financially responsible enough to not have to take your clothes off for strangers,” I shot back.
“Why do you even care, Dom? I don’t understand. I mean, talk about mixed messages. You say you don’t want me—”
“Correction. I don’t want to want you.”
“You are such an ass. You don’t want to want me, yet you eavesdrop on a private call, follow me to a strip club, and hire me to do a private dance. And then get so angry you abduct me and take me home with you.”
“Wrong. I was angry before I got to the club,” I shot back.
“I’m not yours to care about, Dom.”
I snapped my fingers for Brownie, and he followed me into the kitchen.
Ally came along at a more leisurely pace. I fished out a treat from the puppy jar Greta got me and made Brownie sit. It was the one command we’d both mastered. “Take it nicely, buddy. Do not take my hand off,” I said, holding the paw-shaped cookie high.
But Brownie had that single-minded gleam in his eye. He nearly swallowed my entire hand. “Okay, we need to work on that.”
Ally sighed like a good little martyr and stomped over to the jar. “Here,” she said. She demonstrated holding the treat in a closed fist with part of it peeking out over her thumb. “Sit,” she told Brownie.
He plopped his ass on the floor, thrilled at the prospect of two cookies.
“Nicely,” Ally warned him. When he made an excited alligator lunge, she pulled back. “Uh-uh. Nice boy.”
This time, she held her hand out, and Brownie carefully extracted the treat from her fist.
“Good boy!” she cheered. Brownie snarfed it down and dissolved into happy wiggles at the praise. She turned back to me smugly. “What? I had dogs growing up. I’d offer to help you with him, but I hate you.”
Yes. There was that.
“Come on,” I said wearily.
“Where?”
“Upstairs so I can get out of these fucking pants.”
“We’re not having sex,” she said, looking appalled.
I brought my hands to my face and shoved them through my hair. “You are driving me in-fucking-sane, Ally. I just want to talk, but I need to get out of these pants.”
“Why do I have to go with you?”
“Because the second I turn my back on you, you’re going to make a run for it. And it’s cold, and I’m tired, and I don’t want to have to chase you down the block in the middle of the night.”
“Fine. Lead the way, boss,” she said. She was trying to be snide and sarcastic, but it was the exhaustion and resignation that came through.
I poured two glasses of water and handed her one. “Come on.”
My bedroom was on the third floor. Brownie raced past us on the stairs only to zoom back down twice to make sure we were still coming as we plodded along.
I noticed Ally peering over the railing at the second floor. “That’s the main living space,” I told her. “TV, fireplace, library.”
We arrived on the third floor, and I led the way into my bedroom at the back of the house.
There was a king-sized four-poster bed in the center of the room facing a fireplace I’d never used. The bed certainly hadn’t seen any creative entertainment in the last year.
“Sit,” I said, gesturing to the bed. Brownie jumped up and arranged himself on the pillows.
It got a smile out of both of us.
Ally perched gingerly on the edge of the mattress, her gaze taking in the room. Something on the nightstand caught her attention, and she leaned over to pick it up. She held up the copy of Pride and Prejudice accusingly.
I shrugged. “It’s for decoration.”
“There’s a receipt for a green tea dated last week being used as a bookmark,” she challenged.
“I’m not the one who owes answers tonight.” I ducked into the dressing room and grabbed two pairs of sweats and two t-shirts.
“Here,” I said, handing her one set.
Her eyes went wide. “I’m not staying here, Dom.”
We’d see about that. “Fine. But wouldn’t you be more comfortable yelling at me in these rather than a thong and pasties?”
“You have a point.”
She took the clothes. I pointed toward the door. “Bathroom’s through there. You can shower if you want.”
She glanced down at the glitter halo she’d shed on my bed, then longingly toward the bathroom. “You don’t mind?”
“As long as you wait around long enough after I shower to have this out.”
“You won’t come in while I’m in there?” she asked softly.
Something twisted in my gut. I hated that