Thom Baron has been struggling with social anxiety his entire life. He's taken the medications, gone to the therapists, followed the programs, and concluded his best life is a solitary one. When he comes across a dog in obvious need at his local market, it rekindles the desire to have some company around. It may come with a dishevelled coat, a notched ear, and a refusal to respond to anything but its given name "Ugly," but it could still be a friend.<br><br>However, Thom's new fur buddy has no such need to keep to itself and immediately befriends the man Thom has secretly coveted since he moved in -- Justin, Thom's gorgeous, bright-eyed neighbour. No matter how Thom tries to evade the man, the dog keeps drawing them back into each other's lives, and it doesn't take Thom long to recognize it's simply pursuing the demands of Thom's own heart. With the dog giving him the courage to try, Thom reaches out to return the love being offered.<br><br>Until a stranger shows up insisting the dog is his and demanding its immediate return ... a loss Thom knows will take all of his efforts and newfound confidence with it.

But by the Grace of Dog

He felt more than heard Justin walking towards him, opened his eyes, and turned his head. “Don’t stop,” Justin said. “I like it.” He knelt beside the couch, dropping two condoms and a bottle of lube. With a slow, deliberate touch, he ran one hand up Thom’s leg. “Can I help?”


Justin leaned into a kiss, and at the same time, in a movement that was surprisingly fluid, he climbed onto the couch. They felt their ways along each other’s body without ever breaking the kiss, and though Thom’s heart started racing when his knees were pressed back, and his throat and tongue seemed to go completely dry at the touch of Justin’s fingertips first around, then inside his hole, he didn’t stop Justin’s advance. He wasn’t sure he’d have been able to come up with the words to do that even if he’d wanted to. Cognitive ability existed on a plane far removed from where he lay. He was in an existence that resonated with sensation, riding the waves of building desire.


Chapter 46