Page 126 of Trade Deadline

“Good, really good. He’s gained a few pounds since you saw him last,” he replies with another bright smile as he approaches his kennel. He’s tossing the toy I bought him last week up in the air, pouncing on it when it lands before throwing it up again.

My eyes fill with happy tears.

“Hey, puppy dog, it’s time for you to go to your forever home!” Brent says cheerfully.

The puppy bounds up to the gate; his tail wags in happy swishes and jumps up my legs the second I step into his kennel.

“Oh, Alex. He’s fucking adorable.” Nate coos, scratching the excited puppy’s head.

“I know. I think Blaine’s going to love him.”

* * *

“Hey gorgeous,you better be naked and ready for me because I amdesperateto get my hands on you!”

Blaine’s voice echoes through the hallway as the front door slams shut. The puppy’s head jerks up at the sound. I quickly grab hold of his collar, scooping him up in my arms to stop him from running through the house and ruining the surprise.

My heartbeat increases as I hear the thunk of Blaine’s bag being dropped to the floor and his footsteps getting louder as he gets closer.

“Close your eyes!” I say nervously.

His footsteps falter.

“Um, why?”

“I’ve got a surprise for you!” I grin at the wiggling puppy in my arms. “A special surprise.”

“Oh yeah, baby! I’m so excited to be reunited with your fine ass.”

Blaine appears with his eyes closed, as instructed. His navy tailored suit pants hug those thick thighs I love so much, and his white dress shirt is creased from his flight, his tie and jacket long discarded.

“Are you ready to meet your other daddy?” I whisper into the puppy’s ear as I walk over to Blaine, and once I’m in front of him, I say, “Open your eyes.”

Blaine opens his eyes slowly, and I watch his face change from confusion to surprise to absolute awe. “Oh my god, you got me a puppy?” His voice falters, getting higher with each word, his eyes filling with tears.

“Yes, he doesn’t have a name at the moment, but I’ve been calling him Puppy Dog for now.” I chuckle, the puppy wriggling wanting to get to Blaine.

He scoops him up in his arms, holding him up above his head, wearing the widest smile I’ve ever seen.

“I know how much you wanted to keep Boomer, so I thought now was the time for us to have our own.” I chew on my bottom lip with worry.

Blaine’s busy talking to the puppy like a baby, cradling him in his arms and allowing his face to be licked to an inch of its life. When he looks up at me, his eyes are filled with so much love and joy that my heart squeezes.

“How? What? When… when did you do all this?”

“I’ve been researching for a while, finding suitable adoption centers and what dog would be right for us, then I reached out to Colleen to find out where you found Boomer, and she pointed me in the direction of Paw-loved. Brent was the one who helped us, and when he introduced me to this little guy, his story broke my heart.”

Blaine freezes, worry etched into his brow. “What happened to him?”

“He was abandoned when he was fourteen weeks old because it turns out the owners couldn’t afford the vet bills. He had an infection, which has now been treated, but they just left him in a box on the side of the road.”

“Assholes,” Blaine curses under his breath, then his expression softens as he looks at the puppy going wild in his arms. “But we’ve got you now; you’re going to be so fucking loved. I promise.”

“And don’t forget spoiled.” I wrap my arms around the two of them, leaning in to steal a kiss from Blaine, but the puppy manages to slip his tongue between us.

“Are you going to be a cockblocker?” Blaine raises a brow at the puppy.

We burst into laughter.

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