Doggone Daddy

by Liam Kingsley

  “I'm tired of this,” I snapped, my irritation growing. “Your dogs are affecting everything. They’re putting off my customers with all the noise. It totally ruins their ability to shop in peace. They’re here to smell the flowers not deal with the stench of dog poop.”

  Trevor stood up straighter, clenching his jaw. He turned to me, squaring his shoulders. “You don't have to be such a jerk about it. I said I was sorry. Actually, you know what? For someone who owns a flower shop, you sure spend a lot of time not stopping to smell the roses. Why don't you wake up and stick your nose somewhere else other than my business? I'll run my business the way I want. You run yours the way you want.”

  I was so stunned by his outburst that a mild breeze could have knocked me over. Struck momentarily speechless by Trevor's impertinence. I knew he had a sassy mouth; I’d witnessed it the odd few times Trevor had been around the homestead to see his friends, but it had never been aimed directly at me. To be honest, I was kind of stunned.

  Stacia came around from behind me and edged in between us. “It's okay,” she said, reaching out to squeeze Trevor's hand. “My daddy is just upset because my grandma made me this dress. It can't be replaced.” She tilted her head and looked up at him earnestly. “But it’s okay. I know the dogs didn't mean to do it.”

  I saw the small smile on Trevor's lips as he looked down at Stacia, a tender look on his face. He bent down to her level and took her hands. “That's really sweet of you. But I'm so very sorry about your dress.”

  Stacia shrugged and smiled. “It’s cool. I love dogs so much.” She glanced over at me. “I really wish I could have one of my own.”

  Trevor glanced back at me, the message in his eyes clear. How could I hate dogs when my own daughter loved them so much? I looked away, not wanting to feel like I needed to explain anything. Trevor stood up, but just as he did, a breeze blew through the alley and I caught a trace of his scent on the air. My breath blasted out of my lungs as if I’d just been punched in the gut. The shock of Trevor standing up to me moments ago suddenly took a backseat to the shock that hit me now. My body went rigid as Trevor's scent practically ambushed me. My wolf stirred to life, clawing at my chest.

  What the hell?

  Trevor's pheromones filled my nose, and an awareness of him consumed me, setting all my wolf senses on high alert. His scent was unlike anything I've ever come across before. Sweet and delicious, like strawberries and…cream.

  I swallowed and almost groaned as I realized what it all signified. Trevor’s unique omega scent wasn’t just…nice, it was special. It was exclusively attuned to me. Which meant…

  Trevor was my fated mate.

  Trevor lifted a hand and placed it on his forehead. I watched him closely. Did he feel this too? No, he was human. He wouldn’t have the same sense of mates I did, but how had I never picked up on this before? If Trevor was my fated mate wouldn’t that be something I should have recognized when I first met him? The only answer I had for that was that I had never actually been this close to Trevor before. Suddenly, I was uncomfortably aware of just how close we were standing.

  Trevor looked at me. “Is that okay?”

  Oh shit. I had just been standing here staring at him all this time, and he must've asked me a question. He must think I’d lost my mind.

  I shook my head quickly. “I'm sorry, what?”

  “I was telling Stacia that she's more than welcome to come play with the dogs any time she wants if that's okay with you. They're all perfectly safe and friendly. Not dangerous at all. They just got excited.” I could see the regret in his eyes that they had torn her dress, and I suddenly felt like I had been acting like a complete ass. I’d just gone off the rails and let him have it.

  I drew in a breath, not sure what to say. I couldn't exactly tell Stacia No, you can’t play with the dogs. I knew how much she loved them.

  “Jason, the dogs can sense you and Stacia. They know what you are and would never dare try to hurt either of you. She can come play with them right now if she wants.”

  He meant because we were wolf shifters. Trevor was one of the few humans who knew about the shifters of Timberwood Cove. One of the privileged few, since most humans were not aware of us. But to hear him say this about the dogs sensing our wolf natures was something I hadn't thought of before. I wasn't sure what to think of it, actually. Because in my mind dogs and shifters were nothing at all alike.

