I didn’t know what made me think pressing myself against the door was a good idea. There was no way little me could keep out Clay or his equally tall and strong twin sister. I should have been upset with Reese for deciding to get him when I started crying over the pregnancy test. But I can’t. Because as I looked at his face and saw all the love and concern in his eyes, I knew she was right. I needed him. “Xenia, baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Clay asked as he put Zeus down. “What worries do I need to put to rest?” “It’s not worries, per se.” I sighed and steadied myself with Tink’s help. “I just…” I frowned as I avoided eye contact with him. It’s not that I’m ashamed that I’m pregnant. I mean, it’s my fault for not being on top of renewing my birth control. Clay couldn’t help it if a condom broke. We agreed to use both condoms and my birth control to be safe. We knew we wanted kids, eventually. Like he said, we’d have one after the puppies were born when we were ready.
Pregnant! Xenia is pregnant! I’m going to be a dad!? Me, of all fucking people, is going to be a dad! I know we tackled the subject when the puppies were born. But an offhand ‘we’ll have one when it’s time’ differs from a positive pregnancy test. A positive test is real. Our baby is currently growing inside her as we speak. How far along is she? How did I miss the signs? Has she missed her period? No, I couldn’t go off that her birth control made that hard to track properly. We’ll have to wait till we see a doctor to get an estimate on how far along she is. I say estimate because, in my family, we’re big, so judging just on the size of the fetus may not work. Though I guess they can go off from developmental stages like when certain organs develop and yadda. As I walked into the ceremony, all eyes turned to me. Reese underestimated how many guests we had. Including Xenia’s mom, sisters, and Reese, we had 48 guests. So, add Xenia and me, and we had 50 people. That’s, of course, no
I groaned, rolling away from the tongue, licking my face. Gross. Just fucking gross. Squinting through one eye, a large framed print of art greeted me. Or at least it’s called art by some people. I’m not sure I call a painting of two dudes on a hill with one riding the cock of the other while jerking himself off art. I know it is NOT something I want to wake up to see. But I don’t have a choice. This isn’t my place. I’m crashing at my cousin Makayla’s apartment since she’ll be in DC full time for at least six months. She’s fantastic for letting me stay here, especially with the mongrel, but did she have to have an entire erotic Japanese art set installed in EVERY room before I sublet from her? Of course, she did cause my cousin loves to torment anyone. I’m just her current victim. And worse, I’m paying her for this torture. A whine in the bed beside me brought my mind back to how I ended up in this predicament. Grumbling, I sat up, rubbing my hand over my face before looking at the
Today’s my day off. I should sleep in. If I could, I totally would. So what’s stopping me from languishing in my bed? Seventy-four pounds of fluff is trying to suffocate me as she climbs onto my chest shaking in fear because an ambulance sped past our building with the sirens blasting. Whoever named her Tinkerbell can go to hell with their sense of humor “Tink…” I groaned under her weight, trying to get her off me so I could breathe. “I know… scary loud sounds.” I tried to soothe her by petting her head as I managed to get out from under her and lay on my side, giving up most of my bed to the massive six-month-old Leonberger puppy. “You’re safe. I’m right here.” I assured her, snuggling into her soft fur as another siren outside made her whimper. I sighed, turning my head to look at the clock on my microwave across my tiny apartment. No point trying to get any more sleep, I’m fully awake, and it will take some time to settle Tinkerbell down. Poor baby has severe anxiety about loud
When Reese got me from the breeder, I’d hoped I would be living with her and her family. She was friendly, and I liked her husband and her babies for the brief period I spent around them before being put into a box. Even after Clay opened the box and I popped out, I didn’t believe I would be leaving. I thought it was just a way to surprise everyone else with me. The other little ones at her house were thrilled to meet me. I liked them, and they were good at chasing me. They played with me for hours. But then the big lummox picked me up and took me away. I cried the whole drive to his apartment. I had resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be my home, and I’d have to deal with Clay for the rest of my life. He didn’t seem bad. Clay took me to a pet store and got me a bed, toys, and other things I’d need. At least he was going to take care of me. So what’s my problem? He picked up the giggly blonde woman working at the pet store. You’d think I’d like her since she must l
