Page 27 of Here Comes Santa Paws

Elias tilted his head and walked back to Carol. “She looks tired, but it could be stress from so much change this week.” He sat on the ground next to her, then turned to me. “Have you pet her?”

I scowled at him. “I’m not a heartless monster.”

Elias grinned. “I’m not implying you are. I only mean that if she lets you touch her, she’s likely not injured or in pain. I haven’t had any luck getting her to relax enough around me topet her, but if she’s letting you, that tells me she’s okay.” He felt her abdomen. She gave me an aggrieved “why are you allowing this?” look.

“That makes sense.” It might make me an asshole, but I did get a slight thrill out of being the person she liked. She’d chosen the grumpy asshole instead of the bubbly animal whisperer.There’s a first time for everything.

“Did she act weird throughout the night?”

I frowned. “How should I know? I was sleeping.”

“In the bedroom with you?”

I scoffed. “Absolutely not. She’s not allowed on my furniture.” I didn’t appreciate Elias’s knowing smirk.

He stood. “You’re doing a fantastic job with her. She wasn’t this relaxed around me at the shelter or my house. You clearly bring her comfort, but change is hard and can make animals feel funky like it does with humans. Just keep a close eye on her, and if you notice more changes, let me know, or we can call the vet. They always make time to check out shelter animals when needed, and it won’t cost you anything.” He closed the distance between us and squeezed my arm. “Trust your gut. If you think something’s off, then call. We’ll figure it out.”

“Okay, thanks.” The tension coursing through my body all day wooshed out of me. “Want a beer?”

I liked having Elias in my place and wasn’t ready for him to leave.

“I’d love one.” He followed me back to the kitchen.

I opened my fridge and bent to the bottom shelf where I kept the beer. I scanned what I had. “IPA, stout, or winter ale?” I glanced over my shoulder and caught Elias checking out my ass.

“Stout, please.”

I bent over farther and grabbed two stouts from the back of the row. Might as well give him a view to enjoy. I straightenedand pulled a bottle opener from a drawer. After popping the caps off, I passed him one.

“Cheers.”

He clinked his bottle against mine. “Cheers to you bailing my ass out twice this week. Thank you,” he said sincerely.

I nodded and tipped the bottle back. The cool malty beer coated my throat. As I lowered the bottle, I watched Elias’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the movement. Then, the little imp had the nerve to lick his lips.

Elias might be the death of me.

“Good beer,” he said.

“Yeah. Picked it up from the store.” I loathed small talk, but there was something different about this. Tension crackled in the air and the temperature felt like it had climbed ten degrees.

Elias moved to lean against the counter a couple of feet in front of me. He set the beer on the counter after taking another long swig that had my dick swelling. My drought must have been longer than I’d realized if watching someone drink beer was turning me on. Though I suspected watching Elias type at a computer might do it for me.

He played with the beer label, then looked at me from under his eyelashes. “Carol is so fond of you.”

“We all make mistakes.”

Elias studied me like an alien life-form. “Did you just make a joke?”

“No.”

His smile grew. “You’re full of surprises.”

“So are you.” My voice came out rough.

Elias took a step closer. “Carol isn’t the only one fond of you.” He said the words in the same soft tone he used with her.

I wasn’t a nervous dog. “Oh yeah?”

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