The Love Dog by Elsa Watson

Author:Elsa Watson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whistling Marmot Press
Published: 2021-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

14

I couldn’t believe the day I was having. Not only had Mason walked all the way down my hallway and stepped into my room, but then afterward, with half the studio waiting to see him, he’d stood and talked with Sam and me for wonderful minute after wonderful minute. I had sat at his feet, soaking in his smell, feeling his confidence flow through the air and attach itself to my fur, my paws, my nose.

Mason stood near me, gesticulating as he talked with Sam, sometimes frowning or nodding as she spoke. I watched him closely, absorbing every clue. He did feel something for her—now I was absolutely sure of it. And she felt...nervous around him. Tense in a sage and vinegar kind of way. Was that attraction? Or just a pack-member’s anxiety in the face of the alpha dog? It was hard to be sure.

I knew about the many forms of love. I knew there was a vast difference between the type of dedicated love I felt for Mason and the soft, assured love a puppy feels for its mother. I understood that there was love between dogs, love between friends, and the begrudging, I-put-up-with-you-because-I-have-no-choice love between colleagues and siblings. And I also knew about desire. I could smell the heat and the nervous tension floating off people’s skin when they were drawn to someone else, someone they couldn’t stop looking at.

So I knew what to look for when I gazed up at Mason and Sam. I knew what Pilar and A.J. both wanted, even if I didn’t understand the strange human issues that were keeping them apart. Thanks to my early years on the ranch, I knew that things could go wrong between human mates, the way they had with Honey and Chad. That was why my work was so important. Without help, human bonds could break forever. I’d seen it happen.

By the time Mason patted my head and turned away from Sam and me, I felt as cheery as a cheese sandwich. I pranced around behind Sam, my paws bouncing off the floor. My ears were up, tail was up, everything up, up, up. I was happy, and so was Sam.

Which was why I was surprised to feel the change in the air when the little woman in the headset appeared, her face tight and pinched. Lucas was right behind her, and when I saw the set of his shoulders, my tail drooped. I didn’t need to sniff his skin to sense his metallic anger. I ducked my head and prepared for the worst.

“I know what you’ve done,” he said, striding up to us. “Don’t pretend you didn’t do it. There’s no point. Rebecca told me.”

I opened one eye, surprised that his words hadn’t been directed at me. His voice was tight and louder than usual, but his face, his tone, and his posture were all aimed at Sam. She was the one in trouble, not me. Sam was already doing the human version of the bad-dog skulk.

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