by Kate Kinsley
I drew my brows low. “I never told you it had been a while.”
It had, but I hadn’t told him.
He laughed. “You didn’t have to tell me. No woman comes that hard or that fast if she’s getting laid regularly.”
“Oh, really. Well maybe it’s just—just . . .” Shit. I’d argued myself into a corner.
“Just that I’m that good?” He grinned.
That was exactly what I’d hoped to avoid saying.
“Okay, fine. It’s been a long while,” I admitted.
“And?” he prompted.
“And you’re just that good.” I rolled my eyes as he laughed.
The sound had me smiling. It was good to hear him joking and laughing.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” he said.
“Humph. Not so bad?” I shot him a sideways glare as Zeus stopped our procession to take a whizz on a mailbox. “No man comes that fast unless it’s a damn good blow job.”
He let out a snort. “Trust me when I tell you, to a man, every blowjob is good, even when it’s bad.” When I frowned, he added, “But that one was particularly good.”
“Thank you.” I nodded.
We walked in silence for a moment before Michael asked, “What happened? When Zeus was injured, I mean.”
I hid my surprise at the question and tried to remember what I knew. “It was an explosion.”
“IED?” he asked.
“I think so.”
He nodded. “Me too.”
I staunchly schooled my expression. He was not only initiating conversation, he was talking about himself. About his injury. I didn’t want to do anything that would make him stop.
“His handler was killed. They’d been together from when Zeus was a puppy. That, in combination with his injury and his age . . .” I shrugged. “I guess they thought it best to retire him.”
Michael nodded. Quiet. Solemn almost. Until he turned and with one palm at the base of my neck, pulled me in and kissed me deep. Right there on the corner of Main and Depot Streets.
Pulling back, he asked with obvious exasperation, “How far is this fucking house?”
I laughed and tipped my chin toward the side street. “Just down this block.”
“Thank God,” he breathed. “Let’s go.”
I led the way toward the Cape Cod-style house I’d grown up in. The one I’d stayed in after my parents moved to Florida because they couldn’t take upstate New York winters anymore.
They still owned it but I paid all the utilities and the taxes, which was only fair since I lived here and didn’t have to pay rent or a mortgage somewhere else.
It was a pretty good deal. They visited me here. I visited them there. And now, for the first time since my taking over the house, I got to invite a man over.
Privacy was a commodity I’d never thought much about—until today, when I realized it was priceless.
I closed the front door behind us and released Zeus from his leash.
He ran to the kitchen and I heard him slurping water from his bowl.
I didn’t hear much more after that since Michael had cupped my head in his big hands and was leaning low. “Where were we?”
“I believe heading for the bedroom,” I said, trying and failing to sound coquettish.
He didn’t seem to mind as he narrowed his eyes and groaned while he closed in on me for a deep kiss.
“Where are those condoms?” I asked, noticing the bag was no longer in his hand.
“My pocket.”
I glanced down and saw the bag shoved in the leg pocket of his cargo pants. I had to think if the box fit in there, it must be pretty small. Given the heat between us, we were going to need a bigger box next time he went shopping.
Shopping.
It hit me like a bag of condoms upside the head.
He’d bought those in town. At the gas station owned by the mayor’s brother. From the teenaged clerk behind the counter who volunteered at the shelter sometimes.
Holy shit. Why hadn’t the horrendous enormity of the situation hit me before? I didn’t know. Sex hormones had put me in a haze maybe, but it was sure clear now.
My eyes flew wide. “Holy shit, you bought those in town.”
He cocked up a brow. “So?”
“So, everyone is going to know you were kissing me in front of your house and then you bought condoms. We’ll be the subject of the town gossip until the new year.”
He shook his head. “You worry too much. And you definitely talk too much.” Michael reached up and brushed a fingertip along my lips. “I know of a much better use for that pretty little mouth of yours.”
I blushed at the image that we were no doubt both remembering.
“Stephanie.”
The sound of my name on his lips brought me out of my own head. “Yeah?”
“Where’s the damn bedroom?” He might have donned a smartass smirk as he asked the question, but his grip on my hips, tightening as he pulled me against him until I could feel his erection, told another story.
Michael was right. I was a talker. I was a worrier. I was definitely an overthinker. But in spite of all that, I was ready to show him where the bedroom was.
“It’s just this way.” I took his hand and led him to the room I’d grown up in. Unlike his, it had been redecorated since then, but it seemed significant that it was inside these four walls where I’d spent so many hours thinking about—fantasizing about—the very man whose big strong hand gripped mine.
The man who’d already blown all my teenage girl imaginings out of the water with the sheer power of the reality of being with him.
The man who was about to, hopefully, surpass all of my adult fantasies too.
I heard the bedroom door close and latch. Then Michael stopped my forward progress toward the bed. He hauled me against him, my back against his front, and I knew things were about to heat up.
The warmth of his mouth on my neck as he brought his hands around to cup my breasts was further proof.
Then there was that hard length pressing into my lower back. The one I needed inside me. Like now.