Today started good, well beyond waking up the gay sex painting my cousin felt needed to be hung next to the bed. I’m eventually going to be desensitized to it all. Knowing my luck, by the time that happens, Makayla will decide to change the art to something else that will freak me out. Maybe I’ll find a new place before that happens, and then it won’t be an issue. Taking Zeus to the park was easy enough. Makayla’s place is less than two blocks from Central Park. Super convenient with a short-legged dog like Zeus. It’s so damn annoying how much of a chick magnet he is. Not that he’s a chick magnet, but I’m always happy to add some numbers to my phone. The problem is that even if I get these numbers, I can’t bring them home because he will fuck it up. He has fucked up every hookup since I got him. Well, every hookup that I brought home or around him. I was happy to get Missy and Sheila’s numbers and that there might be a way to parlay myself into a threesome. But I was already thinki
I know I’d said I would give the owner of that corgi a piece of my mind. But staring up at this giant man who looks like he’s carved of marble - I felt those muscles only moments ago, and the marble may be an accurate description - I was at a loss for words. How much time does he spend in the gym? Or is this not natural, and it’s all steroids? If it is steroids, do I even want to accept that offer of dinner or the use of his laundry? My eyes glanced at his crotch. I couldn’t help it, and don’t judge me. You’d have done the same. Looking down at his crotch is less of a strain on my neck than looking up at his face. Either he’s one of those men that stuffs for show, or that’s the real deal outlined in those jeans. So much for my thought that his muscles are steroids. “You realize the longer you gawk at him, the bigger he’s going to get.” He chuckled that deep masculine kind of chuckle that sent a shiver down my spine, not in a bad way. My eyes quickly cut back to his face, and gree
Maybe today can recover and be a great day. Sure my phone is probably a bust, and I’ll have to replace it before I can get in touch with Missy and Sheila to apologize for leaving them hanging and maybe make it up to them. But that’s a worry for later. All my thoughts are now centralized on Xenia’s sexy, legging-clad ass. I’ve never had trouble getting women out of their clothes and into bed. At least not till Zeus came along. But I have high hopes this time. Meeting her was entirely his fault, and he seemed sweet on her dog. Dog aims high. Tinkerbell is a foot taller than him. No clue how he plans to tap that unless she lays flat on the ground or he uses the steps that Reese bought him to get on the furniture. But if he’s busy trying to get close to her dog, that means he isn’t going to interfere should things go well between Xenia and me. I was kicking off my wet shoes when she mentioned why I wouldn’t want to bring a woman here. I grimaced. “I told you this isn’t my place,” I ad
Pregnant! Xenia is pregnant! I’m going to be a dad!? Me, of all fucking people, is going to be a dad! I know we tackled the subject when the puppies were born. But an offhand ‘we’ll have one when it’s time’ differs from a positive pregnancy test. A positive test is real. Our baby is currently growing inside her as we speak. How far along is she? How did I miss the signs? Has she missed her period? No, I couldn’t go off that her birth control made that hard to track properly. We’ll have to wait till we see a doctor to get an estimate on how far along she is. I say estimate because, in my family, we’re big, so judging just on the size of the fetus may not work. Though I guess they can go off from developmental stages like when certain organs develop and yadda. As I walked into the ceremony, all eyes turned to me. Reese underestimated how many guests we had. Including Xenia’s mom, sisters, and Reese, we had 48 guests. So, add Xenia and me, and we had 50 people. That’s, of course, no
I didn’t know what made me think pressing myself against the door was a good idea. There was no way little me could keep out Clay or his equally tall and strong twin sister. I should have been upset with Reese for deciding to get him when I started crying over the pregnancy test. But I can’t. Because as I looked at his face and saw all the love and concern in his eyes, I knew she was right. I needed him. “Xenia, baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Clay asked as he put Zeus down. “What worries do I need to put to rest?” “It’s not worries, per se.” I sighed and steadied myself with Tink’s help. “I just…” I frowned as I avoided eye contact with him. It’s not that I’m ashamed that I’m pregnant. I mean, it’s my fault for not being on top of renewing my birth control. Clay couldn’t help it if a condom broke. We agreed to use both condoms and my birth control to be safe. We knew we wanted kids, eventually. Like he said, we’d have one after the puppies were born when we were ready.
