by Vicki Green
I reach up and grab the breakfast counter and hoist myself up then walk with my right foot up and hop to the hallway. Grabbing the cleaning supplies from the closet, I remove the gate from the bathroom doorway, setting it against the wall in the hall. I jump up on the bathroom counter as soon as I enter and remove both my shoes and socks, placing them beside me. Clean me or the floor. My leg wins. I turn on the sink and grab the sponge, cleaning his majesty’s poop from it. I have a feeling I’ll need a shower by the time I get done cleaning everywhere.
It takes me about an hour to get the bathroom and living room clean again. It was disgusting, but I managed to scrub the floors, pick up all the trash, spray everywhere with some wonderful rose smelling deodorizer, and got teary eyed when I threw away what was left of my throw pillows from the couch. Little rat better be thankful those were the ones I’d bought and not something Gram had left me. I’m exhausted by the time I’m done and peek outside. He’s now asleep on my cushy lawn chair. Sigh. I grab my book and run a nice bubble bath then lay down, my head resting on the back ledge, and open my book where I’d left off. Time for some “me” time. Finally!
I watch him walk into the bar, smoke filling the air, and the low lighting casts a hazy glow around him. He stops. His eyes seem to zone right to mine. He doesn’t move. Tingles and heat invade my body, slowly. I catch my breath with the intenseness of his eyes. The hunger. He starts walking, his slim figure moves with the grace of a panther. He walks right over to me, not speaking, but his movements say a thousand words. His hands lay on my thighs, pushing my legs apart. He doesn’t hesitate to move between them as his hand reaches up and grabs the back of my neck, pulling me toward him. His eyes search mine. Asking if it’s okay? No, on the contrary. He doesn’t ask. I know my face is turning a slight shade of red, feeling the heat as his face moves slowly closer to mine. I look back and forth from his brown eyes to his full lips until my eyes flutter closed when his mouth covers mine.
Bawoooooooooo!
My eyes snap up over my book and stare at the door. Okay. Now my mind is going wacky.
His hand pulls against my hair as he tightens his hold on my neck, pulling me closer and causing our mouths to press harder.
Bawoooooooooo!
My eyes flit above my book again. What the hell is that? I stare at the door, gripping my book with my pruned fingers harder. Silence. So weird.
His tongue licks my bottom lip asking for entrance. As my lips part....
Bawoooooooooo! Bawwwwwooo! Bawwwwwooo!
“Oh, my God! What is that god awful noise?” I say as I sit up and let out the water then step out of the tub. Grabbing my robe from the counter, I set my book down there, spread out to keep my place. “I swear if it’s that mutt I’m gonna ring its little neck,” I mumble as I make my way to the back door. I stop and just stare. Willy is still laying on my cushioned lawn chair, the one I love to sit on and soak up the sun while reading my book of the day, mud paw prints all over the cushion. His little face is turned up and howling like a banshee. My face turns to anger as I open the door. “Have you heard of scratching on the freaking door?’ His little head turns to me and then he rises, his paws way out in front of him as he stretches. He jumps down and runs inside. My head turns as I watch him make a beeline for his food bowl and proceeds to slurp up what’s left. Loudly. I close the door and start to walk to my room to put on my sleeping attire when I’m stopped abruptly by scratching noises. I turn slowly and watch him pulling his empty bowl across the floor with his little paws. “You’re a freaking pig. Not a dog at all,” I mumble as I pick up his bowl and walk over to the plastic food bin I’d bought and scoop up more food and start filling it. He just stands there watching me. No tail wagging. No excitement. No love in his eyes. In fact, he looks like he’s bored. Walking over, I place it in the corner again then stand and turn around with a fake smile. He’s gone. What the hell? I flip off all the lights as I walk to the hallway, stopping to grab my book, and then stand in the doorway to my room. There he is, lying on the other pillow on my bed, curled up in a ball. The biggest burp escapes his little mouth then he snuggles deeper into the pillow. What have I gotten myself into?
I roll my eyes, too tired to fight with him and I haven’t gotten to read much of my book. I’m dying to dive back into it. So, I walk over and turn on the bedside lamp, turn off the overhead light and climb into bed. I get all comfy, open my book and begin to scour the words.
