Page 55 of Puppy Kisses

“Have fun,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’m going to finish cleaning up in here and then spend some training time with the puppies. I’d like to do some more harness work with Uncle.”

He spoke lightly so his siblings wouldn’t feel it incumbent upon themselves to invite him along. They did that sometimes, but it was almost always because they felt guilty leaving him alone at the house rather than an actual desire for his company. No matter how many times he told them that he preferred it here, that spending a beautiful afternoon outside with two puppies was pretty much everything a man could want, they always assumed he stayed home to wallow and brood.

Phoebe proved it by offering him an alternative. “Oh, I know!” she said. “You should have Dawn take you into town to pick up that new cattle bander we ordered. They called a few minutes ago to let us know it came in. After three hours of Bea’s company, she deserves a treat.”

Dawn’s laugh filled the kitchen before he could offer a protest. “You think cow-related errands are a treat? Gee thanks, Phoebe. You sure know how to make a girl feel special.”

“Cow-related errands and reluctant movie dates with my brother—welcome to my world,” Phoebe said and popped out of the kitchen.

Adam waited only until he was sure Phoebe and Zeke were out of earshot before saying, “I’m sorry about them. You don’t really have to take me to—”

Dawn cut him short with a hand on his lower back. The sudden contact caused him to jolt. He’d had no idea she was standing so close to him, but he liked the proprietary way her hand stayed in place—holding him until his heartbeat resumed a seminormal state.

“Are you kidding?” she asked, her lips so near his ear he could feel her breath move over his neck. It was both a whisper and a caress, the soft pout of her lips practically touching his skin. “After I worked so hard to get rid of those two?Three hours, Adam. I don’t even spend that much time with my own grandparents. If I don’t have at least that many orgasms this afternoon in return, I’m giving up this whole project.”

There was no chance of his heartbeat doing anything normal after that. Only her hand on his back—that light, easy touch—kept him grounded in place.

“Why is it that everything you do seems to come with strings attached?” he managed. “I’ve never known a woman so determined to wheel and deal her way through life. You could have just helped Bea out of the goodness of your heart.”

“No one has ever accused me of having a good heart before” came her prompt reply. Her hand slid lower. She wasn’tquitegroping his ass, but the case could be made. “Nice legs, sure. A great rack, of course. Unfortunately, the curves of my cardiac system have never made the list.”

Bullshit.Adam had never known anyone with a better—or a bigger—heart than Dawn. She was the sort of person who had something nice to find in everyone, who gave her time and herself freely for no reason except that the spirit of generosity was ingrained into her soul. He wasn’t going to argue about her legs and her boobs because, well, they were amazing, but she was mistaken if she thought that was all she had to offer.

“Does this mean you’re in?” she asked, her voice low.

As if he had any choice in the matter. “Of course I’m in.”

Her lips moved the fraction more needed to make contact with his neck. The kiss she planted there was soft and slow, full of tongue and promising many more delights in store. Anyone who hadn’t been kissed by this woman might think that was an awful lot to promise in the ten seconds it lasted, but Adam knew better. Once her lips started moving over his body, they wouldn’t stop until he could no longer remember his own name.

“Excellent. Get your shoes—if you have any left—and we’ll run into town to pick up your stupid cattle bander. I’m sure the puppies will be fine without us for an hour.”

“Wait. What?”

“I know how you are,” she said, but with such warmth in her voice that he couldn’t feel insulted. “You’re the opposite of me. Work first, play later. A dog at his bone. You won’t be able to give me your full attention unless you’ve got all the tools where they belong in your toolbox.”

“I could make an exception this once,” he suggested. He was a man who liked to have his to-do list wiped clean, it was true, but he was still a man. And Dawn—her breath soft on his neck, her hair tickling his cheek, her hand still trailing toward his ass—was very much a woman.

“Oh no you don’t.” She pulled away. “I’m not about to let you get away with anything but the full Adam Dearborn treatment. Come on. If we hurry, we’ll be back in time to finish cooking this pie of yours before Zeke and Phoebe have even started their second movie.”

“Why do I get the feeling it’s never going to make it to Bea’s house?”

Her chuckle was warm and rich. “Because I wasn’t kidding when I said that food is the way to my heart. Well, one of two ways, anyway. The other takes a more direct course right up my—”

He coughed heavily. There was no way he was letting her finish that sentence while his brother and sister were somewhere inside the house. He knew most of the words for what she had in mind, and all of them would cause a hot blush to rise to his cheeks.

They’d cause other parts of his body to heat, too, but there was no help for that now. There hadn’t been help for that from the moment Dawn Vasquez had entered his life.

* * *

“What I don’t understand is why you guys don’t order this stuff from Amazon like normal humans.” Dawn’s car zipped along the highway, the familiar twists and turns leading into Deer Park so much a part of Adam’s memory that he could tell exactly where they were. “Two-day home delivery is what separates us from the apes.”

Adam allowed himself to relax into his seat. He should have known that an afternoon with Dawn would be a playful thing—an easy thing.Hemight be pining for her every second they were apart, but she was clearly here to enjoy herself.

“I love Prime shipping as much as the next guy, but I draw the line at buying specialty castration tools from Amazon.” He heaved a mock sigh. “Damn my principles.”

Dawn touched the brakes. “Wait—we’re picking up acastrationtool?”

“Of course.” Adam felt his lips twitch into a smile. “What do you think a cattle bander is? They’re very humane, I promise. All you have to do is reduce the blood flow to the testicles and they just sort of—”