Xenia is supposed to be MY emotional support human. I was not a fan of this switch of roles, but for Xenia, I would try my best. Just because I failed all those training classes to be an official support animal doesn’t mean I cannot be here for my human. She has always been there for me when I was upset. It’s about time I returned the favor. I didn’t understand why she was upset. She’d been so happy a few moments ago. She was trying on her new dress, and everyone was gushing over her and talking about how great today would be. I still didn’t know what was happening today. I knew Xenia was getting all dressed up, even fancier than when she and Clay went on a night out. I got a purple outfit and a crown of flowers to wear. Zeus was given a special outfit, too. So, something big was going on. Even if all the special clothes didn’t make it clear, we were in a strange place, and there were people we only saw occasionally. Plus, all my puppies were here. I love to see my puppies. It’s
I put up with a LOT of shit with Clay as my human. The silver lining is that I have Tinkerbell and her human Xenia around. Not that Clay makes a habit of dressing me up like this. That doesn’t mean I like being in this getup. I don’t care that it’s a special day. I don’t understand what is happening, but it must be special. Clay and Xenia have been planning this gathering for what felt like forever. And all the people they like most are here. Which means all our pups are here. I am happy and envious to see my pups. I was glad to see them since we see some of them only on special occasions. But I was envious because none of them were dressed up like me. Lucky pups. I feel ridiculous dressed like this. Whatever is supposed to happen today better happen soon, or I will find a way out of this outfit to run around free. I was restless and bored sitting in that room, waiting for something to happen. I was happy when Clay decided we could venture out of the room. I was happy until I picked
Holy shit! It’s MY wedding day! If someone told me two years ago I’d be in a committed relationship, I’d ask if you were high. If someone said I’d be getting married, I’d recommend a trip to the nearest psych ward. Old me couldn’t imagine ever wanting to give up being a bachelor. I loved the freedom of that life and couldn’t fathom giving that up for a woman. It wasn’t until I fell into Turtle Pond in Central Park with Xenia that I realized I was all wrong. Being in a relationship wasn’t a noose around my neck. It wasn’t the death of my freedom. It was just a change. Sure, I wasn’t free to fuck whoever caught my eye, but that’s fine with me. If I learned anything from the disaster of an attempt at a threesome before Xenia and I were official, it’s that no one else would do. Till Xenia, I didn’t realize that the ‘freedom’ of being a bachelor was more a cover for loneliness. It was for the loneliness that Reese gave me Zeus. The little shit never filled that loneliness. At least not d
Who’s bright idea was it to have a Valentine’s Day wedding? Oh right. It was mine. I thought it would be romantic and Clay would never forget our anniversary. Not that I believed he would forget any other day. This was the guy that proposed on the anniversary of our meeting in the same spot where we got ‘pongoed,’ as Makayla likes to call it. It still makes me laugh when I think back on how we met. It wasn’t so funny at the time, but in hindsight, I can laugh. I also can’t watch 101 Dalmatians without laughing and thinking of that day in Central Park when my life changed for the better. By chance, Fate, or just the divine intervention of Zeus, I ended up with this incredible man who is hot, great in bed, and so damn sweet. I still don’t know how, in the thousands of men that live in NYC, after only finding assholes, I found such a keeper. And trust me, I know all about the assholes that live in NYC. Between the assholes I met in college, like Alden Zachery Greenwood the Fourth. Inse
The following bonus chapters are for the Valentine's Day special "A Valentine's Wedding." There are references to future Ravenwood books, but no spoilers! I hope you enjoy it!Clay - Who'd have thought the perpetual bachelor would settle down? Meeting Xenia turned my world upside down in the best way. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her. My family, the ones that count, are all behind us. Xenia - It has been almost two years since I fell into a pond and found true love. Clay is everything I could have wanted and didn't think I deserved. Despite some annoying human-size speed bumps, we will start a new chapter together as husband and wife.
Zeus: It’s been a year since I met Tinkerbell, and therefore Clay met Xenia. Unlike Clay, it didn’t take long to figure out I found the one I wanted to be with and have a family with. He was slow on the uptake, that’s for sure. But he finally got his head out of his ass and made it right with Xenia. I swear if he'd dragged his feet longer or lost my chance with Tinkerbell, I’d have chewed every shoe he owned and never given him a moment's peace again. Thankfully for all involved, that didn’t happen, and since that time, things have been mostly great. The devil woman has never returned, and I’m happy about that. I didn’t want her around even before I met Tinkerbell and even less after I did. We moved into a new house where our humans gave us our own room and outdoor area. And we had eight puppies. That’s where the “mostly great” part comes in. After our puppies were old enough, they were sent to their forever homes. They at least ended up with members of our humans’ families, so we
Tinkerbell: I’m so happy we stopped living in that tiny place. I’m even happier that we will never see that mean man again. I didn’t fully understand everything that happened. But I knew, based on what Zeus and I would overhear our humans say, the mean man tried to hurt my human and was punished by the human catchers. I felt terrible that I wasn’t with Xenia to protect her from that evil man, but Clay was, so it was okay. And now we all live together. Zeus has been a great help to my anxiety. With him around, I’m never alone; if I start to feel anxious, he’s there to nuzzle me and remind me I’m safe. Alan, our dog sitter, is excellent too. He’s learned how to handle my anxiety, always brings us yummy treats, and takes us on long walks. I should miss my doggie daycare, but I don’t. There were always so many other dogs and humans that it would be hard on me. Living with Zeus, I’ve gotten better at handling things that used to scare me. Like small humans. When our humans took us on a l