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The puppyanother human, and thus another opportunity for pats and rubs, he threw his wiggling little body out of round with a sharp yelp and then bolted right for Wheeler I let out a gasp and took off after hi I could catch the end of the leash that was trailing behind him I didn’t want him to run into the street or veer off into a yard where he didn’t belong I was light-years away froer that didn’t want the puppy in their yard

I didn’t need to worry because Wheeler pushed his long, lean fra animal within a few strides He crouched down as the puppy hurled himself into his arms and scooped the excited bundle up in one fluid ht, whichoverI was embarrassed at how out of breath I was I was supposed to be stronger than I was before, but I could hardly handle a little jog up the block or the way ht of him

I shook my head and put my hands on my hips as I looked up into those arctic eyes He was scratching the puppy under the chin and looking at me from under lashes that had the barest hint of red in them "Why don’t you have a coat on?"

It wasn’t what I was expecting but his question reht hoodie that had the Saints of Denver logo on it wasn’t doing much to keep the bitter chill in the air off ar I owned that was bright and colorful I rubbed ht back at hi here?"

The puppy barked like he was telling me not to be rude but I was unsettled by Wheeler’s unexpected appearance It wasn’t the typical unsettled that I struggled with because he was a man that I didn’t know It was the kind of unsettled that et could react to an attractive ly The kind of unsettled that hadcloser to him as he started to shift so that he could pull his heavy jacket off one ar

"I wanted to talk to you about the dog Did you find someone to take him yet?" He shifted the puppy to his now bare arm and I watched the endless amounts of ink that covered his skin move and flex as he shook his other arm free of the coat

"Uh … not really" The truth was I hadn’t put thatsoo In just a few days I’d grown attached even though I kneasn’t allowed to keep him in my apartment I’d already asked since Dixie was allowed to keep Dolly, but the landlord infor pit bulls in Denver changed My little guy wasn’t that lucky

My response made Wheeler chuckle He stared at me silently as he held out the coat he’d taken off in his free hand

"Put this on" I stared at hi Russian until he shook the coat again and frowned at ument when he repeated the command "Put this on, Poppy I want to talk to you and I know you aren’t co me up to your apartment"

I winced at the reminder of how spazzy and skittish I acted when I’d had to knock on Dixie’s door while he was house-sitting for her He’d invited e I had to step over the threshold Once inside with him, I’d been so juiven me a wide berth and plenty of space to freak out Wheeler went to find what I needed for Dolly and didn’t even try to hand it off to me He set it on the floor a few feet away fro and then took himself all the way back across the roo up and et too close to hiratitude and sob with reh the fear and just act nor out for e to bury my nose in it to see if it smelled like him I liked the way that he always kind of s ne for Wheeler, just the clean smell of soap, the lemony scent of whatever he used in that thick head of reddish-brown hair, and the persistent trace of how heIt was honest and it was real The way it surroundedas I slid my arms into the sleeves of his jacket The ertips and the bottoh I was instantly war body heat In fact, I couldn’t recall ever being this cozy

I took a deep breath and moved my hands so I could push the hair that had escaped my messy topknot out of my face "It’s cold, you can coreat hostess or anything but I think I can handle a quick conversation without passing out at your feet" He’d never asked on any of the occasions ere together why I acted like such a basketcase around hiiven him the CliffsNotes version of what had happened to le search frohtmare had a million links

It was his turn to rub his arms up and down to keep war he was going to take me up on my less than hospitable offer, he put the puppy down on the sidewalk, wrapped the end of the leash around his tattooed wrist, and nodded toward the front of the building I scowled as the little troubleht next to those booted feet like a good boy

I followed Wheeler up the celass security doors swung open He shifted to the side with the dog but I was still right in the line of fire as fourIt was an affordable coht in the heart of Capitol Hill, so there were a lot of young professionals and students that occupied the apartments around mine Typically, I was sequestered, safe and sound, in my apartment with the locks thrown by this ti, and when I did, I kept my head down and stuck strictly to my side of the hallway This rando to end horribly as I stood stuck, like a deer caught in headlights I was going to throw up I was going to make ht end up passing out at Wheeler’s feet the closer the ot to me