After opening my shorts, he slid one hand down my belly, continuing until he hit the spot that had me gasping.
Okay, maybe I could wait a couple more minutes until he was inside me.
My legs began to quiver as he worked me hard with his hand while his mouth moved over my throat.
The heat of his breath, combined with the dirty words, spoken soft but urgent in his gruff voice against my ear, pushed me toward the precipice.
It wasn’t long before I was tumbling over the edge, sagging heavily against him while crying out loudly enough Zeus scratched and whined at the bedroom door.
I was still panting when Michael spun me around and devoured my mouth with his. His tongue swept inside, claiming the territory for him and him alone.
Little did he know I already belonged to him. I think I had since that day he first opened the door and found me and Zeus on the doorstep.
“Need you,” he breathed.
“Take me,” I replied, hoping that heartfelt response didn’t sound like a cheesy romance novel. Although when he reached down and started to take off his pants, I stopped caring about how I sounded.
I couldn’t get my clothes off fast enough. This time I took everything off, crawling onto the bed completely naked. I didn’t make it very far before I was tackled by an equally naked Michael.
We landed face down on the mattress. Me on the bottom. Him on top. He groaned and spread my legs with a nudge of his knee.
Thick and hard, he pushed inside. I was more than ready for this. I welcomed every stroke of his body into mine. I heard him behind me, grunting as he plunged inside me.
I wanted to see him. Watch his face. But maybe he wasn’t ready for me to see him. Not if it was the first time since losing his leg.
When he reached around and worked me with his hand while he loved me, my eyes slammed shut and I wouldn’t have been able to s
ee anything even if I had been facing him rather than face-down.
I was panting and breathless when he held my hips tight and drove himself home, quivering behind me with one long, loud groan.
He was silent when he pulled out and flopped down on the mattress.
I rolled over to face him, unsure of what to say, or if I should say anything at all.
He didn’t seem like a cuddler. But after what we’d just done, it felt strange to just both lay on our own side of the bed not touching.
I was torn, until Michael reached out and pulled me toward him. That question settled, I laid my head on his chest.
It wasn’t in me to be completely silent so I said, “That was really nice.”
He let out a short laugh. “Yeah.”
I guess really nice was a bit of an understatement.
“Garbage?” he asked.
I glanced down and saw the used condom on his faded erection needed to be dealt with. “Bathroom or kitchen. Or, there’s tissues in the nightstand drawer, if you don’t want to get up.”
He reached for the drawer, then froze. I lifted my head to see what the hold-up was, and saw he’d picked up my vibrator.
“What is this?” he asked, with a wide grin.
“Nothing,” I answered, blushing.
“Oh, it’s definitely something.” He chuckled.
“Fine. It was a gag gift from a few years ago. I never even used the thing.” That lie was evident since a gag gift I’d never used would probably not live, stocked with fresh batteries, in my nightstand. “Well, just once. Recently.”
His eyes went dark. “When? When did you use it recently?”
I swallowed hard, suspecting he was piecing together the timeline. I tried to be vague. “I guess like a couple of days ago.”
“Tell me you broke this out and used it for the first time after we met and I’m going to fuck you so hard you’re not going to be able to walk tomorrow.”
My cheeks burned that he’d guessed my secret, but I managed to joke, “That’s not exactly a threat, you know.”
“Oh, it’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”
When he reached for the box and returned with a renewed hard-on covered with a fresh condom there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to make good on his promise.
Chapter Seven
The thing about really good sex is that it makes you sleepy. Just when the hottest man on earth is naked and pressed against you, Mother Nature swoops in and knocks you out for the count.
If ever there were a time I wanted to be wide awake and aware of every sensation, from the smell of his skin, to the sound of his breathing, deep and steady in sleep, it was now.
But I couldn’t fight it. I fell asleep. At least I must have because the next thing I was conscious of was being startled awake by a loud booming crash.
Disoriented, I sat bolt upright in bed “What was that?”
Michael reached out for me. “Thunder. It’s been rolling in for the past half hour or so.”
We’d fallen to sleep with the small bedside lamp on, so I could see Michael clearly enough. “You’ve been awake this whole time?” I had to admit to being jealous of that.
He shook his head as another bright flash lit the sky behind the closed blinds of my bedroom. It was followed a few seconds later by another crash. This one sounding close.
“The storm woke me. You deploy enough times and you tend to pay attention to sounds like that.”
Another sound reached my ears. I frowned. “What’s that noise?”
Michael went still and listened. “What are you hearing?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s like a low intermittent whine.” My eyes widened. “Zeus.”
I fought to get free of the covers and swung my legs over the side of the mattress. I reached for my T-shirt and pulled it on without my bra. I found my underwear, also on the floor, and stepped into them while glancing up at Michael.
“The storm must be scaring him. He might not know it’s thunder and not explosions,” I guessed.
Michael had gotten out of bed too. He was pulling his jeans on over his underwear, which I thought was a little overdressed for just a trip to my living room, but I was too concerned about Zeus to comment on it.
Dressed enough, I ran barefoot for the door and flung it wide.
