by Natalie Ann
“Because my girlfriend is standing here in a sexy dress and teased me earlier about what was under it. I’m dying to find out.”
She lifted her head up to look at him as he was smiling down at her. “Oh look,” she said. “You need to kiss me.”’
He looked up and saw the mistletoe hanging in the doorway to the left of them. Brian scooted them over so they were under it and then laid his lips to hers, the two of them laughing. He pulled his phone out. “Photo op. This is a keeper for me. Once in a lifetime shot I’m not about to pass up or lose. Memories are made like this. Spontaneously.”
She giggled, her heart racing and then she thought of Blair’s dream and that had her smiling even bigger. Imagine that. It was on the tip of her tongue to say he was a keeper, but it wasn’t the time or place, and knew she’d have to change the subject before she said those words.
“How about we eat fast and then get out of here?”
“I can agree with that. You don’t think anyone will make a comment?”
“I don’t care if they do,” he said. Surprisingly, neither did she. Not after his spontaneous memory comment.
An hour later they were making their way out the front door with Brian driving a little bit faster home than he did to get there.
Once they pulled into her driveway, she said, “Let me go open the garage for you. I think it might snow tonight. Might as well keep your car clean.”
She went in the front door thinking she should just give him the other remote opener but then figured she’d bring it up another day. Right now she had other things on her mind.
While Brian was parking the car, she grabbed the dogs and let them out to do their business. They were trained that she could just stand on the deck and let them go in the yard. It was cold enough out that half the time they just wanted to run back.
“What are you going to do with them now?” Brian asked. “I’m not sure they will want to go back in the crate and I find I can’t wait to get you out of this dress.”
“I’m going to leave them loose in the office. I think they will be fine. There isn’t anything for them to get into. I just hope they don’t bark, but I’m going to give them each a toy.”
“Good idea. Bribery. I like that.”
Once the dogs had their squeaky toys, the two of them went to her room while Brian shut the door. She’d planned on a slow tease, but it seemed he wanted no part of that.
He pulled her in his arms and crushed his mouth to hers. This was a desire she’d never pulled out of a man before and if she thought she felt powerful before just dressed up for him, it was nothing to what he might do when she dropped her dress.
“I like you this way,” she said.
“What way is that?”
“Impatient,” she said, moving out of his arms and reaching behind her back. She undid the button and eased the zipper down a bit, then reached around front to unhook her belt.
“I need to do this,” he said, turning her. His knuckles grazed her spine as he lowered the zipper. “Shit.”
“You are only seeing a tiny glimpse,” she said.
She pushed the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. She had on a red bra and matching thong with thigh high stockings.
“We would have never left this house if I knew what was under that dress.”
She giggled and then put her hand in front of her mouth. “That wasn’t a very sexy sound.”
“What? Sorry. I can’t concentrate on anything other than how you look right now.”
His hands reached for her, tugging her close, his mouth latching onto a hard nipple poking through the red silk of her bra.
“Oh,” she said. “That’s cold and wet at the same time.”
His hand moved down between her legs, one finger sliding under the material there and inside of her. The invasion was unexpected but so nice. More than nice. Almost powerful.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
“Much better,” she said.
He picked her up and put her on the bed. “Stay there while I get undressed.”
“I get to watch you and not help?” she asked. “I like to help.”
“Another time,” he said, moving faster than she’d ever seen him before.
The minute he was naked, he found a condom in the package by her bed, slipped it on, then moved over her. He expected her to remove her bra and thong but when she didn’t, he just pushed it up over her breasts, then moved his hands down and tore the thong right off of her.
“Whoa,” she said, not expecting that either. She might buy more of them if he was going to react this way.
“You started this,” he said, his mouth going to a nipple. “Shoes stay on with those stockings. I want to feel them around me.”
He moved her up the bed, him climbing on top of her, nudging her legs apart, finding her opening and sliding in. Her head went back on the bed, her legs up and around his hips.
“Like that?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said.
His hips were almost slamming into her right now. She heard squeaking and wondered if it was the dogs with their toys below them and then realized it was the bed mixed in with the noises coming out of her mouth.
“Don’t stop, Brian,” she said. “Keep doing it just like that. No, harder. Faster.”
His body was almost jerking he was moving so fast. All she knew was she was building up to something she’d never felt before.
Yeah, she’d had plenty of orgasms with Brian when she barely got them with another man. But this one was different.
This was a tightness coiled up inside of her. Her abs were even starting to ache as she was trying to meet and match his movements. Not that she cared. Nope, she had no care at all other than getting to the end of the wonderful rainbow where the pot of gold was going to be.
“Tell me you’re close,” he said almost out of breath.
“I am. I’m right there,” she said, her voice higher than ever before until she just screamed out his name. His hands went under her ass, and he brought her up higher and just started to pound into her until she moaned out again. She wasn’t sure if she came again or that was just the world’s longest orgasm ever.
