Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
It was all very… normal.
Familiar.
Easy.
Judging by the way I kept catching Dylan watching me with scrunched brows, I figured maybe she was thinking the same thing.
Good.
It was selfish of me, but I was kind of hoping this job would last at least three or four more days. Just long enough for Dylan to stop trying to trivialize what was clearly between us.
Because if it was over too fast, I had a feeling that Dylan was going to retreat to her club, shut herself in, and refuse to see me again.
That, well, I couldn’t let that be the end of this.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dylan
Syn was my new favorite person.
Was that almost entirely because he’d been quick to suggest a local dog-friendly park to take Sugar to after we all agreed that we couldn’t do anything about the clubhouse during the day, and Saint and Colter conveniently decided to hit the store for some wireless cameras, so they couldn’t tag along?
I just needed some space.
Because this morning was… a lot.
Well, a lot for someone like me, anyway. Someone allergic to touchy-feely shit like affection and, God forbid, feelings.
I’d woken up to realize I’d climbed Colter like a tree in my sleep. And, what’s more, it felt good to be there.
Then I tried to move, and it felt a whole different kind of good.
Some part of me wished we’d just fucked and gotten it over with. But having him go down on me, having it all be one-sided and oddly intimate, that was what was screwing with my head.
Sex was easy.
Uncomplicated.
The way he selflessly took care of me, but denied me doing the same for him because he didn’t think I wanted it enough… that was complicated.
Standing there and watching him take care of himself? That had, again, felt really intimate.
Which was why I was quick to storm out afterward.
To get some space.
To get a shower.
To think.
All that thinking did jack shit, though.
Then coming out to find he’d not only fed Sugar, but cleaned up after her and helped me inject my insulin had made the uneven ground I was trying to stand on even more unsteady beneath my feet.
Because it was nice, dammit.
To have someone take care of things.
To have someone try to take care of me.
No matter how much I grumbled about it.
So getting an afternoon away from it all with Syn and Sugar was exactly what I needed.
The problem?
As soon as we got to the park, all my thoughts kept drifting back to Colter. Weird shit like what he would say about the walking paths, like asking if he was someone who liked camping when we passed the grounds or if the military cured him of wanting to sleep in unusual places.
Eventually, there were even thoughts about sneaking off the paths and into the trees, of him backing me up against it and kissing me until I felt it in my toes.
“Well, if we don’t turn back soon, we’re going to be taking turns carrying her,” Syn said when he looked down at Sugar, whose tongue was hanging out.
We hadn’t really come to a decision on what to do with her when we left. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to be in the hotel room alone. But we were all concerned that something on the grounds at night might startle her and make her let out a whine or woof. We debated the car since it was temperate out, but were worried if some passerby saw her, they might take her or call the cops.
It was feeling like the hotel was the best bet for her. She would be beat from all the exercise. I could put on a fish tank playlist to watch. She’d have her toys and the run of both bedrooms. She would be fine.
But I might consider asking Colter and Saint if we could leave one in the room to keep an eye on her while we were gone. For my peace of mind.
“Yeah, we need to get some dinner before we head out too,” I agreed as we made our way back to Saint and Syn’s car.
By the time we got back to the hotel, Sugar had to almost be dragged out of the car.
She barely had the energy to hop herself up onto the bed before she passed out hard.
“Good walk?” Colter asked, coming in through the connecting door.
“I wanted her good and tired. I think we should leave her here. She’s good alone. My neighbor assured me she never barked when I had to leave. She should be good.”
“I figured that was going to be the decision. So I got you this,” he said, going back into his room to grab a bag. He came back and handed me a box. A camera. “To keep an eye on her while we’re gone. You can talk to her through it. And even distribute treats to her. Which I also picked up,” he said, pulling them out of the bag. “And, of course, a burner to put the app for the camera on.”