His tongue enters my mouth and I taste him. He’s delicious, sweet, with a hint of mint and bourbon. His hand moves from my neck, down my arm, and lands on my hip. The entire time tingles follow in its wake.
My eyes blink as my head shakes when Willy’s loud snoring breaks my concentration. My eyes move to him and watch his little stomach moving with his breathing. How can something so small make such loud noises? When I take him to the vet tomorrow I’m definitely gonna speak to them about his snoring. He seems to quiet down so I look back at my book.
Our kissing becomes frenzied as he pulls me even closer.
My heart begins to beat frantically as I continue. As I read several more pages, the urge to get B.O.B. begins to become overwhelming but then Willy snores and I feel I may not be in the right company to use it right now. Dammit! I keep reading until my eyes grow heavy and close.
Smack!
“Oomph.”
My eyes snap open when my book hits my nose. “Ow!” I rub my nose and feel a bruise forming already. Great. Apparently I’d scooted down on the bed as I fell asleep. At least it wasn’t my Kindle. Damn near broke my nose that one time. That’s why I buy paperbacks now plus I love turning the pages and I love the smell. There’s nothing like it. Not gonna say it didn’t hurt a little though. I place my bookmark to hold my spot and roll over, setting it on the nightstand. Reaching up, I turn off the light and collapse against my pillow. My eyes close immediately.
“And how did you get that huge bruise on your nose?” Molly asks for the fifth time.
I just roll my eyes at her and continue, “And I need to get a child’s pen of some kind but made out of metal or steel or something he can’t gnaw through. I swear that small pup that you think is so cute can eat its way out of anything. It must have the teeth of jaws or is from another world. So....” I look over from getting the coffee machine set up and see she’s refilling the ice machine. “Are you even listening?”
She keeps working and gives me her, “Mmmhmmm.”
“So, I’ll be leaving here in about an hour and taking Willy to the vet then after taking him home I’m gonna see what I can get to pen him in.”
“No answers to your ad or not finding that anyone lost him?” she asks as she flits by me on the way to the back room.
I sigh, loudly. “No. I’m starting to think there’s a reason he didn’t have a home in the first place.” She laughs but it’s so loud I can hear it from way over here. Yeah, real funny.
We both busy ourselves getting ready to open the shop. By the time she unlocks the front door I’m walking out of the back room carrying a tray of donuts. I carefully steady it on one hand as I raise the glass of the case. Bending over, I grasp it with both hands and begin to set it on the top shelf.
“Those look delectable.”
My eyes snap up and the tray slides out of my hands. I hear the loud crash and know that I just destroyed a tray of donuts and everything around it on the floor but I can’t seem to move. His eyes light up and a smile appears on his face, that damn dimple showing in his amusement. “Holy shit, Ry! What the hell?” I look over my left shoulder and watch as Molly’s eyes move to Dreamboat. A smile appears on her face as she looks back at me. “I’ll just get the mop and bucket.” She shakes her head, picking up the tray from the floor, and walks into the back room.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to spook you. May I have one of the other jelly filled donuts in there and a cup of
....”
“Coffee. Black. Straight up,” I whisper, staring into his eyes. He chuckles and I swear wetness just formed between my legs. Either that or I just peed. I gather my wits about me, or try to anyway, and get his coffee, safely, and oh so carefully, a jelly filled donut from the case and put it on a small plate. After grabbing a fork and setting it on the plate, I set it on the counter alongside his coffee. Then I hide my shaky hands in the front pockets of my apron.
“I feel I should be paying a lot more for those today. Seems I might have frightened you and caused all that mess.”
I smile sweetly and punch in the totals into the POS screen on the register. “No. It wasn’t your fault. My, uh.... My hands just slipped. That’s all. That’ll be two seventy five, please.” He hands me his credit card and I swear I try not to look closely to it but my eyes seem to have a mind of their own.
