“Could be a number of things. Too warm, too cold, too cramped.”
August yawned. The smudges under his eyes were darker today than yesterday.
“Why don’t you go take a nap, you were up all night.”
“I slept.”
“When?”
“I got to bed at three or so.”
“And you were gone by six.”
August shrugged. “They were hungry. Maybe she’s not making enough milk.”
It was possible. Eight puppies was a fairly large litter for a wolf. In the wild, at least half of them would have been lost within the first couple of nights. And maybe a few of Daisy’s would have been lost, but August had diligently fed them whenever they complained.
August gave Keegan a sad smile. “Will you please be mad at me?”
“Nope.” Keegan put another chunk of wood on the block.
August walked over. He took the ax from Keegan’s hand and put it aside. “Why not?”
Keegan slid his hands around August’s jaw, cupping his face. Locks of dark hair made ringlets over his temple. Keegan pressed his forehead against August’s.
Confusion left lines across August’s forehead. He sighed and closed his eyes.
Keegan encouraged August to lean against him. He did and rested his head on Keegan’s shoulder.
“I was an asshole.” August wrapped his arms around Keegan’s waist. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Keegan combed his fingers through August’s hair.
“I’m really sorry.”
Keegan chuckled. “It wasn’t even that cold.”
“Thirty-one degrees.”
“Like I said, practically summer.”
August laughed then pressed his nose against Keegan’s neck. “You smell good.”
“You used to tell me I smelled like a dog.”
“Yeah, but this is just you. Your sweat. No fur.” August huffed a breath against Keegan’s throat. He followed the warm puff of air with his tongue.
“You really should go take a nap. You’re tired.” Even as Keegan said it, he pushed his hands under August’s shirt. Plains of tawny muscle pressed against the palm of Keegan’s hands. It had taken months after they’d left Alaska before August had returned to a healthy weight. It shouldn’t have been possible for the man to be any more perfect.
Keegan followed the line of August’s ribs then around to his chest where he thumbed August’s nipples.
He gasped. “Still feels good when you do that.”
“And you still sound surprised.” Keegan brushed his lips over August’s jaw, the shadow of his beard prickled Keegan’s lips. If August hadn’t shaved in a couple days, then he really was tired.
“I shouldn’t be.” August turned his head. The brown of his eyes was a shade closer to black. “Everything you do feels good.” August tugged up the hem of Keegan’s flannel shirt. Ice raced along Keegan’s stomach.
“Jesus, your hands are freezing.”
“Mmm—and you’re a furnace.”
“You should be wearing gloves.” Some of the chill left August’s skin, but there was still enough to add a bite to his touch when he slipped a hand into the waist of Keegan’s jeans.
“Why? I’ve got you to keep me warm.” August undid the button on Keegan’s pants.
Keegan caught August’s mouth and pushed in his tongue. At the same time, August pulled down the zipper of Keegan’s jeans. Those cool hands wrapped around Keegan’s burning cock. Ice and fire, a touch that burned and chilled. August squeezed, and Keegan grunted.
“Tell me what you want.” August bit Keegan’s bottom lip then sucked away the sting.
“You.” Keegan tugged open August’s jeans. “Always you.”
There had been a time after they escaped Alaska when Keegan was in the hospital, and later in FBI custody, he’d feared what August felt for him had only been because of the dire situation in Alaska. Two men, both desperate to survive, one feared the elements the other feared the loneliness. Keegan had no idea when he had fallen in love with the man in front of him. The moment he pulled him from the plane, later when he nursed his broken body or the day August promised Keegan anything he wanted as long as he wouldn’t leave August alone in that cabin.
But he knew he loved August. It was never a doubt in Keegan’s mind. He just couldn’t be sure August loved him. Not because of anything August did, but because of everything that had happened.
Desperation did strange things to a man. Fear, even stranger. And even though it had killed Keegan to open his hands and let August go, he had. He’d given August the freedom to make his choice. Whether to stay with him, go back to the man who’d left him, or to pursue a whole other direction.
