“Okay,” Magnus said, standing tall.
“—don’t have—Okay? Really?”
“Of course. He’s your dog now.”
“Well, technically, he belongs to Camp K-9,” she admitted, staring up at him from her spot on the floor.
“Like I said, he’syourdog now.”
“Really?” Ava had never had a pet of her own, but she certainly liked the idea. “Okay then.” She took a deep breath. “Can you help me get him to the house?”
“I’ll carry him,” Trey offered. “Y’all can open the doors for us.”
And just like that, Ava fell deeper in love with both of them.
And Arbuckle, too, of course.
Chapter Twenty
Two weeks later…
Friday, September 2, 2022
Trey had spent the past two weekswith Magnus and Ava.
Most of it, anyway.
He didn’t spend every night there, claiming he needed to take care of shit at his house. The truth was, he’d only done it so they could get some alone time. They’d never requested it, but Trey was still feeling his way around this whole threesome thing. It didn’t feel as awkward as he’d expected, but he worried he didn’t understand the rules. Each time he mentioned going home, Ava would ask him to stay, but Magnus never did. Whether that was because he was giving Trey space or simply guarding himself, Trey wasn’t sure.
However, he stopped overthinking everything, figuring it would work itself out if it were meant to. Since the first time he’d watched Magnus make love to Ava, he’d started to see things in an entirely different light.
He was partly satisfied when Magnus finally broached the subject of Trey returning to work in an official capacity. It had been an easy conversation, resulting in Trey agreeing but not until he’d insisted Magnus blow him to prove how much he wanted him there. It had been a joke, but the resulting orgasm had been appreciated. Of course, he’d returned the favor, letting Magnus know that the feeling was mutual.
Did he mention Ava had watched? Yes. Yes, she had.
Not only was Trey a voyeur, turned out, he was also an exhibitionist.
Who knew?
Of course, coming back full-time required him to commit fully to the job, which included overnight shifts. He’d reluctantly agreed, admitting to Magnus his fear that something would go wrong. Magnus had assured him that he was only a phone call away—plus it would take him less than a minute to get there—so Trey had conceded.
Now, as he settled in at the camp, taking his first official overnight shift, he tried to relax. Magnus was convinced he would do fine. At least someone was. There wasn’t much he had to do except be there in the event one of the dogs needed him or in case of another emergency. Trey wasn’t sure whether all kennels were like this, but he appreciated the fact Magnus cared enough to ensure all the animals were taken care of.
“All right, y’all,” Trey said as he made his way through the kennel one last time. “It’s time for some shut-eye. Lights out in one.”
He stopped at each cage—they had seven in residence—looking in to ensure each dog was doing well. Monster, a two-year-old terrier mix, was the only one not curled up already.
“You need to rest, little guy,” Trey told him, wagging his fingers through the bars.
Monster backed up at first, then finally stepped forward to sniff Trey’s fingers.
“It’ll be mornin’ before you know it, and we’ll—” He caught himself before he saidplay, which was a trigger word for some of the others. “We’ll have a good ol’ time. And I’ll leave the door cracked, just in case.”
He went to the door and flipped off the main light. There were two nightlights plugged in. They offered enough to see clearly into the room but not disturb the dogs. Then again, he’d seen these dogs sleep in the middle of the room, in broad daylight, with others trampling around them. He didn’t think falling asleep would be a problem.
At least not for them.
He was a different story altogether.