Jaxon Miller
I swipe the card and smile internally. Ripping off the receipt and bill, I grab a pen from the holder and set the papers down on the counter. I hold out the pen for him. “Here you go.” His breathtaking smile is still on his face as he reaches out and grasps the pen, his fingers touching mine. I look at our hands as tingles move like little butterflies into my hand and up my arm. Am I having a stroke? My eyes snap up to his. He’s staring at me, eyes wide. I jerk my hand from the pen and not knowing what to do with it, I stick it back in the pocket of my apron. That was just like in one of my romance novels! I swear to God!
“There! All clean. Again.” Molly’s voice makes me startle. I take two steps back and turn abruptly, reaching back and pulling on my apron strings.
“Uh. Can you finish that please? I need to go.” I walk fast into the back room. Grab my purse and stand in front of the desk. “Well. That went well, again.” I smirk to myself and take a deep breath. Hey, at least I talked to him. Sorta. By the time I can move again, I peek around the corner and see he’s sitting at the same table in the working area by the window where he was yesterday. I step through the doorway and give Molly a small wave and then walk quickly out of the shop.
I’m almost scared to open my front door, afraid my condo will be torn apart but when I step inside I’m amazed that everything is in its place. I walk around, looking for the destroying little mutt but can’t find him anywhere. The light bulb goes off in my head, literally, when I flip on the hall light and walk to my bedroom. There curled up in a ball on my extra pillow is Willy. Snoring. Poor thing must be rather exhausted after all the mayhem from yesterday. I pull his leash out of my purse and walk over and fasten it to his collar I’d purchased the other day. “Come on, sleepyhead. Time to get a checkup.” I pick him up and of course he growls then I set him on the floor. I’m a bit surprised he follows me without any issues until we get to the front door. “Sheesh. It’s not a big deal. They’re not gonna hurt you.” I tug and tug on his leash but he won’t budge, his little legs straight as he pulls back. For such a small thing, he sure is strong. Or maybe I’m really weak. Eh. Could be both. By the time I carry him to the vet’s office, I’m wondering why I even spent money buying a leash. Luckily for me and for all other animals that might have visited here today, the small lobby is empty. I check us in and sit down waiting for the vet to call for us. Willy looks all around and then up at me from the floor. If I go by the look on his scruffy face, I’d say he’s very put out that I brought him here.
“Willy?” I look up when someone calls his name and see a woman in a white doctor-like jacket. I pick him up and walk into the small room. “Hello. My name is Dr. Murray. This must be Willy.” She smiles and reaches out to pet his head and I cringe, wondering if he might just try to take her hand off. But he doesn’t. His little tail starts wagging and he actually whimpers at her touch. Suck up. A young girl walks in from a side door and over to the table. “Awwwww. What a friendly pooch. Just set him on the table and I’ll take a look.” Yeah, friendly to everyone but me. I set him down and the girl holds on to him while the doctor checks him. “So, you found him?”
I watch curiously as she feels all around his little body. “Uh, yes. In my backyard. I’ve placed a lost and found ad and have been scouring other ads but no one has claimed him, yet. I don’t know anything about him. What breed, how old. Nothing.”
“Ah. I see. Well....” She stands and turns to the counter behind her, grabbing things from a drawer underneath. She pulls out three needles and I’m ready to run if necessary. “He looks to be part Yorkie and maybe part Chihuahua.” She continues to talk while giving him the shots, petting him the whole time. He just looks bored and lets her do whatever she wants to him. “I’d say he could be a puppy but with his size, he could be older. A year maybe? By the looks of his teeth, I’d say maybe at least nine months but I’m not sure. I don’t think he’ll get much bigger though. That’s a good boy. At least, I think he’s a – he. He’s so little, it’s really hard to tell. But I’m fairly sure.” She finishes and puts things away and then looks at me. “Any questions?”
“Yeah, uh. He pretty much tried to destroy my condo yesterday.” No way am I gonna tell her that I didn’t make it home at all during the day or evening to let him out. “I’m not sure yet if I’m gonna keep him but I’d hate to take him to a shelter. Any recommendations on keeping him from chewing up everything I own?”