At the time part of him hoped August would leave. Not because Keegan wanted him gone, but because he knew the destruction it would do to August’s life if he’d wound up in prison for running from the FBI all those years ago. August deserved happiness not a lifetime worth of regrets.
But August chose to fight for Keegan’s survival, just as hard as Keegan had fought for August’s in the bush.
It was then Keegan knew, no matter the circumstances that brought them together, what they felt for each other was real.
August stroked Keegan’s cock, sliding his palm up the length, to the blunt end. There he thumbed the wide head, tracing the glans, smearing the precum leaking from Keegan’s slit. The cold air kissed his damp skin adding another pleasure to the already growling bliss. Keegan freed August from his jeans, and he held their cocks together.
“I’m going to make you come.” August rasped his teeth over Keegan’s jaw. “Would you like that?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Keegan moaned as August quickened his strokes.
“Then after dinner, I’m going to fuck you and make you come again.” August pushed Keegan back until he was pinned against the stack of wood. He slid both hands into August’s jeans and squeezed his ass cheeks.
“I’d like that.” And Keegan would. The feel of August’s cock in his ass. The power of his thrusts, the knowledge he was at this man’s mercy. After Keegan escaped Salvatore’s cartel, he’d sworn to never be helpless again. But that’s all August made him. And he didn’t care. He didn’t care because he knew August would never use it to hurt him.
Keegan pushed two fingers down August’s crack to his opening. He widened his eyes and quickened his strokes.
“You like that.” Keegan made it a statement August slid his other hand around Keegan’s waist, between his ass cheeks, and pressed his fingers against Keegan’s hole. He growled.
“Sounds to me I’m not the only one.”
Keegan covered August’s mouth with his and August filled Keegan’s mouth with his tongue. They warred, teeth clashing, stealing each other’s breath, drinking down wanton sounds. Their exhales left moisture on their skin and white clouds in the air.
Static danced down Keegan’s spine while crawling up his legs. The weight in his balls tightened, his insides twisted.
“I love you.” Keegan fed August the declaration. “I love you so goddamned much.”
August rose up on his toes. Wet heat rushed over Keegan’s cock. August’s release sparked Keegan’s, and the wall of ecstasy crashed through him. Ropes of cum joined the mess August had made.
August lifted his hand. Cum dripped from his fingers. He pushed two into Keegan’s mouth.
“After dinner, we do this again.” August panted against Keegan’s cheek.
Keegan held August by the wrist and sucked his thumb between his lips cleaning away the cum. “Absolutely.”
*****
August added a heaping cup of yogurt to the mix of raw chicken, beef, and veggies.
If Daisy planned on bypassing the meats and veggies for the topping, she was going to have to lick it off every piece. And if she managed to do that, August’s next plan was the food mixer. Puree everything then there would be no way she’d avoid the extra vitamins.
August put the dir
ty ladle in the sink and carried the bowl into the living room.
“Lunch is up, Daisy.” August set the food next to the water bowl. Everything had been moved closer to the Christmas tree. “C’mon Daisy, get up, it’s lunch. You can lick puppy butts later.” August got to his knees and dipped his head under the tree branches.
Puppies lay piled on top of one another, their little limbs jumping and twitching in their sleep. Every so often one would pop its head up like it had hit a speed bump in its dream.
Eight beautiful, perfect puppies.
But no Daisy.
“Keegan?” August walked into the bedroom. “Keegan?” The door to the garage where Keegan had a wood shop set up, opened.
“I’m out here.”
August walked back across the living room. Keegan caught up to August while he made a quick check under the table, behind the sofa, the chairs…
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find Daisy.”
“Did she move the puppies?”
“No, they’re still there.” There were several inches of snow on the back porch this morning. Fresh paw prints cut across the deck. “She must have gone outside.” But that would have been an hour or more ago.