  I shook my head, realizing I still hadn’t answered his question. “Um, yes. Yeah, it's fine. But I'll just come keep an eye on her if you don't mind.”

  Trevor nodded, looking at me like he was trying to figure me out. The scent of my mate kept growing more potent the longer we stood here together, and though he wouldn’t know of my sudden realization of who he was to me, I had a feeling he knew something was wrong. Or right. I wasn’t sure.

  Thankfully, he gave me one last look, and then shrugged. He took Stacia’s hand, leading her into the yard behind his shop, putting a little distance between us. I felt a sense of relief, my body relaxing slightly the further away he was. It was getting hard to think with him standing so close, especially when I was now fully aware of him in a way I’d never imagined.

  Trevor and Stacia began playing with the dogs. I lingered by the gate, leaning against the back fence to watch. I tried to look casual, but my mind was going crazy trying to process the realization that Trevor was my mate. I had no idea what to make of it. I watched them for a while, and my eyes kept going back to focus on Trevor. The way he laughed with Stacia. How gentle he was with her and the dogs. I also noticed how he kept pulling at the collar of his shirt. Maybe he was sensing something between us. Maybe his body was reacting to my presence.

  I didn't know, and I wasn't sure now was the time to figure this out. I had a lot on my plate for the weekend.

  “Hey, Stacia,” I called out to her. “It's time to go, baby.”

  She looked up from where they were playing, and Trevor stood reluctantly. He walked a little bit closer to me. “Thanks for letting her play,” he said.

  I smiled, suddenly not wanting my last impression on him to be negative. I’d been a total jerk in the alley. “You know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need to wake up and smell…something else instead of dogs. Actually, I kind of like the scent of strawberries.”

  I watched him for a reaction, trying to see if he caught what I was saying. That I had caught his scent. Did he even know what that meant?

  He simply nodded and smiled, looking surprised at my words, giving no indication he caught their deeper meaning. I gave him a quick smile, and then forced myself to turn and leave before I said anything else without thinking it through. I took Stacia’s hand and led her back to the flower shop, knowing I still had a couple of hours of work here to do before we could leave for the night.

  How I was going to focus now, though, I wasn’t sure. But I had to try.

  4

  Trevor

  As Jason disappeared into his shop I shook my head. What the hell just happened? If I wasn’t mistaken he’d been flirting with me. How was that possible? I had a hard enough time believing anyone be interested in me like that. But Jason? No, Jason was in an entirely different league. Still, the way he’d smiled at me. The look in his eyes…

  I felt a pull low in my belly and my breath came a little faster. I even felt a little dizzy. I lifted a hand to my forehead and found it warm to the touch. God, just thinking about it had me running hot. Then I realized. I wasn’t just feeling heated from being around Jason. I was going into heat. Shit.

  I rushed back inside the daycare, glad Charlie was still around to get the last of the dogs checked out and sent home. I went straight to my office and dug around in my bag until I found my heat suppressors.

  I popped two in my mouth for good measure and wracked my brain about how I could be going into heat. I was pretty good about staying on track with my heat suppressors. Even though pregnancy was the least of my concerns, I hated dealing with my heat, and
I knew it could make some alphas uncomfortable, so I took precautions to keep it at bay.

  I hurried into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing some cold water on my face, and then taking a few deep breaths. I’d experienced a few heats before, but they’d been nothing compared to the burning sensation that seemed to be firing off on every nerve right now. My skin was flushed and perspiration had popped out on my skin. On top of that, my cock was half hard and I could feel my ass getting slick. What was going on?

  My mind flitted back to what happened with Jason. Could being that close to him have sent my pheromones into overdrive? And if so, what did that mean?

  I’d known about shifters for a while, that they existed, but I’d never been around one, or at least I hadn’t known I’d been around one, until Kyle found out he was the human mate of a shifter. After that I’d gotten firsthand knowledge of who were shifters in Timberwood Cove. I’d also learned a little more about them, things only shifters could know. One of them being that their alphas could trigger a heat in an omega. A bit inconvenient if you asked me, not knowing if someone you were in proximity to would trigger your heat. Anyway, maybe I’d been close to going into heat and being around Jason had simply pushed me over the edge. I couldn’t be sure but it seemed the most logical explanation.

