“Or an obsession.” Dom grumbled.
“We’ve been calling her Jester, just haven’t made the name card yet.” The staffer walked up to the kennel gate and hooked the slip lead over the dog’s huge head. It was a fitting name for such a goofy girl. Jamie tightened her grip on the leash as she swung the gate open, the dog immediately running over to me.
I bent over, giving her some pets. Even as a puppy, she was big enough to plant a sloppy, wet lick across my face without lifting a paw off the ground.
Jamie’s eyes darted between us, trying to figure out who was strong enough to handle Jester’s pull. And honestly, I was a little worried myself. Jester was a big dog, and I was still realizing just how easily I could pop out a shoulder.
Leo stepped forward to grab the leash but not before Dom could shake her head. “Let your princess take her. If she wants the dog so badly, she better be able to handle it.”
Licking my teeth, I accepted the challenge and smiled at Jamie as I took the lead.
As soon as the leash was in my hand, Jester stepped to my side and went into a perfect heel. As I started to walk, Jester followed. We marched in lockstep down the hallway toward the fenced-in dog run just outside.
“What the fuck…” Spencer laughed as she watched us.
Even Jamie was shocked. “I’ve never seen that dog so calm.”
Sneaking a look at Dom, I caught a glimpse of surprise in her eyes. Whether it was about the dog’s shocking obedience or my ability to handle her, I couldn’t be sure. But I knew I liked wiping that smug ass look off her face.
As soon as we entered the dog run and took off the slip lead, Jester took off. She did a few laps around the fence, a little patrol of her own as she marked up the grass.
“We’re going to have to do something about that name.” Leo winked as she sat herself on the bench along the fenceline. She sat up on the back, her feet on the metal chair as she leaned forward. The veins on her hands bulged in the cold, her jaw looking chiseled in the winter sun.
I pulled the tennis ball from my pocket and tossed it to the end of the yard, sending the puppy into a full on sprint. She was big and fast. And god was she goofy with that neon ball in her mouth running back toward us.
Taking turns, we ran her for a while. She needed it after days in the crowded, overstimulating kennel. By the time our arms were sore, she was barely able to do a full lap around the yard.
Dom hadn’t moved from her position near the exit. Despite herself, I could tell she was keeping a keen eye on the dog.
I knew there was a reason I could read Dom so easily. All these months I couldn’t figure out why we could tune into each other so easily — even if we used the power to get on each other’s nerves.
But the history between us made it all make sense. I knew Dom, better than almost anyone else in my life. When we were little, we’d play dolls together and build snow forts in the winter. As we got older, Dom became my protector. That much I remembered.
Even Jester must have caught on to my line of thinking as she took off toward Dom. In one swift leap, she lifted her front paws and set them on Dom’s shoulders.
Face-to-face.
Dom winced under her weight. “Jesus.” Her eyes widened as she looked into the rottie’s amber eyes. From across the yard, I could see the tough swallow move down her throat.
Not so little after all.
For a moment, they stayed in a stand off. Well, I wasn’t sure Jester thought they were in one, but Dom certainly did — a little afraid to breathe around the massive beast of a dog.
Jester dropped back to the ground when she heard the shelter door swinging open.
“So, what are we thinking?” Dani called over to us from beyond the fence.
But Dom answered first. “No.”
68
KIERA
The scratchof pen on paper was clearly annoying the shit out of Dom. She hadn’t stopped shaking her head since we got inside, Leo hard at work filling out the adoption paperwork.
“Lucky girl.” Spencer cooed at Jester as she rubbed her big face. “Got yourself a couple sugar daddies.”
She could have been talking to either of us at this rate. And I couldn’t be happier.