Worry raked claws through August’s chest. He went to the door and opened it. “Daisy?”
“I’ll go look.”
“Hang on, I’ll go with you.” August grabbed his boots sitting on the doormat and shoved his feet into them. Keegan was already at the bottom of the steps leading into the sloped backyard by the time August crossed the deck. The cold bit into his shin making his bad leg ache.
“Do you see her?” August hurried to catch up.
Keegan’s attention was on the line of paw prints leading out from the house. The edges were smooth enough to suggest the recent light snow shower had happened after Daisy went out.
Keegan headed towards the woods. He stopped at the edge where the snow lost its grip, and the forest floor was a sheet of rich earth. The ground appeared undisturbed, but Keegan moved forward scanning the ground and changing direction in a winding path that led them back towards the house.
August was so focused on Keegan he didn’t even register why the man had stopped. Then Keegan looked at August.
Daisy lay under a holly bush. The fear and worry building in August shredded him from the inside. He ran but put his bad leg down first and wound up on his hands and knees. Mud packed between his fingers and pine needles stuck to his skin. August froze with his hands inches above Daisy’s coat. She didn’t move. She didn’t open her eyes.
The world fractured until the tears broke loose. “Daisy.”
Keegan knelt beside August and pushed his hands into Daisy’s coat. “She’s alive.”
The words should have brought some comfort to August, but for some reason, it shattered the rest of his composure.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Keegan picked her up. “I don’t know. C’mon.” He led the way back to the house.
Winter clung to Daisy’s coat even inside. How long had she been out there? An hour? More? Less? August should have been paying attention. He should have been watching her and the puppies, not eating breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, or even showering. Now Daisy was hurt because he hadn’t been there to keep an eye on her.
Keegan laid Daisy down on the floor next to the wood stove. He ran his hands over her face, her legs, her chest, down to her stomach. There he worked his fingers against her abdomen and swollen breasts filled with milk.
Keegan felt her flanks and touched the wet fringe just under her tail. His fingers came away with a smidge of brown and green. He lifted sniffed the fluid and wrinkled his nose.
“I think she has an infection.” There was more on the underside of her tail where it had leaked from her vulva.
“Is she going to be okay?” August petted her head and kissed the spot between her ears.
“Let’s get her to Dr. Winston’s.” She’d been the veterinarian Dr. Anderson recommended to August and Keegan to take care of Daisy. They’d only seen her a couple times. First to get shots and rabies tags, then later when they needed to make sure Daisy was legal since she wasn’t a domestic dog.
“It’s Sunday.” August grabbed his coat, keys, and wallet as Keegan carried Daisy to the door.
“Her home number is in my phone.” Keegan nodded at his cell laying on the table with his wallet. “She insisted putting it in my phone in case we needed her.”
And right now, they needed her more than ever.
August collected Keegan’s wallet and phone. “Wait, the puppies.” August stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
“They’ll be fine for a couple of hours. They’re warm, and they’re fed.” Keegan hurried to the car and August followed. He dialed Dr. Winston on the way. The phone rang. August opened the back door and Keegan laid Daisy on the seat.
“I’ll ride with her.” August got in and placed Daisy head on his lap. The line picked up. He’d almost forgotten about calling Dr. Winston because Daisy opened her eyes.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Winston, this is August Vallory. I’m sorry to bother you at home but…” August’s voice cracked.
Keegan started up the car.
“Daisy’s owner?”
“Yes, ma’am. She’s sick. We don’t know what’s wrong with her. If you don’t mind, could you please—”
“I’ll meet you at the clinic.”
Before August could even say thank you, Dr. Winston hung up.
The snow returned in large fat flakes, covering the dirt road leading from the cabin. The stretch of three miles had never seemed so far until that moment.
August petted Daisy’s head. “Do you think it was something I did?”
Keegan’s gaze reflected back in the rearview. “No, August, it’s nothing you did.”
“Why didn’t I notice she was sick?”
