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I stepped into the kennel, squatting down next to Graham and putting my hand on the dog’s belly. “Hey, Bullseye,” I said, patting him. “Do you think we can be friends too?”
The dog looked at me from the corner of his eye, like he was trying to decide if he wanted that, before he jumped back up. I gasped, leaning back and almost losing my balance as Bullseye lunged towards me, planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek. I squealed, putting my arms around him and scratching his sides.
“I’ll take that as a yes!” I giggled when the dog barked loudly at me.
“Woah, dude. She’smydate,” Graham said while Bullseye’s tail smacked him. Then he looked at me. “A beautiful woman walks in and suddenly he forgets I exist.”
My stomach fluttered, and my cheeks warmed. I looked down at Bullseye, who was staring at me like I had snacks in my pockets, and when Graham stood, my heart started to beat faster. I aimlessly patted Bullseye’s side, watching Graham filling the food bowl. His muscles flexed when he bent over, and I licked my lips, not bothering to fight the butterflies that danced inside me.
“Should we go feed the others?” he asked, offering me his hand.
I nodded, looking at the dog before I took it. “It was really nice to meet you, Bullseye.” He looked at me, giving me a pitiful puppy dog look with big, watery eyes. If we didn’t get out of here, I was going to end up taking him home.
We went into one kennel after the next, Graham filling food bowls while I played with the animals and refilled water. By the fourth kennel, we had a rhythm going. By the fourth timehearing Graham introduce me to each of the dogs, any defenses against him weakened.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me like you’re having fun,” Graham said, nudging me with his elbow before he locked the door, getting ready to move to the next.
I debated a sarcastic response, trying to convince him I wasn’t having a great time. Instead, I bit down on my lip, pulling it from between my teeth with a quiet pop. “It’s not as bad as I expected,” I said. “You were right.”
“That’s my second favorite sentence.” Graham chuckled, stepping up to the kennel and reaching for the lock.
“What’s your first?” I lifted an eyebrow.
He winked, turning the key. “I’ll tell you when I hear it.” Graham opened another kennel door, grabbing my hand. “In here.”
I followed him, expecting another excited yellow lab or yippy chihuahua to be bounding toward me. Instead, the kennel was bare. “This one is empty.” I lifted my brow, confused when Graham laughed.
“I know.” He pulled me to him, cupping my cheek in his palm. “I just had to kiss you.”
“Okay,” I whispered breathlessly just before his lips were on me. They were soft but firm, and when his tongue traced the seam, I parted them.
I whimpered when his tongue met mine, and for a moment, the world around us disappeared. The sound of barking dogs quieted, sounding a lot further away than in the same concrete hallway, and the smell of kibble disappeared with it. I snaked my arms around his neck, arching my body against his and deepening the kiss. I desperately inhaled his sweet breath and hummed.
Graham’s hands traveled firmly from their resting place on my hips to the slits in my jeans. When his finger slipped beneaththe denim, creating goosebumps on my thighs, I held my breath. He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against mine while he brushed his fingertips over my skin.
“If these holes were just a little bit bigger, I’d make you fall apart right now, butterfly.” My skin buzzed when he moved his hands from the holes in my jeans back to my waist, pulling me flush against him and holding me there. He lowered his voice, and it sounded almost husky, like it clung to his throat. “I guess you’ll have to wait.”
My pussy clenched, and I fidgeted from one foot to the other as well as I could in his tight grasp. When I swallowed, his eyes followed the lump in my throat. “What if I don’t want to wait?”
“That’s too bad.” Graham stepped away from me, and I felt bare without the frame of his arms or the hard contrast of his muscles against my chest. I gawked at him when he took another step out of the kennel, turning away but looking back over his shoulder. “It’ll be worth the wait. If you’re patient. What do you say we get out of here?”
I wanted to argue with him. The growing ache between my legs begged me to disagree with him, to tell him I needed him here and now. The look in his eyes told me to do exactly as he said and be patient, even though I wanted to feel his body colliding with mine more than I wanted my next breath. I nodded.
You’re supposed to trust me.
I did, and I followed him out of the kennel and back down the hallway in the opposite direction we needed to be going to leave the shelter. Was he taking me to a more private room? My core swirled as an excited heat settled in my belly. I nearly skipped after him. When he stopped in front of Bullseye’s kennel, my stomach sank.
When Bullseye leaped forward, bounding past Graham for me, the disappointment disappeared, replaced with competitive giddiness. Graham frowned, even though his eyes smiled, andwhen his lip twitched, I knew he didn’t mind seeing his buddy choosing me.
“I guess Bullseye has a new favorite,” I said, squatting down to be eye level with him.
“That makes both of us.” Graham’s eyes darkened when he stared at me, and the frown on his face was replaced with a grin that stretched across his cheeks as mine warmed with a deep blush. He bent down, locking his stare with mine, even as he pet the dog.
I gulped. I wasn’t used to feeling vulnerable, and I was even less used to allowing myself to give into it. The butterflies did a line dance in my stomach, and my chest heaved with a shaky exhale. His lips twitched, drawing my stare to them.
“See ya, Bullseye,” he said without looking at him.
Bullseye panted, soaking up any last-minute attention he could get before we left. “It was nice to meet you. Maybe Graham will let me come back with him again sometime.” I hoped he would. I wanted to come back and play with the animals, and maybe the next time, I would wear jeans with bigger holes in the legs.
