarios for how it happened on his own. “Maybe if you’d been there to help . . .”

  “What?” His friend smirked. “And deny you these additional chances to spend time with Kelsey? Never.”

  “It’s just to help me with the dog issue. Don’t look so pleased. You’re not some sort of matchmaker.”

  Micah’s smirk broadened. “Bullshit. Is that where you were Monday night too?”

  “Yes.” Although running away was going to make him look guilty, Ian started for the main entrance.

  “You hooked up with her, didn’t you?” Micah called out. “I knew it. You were in too good a mood on Tuesday while we were dealing with the town nonsense.”

  “You didn’t know anything.”

  “I do now—you just admitted it.”

  Ian closed his eyes, laughing even as he lowered his head against the door. “It’s nothing. A one-and-done mistake.”

  “It’s hardly one-and-done if you’re seeing her tonight.”

  “That’s for the dog problem.”

  “Riiiiiiight.”

  Ian waved a finger in his friend’s face. “Doubt me all you want, but you’ll be wrong. There will be nothing else between me and Kelsey except her help with dogs.”

  He didn’t need the kind of complication that anything else entailed, so he would make absolutely, positively sure of that.

  He hoped.

  16

  IAN HELPED KELSEY maneuver the table next to her sofa. “I won’t say it’s as good as new, but it should be fine for most uses.”

  “Uses like holding my lamp?” Kelsey picked up the small lamp that had been sitting on her floor and set it on the table.

  “The lamp will be no problem.”

  “A drink while I’m watching TV?”

  Ian nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “A stable surface for sex?”