She grins as she leans against the counter. “You can always pen him up somewhere safe in the house or even buy a crate. I’m not sure what your backyard is like but if you’re sure he can’t get out of the fence, maybe set up a small dog house out there with food and water as long as the weather is nice. Dog bones or chew toys are also a good alternative as he might still be finishing cutting his puppy teeth, however, I don’t recommend dog bones if you’re not home to keep an eye on him. They can be a choking hazard for a puppy when they become smaller as he eats them.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep all that in mind.” I look down at Willy, and I swear he’s smiling at me. Suck up. I get him home and text Molly that I’m gonna be a little later, and of course she whined.
By text.
I smiled all the way to the store.
Chapter 4
“And then I got a freakin’ dog house for outside, enough dog bones and chew toys to cover another country of pets and more puppy chow. Sheesh. Willy is costing me a small fortune. And uh…. Where’s Dreamboat?”
“Who?” She looks up from the counter, making the lunch sandwiches, and gives me a confused look.
“Huh?” I start helping her to get them done faster and out to the display case, feeling bad I took off for so long this morning. Although, I rarely am gone or take a day off. I may need to think about hiring at least a part time person. “Oh! You know! That guy who comes in with the Army cap. The one that always sits by the window in the working area with his laptop. The guy….”
She snickers and then rolls her eyes. “Yes. I know.” I smack her arm and she laughs. Wench. “Hey, this is the first time ever I’ve seen you get excited over a guy. Actually talk to him coherently. Well, mostly. He told me he had a few errands to run then he’d be back for lunch, asked me to save his table for him. I’m thinking we should put a reserved sign on it for him. He’s starting to be here every day now.”
Hmmm. Reserved for Dreamboat. I like it! I shake my head. “Come on. The lunch crowd will be here soon.” And they were. The shop was full and we could barely keep up. Yeah, I really may need to consider hiring someone soon.
When I get home, I’m exhausted. We’re at the shop at the ass crack of dawn and then by the time we clean up, it’s eleven o’clock or later when I get home. My feet hurt, my body aches, and all I want to do is soak in a hot tub and read. Something I haven’t gotten to do very much since I found Willy. Sigh. I miss reading and my new book boyfriend. At least with Willy outside in his dog house, which is set up for a prince, nothing was disturbed in my condo. Thank goodness. He saunters in the back
door and went straight to my bedroom. That’s next on my list. I need to get him his own bed, one that he will actually sleep in and leave my bed alone. But tonight, I give up trying to get him off my bed and take my hot bath, reading my book, letting the stress of the day melt away.
As I begin to read, Dreamboat’s face appears in my mind, that dimple that I want to lick, the cap I want to knock off his head and run my fingers through his short hair.
His large hands grab my hips as he thrusts his length into me. The only sounds are of our heavy breathing and the whimpers leaving my lips. “God, you feel amazing,” he whispers close to my ear, his breath warm, making me wither even more beneath him.
Bawooooooooo!
My eyes lift and my hand stills from between my legs as the most awful noise sounds. “What in the fuck was that?” Silence. I wait for a couple of minutes and then start reading again, my hand continuing its fast pace as my heart rate rises again.
He fills me, hitting the spot that makes my eyes cross with every thrust.
Bawooooooooo! Bawooohooooo!
“Oh, my freakin’ God! What now!” Willy’s shrilled howls bellow through my condo and I almost drop my beloved book into the water. “I’m coming!” I scream in frustration, knowing I’m not coming like I ache for as my hand leaves my nether region. I dry off and throw on my t-shirt, leaving my new book boyfriend behind and leaving my cooch extremely longing as I walk out of the bathroom and toward the little howling puppy monster. Is this what parents go through? He’s standing at the back door, hind legs stretched out behind him as his little front paws rake over the glass in a fluid motion. He turns his little head, his eyes frowning at me as I walk up to him. “Maybe you need to get laid so my cooch can have some much needed attention,” I mutter as I slide open the back door. I huff as I watch him make a beeline across the deck and hop down the steps. He doesn’t make it far when he squats and I scrunch up my nose as I watch him take a poop. Or ten. “Disgusting,” I whisper, scrunching my nose. However, I’m kinda proud that he did his business outside instead of in my house. He scratches the grass with his back paws like he’s trying to cover it up and then climbs back up the stairs and saunters into his prince dog house. “Hmmmm. Maybe he’ll stay out here instead of on my pillow.”
