made for a light, airy atmosphere that he usually enjoyed. But at the moment, he paid the view and the lighting little attention. Instead, his gaze found and fixed on the woman and dog in the open area between the gas fireplace and the coffee table in front of the couch.
H.D. was lying on his back on the large three-foot round dog bed. Ildaria was on her elbows and knees, her arm backs flat on the dog bed, cocooning H.D. between them, as she cooed, “Who’s a pretty puppy?” She then leaned down to nuzzle the happy dog around the cheeks and neck, then gave him a smacking kiss on his chest between his front legs before raising up to coo again, “Who’s a pretty puppy?”
H.D. was wriggling ecstatically, rolling his head from side to side with delight, and Ildaria’s bottom was waving about as she moved, her skirt pulled tight over her gorgeous butt.
G.G. had the mad urge to rush over, drop onto the floor before her and say, “I am, I’m a pretty puppy.” And beg her to hold and nuzzle him that way. Instead, he simply stood, watching her repeat the routine one final time, and then she ducked her head to nuzzle and kiss H.D. before scooping him up and suddenly rolling onto her back, taking H.D. with her so that he landed with his body on her chest and his face above hers. H.D. immediately set to licking her face with eager excitement, and Ildaria laughed and twisted her neck from side to side to keep him from getting her nose or mouth with his little, wet tongue. Her body was rolling back and forth during this exercise, her legs shifting and her pencil skirt sliding up her legs a bit more with each movement.
G.G. was watching its slow ride upward with breathless anticipation when H.D. suddenly stilled, his head jerking in his direction like a heat-seeking missile finding its target. In the next moment, the dog abandoned Ildaria with one leaping bound and raced toward G.G., ears flopping and fluffy tail wagging.
Disappointment pinched G.G. at the end to the game he’d been watching, but he forced it back and managed a smile as he knelt to greet his dog.
“Hey, buddy. Did you have a good night with Ildaria? Hmm?” he asked lightly, scooping up the little fur ball and cuddling and petting him as he straightened. His gaze slid back to Ildaria to find that she was on her feet, her skirt dropping to cover her shapely legs as she tugged her blouse back into place and then reached up to check her hair.
The neat bun she’d arrived in and managed to keep for the first eight hours that she’d worked in his office, had loosened and fallen. Most of her hair was a long black wave, ending at the part still caught in the knot. Grimacing, she tugged the fastener loose and let her hair fall free. She then moved toward him in a relaxed walk, a smile claiming her lips.
“All done for the night?”
“Yeah.” Hearing the husky sound to his voice, G.G. cleared his throat and nodded. “All done.”
“Great.” She beamed at him brightly and moved past him, giving H.D. a pat on the head. “I guess I’ll head back to Marguerite’s then. He was good, by the way. Didn’t eat a single thing he shouldn’t, or get into any trouble. What time do you want me back tomorrow?”
G.G. turned, watching as she scooped up her shoes, and bent to slip on one then the other. They were damned sexy shoes with a little black bow on each heel that he hadn’t noticed earlier.
“G.G.?”
He liked the way the nickname sounded on her lips, kind of husky and sweet. Then he realized she was waiting for an answer, and cleared his throat again. “The club doesn’t open until sunset. Half an hour before that is fine. I only had you come in early today so I could give you some pointers on the bookkeeping. But I can keep H.D. with me until the club opens.”
“Awesome.” She gave him a brilliant smile. “That means I have time for a nap before I go apartment hunting.”
“Apartment hunting?” His gaze had dropped to her legs and feet in the pretty little shoes again, but he lifted it back to her face with interest.
“Well, I can’t stay with Marguerite and Julius forever,” she pointed out with a wry smile. “I’ve felt guilty staying with them at all.