Chapter 10
JULIAN
I’m a huge proponent of neutering, but since the foundation primarily works with large breed dogs who are prone to orthopedic problems if neutered too young, we usually give the new owner a certificate for free neuter at their local vet.
The certificate was in Ranger’s packet, but I must’ve forgotten to discuss it with him.
Now, none of this would normally be a big problem, but when I got out of my truck to come into the house, I heard coyote howls not too far off, and if I had to guess…
“He’s, well, he’s horny,” I bite the bullet and explain.
Ranger’s eyes drop to Benny’s penis and go wide, his cheeks blushing pink. It’s totally not adorable to see a big, tough army ranger blush. Nope, not doing a thing for me. On another note, denial is not just a river in Egypt.
“Horny?” He coughs. “Um, okay, one more weird question, but is his…uh…his penis supposed to look like that?” Ranger gestures vaguely, and I can’t decide if I want to laugh or dig a hole to bury myself in.
I’ve never been particularly shy about sex, but having to explain a dog’s erection to a ridiculously attractive, mostly naked man…
in his bedroom…in the middle of the night…
yeah, this is a little much. It definitely doesn’t help that I may or may not have been having a semiracy dream about said mostly naked man right around the time my phone rang.
“It’s normal,” I assure him. “That’s his knot, and, uh, yeah, we’re going to give Benny some privacy and stop staring at his dick.” I encourage the dog to put his leg down to protect his virtue.
I turn away from the bed and bump right into Ranger and his miles and miles of bare skin. He chuckles, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me before I can topple backward or otherwise make an ass of myself…again.
“Thanks.” I smile and take a step back to put a little space between us.
My eyes, acting entirely of their own volition, drop to the front of his very tight boxer briefs.
Bojangles, that is a big bulge. “I should…uh…yup,” I stammer like an idiot, closing my traitorous eyes and thumbing blindly in the direction of the door.
“Wait.” His fingers wrap around my forearm, and my breath catches while my cock perks up at the touch. “I’m sorry I got you out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“It’s no big deal. I couldn’t sleep anyway,” I lie, opening my eyes but keeping them trained on his face with great effort. Are his eyes always so sleepy-sexy?
“Do you maybe want to stay for a little while?” Ranger asks, and I fight back the hysterical excitement that rises in my chest. I dart a glance at the bed, then back at the man standing way too close and not close enough.
He doesn’t mean stay to fool around. Of course he doesn’t. We’re friends, and he was worried about Benny. Now he feels bad that he made me drive out here. That’s all.
“I have some hot cocoa powder. It’s nothing fancy but…” he offers with a shrug. The sweet vulnerability in his expression is worse than kryptonite. I couldn’t turn him down if my life depended on it.
“Sure, I’ll stay for a little while,” I agree.
Ranger hits me with a smile that nearly has me weak in the knees before he takes a step back and gestures toward the bedroom door.
Right, of course. We can’t make hot cocoa in his bedroom.
Apparently, he has no intention of putting pants on as he steers me toward the kitchen without any stops. Cool, cool, cool. This is totally fine.
The kitchen looks slightly cleaner than it did the last time I was here. Grime still stains the grout, and the table is a bit sticky, but the dishes that were in the sink before are clean and in the drying rack. Baby steps.
I’ve lied to myself enough for one night, so I’m not even going to pretend my eyes don’t linger on Ranger’s mighty fine, tight butt as he makes himself busy heating milk and mixing in the cocoa powder.
I breathe a sigh of relief when he sets a mug in front of me and then takes a seat, removing his glorious glutes from my eyeline.
Not that the alluring view of his pierced nipples is much better.
“Sorry again about getting you out here in the middle of the night for nothing,” he says, running his thumb absently over the handle of his mug and licking his lips.
“Oh, please.” I wave my hand dismissively. “It wasn’t for nothing. We have cocoa.” I lift my mug and then take a sip. The hot liquid burns my tongue and down my throat as I swallow, but it tastes pleasantly chocolaty, so I’m not complaining.
“Please tell me this isn’t the dumbest call from a worried owner you’ve had before?”
I laugh, then take another sip and relax in my seat. “Before I got into training and everything, I was a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, and we had some interesting clients.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes sparkle as he leans forward. The move seems unconscious, but I can’t be sure. All I know is that I find myself leaning a bit closer too.
“There was this lady once who decided to breed her dogs.” I roll my eyes to give him a hint about where this story is going.
Ranger’s foot bumps against mine under the table, sending little sparks all along my body, a charged energy seeming to crackle between us.
“And I guess she just figured nature would take its course and that she wouldn’t need to research anything. ”
“Uh-oh,” he says with a grin.
“Yeah, uh-oh,” I agree. “So I get this call one afternoon, and she’s frantic because her dogs are stuck together.” I pause for effect, waiting for his eyes to go wide with understanding.
“The knot?” he guesses, and I snort a laugh and nod.
“Yup, they were knotted. She told me she’d been throwing hot dogs at them for twenty minutes and couldn’t get them to separate.”
Ranger howls with laughter, and I join him.
“Oh my god, imagine being balls deep, and some crazy lady comes along chucking food at you,” he cackles between bouts of laughter, causing us both to laugh even harder. He wipes away the tears streaming over his cheeks. I’ve never seen him so joyful and free.
“I don’t know. I’ve been fucked by a few guys where the experience could’ve been vastly improved by snacks,” I joke.
His laughter dies off, and it takes me a few seconds to notice an undercurrent of heat in his eyes.
I lick my lips, and Ranger’s eyes drop to my mouth, following the motion.
My heart beats a little faster, and…I’m not sure if he’s leaning in or I am, but between one blink and the next, our lips are pressed together.
My mind short-circuits as Ranger’s hot and soft lips part against mine. He drags his tongue along the seam of my mouth, the taste of chocolate lingering.
But as quickly and unexpectedly as the lovely mouth-to-mouth started, it ends. He gasps and pulls back, leaving me suspended in space with the ghost of his kiss on my lips and a sick, guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“I’d better go.” I jump up so fast I nearly knock the chair over. Ranger tenses. I curse myself for my careless movements. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his fists clench, his chest rising slowly as he draws in a deep breath. “Sorry,” I mutter, then flee from the kitchen and out the front door.
Once I’m in my truck, I turn the music up loud enough I won’t be able to hear myself think, and I hightail it home.