“I heard you.” Only the first day of being a dog owner and he hated it. Why the hell would anyone want to leave a warm bed and a gorgeous half-naked woman to take care of a dog? Were people truly nuts? He sat up and gave her his best come-hither smile. “Half an hour more won’t make a difference to Pinky. But it will to me.” His dick screamed with happiness as she seemed to struggle with the temptation.
Then she belted her robe tighter. “After you take care of Pinky.”
“I live across town!” he bellowed. “You’re seriously kicking me out this early? Pinky won’t care. Hell, she probably pooped in the house anyway; I’ll deal with it later.”
The familiar stubborn lines of her face told him a battle was about to be launched. “Pinky needs structure and routine. She needs to trust you. Leaving her alone with no care will only enforce what the old owners did to her. I’m sorry, Stone, but fostering is a full-time job and it’s important. You have to take it seriously.”
He glared at her, still aroused, and now mightily pissed off. “I didn’t volunteer for this shit,” he reminded her. “You forced me, remember? You can’t call me out on not doing a job right that I never wanted in the first place!”
She pressed her lips together. “Semantics. Now, get dressed, take care of Pinky, and we’ll see where that leaves us later.”
Forget this! Now, she wasn’t gonna get any because he was mad. He got out of bed buck naked and stabbed a finger at her. “Fine. I’ll go and take care of the rat fink. But next time you want a bit of morning sex, you’ll . . . you’ll . . .”
“Yes?” she prodded, her eyes filled with amusement.
“You’ll be denied!”
He ignored her quiet laughter, stomped to the bathroom, and slammed the door. He dressed in his suit again, totally flaunting the whole man-whore walk-of-confidence vibe, and made his way into the kitchen. This time Robert didn’t come flying at him but looked up from his food bowl with an eager look on his face. Stone smothered a groan. The dog would be with Arilyn for two weeks, so he should try to make friends so he wasn’t scared shitless. Hunkering down, trying not to wince, he held out his hand. “Here, boy. Ugh, Robert. Good boy.”
The dog couldn’t wag his tail, but his ear pricked. He dragged himself away from his precious food bowl, moving slowly, as if he knew Stone was nervous. Finally, he got close enough to push his wet nose into Stone’s palm, nuzzling.
Huh. Kinda cute.
As if he realized he’d gotten through round one, he moved an inch closer and rubbed his head against his hand, giving him a quick lick. Stone’s muscles relaxed, and a sense of comfort flowed through him. Reaching out with the other hand in careful motions, Stone stroked his body, eliciting a rumble of happiness and another lick.
Arilyn laughed. “I knew it wouldn’t take you long to be friends. There hasn’t been a person Robert hasn’t won over.”
Stone looked up. With her shapely bare legs peeking out from under the silk, her socks pulled up to mid-calf, he longed to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Drag her back to bed for the entire day, until they both couldn’t walk normally. Instead, he tried to hold on to his grouchiness at being thrown out.
“Can I have any coffee before I go?”
“Sure, I have a pot here. Black?”
“Yes.”
She fixed him a mug, and with one last pat, Stone stood and took a grateful sip of the hot brew.
Then choked.
“What the hell is this?” he asked. “This isn’t coffee!”
She cocked her head with confusion. “Yes, it is. Organic beans specially roasted.”
He stared at the mug in horror. “Is this decaffeinated?” he whispered.
“Of course. Caffeine is bad for you, Stone. Once you get used to it, you’ll never notice the difference.”
He threw the cup in the sink, trying to hold on to his temper. God help him, they’d break up right now if they didn’t straighten this out. “Like I didn’t notice you took away my meat and replaced it with frozen soy? No. Arilyn, I need real coffee. Black. With lots of caffeine. I don’t care if it’s not good for you, I can’t function without it.”
She stuck up her chin in that stubborn way of hers. “Caffeine is an addiction like smoking.”
“I’m not a saint. I’m grateful I haven’t fallen off the wagon with the smoking, but if you take away my coffee, I’ll be institutionalized. This is not a gray area. It’s make-or-break time.”
He stared at her, the battle waging between them, and finally, she relaxed, her lips curving in a small smile. “Okay.”