Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Blossom noticed the dogs just before she got to her fancyass ride, and her whole face lit up. “Hey, guys!” She squatted down just as all thirteen pups got to her, vying for her attention. Dog nosed her way around the pups for her own attention. Blossom ruffed her ears in both hands and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Dog gave a roundhouse wag with her tail in pure delight. When Blossom pulled back, still rubbing the dog’s ears, Dog licked her nose once. Blossom giggled and kissed the dog again before going back to the puppies. I’d named the hound Dog to keep from having to name her. She’d taken up with me when I hadn’t wanted her and never left. When her owner had finally tracked her down, she’d refused to go with him, so I’d bought her. Still hadn’t named her. But the damned bitch had followed me around everywhere I went. Was a damned fine hunter too. The guy had named a price and brought me her papers, and here I was.
“There’s my good boys and girls. You’re so pretty and, oh my God, how much you’ve grown since last week! I’m glad I got to see you before I left.” I have no idea how she kept her balance, squatted down like she was, but she managed. Even when the pups got more aggressive in their play.
She gave each of them as much attention as she could, not missing even one puppy. I expected her to draw it out and play with them until I called them off, but she didn’t. “All right now. You guys better go on back. You’ll get in trouble if Mr. Grouchypants has to come get you.” I could only assume Mr. Grouchypants was me. But, dammit, Treeing Walker Coonhounds were meant to hunt. Not play. They had to learn that early on, or they gave attitude when you put them to work.
Amazingly, as if they all understood her, Dog and all but one of the puppies took off back around the clubhouse, like they were going back to the kennel they’d Houdinied out of. I was sure they weren’t going to do that, but that was what it seemed like. The last puppy whined and settled himself as close to Blossom as he could get, not wanting to leave for whatever reason. Blossom picked him up and cuddled him for a minute, speaking softly to him and rubbing her cheek against his head. Then she set him down, and he finally scampered off, albeit at a slower pace than the others. Little fucker gave me a wide berth.
She sighed, looking a little sad and… resigned? That didn’t make sense. Then Blossom stood and slid inside her ride. With one last look at me, she started the vehicle and left. Good riddance.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
* * *
Blossom
It took everything I had not to cry. I guess Star was right. I was making a nuisance of myself. Gripping the steering wheel, I drove outside the gates of the Iron Tzars compound with a wistful sigh. One tear streaked down my cheek, but I ignored it. The prospects manning the gate waved, but I was afraid to let go of the wheel. The imitation wood grounded me with its cool, smooth texture.
There were so many things swirling in my mind. Not the least of which was that kiss. Oh, God! If I never lived to be kissed again, I knew I’d experienced something special. I might never again feel the mixture of emotions I had during those precious few moments. It was a conundrum. The juxtaposition of fear and despair with pleasure and euphoria wasn’t something I could reconcile easily.
The pleasure was indescribable. The bite of fear only added to the pleasure. Pleasure soon became euphoria. It all finally settled into despair because I realized there was no tangible way to keep those combined feelings locked away in my soul, or to keep the man who’d given them to me in my bed. It was all catching up to me now, and I was coming down from a high like I’d never experienced.
What had I been thinking? I’d hoped to make friends with enough people in the club -- men and women alike -- to feel comfortable asking for help. No one really knew much about them except that the community had a tradition of leaving them alone. They were spoken about in hushed tones, but no one really said anything negative about them. When I’d asked why, I got a shrug. I’d met Bellarose and Atlas a few weeks ago when I’d helped Rose. They’d been at a local restaurant, and I’d been exiting the bathroom when she’d been going in. She’d been sick with her pregnancy and was struggling to make it inside before she’d vomited. I didn’t know that at the time, though. It was obvious she was in distress, and that had called to me on so damned many levels. Atlas had been hot on her heels. I’d seen the expression on Rose’s face as I’d opened the door and stepped back, allowing the other woman to enter. Atlas had tried to rush in, but I’d stood in his way, unsure of what was wrong.