“Sometimes we don’t. Especially when the animal is really tough.”
And Daisy was the toughest bravest creature August had ever known aside from the man sitting in the front seat.
Keegan pulled out onto the main road. Piles of gray slush edged the sides, and salt and gravel crunched under the tires.
Daisy whined, and August rubbed her ears. “It’s okay. We’re gonna get you to the doggy hospital, and they’ll fix you right up.” August did not want it to be a lie. “And when we get home you’re going to eat all those vegetables you hate so much.”
Daisy weakly thumped her tail against the seat.
Dr. Winston’s SUV was already in front of the clinic when Keegan pulled into the parking lot. He stopped by the front door and August got out with Daisy in his arms.
“You want me to take her?” Keegan shut the driver’s side door.
“No, I’ve got her.” Daisy was August’s responsibility. He’d already let her down by not realizing she was sick.
Dr. Winston met them at the door. She had her hair up in a bun and wore pajamas.
“I sorry we woke you up.” August slipped past her. Keegan followed.
“I was just lounging. I don’t get dressed on the weekends unless I have to. I didn’t think you’d care if I showed up in sleepwear and with no makeup.”
Never. August was just grateful she was willing to come in.
Dr. Winston motioned towards the door leading to the back. “This way. I have a table set up for her.” She snatched a stethoscope off a hook. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“She had puppies about a week ago.”
“Puppies.”
“Yeah, we didn’t know she was pregnant. I just thought it was winter coat.”
“Some breeds of dogs are excellent at hiding pregnancy. Wolves, especially. They have to be able to hunt when carrying.”
August laid Daisy on the metal table and stepped back. Keegan put his hands on August’s shoulders.
“When did you notice her not feeling well?” Dr. Winston looked in Daisy’s eyes, her mouth
.
“I didn’t. Not until today. She has a dog door and goes in and out when she wants. I didn’t realize she hadn’t come back in until I went to feed her.” A vice squeezed August’s throat. Now that he’d said it all out loud it was even more obvious how neglectful he’d been.
“She was collapsed in the woods.” Keegan massaged August’s shoulders. “Not far from the house. I checked her over. There was discharge on her back legs.”
Dr. Winston took out a pair of rubber gloves from the box under the table. She put them on. “How have the puppies been acting?”
“Fussy.” August had to fold his arms to keep himself from reaching out to Daisy. “I started bottle feeding them, and that seemed to help.”
Dr. Winston popped the ends of the stethoscope in her ears and pressed the drum against Daisy’s chest. After a long moment, she moved it down. “Her heartbeat is strong.” She took the earpieces from her ears and plucked a thermometer from a container with blue fluid. She wiped it off and lifted Daisy’s tail.
Daisy opened her eyes.
“Easy girl. I’m just going to take your temperature.” Dr. Winston nodded at the microscope on the counter. “There are slides in the box over there. Can you bring me one?”
August did.
The digital thermometer beeped. “She has a temperature, 103.5.”
“Is that high?”
“Dogs run about 101 to 101.5, so it’s not horrible.” She took the slide and dabbed it against the drop of discharge on the tip of Daisy’s vulva. “Stay here with her while I have a look at this.”
August petted Daisy’s side. Keegan joined him. His big hand following August’s strokes.
“I don’t want to lose her.” He wasn’t even sure Keegan had heard him till he kissed him on the temple.
“You won’t. She’s strong, and she’ll do anything for you, you know that.”
“Why do I feel so guilty?”
“Because you love her.”
It was the way Keegan said it that made August look at him. Keegan watched Daisy with a cross of worry and affection.
For a long time after they had returned from Alaska, Keegan had been riddled with guilt. As if somehow, something he had done or didn’t do had made August think he loved him. The bush had brought them together, and yeah, August had been terrified. And while their first encounter might have been born from August’s desperation, the rest hadn’t. If anything, returning to the lower states had allowed for August’s feelings to grow.
63 Days Later: A Holiday Tail Page 4