He finally collapsed on top of her. “Damn,” he said. “I hope I’m not too heavy because I don’t think I can move right yet.”
Her legs were still around his hips, her arms around his back. “You’re right where I want you to be.”
For a man who said he didn’t think he could move, he managed to lift his head and put his hands around her face. “I love you.”
She smiled back at him. “I love you too. But I have to know, was it what I wore that made you slip and say it? Because if it is I’m going to go buy some more. No wait, that’s wrong.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “It’s you. It’s been you all along,” he said. “Though a few of these outfits would be a nice bonus.”
“I think I can handle that.”
She could handle anything with Brian by her side.
20
Right At Home
The next morning, Robin was up bright and early and out the door while Brian stayed behind with the dogs. She’d said she’d come back after she was done setting up for the Christmas party combination fundraiser.
Part of him felt odd being in her house by himself, but the other part felt right at home.
“So, what do you two want to do this morning?” he asked the dogs. They quickly jumped up on his lap and started to bathe his face in kisses. They were growing so fast and he knew pretty soon they’d be taking him for a walk rather than the other way around.
“How about we play?” he asked them. They were always up for a good tug of war with the rope he got that let them both grab a piece and he had the other end.
He set them down and started to look for it, finding it in her office, then getting on the floor. The dogs knew right away what was going to happen and dove on him. They wrestled a bit, then started to
tug. When he was out of breath, he got up and thought the dogs would be done.
Nope. They seemed to have endless energy. “How about a walk?” he asked. Just sitting around watching TV was boring. Her house was clean, not that he would feel right doing that either, at least more than tidying up, which it didn’t need.
If he was smart he would have brought his laptop with him and he could have gotten some work done, but he hadn’t been thinking of anything other than Meena’s party last night.
He’d snuck out of work early, went home and showered and changed, then brought a change of clothes with him when he came to get her.
Had he expected last night to turn out the way it had?
Never in a million years.
She was stunning. She was fun. She was awkward at times.
And she loved him.
That’s right, she loved him.
He’d had no plans on saying those words last night. Not. At. All.
But having lost all his brain cells while they were going at it on her bed...yeah, they just spilled out of his mouth like milk on the counter that he knocked over reaching for a cookie.
He couldn’t get paper towels fast enough and he couldn’t take the words back.
He was glad he didn’t have to.
The dogs were jumping all over his legs now, so he clipped their leashes on, put his jacket on, and then decided to just walk them around the block. It’d be good to wear them out before Robin came back and they had to go in the crate.
Two hours later, he was dozing on the couch when he felt something soft on his face, his hand coming up to bat it away.
Then he heard a giggle and opened his eyes to see Robin standing there grinning. “You were snoring. And drooling.”
His hand came up and wiped the side of his mouth. It was dry. “Very cute.”
“What is cute is this,” she said, turning her phone around and showing him the picture she snapped of him sprawled on the couch with Leia on his chest and Luke on his feet while the three of them slept.
“We’ve had an exciting morning,” he said.
“Really?”
The dogs weren’t on him now and he hadn’t even felt them get down let alone Robin come in and it did make him wonder if he was snoring.
“We wrestled. We played tug of war and then we went for a walk. I figured it would tire them out before they were locked up again.”
“I see it tired you out just as much.”
“It did. Are you all set for the party now?” he asked.
“We are. We can go whenever you want.”
“I’ll go change,” he said standing up.
“You look fine. I’m not changing.”
She had on dark jeans and a sweater. A red one that she had on when she left earlier.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s casual. The good part was I was able to see how everyone else was dressed and it was the same as me.”
“Do you have to work while you are there?” he asked.
“Nope. I volunteered to set up and to speak, but said I was coming with my boyfriend and I would mingle but I wasn’t going to do much more than talk to people. I don’t want to leave you standing there by yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
And fifteen minutes later, he found he was by himself. Robin had come in and been pulled aside by someone close to her age who said there was a problem with the dogs in the back.
“So you’re Robin’s boyfriend.”
He turned to the man that just made that statement. “I am,” he said, extending his hand. “Brian Dawson.”
“Cooper Winslow. I’m one of the vets that volunteers here.”
“I’ve heard the name,” he said. The guy was about his height at a little over six foot. Maybe a few years older and not as lean, but in good shape.
And the vet had been hitting on his woman too.
“I’m sure. You’ve got yourself a good lady there.”
“I do,” he said back.
He wasn’t sure where this was going. He wasn’t about to get into a claiming war. Though it did look as if Cooper was more uncomfortable than anything.
“I have a feeling she told you I’d asked her for a drink a time or two?” Cooper finally said.
“She did.”
“I had no idea she was seeing anyone. Guess I just wanted to let you know. I don’t want her to feel anything awkward here. Or you either. She does a great job at the shelter and that’s my life. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it.”
