“Do you have time to bring her in? I’d love to meet her.”
“She’d love it. This is her first litter and she’s acting a little anxious. The vet examined her and said she’s healthy and not to worry. With my luck, I’ll leave the house and she’ll go into labor. I’ll be right back.”
A year ago, I couldn’t see myself dating or caring for another animal. It’s seems I’m jumping in with both feet. The door opened again and in walked Jake with a beautiful, very pregnant lab. She looked at me and her tail wagged slowly back and forth—an invitation to come closer. I knelt down in front of her and asked, “What’s your name sweet thing?”
“Her name’s Butter Cup.” He hastily added, “I didn’t name her… She was found on the side of the road with a broken leg. The shelter that took her in named her. She was already pregnant. I’ll have her spayed after the puppies come.”
Jake and I were both stroking her soft coat. As if she couldn’t hold her weight any longer, Butter Cup lay down and sighed. He murmured to her and tenderly stroked her belly. I wanted to join her on the floor. Would he stoke me as tenderly? A wet tongue jolted me out of my fantasy. She licked my hand again. What a sweetheart.
“She’s going to be a great mom. I hope she has an easy delivery.” He said as he stroked her belly.
“You could leave her here and pick her up after work. I live in the cottage out back. She’ll be close by and I could check on her regularly. You could also drop her off in the mornings if you want. I know you don’t know me very well, but I’d take good care of her.”
“Are you serious? You’d do that for me?” He seemed shocked I’d offered.
“Of course. I love animals. If she goes into labor when she’s with me, I’ll call you.”
“Wow. I’ll owe you big time. Thank you. I’ll run home and pick up her food, toys and water dish. She’s not real active, but she’ll need her things.”
He kissed the top of Butter Cup’s head and she sighed again. How sweet. I’d sigh too if he kissed me.
“I’ll change for work and be back as fast as I can. Bye.”
“Bye.” I turned to a sleeping Butter Cup, “You are a lucky girl.” She seemed comfortable so I left her and fixed myself a sandwich.
****
Forty minutes later, Jake showed up dressed in his FedEx uniform. He had plastic bags filled with new chew toys, bowls and a new bag of food.
“It didn’t seem smart to transport all her things back and forth. How is she?” He bent down and kissed her head again. Butter Cup lifted her head, licked his hand and went back to sleep.
“She slept the whole time you were gone. I don’t think I’ll move her to the cottage. She can just stay where she is. I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”
“I wouldn’t trust her with anyone else. I’ve got to go. I’ll be back around seven. Can I bring dinner?”
“Dinner? Sure.” I’d rather have a kiss.
“There’s a great pizza place on the way home. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely. Make it pepperoni and I’ll be a very happy girl.”
“You’re on.”
With one last stroke to her belly, he was gone. I’d finalized my plans for the remodel; all the purchasing was complete. All that was left was the decorating. My favorite part…
The rest of the day I spent cleaning, prepping tomorrow’s breakfast, and keeping a close eye on Butter Cup.
CHAPTER FOUR
At 7:10 p.m. Jake arrived with a piping hot pepperoni pizza. He looked exhausted, but grinned and said, “Hi there. How did today go? She wasn’t too much trouble for you was she?”
He’s worried about me? That’s a novel concept. Robert never asked how I was. The world revolved around him. “She’s great. I walked her a few times and she ate a little, but not much. My guess is she only has a few more days to go. Can I get you something to drink? I have pretty much anything. I never know what my guests will request. I have a gentleman that drinks vodka and tomato juice for breakfast, that’s all.”
“Wow. I’d love a beer. Thanks.”
“Go sit on the couch and I’ll bring the beer and pizza.”
He yawned as he sat down and stretched out his legs. When I came back five minutes later he was asleep, sitting up. Butter Cup joined him, her head rested in his lap. Still having plenty of work to do, I helped myself to a couple slices of pizza and left them alone. Not before giving both of them a kiss on the head.
