Unfortunately, Athena is not so easily swayed. Our progress across the park is a zigzag from one squirrel to the next invisible smell. I’m out of breath when we reach the bench, and Mason has trailed along silently behind us.
“That was...” he says slowly.
“It was pretty good, actually,” I say with a smile. “We didn’t accost a single old lady or frighten any children.”
The eyebrow is back, making me drop my gaze. It’s not pretty good. I know it isn’t. But it’s the best I’ve been able to manage since the day I found Gavin in bed—our bed—with a stranger.
But Mason doesn’t know any of this, and he says, “You need to tell her you’re in charge.”
I haven’t felt in charge of anything in months. And also, he’s wrong. “I thought that whole ‘be the alpha’ thing with dogs was debunked.”
“I didn’t say you have to throw her on the ground and hold her there. But someone has to be the boss, and if it’s not you, it’s going to be her.”
At my feet, Athena is still for a moment, because her head is buried under one leg, licking at her crotch.
“I feel like bad things can only happen if she’s in charge.”
Mason chuckles, and I’m so busy preening under his laughter that I’m surprised when he puts his hands on my shoulders, and I let out a shocked yelp in response.
“That’s it. Head up, chest out,” he says, like he didn’t hear me squeal.
We stay like that for a few seconds longer than is socially appropriate for two guys who just met. His grip is firm, and I want to melt under it.
When the silence starts to get awkward, I tip my chin up so I can see Mason.
“Now what?” I ask.
His fingers massage into the muscles of my shoulders. “You’re tense.”
“Have to make sure I get this right.”
He speaks quietly, and for a second we might be the only people in this busy park. “Trust me, and you’ll do great.”
I want to. The degree to which I want to please him is verging on inappropriate. He’s just here to help me get my dog under control. But when a man is this close and tells me to trust him, I can’t help the way I respond.
But I trusted Gavin and look how that turned out.
I take a few stumbling steps forward, escaping Mason’s hold.
Within the next ten minutes, as I try to do what Mason is telling me, Athena seems to catch on that her usual antics won’t be tolerated and pitches a fit. She grabs hold of the leash and yanks it out of my hand. She shakes it violently, like it’s a small animal, then bunny hops around, getting herself thoroughly tangled. When I reach for her, she scrambles away, even though she only succeeds in getting the rope twisted even more around her back leg.
“Hey, honey.” Mason gets down on his knees. “Hold still.” She glares at him, blue eyes rolling, but he works with steady hands, prying the leash from between her teeth. “That’s it. Look what you did. You’re all tangled.”
“You don’t see a solid knot like that outside the backroom demos at Bold Brew, huh?” I say, louder than I mean to. Actually, I didn’t mean to say that out loud at all. Once again, I was trying to be funny to cover up my embarrassment, but I didn’t think about it before the words fell out of my mouth, and now my face is so red you could roast marshmallows on it.
Mason glances up at me, gaze assessing. Slowly, he says, “I don’t need a demo.”
I’m about to apologize or crack another ill-conceived joke—hell, I don’t know—but it doesn’t matter, because when I understand what he’s saying, my spit gets caught in my throat, making me choke on my surprised inhale instead.
Of course he’s kinky. Why wouldn’t he be? Sure, lots of vanilla types might just wander into the coffee shop to hang an ad and buy a muffin, but everything from the voice to the hands should have tipped me off.
And now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t stop. Mason, standing over me, telling me to get on my knees. Telling me to beg.
But along with the thrill of possibility is a quiver of fear, because what if he’s like Gavin?
And perving on my dog trainer is probably a bad idea, anyway. It’s like half a step removed from being hot for teacher.
But as he gently unwinds Athena from her makeshift restraints...oh god. I want that.
