“I do.” She hesitated for just a moment. “I’m actually… I would love your opinion on this. Sarah isn’t out of surgery yet, so Grace can’t actually ask her, but I want to pay for Hope’s surgery. I just don’t want Sarah to take it badly if I make the offer. Do you think she’d let me?”
“Absolutely. Sarah would do anything for that dog.” Zeus shook his head. “If I’d known Hope needed surgery, I would have already offered to pay. I probably would have had to push a little but not very much. She loves that dog a lot more than she loves her pride. In fact, I’d like to go halves on the surgery with you, so that you’re not entirely out of pocket.”
“I can afford it on my own, but I’m also not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.” Yas smiled at him. “Thank you.” She had a really nice smile. Especially when it was focused on him.
At some point, she’d gone from non-threat to possible flirtation, which was really interesting. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually felt like flirting with someone.
Maybe it was because of the way she’d handled herself around this whole situation. She was taking on a lot of responsibility and effort she really didn’t have to.
Absolutely no one would have blamed her for not feeling comfortable coming to check on Sarah in the first place. The fact that she’d come out here on her own, without someone with her, made his hand itch. If she was his sub, he’d spank the hell out of her for pulling a move like today.
“Would you mind if we exchanged numbers?” he asked, pushing the thoughts of flirtation out of his mind. That was not why he was asking. He wasn’t in the market for a new relationship, not after being burned so badly on the last one. “If you could update me on how Sarah’s doing, I would appreciate it, and that way we can coordinate for Hope. If she needs anything or she becomes too much, you can always text or call me.”
“Oh, yeah, that would be great.” Yas pulled her phone out of her back pocket without a second of hesitation, which made Zeus feel a little better.
A few minutes later, he’d finished helping her load Hope’s food into her car and gave her a wave as she pulled out of Sarah’s driveway, her phone number tucked safely away in his Contacts.
What a very strange day.
Chapter 8
Yasmine
Holy crap.
Yasmine didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or have a total breakdown as she navigated her way out of Sarah’s neighborhood. Maybe a bit of both. That had been… terrifying in some ways, but also this was going to be one of those stories she’d be telling for the rest of her life. A confluence of events that were stranger than fiction.
As for Zeus, that was one seriously hot man.
Something about his name was niggling in her brain, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It wasn’t exactly a usual name. Sure, she could have just been thinking about the mythological figure, but it felt like there was some other reason she should know his name. She just couldn’t remember exactly why.
At least she had the food for Hope now. And the phone number of someone familiar with the dog who had a key to Sarah’s house. Zeus had asked her to just text anytime she wanted to go in, so they could lock the back door. She had to admit that gave her some relief because there had been a tiny voice in the back of her head worried about someone being able to waltz right in while Sarah was in the hospital.
Now, she didn’t have to worry about that if she needed to go back for some reason, Zeus would be able to let her in. Hopefully, she’d gotten everything and wouldn’t need to go back.
And no, she did not feel any disappointment about not having a reason for a future interaction with Zeus.
She was off men right now. At least, for anything other than an occasional scene at The Outlands. While Zeus carried himself with confidence, there was a difference between that and being a Dom. On the other hand, would it be the worst thing to have a hookup that wasn’t a scene with someone who wasn’t connected to the club?
She’d already been considering going down to D.C. to the club down there, just to get away from the scene up here. Not that there weren’t plenty of good Doms up here, but she’d had a craving for something different. Somewhere people didn’t know her or her curse. Even at the house parties here, there was a lot of crossover with Outlands membership.
It might be nice to hook up with a total stranger. And she would swear the zings of attraction she’d felt when talking to Zeus were mutual.
There was just a way a man looked at a woman when he was interested in her. She hadn’t missed that he’d tried to make himself less intimidating and more approachable once she’d introduced herself. Which had been greatly appreciated as a woman alone in a house faced with a strange man.
The thoughts circled around in her head the rest of the way home.
So, when Hope came to greet her, wagging her tail happily, then went to settle down on her bed and watch Yasmine make dinner, Yasmine snapped a quick picture of Hope resting and watching. She texted it to Zeus and grinned when she got a happy face emoji less than a minute later.
Zeus
Definitely more settled than when she was at my house.
Yasmine
Glad to hear that! She seems okay, so maybe she really was looking for Sarah at your house.
Zeus
