Page 3 of Daddy Marc's Gem

“Oh, man!” Foster almost slipped in the pool of water overflowing from the plant bed next to the walkways. “Ugh, Dolly. Seriously?”

She must’ve either been chasing a squirrel or playing because the hose was wrapped around the spigot that was on full blast. Water and mud were everywhere. He’d definitely have to give her a bath outside before letting her in later. At least it was a warm day.

Foster moved faster, careful not to slip, but he had to get back out to the front right away before she got mud all over one of his expensive items. He grabbed her lead in case she got too riled up from strangers coming to the sale. Not that she would ever bite anyone. She was about as dangerous as a giddy toddler, but strangers didn’t know that.

As he made his way through the side gate again, he discovered he was too late. “Oh no!” Foster raced toward the poor man whose clothes were being decorated by Dolly’s muddy paws. “Dolly! Down, girl!Down.”

Dolly’s rear sashayed back and forth at a frantic pace, the fur hanging off her tail swishing like a pom pom. Clearly, shewas much more interested in greeting the stranger than obeying Foster’s commands.

Foster threw his arms in the air, exasperated at her misbehavior. Although she got excited when she saw people, she usually listened to him. The man wasn’t encouraging her to behave, either. He kept laughing and scratching behind her ears, telling her what a big sweetie she was.

Foster jogged toward the chaotic scene, out of breath once he finally reached them. At least the guy wasn’t being mean to her—even though she was in the process of annihilating his designer jeans and white shirt with more mud than Foster thought possible for one dog.He grabbed her collar, careful not to yank on her neck too hard, and dropped to one knee, putting an arm around her to hopefully help her calm down while attaching her leash. In her excitement, she started furiously licking his face, something she rarely did anymore now that she was out of her puppy stage.

“Dolly!”

Foster screwed his eyes shut, frantically whipping his head around in a futile effort to escape her sloppy kisses. A half-muffled, garbled sound came out of him, and he could only imagine what the man must be thinking.

At last, she seemed to be running out of steam, and Foster could open his eyes. He inhaled sharply. The stranger had mirrored him, dropping to one knee but on the other side of Dolly. The man whispered soothing words to Dolly while petting her. He glanced up, smiling at Foster as they locked gazes.

Foster swallowed hard, his cock twitching in his pants. “I’m...I’m so sorry. She doesn’t usually get so out of control like that.”

Holy fuck. This was one handsome man.Even if he wasn’t in the market for anyone, and who was to say the man was gay, he could certainly appreciate the outstanding eye candy.

The man chuckled, a deep throaty sound that wasn’t helping Foster’s inappropriate insta-woody.

“I might’ve encouraged her a bit, so it’s partly my fault. But she’s such a pretty girl.” He ruffled the fur on her head. “Who’s a pretty girl?” The man glanced back at Foster. “Dolly, right?”

Words failed him, so Foster merely nodded. The man’s smile grew wide. “Let’s get both you and Dolly out of the sun. Your face is a bit flushed.”

Foster choked on his own spit, his skin responding to the stranger’s observation by heating further. Nothing did it for him more than a commanding, self-assured man. The fact that the guy was over six feet tall, broad-shouldered with a masculine cut to his jawline, light beard, and chestnut brown hair with a touch of silver at the temples…

Foster resisted drooling when he accepted the man’s strong, square hand as he helped him to his feet. Dolly danced around them, still wagging her tail, tongue lolling out one side of her open mouth.

“T-thanks.”

Foster wondered how goofy of a smile he radiated. Truth be told, he was almost as thrilled about this stranger in the yard as Dolly was. It was fortunate that he didn’t have a tail. When he tore his gaze from the man’s deep hazel eyes, he noted the smears of drying mud staining the shirt and jeans of Dolly’s new buddy.

Foster slapped a palm to his forehead.“Oh no, your clothes! This is awful. Let me at least get you another shirt to wear…” Foster’s gaze traveled the length of the stranger’s frame. Any of his tees would be a belly shirt on this guy. “Umm… or a towel…or something.”

Foster winced, his face heating up again. He didn’t know what to do, how to fix the situation. So far, the man had beenvery understanding, hadn’t stopped smiling, and was even still petting Dolly and letting her lick his hand.

I wouldn’t mind licking something of his. Foster coughed into his fist.

The man smiled wider. “It’s fine, please don’t worry about it.”

“But your shirt…” Foster bit his bottom lip. “It’s probably ruined.”

He chuckled. “I doubt it. But even so, I have plenty of other shirts. Anyway, I won’t shake with you…” He held up his muddy palm. “But I’m Marc. I know it’s late afternoon, but is the sale still going on?”

Foster blinked several times. He struggled to wrap his brain around how he could possibly manage to remain coherent in front of the silver fox of his dreams, so he simply nodded.

Marc’s smile widened again. “Great. And your name?”

Foster cleared his throat. “Right, sorry. I’m Foster.” He held out his hand then remembered Marc’s muddy palm. He yanked back his offer then rubbed both of his own palms on his jeans. “Thank you for being so nice about Dolly. She escaped the backyard before I could stop her. Are you sure you’re okay?”

He chuckled. “I’m fine, and she’s a very sweet girl. But perhaps you’d let me wash my hands? I’d still like to take a peek at what you have for sale. However, I don’t want to touch any of these beautiful items when I’m this filthy.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Foster laughed shakily. “H-here, let me show you.”

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