It took me a few seconds to locate Zeus. He was cowering under the kitchen table. I pulled out one of the kitchen chairs so I could see him better.
“Hey, buddy. You scared?” I squatted down, half under the table myself as I reached for him.
I guess I didn’t react to his warning growl in time. He snapped at my hand. I snatched it back with a yelp, narrowly avoiding the sharp white teeth.
“Oh my God. He just almost bit me.” I lost my balance in my effort to get away from Zeus and fell with a thud on my butt.
Suddenly Michael was behind me, lifting me up.
“You okay?” he asked, turning me to face him. He took both my hands in his and looked down at them, searching for a wound.
“Yeah. I pulled back in time. But Michael. Oh my God. If he’s a biter—”
He shook his head. “He’s not a biter. It’s just the storm. It spooked him.”
Yes, the storm likely scared him. That was why he was hiding under the table. But it scared him enough to bite me? I wasn’t so sure that was a good enough excuse.
Shaking, I looked up at Michael. “You think?”
“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine tomorrow.” He glanced at the time on the wall clock. “It’s late. My dad will be worrying where I am, especially with the storm. I’m gonna get going. Okay?”
I wanted him to stay. I wanted nothing more. But what could I say besides, “Okay.”
The night that had started out on such a high note, was certainly ending on a low one. Michael was leaving. And I was going to be alone all night worrying about Zeus. His PTSD. His future.
Michael finished dressing and I walked him to the door and said goodnight, but I knew it wasn’t going to be a good night for me.
And tomorrow wasn’t looking too good either.
Chapter Eight
The next day, just as Michael had predicted, Zeus seemed back to his normal self.
It was me who had changed. I was more cautious. Nervous. I hesitated when putting on his leash. I took him for the shortest walk in history, afraid he might snap at another person or dog if I took him for our usual long excursion.
We rode to the shelter together, like always. He went into his usual cage. But the incident still followed me throughout the day.
I kept it to myself, not wanting to mention it to anyone there, afraid it would sink all hope Zeus had for adoption.
It was late afternoon and I was still unsure what to do about it, when Carson walked in the door.
As much as I liked the guy, he was the last person I wanted to see right now.
I huffed out a breath, letting my chin drop to my chest as I steeled my reserve to deal with whatever bad tidings he brought with him.
Finally, I raised my gaze and said, “What’d I do now?”
He drew back, holding up his hands, palms facing me. “Whoa. Relax. You didn’t do anything. I’ve got the pet food donations from the department out in the car.”
My eyes closed as I shook my head at myself. I opened them again to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“It’s all right. But what’s going on? That wasn’t like you.”
No, it wasn’t. I was definitely not feeling myself today. Even after a night of amazing sex with my dream man, I couldn’t shake this funk.
A Mudville deputy sheriff was pretty much the last person I should tell, second only to the overzealous animal control officer. But Carson was more than a deputy. He was a friend.
I glanced at his uniform. The one that looked so good on him there’d been a few times over the years when I’d had to remind myself that I had babysat for him. That I should not be
noticing how taut the fabric pulled over his ass or how his biceps bulged from beneath the short sleeves of his summer uniform.
It was that uniform that made me hesitate now. “Can I talk to you as a friend and not a deputy?”
A crease formed above his sandy-colored brow. “Of course.”
I drew in a breath and said, “You know Zeus, the retired military dog who did his business on the Timmerman’s lawn?”
Carson’s lips twitched into a smile. “Yeah. I remember.”
“Well, last night the storm spooked him. He was cowering under the table. When I reached down to try to comfort him . . . he snapped at me.”
Carson nodded. “It makes sense. He’s been through a lot.”
“I know. And he was injured in an explosion so the loud thunder being a trigger is understandable. But if he’s a biter . . .” I shook my head. “Carson, I can’t adopt him out. I’m supposed to disclose stuff like this to the shelter director.”
“How is he with people and other animals normally?”
“I mean he definitely prefers solitude to being around people or other dogs, but he’s never been aggressive. And he’s always been great with me. And he’s taken to Michael Timmerman, as well.”
Carson broke into a wide grin. “I heard the dog isn’t the only one who’s taken to Michael Timmerman.”
My eyes widened. “Damn Mudville gossip.”
Carson managed to temper his grin until it was just a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. Somebody will do something around here worth talking about soon enough. Then you’ll be old news. But as far as the dog . . . I work with an organization who takes in retired police dogs. They suffer from a lot of the same issues as military dogs. I’m willing to bet if this is the first time you’ve seen this behavior in Zeus, it was just a reaction to the storm.”
“So what do I do?” I asked.
“Next time he hides under a table, leave him the hell alone. He’ll come out and look for you when he’s ready to be social again. And when the time comes for him to be adopted, make sure his new family knows to give him space when he asks for it, such as when he’s hiding under a table.”
I felt better after having talked to Carson, even if it was more than obvious it was my own fault for not leaving Zeus alone when he so obviously didn’t want to be bothered. I felt so much better that I drove directly to Michael’s house instead of going home first.
