Page 40 of Restless Ink

Not when there were still sparks between him and Thea. Not when his feelings were growing by leaps and bounds every time he was near her. He wasn’t good with words, wasn’t good with owning up to his own emotions, but he was learning.

For Thea.

He cleared his throat and grabbed the rest of his things so he could head over to pick up Captain before going to Thea’s. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Molly, if anything. It wasn’t her business where he went, but Thea might have mentioned it already. He wouldn’t lie, but he also wouldn’t offer up any information unless Molly outright asked. He didn’t want to make things harder for any of them.

By the time he made it to his old house, he was coming to his own revelations. He missed his dog, but he didn’t miss much about his life here. He hadn’t really liked this home, hadn’t really felt like it was his if he were honest. It had been Molly’s. It had made her happy, so he’d been happy for her.

The only part of his old life he missed was his dog, and now he could take Captain with him for a couple of hours. He didn’t think that Thea was replacing part of what he’d had, but more making her own place in his life. He hoped he was doing the same for her.

Molly was at the front door again before he knocked. She had Captain by her side, and his bag of treats, food, and other needs in hand.

“Have fun tonight,” she said with a wink. “I know Thea will take care of you. I’m seriously so happy for you two.”

He gave her a nod, still confused about her enthusiasm regarding his relationship with Thea. He didn’t know why Molly seemed to want this so much, but it seemed to him that he and Thea were the only ones feeling like there was something off.

Off wasn’t the right word, but the two of them were walking on eggshells to make sure they didn’t hurt Molly. And the thing was, she didn’t look hurt. She didn’t act hurt. Hell, she seemed happy.

And maybe it was time for the uneasiness to stop.

“Thanks,” Dimitri said as he went to his knees to pet his dog. “I’ll be back later with him since he can’t spend the night with me.”

“I’m sure he can spend the night at Thea’s with you.” She grinned as she said it, and something uncomfortable settled over him.

This was weird…right?

Or maybe he was the one making it weird.

“I don’t know if that’ll work tonight.” He wasn’t going to say that he didn’t know if he and Thea were ready for that. What went on between the two of them was only for them. Yes, Thea might tell Molly some, but he didn’t think either of them wanted to reveal every part of their lives together and apart. He’d have to talk to Thea about it, though, because honesty between them was essential.

“Oh, you never know. Have fun and make good choices.” Molly laughed as she said the line from one of her favorite movies and he gave her a nod before taking Captain and walking back to his car.

“Weird,” he mumbled under his breath. The whole situation was weird. The only time it didn’t feel that way was when he was with Thea. That’s how he knew he was doing the right thing, even if everything on the periphery seemed off. He hoped that it would settle down around them soon because he didn’t want the outside world harming what he had—and what hecouldhave—with Thea.

Dimitri buckled Captain into his harness, then headed to Thea’s. It didn’t take them long to get there, and the closer he got to her place, the more relaxed he became. Yeah, there was some anticipation there—there always was when it came to Thea—but he was just happy that he got to see her soon.

And while his dick ached at the thought of her, he wanted to spend time with her, wanted to know more about what went on during her day. Texting at night and phone calls when they couldn’t see each other was nice, but he wanted more.

He paused after he’d parked.

He wanted more.

Hell…well, then.

Apparently, he wanted more.

Captain whined behind him, and he quickly shut off the car and got out to unhook Captain. Thea had her door open and grinned as Captain bounded over to her. She went to her knees and rubbed his dog down, laughing as Captain licked her face and whined to get even closer.

“Hey, buddy. Let her breathe.” Dimitri grabbed his bag as well as Captain’s, shaking his head as he shut the car door and made his way to the pair.

“I can breathe just fine. I missed this puppy so much. Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy. Yes, you are. Yes, you are.” She singsonged the words, and Dimitri couldn’t help the wide smile covering his face.

“You’re going to spoil him.”

She got to her feet, brushing away some of the dog hair from her pants. She wasn’t going to get it all, and he loved that she just shrugged when she noticed that fact.

“Maybe. I also maybe have an s-n-a-c-k in the kitchen for him. Maybe.”

He shook the bag he had in his hand. “I have some, too. And thank you for spelling it. Though from the light in his eyes, Captain might know how to spell that word now.”