Page 34 of Chelsea’s Knight

Her sleepy giggle has me smiling as I drift off to sleep.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Canyon

Despite my initial concern, the trip home with two dogs isn’t as terrible as I thought it might be.

We did find a pet-friendly hotel because of Cooper, since Smokey is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act as a service dog. Then when the clerk found out one of the dogs was a service dog, she wanted to remove the pet charge, but neither of us would allow it.

When she tried to push it, Chelsea sweetly stated, “I’m sure there are people who sneak their pets in and don’t pay the fee, which likely causes additional expense for y’all during cleaning. We don’t mind paying it because our little guy was an unexpected addition to this trip.”

“What do you mean?” the clerk asks, her curiosity now piqued.

“Well, he saw my man here and decided that was now his human daddy,” Chelsea replies, making me groan out loud when the clerk bursts into amusing laughter.

“That’s how I got my four cats,” she confides. “I was helping out a friend who had an adoption event going on and a pair of bonded kittens went nuts every time I was near their cage. A few days later, I stopped in to drop off some donations and they heard my voice and went crazy again. I finally gave in and adopted them, then she had two seniors enter her rescue after their owner died. Apparently, I must either resemble that person or smell like them because those two attached themselves to me as well. So, now I have four when a year ago, I had no pets.”

By now, Chelsea is giggling hysterically at the clerk who has pulled her phone out and is showing off her pictures of ‘her babies’.

“Babe? I need to walk the boys,” I remind her before the two women embark on some sort of female bonding excursion that still baffles the shit out of me.

How does that shit happen?

One minute, women are talking over something, the next they’re planning trips or adding each other on social media, all without knowing anything of importance. For fuck’s sake, this clerk could be a serial killer or something else just as nefarious.

Being an employee at a hotel would be a perfect cover story, I would think.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. So, anyway, Beth, we’re good covering that fee and will definitely make sure to give the place a great review!” Chelsea says, holding her hand out for the room key.

“Thank you so much. Enjoy your stay!” Beth chirps, handing her the key as well as my card and the receipt for our room.

“You head to our room, I’ll grab the dogs and our bags then be up once I’m done walking them,” I instruct, gently nudging her toward the hallway where our room is located.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping, handsome,” she says.

“Sweetness, you were sleeping as we pulled into the parking lot. I don’t mind doing it. I’ll be up shortly,” I supply, giving her a short but wet kiss.

* * *

“I’m kind of glad we got a room with two beds,” she says as we watch Smokey and Cooper get settled in the bed closest to the door.

“Fucking dogs, that’s supposed to be my position,” I grumble. There’s not a lot of heat behind it, because Smokey is, after all, now in Chelsea’s life to watch out for her and protect her.

She curls into my side before unexpectedly stealing the remote. “Let’s see if we can find something to watch.”

“Because now you’re wide awake,” I guess. “Could it have anything to do with the huge soda you were drinking when I came into the room?”

She turns wide eyes toward me, smiling. “Maybe? Or maybe it’s because I know we’re closer to home and I’ve missed everyone? I don’t know. Wait, were we getting up at o’dark thirty again?”

I nearly choke on the water I just made the mistake of taking a sip of at her words. “No, babe. We’re good to take off a little later since we’ll still be home at a decent hour. It’s still kind of early anyhow.”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t feel comfortable having sex around the dogs,” she whispers in my ear.

As if the dogs can hear us. When that thought crosses my mind, I glance over at the bed to see Smokey’s eyes pinned on Chelsea’s face.

“We could always put them in the bathroom,” I suggest, not adverse to a romp with my woman.

I mean, hello, I’m a fucking biker, I’ve got a warm, willing woman in bed next to me, she’smyold lady, so why the hell not?

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