They had less than an hour before the daycare pups would begin showing up. Used to be, dogs would lounge around the house and wait for their owners to return from work. These days, owners didn’t want their pooches cooped up alone for ten hours a day, so they brought them to places like this where they could play all day and get the attention they needed.
“Be good for me, yeah?” he muttered to his furry friends. This task worked better with more than one person since it required him to put them back in their cages, but Trey didn’t mind. Gia usually helped, but he understood she was angry with him. That was her way. Before the end of the week, she would be high-fiving him and begging him to stay. Maybe.
Rather than bitch about herding the dogs, Trey coaxed them with sweet talk, something he’d gotten reasonably good at. Franklin was the only one who gave him trouble, but Trey persevered in the end. Then it was a matter of preparing their food. He didn’t trust himself to remember all the special instructions, so he relied on the list Gia produced daily. Camp K-9 didn’t merely board dogs; they catered to their every whim. Owners were offered a selection of packages from the basic all the way up to the Grand Poobah that offered plush accommodations and a variety of special treatments for the four-legged friend, including overnight companions, extra walks, and even special treats. Basically, they would do anything the owner requested, provided they would pay for it.
However, they didn’t have any divas in residence at the moment, so Trey merely had to pay attention to the different diets of the dogs. Once the food and water were delivered, he stepped back and gave them a moment to devour their breakfast.
He was still standing there minutes later when he heard the door open, the bells overhead jingling to signal an arrival. He knew who it was, so he didn’t bother to rush to the front to greet him. If Magnus had something to say, he could come find him.
The rest of the day went much like the morning. Trey did the chores as they were due and helped the others with the dogs. Six part-time employees filled the gaps throughout the week, helping the three full-time employees—Magnus, Gia, and Billy—as needed. Trey was an addition they hadn’t budgeted for, which meant he wasn’t needed now that Magnus was back. And because of that, he felt as though he was beginning to get in the way since Magnus had resumed his role, as though he’d never missed a day.
By the time three o’clock rolled around, Trey had gotten in the way one too many times for his own peace of mind, so he decided to head out. He wanted nothing more than to tell Billy Daniels, Gia’s counterpart, that he was heading out early, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It felt like a chickenshit thing to do to Magnus, and because he’d never been one to slack off before, facing the music was his only option.
“Hey, Billy. You seen Magnus?”
Billy didn’t look up from the computer screen in front of him as he said, “In his office.”
“Thanks.”
Trey marched down the long hallway to the small room everyone referred to as Magnus’s office. It probably should’ve been a storage room due to the fact it was only six feet by six feet, with barely enough room for the cheap desk and chair Magnus used when he was forced to deal with theshitty parts of the job, as Magnus liked to refer to paying the bills. Without a window to provide light and only a single bulb in the ceiling, it felt more like a punishment than a solution to their space problem.
He stopped at the door and put his hand on the jamb, his gaze settling on Magnus sitting at the desk. Sarge was snoozing in the corner, curled up on the small dog bed Trey had snuck in here a few months ago.
Trey didn’t want to admire Magnus, but it came naturally. He’d tried to fight his insane attraction to this man from the first day he saw him at Brantley’s house, back when Reese had signed Tesha up for training. At the time, Magnus was doing on-site training for those who needed it, visiting Brantley and Reese a couple of days a week. Trey had failed then just like he failed now because, try as he might, he would never tire of looking at this man. Every time he did was like the first time, filling him with exhilaration and lust. He couldn’t explain it because he’d never had this reaction to another man before, although he’d been attracted to plenty. Not even his ex-husband had tripped his trigger the way Magnus could. Trey admired Magnus’s youth and strength, his exuberance and determination. There were times Trey felt as though if he were with him long enough, maybe he could harness some of it for himself.
Unfortunately, he would never know.
Trey cleared his throat to get Magnus’s attention. “I’m gonna head out.”
Magnus glanced up at the round plastic clock on the wall. “Early, huh?”
“Unless you need me to do somethin’ else.”
Magnus turned in his chair to face Trey directly. For a few heartbeats, their eyes met and held, not a word spoken. Trey felt the heat of Magnus’s gaze all the way to his soul.
Times like this were when he hated how things had turned out for them. He often reflected on everything he’d done that had brought him to the moment he met Magnus, wondering if he could’ve done something different along the way. If only he’d never agreed to work with Brantley, Trey wouldn’t have met Magnus. And if he hadn’t met Magnus, Trey never would’ve fallen in love with the man.
Butif onlynever got him anywhere because hehadgone to work for Brantley, and hehadmet Magnus, and hehadfallen in love with the man. Now it was up to him to move on, to get past this so Magnus could find the happily ever after he yearned for. The one he deserved.
***
Magnus couldn’t look away from Trey ashe filled the doorway of his office. He looked good. He’d been growing out his hair for quite a while now, and the dark silky strands were past his shoulders, but he kept it pulled back with a leather strap when he was working. The style accented his widow’s peak and emphasized his steel-blue eyes. Magnus preferred his hair down because it was sexy with the beard he’d been growing out. It made him look like a modern-day outlaw. However, Magnus’s favorite thing about Trey’s hair was when he had the chance to run his fingers through it while Trey was sucking his cock.
He immediately shook off the thought. The last thing he needed right now was a hard-on, although it was inevitable whenever he was around Trey. He’d never had such a visceral reaction to anyone. Not like this. His attraction to Trey wasn’t merely because of how good he looked. From the beginning, he’d felt a connection to the man, and it had grown stronger over the past year and a half. So strong, Magnus knew that if it were ever severed, he would never be the same.
Since he had a lot of experience with not spooking scared animals, Magnus got to his feet slowly. He could see the way Trey’s muscles flexed and bunched. He was gearing up to retreat, but Magnus couldn’t let him. Not until they talked about this. Magnus needed to know where they stood and how they could get back to where they’d been four months ago.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Trey said, dropping his hand from the doorjamb.
Magnus grabbed his arm and pulled, bringing him in close.
Trey’s blue-gray eyes locked onto his, his mouth forming a hard line.
“We need to talk,” Magnus told him, and it felt like the hundredth time he’d said it over the past few months.
“No, we don’t.”
“Why not? Something’s clearly bothering you. I deserve to know what it is so I can fix it.”