  Also, if Jason had sensed my impending heat and he’d been unable to control his response—that would explain why he’d rushed off so suddenly. But the way he’d looked at me… I splashed some more cold water on my face and shook the thoughts from my head. Stupid thoughts. As if Jason would be interested in me; a slightly overweight omega dog lover when he clearly didn’t like dogs.

  I looked up into the mirror and saw how pink my cheeks were, how flushed my skin. I needed to get home, that was clear. Even doubling up on heat suppressors wouldn’t stop my heat immediately. But first…

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped the screen. A couple rings later Kyle’s voice came over the line.

  “Trevor? What’s up?”

  “You would never believe it, but I’m in heat.”

  “Aren’t you on heat suppressors?”

  “Of course. Always. You know I wouldn’t want to put some poor alpha into a Trevor induced frenzy,” I said.

  Kyle laughed, and I relaxed slightly. It was good having him as my best friend. We’d promised each other years ago to be at each other’s wedding, and I’d been Kyle’s best man at his claiming ceremony; the equivalent of a wedding for shifters. I doubt I’d ever have a wedding never mind a claiming ceremony of my own, as much as I would love to be claimed by a shifter I’m sure I wasn’t mate material, but I’d suddenly got the heebie-jeebies and wanted Kyle’s opinion.

  “Okay, so I’m gathering from what you’re telling me, is your heat came on early or unexpectedly, right?” Kyle asked

  “Right.” I didn’t know what to make of it, but apparently my subconscious thought Kyle might. So I told him everything that happened in the last half hour, from Stacia running outside until I’d watched them disappear inside the flower shop.

  When I finished, Kyle laughed, this time with a little bit of satisfaction behind it. “Well, that kind of confirms it.”

  “Confirms what?”

  “That Jason likes you.”

  “What? No way!”

  “Don’t sound like that’s so ridiculous. You know he’s been checking you out,” he said.

  “When?”

  “There was that time a few months back, when he just stood outside your shop—”

  “We both agreed he was contemplating coming in to complain about the noise and the smell.”

  “Then there was the way he looked at you the day Raina was born.”

  “Just a trick of the light,” I said, but I’d seen that look too.

  “Trevor. You are a man who would catch many an alpha’s eye, and you’d probably notice if you weren’t so hung up on your weight.”

  “Ouch, kick a man while he’s in heat why don’t you?”

  “I’m just telling it to you straight. If he was standing so close to you, maybe he triggered your heat. That can happen when a shifter is close to his mate. Oh…”

  “That can’t be it,” I said quickly, cutting him off before he could go there. Part of me wanted to believe some shifter might think I was his fated mate, but the reasonable part of me knew that was crazy talk. The fact I’d gone into heat when I was standing close to Jason was just some freak occurrence.

  “It could be.”

  Now I knew Kyle was messing with me. “Honey, the day a shifter claims me is the day the moon turns blue.” I expected him to laugh, but there was silence on the other end of the phone. I took that as my cue to end the conversation.

  After saying goodbye to Kyle, who gave me a noncommittal grunt, we hung up, and then I headed back into the office to collect my things. I asked Charlie to close up for me before grabbing Bonnie and Clyde, and then I was on my way home.

  Most of the night was spent trying to distract myself from my heat. I cooked an elaborate dinner to keep myself busy. I took Bonnie and Clyde outside to run around. I turned on my favorite show to binge. But none of it seemed to do the trick, and I was pretty sure why.

  I couldn’t get my mind off Jason.

  In the end I decided to take a cool shower, and as I stripped down, I examined myself in the bathroom mirror. I had an attractive face, nice shoulders. But when my gaze dropped to my middle, I frowned. I didn’t want to change who I was for anyone, but at the same time my weight was the one thing I thought was keeping me from finding someone.

