“Really?” I laughed. Shaking my head, I studied the dog thoughtfully. He was docile and friendly, although he appeared to be a little nervous about the bath stall. “We should probably cut the matted fur out before we try and wash him. I think it’ll hurt him if we don’t.”
“Okay.” Alaric gave me a full-blown smile, and I nearly swooned at the intensity of it. I exhaled, glancing around the shop.
“Excuse me,” I said, noticing an employee stocking the aisle nearby. “Do you happen to have scissors we could borrow?”
“Absolutely. I’ll grab them for you,” she said, disappearing behind the cashier counter. She walked over with the scissors, handing them to me. She studied the dog with a frown, taking in his state before her gaze shifted to Alaric, her lips pursing as she assessed him too.
“He showed up at my friend’s house last night. We think he’s a stray. Thought we’d clean him up a bit before posting his picture online,” I explained, and her eyes softened.
“Poor thing!” she remarked. “I hope you find his home! Let me know if I can help you with anything else.”
“Thank you,” I said, and she walked away. Without another word, I set to work cutting out the mats with an expert hand. I wasn’t joking when I’d told him I’d completed my volunteer hours at a dog groomer’s.
Once I finished the fur on my side, I moved around toward Alaric’s, shifting closer to him until I was standing less than an inch away. With that done, I showed Alaric where to put in coins to get the water and shampoo dispenser to work. He stood five inches behind me, looming over me. His scent overwhelming my senses in the best way.
I stepped from his space and grabbed the hose, walking around the dog, speaking gently to him as I sprayed the warm water. Handing the hose to Alaric so he could start the other side, I lathered the pup.
It was difficult not to glance up at Alaric every three seconds just to catch a glimpse of his god-like beauty. He’d pulled his blond hair back in a bun, and he was wearing a black t-shirt that did little to hide his muscular build. The muscles in his tattooed forearms worked as he lathered shampoo into the dog’s head.
And it wasreallyhard to not think about the last time I was with Alaric in a somewhat similar setting. Sans dog, of course.
Somehow, I managed to keep it together throughout the two baths the poor dog needed. He wasn’t a fan of the hairdryer, but once the employee brought beef liver treats over, he stopped fighting it and let it happen, growing to like the warm air, so long as it wasn’t blowing directly on his face.
It took almost two hours, and my shirt was soaked and clinging to my body, but by the end of it, the dog looked completely different. His fur was silky to the touch and a shiny black, and his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth. Alaric reached to unhook the leash, and the dog lapped at his face happily.
I grinned. “He probably feels a thousand times better now,” I said, sighing inwardly at the beautiful sight of a handsome man loving on a dog. “I know I do when I work out the tangles in my hair.”
Alaric chuckled. “Me too,” he admitted, glimpsing me, still rubbing the big dog’s ears. His eyes heated when they lingered on my skin-tight, wet shirt, but I pretended not to notice.
“He suits you,” I commented. He glanced back down at the dog and shrugged a little. Tall Norse god of a man and massive beast of a dog. They went together like peanut butter and jelly. “You should keep him.”
“We’ll see. I still want to try and find his owners.”
“He might be microchipped,” I supplied. “If you take him to a vet, they’ll be able to check.”
Alaric nodded, watching me deliberately. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Thanks for your help tonight, Gwen.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.Less is better, less is better, I repeated inwardly, trying to calm my libido and think rationally. I drew in a breath, smiling again while Alaric led the dog out of the bath stall. “Do you want me to take a picture for the rescue groups before I get going?”
“Sure.” He looked at the dog. “Sit,” he instructed. The dog sat at Alaric’s heels in front of the aisle. He pulled his phone from his pocket and passed it to me. I snapped a few pictures, getting different angles, and handed it back, resisting the urge to take a few using my own phone.
I scratched behind the dog’s ears. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I looked up at Alaric, feeling the heat behind his gaze. “If you do keep him, you should name him Tig. Since he interrupted your welding project,” I added.
“Tig, huh?” he repeated, looking down at the dog.
“Or not,” I shrugged, moving toward the door. “See you later.”
“You forgot the cat food,” he called out.
“Right.” I turned, heading for the cat food aisle. I grabbed a bag from the shelf, my cheeks on fire. Alaric nodded at me when I passed, and I went to pay while he wandered to the dog food aisle.
I tried not to look back as I left, and it took all the strength I had, but I made it to the car without peeking over my shoulder.
I drove home and parked outside of my building. I’d nearly reached the door when it opened, and Greg the slumlord stepped out, shaking his head darkly.
Noticing me, his thin lips curved in a leering smile. “Gwen. Just the girl I was looking for. Do you have my rent cheque?”
“Yes,” I said, thinking of the envelope on my table. It contained six months’ worth of post-dated cheques. So far, Greg had never crossed a line, but his creepy watching made me uncomfortable enough to remove the requirement of dealing with him. “I’ll bring it out.”