He wanted to make a comment that it was sad to have that be the guy’s life, but he was one to talk. It seemed his job had that place in his life until recently.
“She hasn’t said a word to me about it being awkward. No worries there. She enjoys her time here.”
“Good, glad.”
Cooper moved away and left Brian there by himself. He heard his name called and turned to see Robin walking back toward him. “You remember Philip Aire, right? I bought the house from him and he lives in the back now.”
“Nice to see you again,” Brian said, shaking the man’s hand.
“This is my wife, Blair, and my daughter, Livi. We are here to get a puppy. Maybe,” Philip said.
“A small dog,” Livi said. “Robin said there are small dogs here and that is all Daddy said I can get.”
“I think a small dog is a good idea,” Brian said. “And I’m sure whatever you get will enjoy playing with Luke and Leia too.”
“I hope so,” Livi said. “Daddy, can we go look at the dogs and get one?”
“Heaven help me for agreeing to this,” Philip said, and Brian watched the three of them walk away.
“That was nice they came to adopt a dog.”
“Livi has wanted a pet for a long time. She plays with my dogs anytime she sees them out. Blair and I had coffee the other day and I gave her an invitation.”
“How many dogs are up for adoption today?” There were about twenty people here so far, but the doors had just opened a few minutes ago. He and Robin showed up early again.
“About thirty. Hopefully all of them go. Right now people can look and put their name down for a dog they might want or play with them. In about ten minutes some of us are going to talk about our success stories with adoptions.”
“Are you okay with getting up and talking in front of people?” he asked. She always acted like she wanted to be in the background.
“I won’t say much. But I do love talking about my babies.”
They both turned again when they heard their names called. He was shocked to see Troy’s cousin Sarah Walker there. “What are you doing here?”
“Robin told me about this last night. You know Harris got his dog at a shelter. Actually I adopted Nicks for Harris at the time because he didn’t want to write his name down.”
“Did you get him here?” Brian asked.
“I did. I told Robin that too. I thought I’d come and check some dogs out. I’d love to get one, but right now I can’t in my apartment.”
“So you just want to torture yourself by looking in the window for a shiny new toy and hoping the day will come when it’s yours?” he asked her.
“Pretty much. There isn’t anything wrong with looking,” Sarah said. “Kind of like my love life.”
Robin laughed. “I know the feeling. I was there for a while before I made my move.” She threaded their fingers together and leaned up to give him a kiss.
“Oh, you went after Brian. You go, girl! I think he is used to women chasing him though.”
He scowled at Sarah. “Go look at those dogs.”
“Bye, you two,” Sarah said and moved away laughing.
“Do I have to worry about women throwing themselves at you?” she asked. She was grinning, but he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
“No. I’m well and truly taken. Even had a little talk with a man that had been hitting on you.”
“Who?” she as
ked, looking around. Her eyes landed on Cooper. “Oh. What did you two talk about?”
“Nothing much. He came up to introduce himself and say that he hadn’t known you were dating someone and meant nothing by it asking you out for a drink. I get the feeling he wanted to make sure I knew he wasn’t going to make you feel uncomfortable and didn’t want anything awkward. He said this was his life.”
“I’m not awkward around him. He was nice about it all. He’s not the first person to ask me for a drink in my life that I’ve said no to.”
Brian knew that and shouldn’t feel any jealousy over it, but for some reason he was filled with massive vats of green goo.
“I know. I told him you haven’t said anything to me so I assumed it was all good.”
“It is. And now I’ve got to get on stage and go talk. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He watched her walked away and stand by the microphone with a few other people while Cooper talked.
“Thank you all for coming,” Cooper said. “We are here for a few hours. Our goal is to find each of these dogs a home for the holiday. Even if you can’t bring a puppy home today but would like to adopt, this time of year we will make exceptions and hold the dogs.”
He looked around and saw some relieved faces on adults. Probably Christmas gifts for kids.
“I’m going to call a few people up here to tell you how their lives have changed since they adopted a dog from our shelter,” Cooper said, looking at the few standing by him. “First is Robin. Not only did she adopt a brother and sister, but she is one of our favorite volunteers here.”
Robin moved to the microphone. “Hi, everyone. Dr. Winslow is right. I do volunteer here. I’d wanted a dog for a long time but just had to wait for the right one to come my way.” She paused and made eye contact with Brian, then smiled. “Little did I know I’d get two bundles of fur. But one day they showed up and Luke, he’s the big brother, was just so protective of Leia.”
There were some chuckles in the crowd that got the play on the names.
“There was just no way we could separate them,” she said. “And I couldn’t take the chance someone wouldn’t want both. One of my jobs here is to bathe the puppies before they are ready for adoption. I’ll admit I have a lot of fun playing with them too. We normally separate them for bath time, but these two couldn’t be separated. Leia, who was the runt of the litter, would whine. Luke would bark. It was heartbreaking.”