Prep work for the next morning breakfast was time consuming. All eight bedrooms were occupied, so the peeling and chopping had to get done the night before. At about 11:30 p.m. the kitchen door opened and a sleepy, rumpled Jake walked in with Butter Cup on his heels.
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep. My only excuse is that I’ve been staying up, watching Butter Cup. You can probably tell I’ve never seen puppies born before. I’ve been reading about what to expect, but every dog is different.” He shook his head. More awake he said, “Hey, I don’t suppose I could get a slice of pizza? I’m starving.” He smiled sheepishly.
“Yes. Sit down over there at the island. I’ll heat it up.” I couldn’t help but smile with him. As I turned to get the pizza from the refrigerator, he’d moved up behind me. He rested his arms on the top of my shoulders, bracing his hands on the refrigerator door. Jake’s body was warm and solid. He leaned forward; his breath was even warmer on my neck.
“You smell delicious; cinnamon, oranges and vanilla. I want a taste.”
He didn’t wait for my response; he turned me around and took possession of my mouth. His hands held my head, while he devoured my mouth. His body braced me against the refrigerator. His hand slid under my sweater and cupped my breast. Did he moan or me? I think we both did. His hand was on the move again. I unconsciously sucked in my stomach, his hand was able to easily slide down and inside the front of my jeans. Already wet, he slid his finger up and down my sex, all the while seducing me with his mouth. So close, so close… I shuddered and convulsed around his hand. We broke the kiss and I rested my head on his chest.
How long did that take? Five minutes… I’m so easy. God! What was Jake going to think? He lifted his head, slowly removed his hand from my jeans and sucked on his finger, never taking his eyes off me. I guess he liked it.
“Woof.”
We both jumped. Butter Cup was lying on the kitchen floor, panting. Was she was about to give birth on my floor?
“Woof.”
Not knowing what to do I said, “Should I boil water?” He chuckled.
“Vickie, my beautiful, Vickie.” He kissed me softly and said, “No. From what I’ve read she can handle this herself. Your kitchen probably isn’t the best place to deliver a litter of puppies. Do you mind if we move her to your cottage? I don’t think I should try and take her home.”
He called me beautiful.
“Vickie, are you okay? I’m sorry if I moved too fast. I can try and get her home if you want me to leave.”
“What?” My post-orgasm brain kicked in. “I’m sorry. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Yes, I’m fine, great actually. Can you move her without hurting her?”
“Yeah. Can you manage all her things; food, water and toys?”
He acted confident, but his voice gave him away—he’s worried. “Jake. She’s going to be fine. Butter Cup can stay here as long as she needs to. Come on, follow me.” I cared about his dog and her puppies, but that orgasm was fantastic. I want more… Having Butter Cup here, insured Jake’s visits. Distracted from thoughts of lovemaking, I tripped on the cobblestones, which lead to my cottage. This time, Jake had his hands full and wasn’t able to catch me. Bowls, bags and chew toys went everywhere. I went down on my knees, trying to brace myself with my hands. Bad idea.
“Crap. Ow!” I looked around. From what I could tell, none of
Butter Cup’s things were broken.
“Vickie. Are you okay?”
Jake rushed back to help me. He started to put his dog down. “Jake, I’m fine. I’m a klutz. There’s no way of getting around it. Here’s the key to my place. I’ll get the things I dropped and be right in.”
“Are you sure? Your hand’s bleeding.”
“I’ve done worse. You should see what I can do with a knife. Please go. Put Butter Cup in my bedroom. It’s easy to find, there’s only one. Get a blanket out of my bedroom closet, she’ll need it. I have a bunch of old sheets we can put under her too.” My hand was throbbing, but I didn’t want Jake to stress over it.
“Thank you. I didn’t think about bringing her blanket. I’ll be right back to help you.”
He had no problem getting the door open and her inside. It’s a good thing I have plenty of first aid supplies. I looped my hand through the bag handles, as to not touch the scrapes. Once inside the house, Jake took the bags from me.
