Page 36 of Operation K-9 Brothers

He glanced at his watch.“Is it time to pick you up yet?”He loved how easily she laughed.“No, huh?”

“Anticipation is half the fun.”

“Not sure about that.Instant gratification sounds like a whole lot more fun.”

Laughing again, she punched his arm.“Go on.Get out of here so I can get to work.”

He gave her a sad face.“Fine, I’ll go as soon as you give me a kiss to get me through the day.”

“Poor thing.Come here.”

What was a man to do but obey a lady’s command?When she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and clamped her teeth down on it, he thought he was going to embarrass himself.He might have been this turned on when he was fifteen and Melissa Cummings, his big crush, had let him touch her breasts for about three seconds.

Who was he kidding?Melissa’s breasts had nothing on Nichole Masters’s teeth biting down on him.“Nichole,” he growled.

She smiled against his mouth.“Hmm?”

It wasn’t easy, but he forced himself to back away.“I’m seconds from taking you down to the floor with me, so I’m going to leave.”

“Just wanted to make sure you thought about me today.”

“Mission accomplished.My body pressed against yours is all I’m going to think about.”He told Dakota to come and walked out while he still could.

Jack decided to make Dakota happy and take her for a ride before he dropped her off at home.After that, he’d go to the grocery store and get something to make Nichole for dinner.Maybe by the time he got there, he’d think of what to make.

When he and Dakota went for their rides, he would explore different roads.He was driving down a country lane he’d never been on.“Pretty out here, huh?”

Dakota glanced at him, then stuck her head back out the window, her silly grin in place.He passed a sign before the words on it registered.At the next driveway he came to, he turned around.“Asheville Service Dogs,” he read aloud to Dakota when he stopped in front of the sign.“Never knew this was here.”

A dog raced across the yard and dropped a ball at a man’s feet.The man noticed Jack’s truck idling at the end of his driveway and waved.Jack lifted his fingers from the steering wheel, returning the wave.He had time to kill, and curious, he drove to the house.

“You’re going to have to stay in the truck,” he told Dakota.She sighed her resignation, then stuck her head back out the window.

As Jack approached the man, he noted a row of kennels behind the house.“Howdy,” he said, holding out his hand.“Jack Daniels.”

“Ron Kitterman.”He glanced at Jack’s truck.“You got a dog you need training?”

“No, Dakota’s already trained.She’s a retired military dog.Not that she’s happy about that, but she was hurt.”

“Looks like you were, too,” Ron said, his gaze on Jack’s arm.

“Yeah, same IED got us both.”

“What can I do for you, Jack Daniels?”

“Nothing really.Dakota and I were out for a ride, and I saw your sign.More curious than anything.”

“You interested in a tour?”

“Sure.”

“First introduce me to your dog.”

He walked with Ron to the passenger window and put his hand on Dakota’s head.“Friend.”She sniffed the hand Ron held out, then her gaze dropped to the dog sitting at his feet, staring back up at her.

“Belgian Malinois, smart dogs,” Ron said.

“They certainly are.I’ve had three working dogs, two shepherds and this one.All good dogs, but Dakota’s the best I’ve ever had.”