His instinct was to close his eyes and savor the sensation of driving so deep inside her, but he forced himself to keep them open. He wanted to look at her. He needed to witness the bliss traveling across her face as she reached for him, lifting her hips to meet his every thrust.
He braced his hands on either side of Evie’s head and quickened his pace, pushing deeper. He could feel her coming apart underneath him at the same time pressure began to build at the base of his spine. It took only a few more thrusts before pleasure exploded within him, his body shaking violently with the force of his orgasm.
He rolled off Evie and collapsed alongside her, quickly reaching over and pulling her so that she lay on top of him. He doubted five minutes had passed before both he and Evie fell into a deep, exhausted, satisfied sleep.
Bryson heard his phone vibrating on the bedside table. He picked it up and stared at the time: 4:46 a.m. Nothing good could come from a phone call at this time of the morning.
He frowned at the number on the phone, debating whether to even answer, but something in his gut told him that even solicitors wouldn’t be calling before five in the morning.
Peering down at Evie, who stirred but didn’t wake, Bryson pressed the screen and said, “Hello?” in a low voice.
The shaky voice on the other end made the hair on his neck stand on end.
“Shit!” Bryson said. “Give me twenty minutes. I’ll be there with Evie.”
“What’s wrong?” Evie asked, sitting up in bed.
“Outbreak at The Sanctuary. Odessa thinks it’s parvovirus. The dogs started showing symptoms late last night. She said she couldn’t sleep so she went in to check on them. It looks bad.”
The virus took at least five days to incubate, so they all must have been infected at the same time.
He and Evie both jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. She only had the red gown she’d worn to the party, so Bryson grabbed a pair of drawstring joggers and a sweatshirt from the closet shelf and handed them to Evie. The clothes were at least three sizes too big for her, but she would fit right in with any of the kids he saw hanging at the bus stop wearing oversize hoodies.
“Were the dogs not vaccinated?” Evie asked. “Don’t answer that. It was rhetorical. I know you have no idea about the vaccination records. It’s just that this—whatever it is—was preventable.”
“Let’s just get over there so we can see what’s going on.”
It proved to be as bad as Bryson had imagined. Of the nineteen dogs currently housed at The Sanctuary, eleven were experiencing symptoms of canine parvovirus, some more severe than others.
He learned from Odessa that Doc was visiting his sister in Gulf Shores this weekend.
“There’s no need to disturb him on vacation,” Bryson said. “It would take at least three hours for him to get here. If we don’t have things under control by then, there won’t be anything Doc can do.”
Evie gave Odessa her phone. “Go to my contacts and search for Cameron Broussard. Let him know what’s going on and that he’s needed here.”
“Really?” Bryson asked, pulling a stethoscope from the table of supplies and handing another to Evie.
“He’s a good vet,” she said, taking the stethoscope. “This is bigger than my feelings or your ego. It’s about the dogs.”
She was right. He fucking hated that she was right, but she was.
He and Evie started with the assessments. It was clear that two of the dogs—two puppies, which were the most vulnerable to the highly contagious virus—were in need of immediate attention. Their tiny bodies jerked violently.
“I’m not sure monoclonal antibodies will be enough for them,” Evie said. “They need a plasma transfusion.”
“I need to get them to the animal hospital,” Bryson said.
“I can’t handle all these dogs by myself,” Evie said. “Odessa,” she called over her shoulder. “Can you find Ashanti Wright in my contacts and tell her I need her here asap.”
Five minutes later, Ridley came through the door.
Evie’s voice rose in clear surprise. “Ridley?”
“Ashanti sent me to pick up sick puppies?” she said. “What? She said it was an emergency and I was two blocks away.”
“It’s not even six a.m. What are you even doing out at this time of the morning?”
“Get out of my business and give me the damn dogs,” Ridley said. “Where am I bringing them?”
