Read Online Shelter for Adeline by Susan Stoker - Free Book Online Page A

eyes deepened as his lips quirked up. Adeline felt like the most important person in the world as he looked only at her as she approached.
    “Hey, Adeline. You look great.”
    “Thanks. Sorry I’m a bit late.” Adeline had changed out of her work clothes before she’d left the office. She wasn’t one to get dressed up that often, but she’d made the effort for Dean. She was wearing a knee-length skirt that swished around her legs as she walked. It was purple with white flowers and had several light layers. It made her feel feminine and pretty. She’d paired it with low dark purple heels, knowing better than to attempt to wear anything over a couple of inches. She used to wear heels all the time when she was younger, figuring the extra inches they gave her were a good thing, but after too many sprained ankles to count, not to mention how she used to have seizures without any warning, she’d learned that two inches were now her physical limit.
    She was wearing a cute lilac-colored, cap-sleeved knock-off designer blouse, which matched her skirt. It had a scoop neck both in the front and back. It hugged her breasts and even though she wasn’t model thin, her lingerie kept all her bits tucked in and pushed up in the right places.
    She didn’t wear them a lot, but something about wearing a corset made her feel sexy and confident. It held her stomach in and pushed her boobs up…and when paired with a silky tank top couldn’t really be noticed under her shirt. Win-win-win in her book.
    She’d put a bit of makeup on, lipstick, blush, mascara, and a light dusting of purple eye shadow to round out her look. Her hair she’d left down, but had brushed it out and sprayed some volumizer on to give it a fresh look after the long work day. She could’ve been more creative if she’d had the time, but she thought she looked pretty good.
    Without hesitation, Dean placed his hand on her hip as he leaned into her. He kissed her on the lips gently then pulled his head back, not removing his hand. He looked into her eyes as he said, “Hi.”
    “Hi.”
    Dean licked his lips and his eyes darted down to her mouth, before coming back up to meet her eyes again. “You’re beautiful.”
    Adeline knew she was blushing, but tried to be suave. “Thanks. You clean up pretty well yourself.”
    He squeezed her hip at her words and leaned in again, brushing his lips against her cheek this time and then moving to her ear. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me tonight.”
    “Thank you for asking me out,” Adeline returned.
    “You’re welcome.” And with that, Dean finally let go of her waist and crouched down to greet Coco. “Hey, handsome. How ya doin’?”
    Coco’s tail wagged in response as he sat at Adeline’s side wiggling in excitement.
    “Go on,” Adeline told her dog, releasing him from duty.
    As if he’d been physically held back, her words were the signal he’d been waiting for. Coco leaped up at Dean and the force of his ninety-pound body knocked Dean over onto his butt on the sidewalk.
    Adeline would’ve been horrified, but Dean immediately laughed and shifted to his knees. Taking her dog’s face in his hands, Dean play-wrestled with Coco and tried to keep the dog’s tongue away from his face. After a couple moments of roughhousing, Dean finally stood up, patting Coco on the head.
    “Coco, heel,” Adeline ordered, pleased when the dog immediately came back to her side and sat, as if he hadn’t been drooling all over the man now standing in front of them.
    “God, I miss having a dog around.”
    “You had one?”
    “Yeah. She died last year. A Rottweiler. I got her from the pound. The staff estimated she was ten years old and told me she’d been dumped by her family. They decided that they just didn’t want her anymore.” He shrugged. “She was the most gentle, loving dog I’d ever met. All she wanted to do was lie around and sleep…oh, and get pets. She had a level-four heart murmur and her ol’ ticker