“Vickie, I’m sorry about your hand.”
He took my hand and examined it so gently—turning it this way and that way. “It’s not your fault. How is she?”
“Oh, she’s fine. We should put the sheets under her though, it could get messy. She’s getting restless and panting. The babies could come any time. Before that happens, let’s get your hand cleaned up and bandaged.”
“All the supplies are in the bathroom.”
“Lead the way. Vickie?”
I turned around. “Yes?”
“This whole thing—you, me and Butter Cup, happened so fast. In the kitchen, you were so wet and tasted so sweet. Next time, we’re both going to be naked. I’m going to explore every inch of your sexy body.”
“Jake, if my hand wasn’t throbbing I’d have it down your pants right now.” Robert didn’t like me to talk dirty. I liked it and so did Jake, if the heated look on his face and the growing bulge in the front of his jeans was any indication. He stepped closer and I stepped back, holding up my hand.
“Sorry, sorry. Let’s get you cleaned up. I feel really bad leaving you with my dog, especially since you’re injured. But our FedEx location is shorthanded and they need me to come in early tomorrow.”
“We’ll be fine.” He gently cleaned the grit and dirt out of my hand and wrapped it in a bandage. Two Advil and a big glass of water later, I was good as I was going to get. Jake filled Butter Cup’s water bowl, food bowl and brought it all back with the sheets. Everything was arranged and she seemed relaxed, for the moment. He wrote down all his numbers and I gave him mine.
“I’m leaving now… before I strip you naked and make you scream again. When things settle down, I’m taking you out for a really nice dinner and a movie.”
“Did I scream?”
“It wasn’t quite a scream, but you did say over and over again, ‘Oh yeah! Oh yeah!’’”
“Your teasing me, aren’t you?” Messing around had never been this fun before.
“A little. Your fun to tease.”
“Maybe I do remember saying that a time or two. And dinner and movie sounds great.” He said goodbye to his dog and I walked him to the door. I wrapped both arms around his neck, but kept a little distance between our bodies. “I promise. I’ll call you the minute I see the little cuties arrive.”
“Call me, even if it’s in the middle of the night.”
He closed the gap between our bodies. “I will. I promise.”
“Jake, go home and get some sleep.”
“After a kiss for the road.”
God, he could kiss. I moved away from his body slightly, giving myself more room to explore. My good hand slid down the front of his jeans. He spread his legs for me, like I did for him. Only I was on the outside of his jeans. I was out of practice. Let’s try this again. Slowly, I ran my hand back up the front of his jeans. I heard a protest. Did he think I was stopping? I tried to slide my hand down in his jeans, but they were tighter than mine. I had to undo his button, slide his zipper down and then insert my hand into his boxers, to get to the prize. I gently, set him free. I can’t believe how good he felt in my hand. Smooth, hard and warm all at once.
The tip was moist, my hand moved easily over his shaft, stroking up and down. He mumbled, ‘faster’ into my mouth. His hands held my head still, while his hips rocked to the rhythm of my strokes. His hips jerked faster and faster, matching my strokes. I could feel him swell even larger before he growled, bit my lip and exploded into my hand.
Minutes passed, his heart beat slowed and he said, “Vickie… “
That’s all he said for several minutes. Both of our shirts were damp from the prize and perspiration. I felt like laughing, “Would you like me to put you back where I found you?” I looked down at a slightly smaller and now limp prize.
He looked down too, smiled and said, “If you wouldn’t mind. I can’t move.”
It was much easier getting him tucked in, than getting him out. I gave Jake another kiss. “If you want to clean up before heading home, the bathroom’s right there.”
“We both need a shower after what we’ve done to each other. But I’ll take a wash cloth.”
“They’re in the cupboard, above the toilet. I’m going to change and take a peek at Butter Cup.”
