Page 157 of The Long Game
Ilya was silent a few seconds too long, then said, “I know.”
They didn’t have sex that night because when Shane had tried to get things started, Anya had started whimpering outside Ilya’s bedroom door.
Shane paused in the middle of the trail he was kissing up Ilya’s inner thigh. “Go get her,” he said, smiling and sighing at the same time.
Ilya bolted out of bed and opened the door. “Anya, sweet girl. What is wrong? Are you lonely?” He picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Shane was sure this was setting a bad precedent, but Ilya was lying on his back with Anya’s head resting on his bicep and it was really hard to care about rules.
Shane lay on his side, perpendicular to Ilya, and rested his head on Ilya’s stomach. He joined Ilya in petting Anya, enjoying the soothing feel of soft fur and warm dog under his fingers. He put a hand on her back and felt the soft rise and fall of her tiny body as she breathed.
The room was quiet, and so full of love it was almost suffocating. And if someone had told Shane that morning he’drather pet a dog until she fell asleep than have sex with his boyfriend, he never would have believed them. But life was full of surprises.
“I think she’s asleep,” Shane whispered.
The only response from Ilya was a sigh that sounded a bit like a snore. Shane raised his head, and smiled at his sleeping boyfriend, who looked happier and more at peace than Shane had seen him in months.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ilya was relieved to learn that Anya enjoyed car rides. He was nervous, when, about a week after adopting her, he drove with her for the first time to Montreal.
“Did the stuff arrive that I ordered?” Ilya asked Shane over the phone as he drove. “The bed, and the—”
“The one million dog toys? Yeah, they arrived.”
“Was not one million. Did you set the bed up? Maybe near the fireplace?”
“Yes, it’s all set up. Don’t worry. And listen, I may have mentioned that you got a dog in front of Jade and Ruby, and now the Pikes want us to visit.”
“Today?”
“Yeah. Maybe this afternoon?”
Ilya hadn’t seen Hayden’s kids since they’d officiated his and Shane’s “wedding.”
“Yes, okay. But if Anya is freaked out, we will leave.”
“If anything freaks Anya out, it’s going to be this weird creepy-faced stuffed banana toy you bought her.”
Ilya heard the squeak of a toy being squeezed over the phone. “Do not wear out the toys before Anya gets to play with them, Hollander.”
Shane laughed and squeaked the toy twice more. “Better hurry, then.”
“Aw, man. Now they’rereallygonna start asking for a dog,” Hayden lamented.
Ilya, Shane, and Hayden were standing together in Hayden’s living room, watching the four kids and Jackie play with Anya. Ilya had been worried about the number of new people, especially kids, but Anya had made fast friends with everyone.
“Get one,” Ilya said. “You would not even notice, with all these kids.”
“I’d notice,” Hayden sighed. “And Jackie woulddefinitelynotice having someone else to look after while I’m on the road.”
“Anya stays at a hotel for dogs when Ilya’s away,” Shane said.
“Like a kennel?”
“No,” Ilya said irritably. “Is ahotel.”
“He takes her to a spa,” Shane said.
