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Truman’s cock slid from my mouth as I let out a low groan, bucking my hips wildly against his mouth. Lightning shot through my limbs as everything in my body tingled. Was that the feeling of finally having an orgasm? To be with someone who paid enough attention to know what I needed to get there?

Sending me over the edge was all it seemed to take to get Truman there as well. Warm spurts of his cum coated my chin and chest as his cock twitched again and again. While I wished it would have been in my mouth, it was still everything I’d hoped it would be and more.

We lay there for a few minutes, panting and catching our breath before Truman rolled to his side. It was the first time I’d gotten a full view of his nude body. The man was truly a work of art. Maybe it was the first time I was seeing what everyone else in the town had been trying to tell me. Though Truman hadn’t won me over with his looks. He was a true gentleman through and through, even if he had his rougher moments.

I could feel his eyes on me, in the past, it would have had me rushing to grab the sheets to cover up or run to the bathroom, but he didn’t make me feel that way.

“Are you okay?” he asked. It made my entire body relax.

Chapter 16

Truman

Standing at the festival over the next two days wasn’t as painful as I feared it would be. At the end of it all, I ended up finding forever homes for at least six of the dogs in my care. The people who had adopted them seemed like they would be great pet parents. I’d have never met them had I not done the event.

I probably wouldn’t have met Allie either.

Okay, so I would have met her. The girl was going out of her way to make a name for herself in town. It was more than most people did when they moved to Maple Lane Falls. Some people just wanted to fly under the radar, which made sense for a small town, but where Allie was concerned? The woman stood out wherever she went. Some of it probably had to do with the camera she constantly had around her neck, but also because of her naturally friendly personality. Everyone in town wanted to get to know her.

She’d thawed my ice cold heart in ways I didn’t think were possible.

And there she was, walking through the last few booths of the fall festival with Daisy on a leash. After the first night, she had insisted on keeping the dog with her.

The truth was that Daisy looked like she’d always belonged with Allie.

When the two approached the table, I came around the front, wrapping my arms around Allie’s waist, and pulled her into a kiss. She laughed when we broke apart because it was such a shift from where we’d been when she first met me. I’d wanted nothing to do with her and her camera, but now I couldn’t get enough of her.

Daisy jumped at my legs until I leaned down to pick her up. She licked my face as I held her close. “How are my two favorite girls doing tonight?”

Allie practically glowed. “We’re doing great. There are only a few more vendors that I need to visit. Everything going okay for you?”

I looked back at the few dogs I had with me for the night. If they found homes, I’d be happy. If not, it was okay. The point of bringing them with me hadn’t been adoption—that had just been a bonus. So many people donated money to the shelter that I had enough to buy food for the next year and upgrade the fencing on the kennels. If I got a little more, I’d be able to do some landscaping to the yard out back where the dogs get to let off some energy.

The ground was mostly dirt and covered in holes since so many of them liked to dig, but if I could offer them more enriching activities, they’d stop taking it out on the soil.

I placed another quick kiss against her lips before answering her. “I’m glad I did this. Talking to people has never been my strong suit, but the dogs will be better off for it.”

Allie lifted her camera between us, turning just slightly in my hold before snapping a picture of the three of us. She turned the camera around and checked the shot on the preview screen. There was a rightness to seeing me so close to her while holding Daisy. Like we were truly becoming the little family I’d been thinking about.

We didn’t get to do a lot more talking before she took Daisy from my hold, placing her back on the ground before walking off through the stalls. I missed both of my girls the moment they were out of my sight.

And that was when I realized I needed to make that official. Allie and Daisy would be mine. I couldn’t leave Hector out. The big oaf had wormed his way in as well. Our little family wouldn’t be complete without him.

“Are you sure it’s okay I post this?” Allie asked for the tenth time that evening.

I stared at the photo she’d taken at the start of the last night of the fall festival. We’d all looked so happy together, and by allowing her to post my face on her pages... it was staking my claim. Declaring that Allison Hendrix was off the market and mine. No one else had a chance with the beautiful woman who’d swept into my life so unexpectedly.

“Just post it,” I said, taking the mouse out of Allie’s hand and hitting the button for her. As much as I’d been all about doing things on her terms, we’d been playing this game for the last hour. She’d get ready to submit the post, then chicken out. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of our relationship—she had explained to me, in depth, how a relationship status change made a huge impact for an influencer.

If people didn’t approve of the relationship, she could lose a lot of followers. Same if there was some jealousy. There were some perks to appearing single, but after I talked to her about wanting to be exclusive, it was maybe the first time I’d wanted it…

“Allie...”

She turned to face me after putting Daisy’s leash away in her closet. It was sweet how easily Daisy had become her dog, even though nothing was official. There was a cushy little dog bed in the corner and a fancy food and water dish that had daisies painted all over it.

“What’s up?” she asked, moving to sit next to me on the couch.

I grabbed her hand, bringing her knuckles to my lips and placing a kiss there. She smiled at the move before pulling her hand from my grasp. Her smile was strained as if she felt I was about to deliver bad news.