Domino hadn’t been able to get the woman who had run into him out of his head. The pain had practically been a physical thing around her. His bear had roared inside him, demanding that he protect her from whatever it was attacking her. She hadn’t come to the 5k, probably hadn’t even looked at the flier, but part of him had hoped to see her there. He wanted to kick himself, knowing that he should have made more of an effort to talk to her. That kind of thinking wasn’t healthy, though, especially when he had a litter of puppies in front of him that needed his full attention as he tried to corral them.

Their room was being cleaned, which meant playtime in the atrium for the lab mixes. The five of them were adorable as they tumbled over each other, and he had no doubt they would get adopted quickly. Their baby growls and yips filled the office area as everyone else prepared to open.

The Wardens of the Heart animal shelter was almost a second home to him, had been ever since he’d started working there when Valentina opened it. Their pack wasn’t traditional in any sense of the word, and he’d never expected to be part of something like it in his whole life, but it satisfied something inside him that he hadn’t known needed soothing. Bears were usually loners by nature. Sometimes the females of his kind would congregate and raise their young together, but it was usually without the men.

When he had moved to Chicago, he hadn’t realized just how many areas were dominated by different packs. No one wanted to welcome a bear, so he’d slowly moved further and further out, eventually stumbling into Valentina’s territory. She had been the last thing he’d expected, but exactly what he’d needed.

He scooped the puppies up and moved them back to their freshly cleaned room in time for opening. The five of them wriggled and squirmed in his arms, but when he began to hum, his low voice calmed them so that they all made it to the room without falling. He set them down on the pillowy bed and closed the door behind him while they began to tumble and roll off the fluffy white material, their legs still awkward underneath them.

Domino came back into the atrium, knowing he needed to respond to e-mails and set up some special adoption appointments before they got busy. The last thing he’d expected to see was the woman who’d dominated his thoughts for the last few days standing there.

She looked as though she hadn’t expected to be there and was surprised by what she now saw in front of her. Her wavy brown locks curled around her shoulders in a way that made his fingers twitch with the need to touch them, to run through the silky strands.

“Can I help you?” he asked softly, trying not to startle her. The pain still shimmered around her like heat off a fire, and it made his bear pace within him, restless now that she was in front of him once more.

“Um, yeah, I’m looking for a dog?”

“Lost? Or looking to adopt?”

“Adopt.”

He nodded, saying, “Here, I’ll show you where they are.” Domino beckoned for her to follow him, knowing that he should leave her to find her own way so he could help other guests, but his bear would only be more agitated if he walked away.

“Thanks,” she said as she looked at the floor, tucking some of her hair behind her ear before wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

“Are you looking for anything specific?”

“No? I don’t know? I guess something small since I only have a one-bedroom apartment.”

“Do you know if they allow dogs?” he asked quietly, hoping he wouldn’t have to refuse this woman who was so clearly in need of comfort.

“Uh, I don’t know, but I can call my landlord.”

“Sounds good.” He nodded again as they rounded the corner to the hallway that held most of their dogs. He led her a few kennels over toward the smaller dogs that they had available. “Here you are. Take a look around. If you see someone you like, just let me know and we can take you out to the play area so you can get to know each other better.”

“Okay,” she whispered as her eyes stayed firmly fixed on the cages in front of her.

“You look familiar . . .” His mouth moved before his brain could stop it, and he immediately wanted to smack himself in the forehead. What kind of pick-up line was that? Plus, he shouldn’t exactly be hitting on women who not only looked emotionally drained but were also customers at the shelter. Her deep-brown eyes looked up at him, and suddenly the loneliness she felt was almost palpable in the air between them, and he realized exactly what she needed. He cleared his throat. “I think we ran into each other a few days ago, literally.”

Red flushed up her neck and onto her cheeks. “Oh, um, sorry about that.”

“No worries. It’s not every day a guy gets almost tackled by a beautiful woman.” He cringed inwardly.

She smiled. It was small, just a tug at the corners of her mouth, but it was genuine. Some of her hunched posture relaxed ever so slightly, and he wondered how long it had been since someone had paid her a compliment.

“I’m Domino,” he said, sticking his hand out between them.

She took it, and the same sensation of chills broke out over his skin. His bear wanted to rub against her. “Harper,” she said, looking him squarely in the eye.

“Nice to meet you, Harper.” He smiled down at her. “Would you like me to suggest a couple dogs? I’m here almost every day, so I get to know them pretty well.”

“That must be hard,” she said under her breath, her voice quiet with an emotion he couldn’t name.

“You get used to it. It doesn’t hurt that I have my own pup to go home to.”

She looked up at him for a moment, and he couldn’t quite tell what was going on behind those brown eyes of hers, but he desperately wanted to find out. “Is there a dog that needs a home more than others?”

“We’re a no-kill shelter, so every animal that comes in here is rehomed one way or another. But if you’re asking who’s been waiting for a home the longest, well, that would be Daisy.” Domino led her over to a room on the other side of the hall from where they were standing.

“Do you know what her story is?” The hitch in Harper’s voice tore at his heart.

“She was transferred here from another shelter. I think she was just found by someone, but I’m not sure off the top of my head. When she was brought in, she’d already lost her left eye and a lot of her fur. We gave her teeth a good cleaning and ended up pulling quite a few, which is why her tongue hangs out of her mouth a lot of the time.” He looked down at the blonde wire-haired pup cautiously looking up at them. She had one chocolate-brown patch that covered her left ear and eye, but the rest of her was a blonde so pale, it was almost white.

“Can I take her outside?”

“Sure. Just try not to startle her too much. She’s a bit skittish to begin with, but she’ll warm up to you if you give her time. Let me go grab a leash. I’ll be right back.”

Domino strode off, allowing his legs to lengthen under him as he took full advantage of his height. The dog seemed to spark something within Harper, and he hoped they got along since they seemed like a good match on the surface.

“Hey, D, can you help this lady out with her application?” Liana’s voice called to him from across the atrium.

He glanced over at the other woman. “Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

Harper was still waiting by Daisy’s kennel when he came back, but now she was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of it.

“Here we go,” he said as he approached, trying not to startle either the woman or the dog. Once she was standing, he opened the door and scooted inside with Daisy, clipping the leash to her collar and opening the door wide to hand it to Harper. “You can go through the green door at the end of the hall, and that will take you to our garden space. There are benches and toys and doggie bags for you to use. Take all the time you want. I’ll come check on you soon.” He smiled at her and watched as she and Daisy walked off together before he took off back toward the atrium.