“Hey.” He lifted his bearded chin in greeting.
“Hey. I’ve got the list of local rescues for you,” I told him, pulling it from my pocket. Alaric’s eyes tracked the movement, and his fingers brushed against mine as he took the paper from me.
“Thanks again,” he said.
“Don’t mention it.” I waved my hand. “Although…” I bit my lip, considering.
“Although what?”
“Well, I’m not sure how quickly the rescues will be able to get to you. There’s a pet store downtown that’s very knowledgeable with pet care. I’ve gone there with questions about Dahmer before. I wrote the address down for you.”
“Do they have grooming there?” he asked, his brow furrowing.
“I believe so.” I nodded. “But I think it might be self-serve.”
“A self-serve dog wash?” he repeated, arching his eyebrow, amused with the concept.
“Yeah. Places that’ll do it for you usually make you book an appointment.”
“If he’s going to stay even temporarily, he needs a bath.” He sighed, sounding displeased.
“Tell you what—I’ve got to go there for cat food. I’ll head home and change, and you go get the dog. I’ll help you give it a bath.”
“Why would you do that?” he asked, chuckling.
“Like I said, I’m a bleeding heart. Even though I can’t take him, I’ll help you find him a home. Plus, I have experience with this. I did my high school volunteer hours at a dog groomer’s,” I added, winking.
He exhaled deeply, considering me. “All right. Give me an hour, though, I don’t live in town.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “I need to lock up the office and change. I’ll see you then.”
Alaric looked a little surprised by my dismissal, but a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, and he nodded, walking back through the shop door. I locked it and grabbed my purse, heading for the glass doors, feeling giddy with possibility.
I sped home, changing into a pair of black yoga pants and hesitated before the Batman t-shirt. Nibbling on my bottom lip, I tugged on a Wonder Woman t-shirt instead, twisted my hair up into a messy ponytail and fussed over my reflection in the mirror.
The insecure, naïve girl I used to be in high school poked her head up, muttering knock-me-down comments about how out of my league Alaric was. I shoved the bitch back in her box; I worked too hard to let her take me down again.
Before leaving, I topped off Dahmer’s food bowl, purposefully not acknowledging the almost-full bag in the cupboard. So what if going for cat food had been an excuse? There was no harm in stocking up, and I wanted to help Alaric with the stray dog.
And yeah, maybe I wanted to spend a little more time with him. I’d be mad not to hope for a repeat when the night between us still lingered.
It didn’t help that I constantly revisited that night in my mind, drawing inspiration for my novel from it.
I called himdickspirationbecause his dick was my inspiration. Or at least, the way his dick had made me feel that night. I wouldn’t mind reliving it. For research purposes, of course.
Grabbing my bank card, wallet, and phone, I walked out to my car. It didn’t take me long to drive to the pet store, and I parked against the curb out front, behind Alaric’s truck.
My heart thumped with nervous anticipation as I pushed open the door and strolled inside the pet store, my eyes moving to the back of the room, where the dog wash was set up. I could see Alaric trying to coax a large black dog into the stall.
The dog must have weighed a hundred pounds, if not more, but Alaric picked it up as if it weighed nothing, lifting it into the stall. He tied the leash up to the hook and paused to stroke the animals’ face. He spoke quietly to him, murmuring words I couldn’t make out.
“Who’d have thunk it; you’re a big old softie underneath that tough exterior,” I remarked, my voice making my presence known. Alaric glanced at me as I leaned against the tile wall. I held my hand out for the dog to sniff, offering him a playful smile. “How’d you find him again?”
“I was working on a project, and he walked right into my garage.” Alaric stroked the dog’s face with his eyes still on me.
“Were you welding?” I teased.
“Maybe,” he replied, the corner of his lip lifting up.