  More than anything, I wanted someone to accept me, love me—all of me. What would that be like? To have someone to spend my life with, to love in every way? I knew it would never happen though. It hadn’t so far, so why should I think it would now?

  Despite that, and knowing it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, I let myself indulge in a secret fantasy of what it might be like to be with an alpha. To have him touch me in ways I’d never been touched.

  My heat blasted through me at the thought, and I lowered my gaze to my cock, which was growing harder by the second. I gasped as blood pulsed through my veins, rushing from my head to fill my cock. As if on autopilot, I reached down and grasped my shaft, my eyes focused in the mirror. I groaned and gave myself a squeeze, watching as precum beaded on the tip. One other part of my body I could be completely honest about was my cock. It was magnificent.

  Long and thick, velvety smooth skin over rock-hard steel. A moan fell from my lips as I stroked myself again, slow and languorously. My head fell back and I closed my eyes, letting the pleasure roll over me.

  My mind immediately went back to earlier. To the look in Jason’s eyes. In this moment, with my cock in my hand and fire rushing through my body, I let myself pretend that what I’d seen was desire. Hot and needy. The way I was feeling right now.

  Jason’s dark eyes, the color of chocolate, pierced me in my memory, lighting me up from the inside out, and my heat magnified. Desperate to feel good, I moved from the bathroom into my bedroom, my dick still in my hand, my fist moving faster now. I sank into the plush mattress and let go of everything except the sensations rocketing through me and the image of Jason.

  In my fantasy he was now here with me, in my bed. His body stripped bare, rock hard and chiseled as he hovered over me. I imagined it was his hand on my cock. I gripped myself harder and ran the pad of my thumb over my cockhead. Sticky precum coated my thumb. I reached for my balls with my other hand and tugged gently.

  Another needy groan escaped me. I imagined Jason’s echoing moan as he reached between my ass cheeks and teased my hole and found me soaking wet. That part wasn’t hard to envision because when I touched myself, I realized my hole was coated with my slick. In my mind, Jason then teased my ass with his throbbing cock. I felt a tingle at the base of my spine and electricity shoot through my nerves. My breath came hard and fast and my cock swelled even larger, my balls drawing up tight.

 
I pressed a thick finger inside my ass and imagined it was Jason’s cock, thrusting into me. And as I played with my hole it was really Jason losing control, fucking me like he couldn’t get enough. Wild, primal. Feral. He rutted me as he said my name in a growl, as he took me like the animal he was.

  “Oh. Oh, Jason, yes!”

  Teetering on the edge, hanging there, Jason placed his lips next to my ear and whispered three incredible words to me.

  Come now, Trevor.

  Ropes of hot cum splattered my stomach, and I cried out as I came harder than I ever had before. I writhed on the bed, making little noises I’d be ashamed of admitting to later, but right then it was all so perfect.

  Minutes later I lay in a puddle of what felt like liquid muscle, lost in a haze of pure ecstasy. All because of Jason.

  That one night wasn’t the only time I succumbed to erotic thoughts of Jason. But by Monday morning my heat had at least finally settled into a low simmer instead of a full-on boil.

  I shot a glance at the backdoor of Pampered Paws through the open door of the playroom as I led Bonnie and Clyde into the shop. Through that door and across the alley, Jason might be arriving at work too.

  I resisted the urge to go peek. Instead, I flipped the sign on the front door from “Closed. No Mutts Allowed.” to “Open To All Puppies!” I had work to do.

  “Go ahead,” I said to Bonnie and Clyde, gesturing toward the playroom. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  The huskies padded lazily into the playroom while I booted up the computer and started turning lights on in the store. I saw a couple of men hanging out across the street from my shop, leaning casually against the opposite building. They looked vaguely familiar, like I’d seen them in here before. Maybe they wanted to talk about bringing their dog or something.

  I didn’t have time to wonder any more about it, though. I had a full schedule ahead of me today. The daycare was fully booked, plus I had a few grooming appointments. I was grateful yet again for Charlie coming in later. I’d need the help.