“I’ll come say goodbye when I’m done.” He headed towards the bathroom, stopped and said, “Vickie, if this is the preview to actually making love to you, we’re going to need several uninterrupted days.”
I fanned myself, “Okay.” He left a couple minutes later and I collapsed on my bed. Kimmy is never going to believe this.
****
I checked on Butter Cup frequently. At midnight, she was still restless, pacing and panting. An hour later she got very still and started licking herself. Exhaustion set in and when my alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. Butter Cup had, without any help from me, delivered three adorable light brown puppies. Momma and her babies were asleep; the babies were nestled against her belly, seeking warmth and comfort. But, boy did she leave a mess. Oh well, their worth it. I called Jake, after brushing my teeth, just in case he was close and wanted to stop by.
His cell only rang once before he picked it up, “Hello?”
“Hi there.” I had it bad, even ‘hello’ sounded sexy to me. “Butter Cup is a super star. She had three babies, while I slept.”
“No way. What do they look like? Do they look like her or are they a Great Dane’s offspring?”
“They have her coloring. Come look for yourself.”
“I can stop by at lunchtime, but I won’t have time for an orgasm. We need to keep our hands out of each other’s pants.”
He was teasing me. “Are you wearing shorts?”
“Yes, it’s nice out today. Why?”
“Because they aren’t pants. I’ve got a loop hole.”
“Vickie, as great as that sounds, if you get into my shorts, I won’t have time to pickup lunch and I’d definitely be late getting back to work.”
“I’ll behave. Don’t bother picking up lunch. I’ll have a hearty one waiting for you. What time will you be here?”
“Around noon. I keep saying this, but I owe you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye.”
I turned around and there was Butter Cup, looking proud of herself. She must need food, water or to go to the bathroom. She headed to the front door. I guess going to the bathroom was first on her agenda.
CHAPTER FIVE
At noon, there was a knock on the door and it slowly opened. A bouquet of red roses appeared, followed by my prize, Jake. “Are those for Butter Cup? Her appetites returned. She’ll probably eat them.”
“She gets a chew toy, you get the flowers. I can’t thank you enough for taking care of her. And me for that matter.”
He ran his hand down the
front of his uniform, showing me what he was referring to. I knew he was limited on time, but it didn’t hurt to tease him a little bit. “Your choice, Jake. Food or my mouth?”
He gulped, “I can do without food a little longer.” He handed me the flowers, while unzipping his shorts.
“Woof, woof.”
He hung his head. Butter Cup had other ideas. “Sorry. It looks like you’re getting food instead of my mouth. She wants you to see her babies. Go, ‘ohh and ahh’. I’ll give you a couple minutes alone with her and her new family, while I put my flowers in a vase. I have a couple ham sandwiches and chicken noodle soup waiting for you when you’re ready to eat.”
“I won’t be long.”
He’ll be longer then he thinks. He won’t be able to help it. I’d spent a lot of time watching her squirming babies. They were adorable. All they wanted was their momma’s milk. Jake came back out with only a couple minutes to spare. He inhaled his lunch, kissed me, caressed my breast, reached for my pants and remembered he had to work.
“Shit. I’ve got to go. Is it all right if they stay a few more days? I don’t want to disturb them.”
“Of course. I’ve fallen in love with the one with the little white spot’s on her head.”
“I didn’t know you wanted a puppy. I’m sorry, Vickie. I’ve already found homes for all three of them.”
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t have the time or energy to take care of a puppy. I’ve got my grand re-opening happening in a couple of months. I need to concentrate on that.” I was all bluster, I wanted that little puppy.
“If you say so… softy. See you tonight.”
After a gentle kiss to my lips, he was gone.
****
An hour later, Jake was at my door with a huge grin on his face.
“I have several packages for Ms. Vickie Valentine. Where would you like me to put them?” He ruined it by cracking up and saying, “how about your bedroom?”
“If you had more time, I’d say yes. Bring them into the parlor. I need to sort through it all.”
Valentines Say I Love You Page 2
