Chapter 6
Horse was crying like a baby.
“Horse, shh,” she said as she quickly washed him.
Jeez, he was dirty.
He clearly hated being bathed which likely explained why he was so freaking filthy.
Thankfully, he didn’t try to get out of the tub. But he was making enough noise to wake the dead.
She heard a knock on her door and winced. Shit. She must have woken up the people in the room next to her.
“Okay, Horse. Let’s not get me kicked out of the nice hotel at two in the morning, yeah?”
She was beyond exhausted. All she wanted was to climb into bed and go to sleep.
Especially as she had to be up early in the morning.
For a breakfast date.
Warmth unfurled inside her even though she tried her best to ignore the feeling. Because she had no right to feel that way.
These guys were bossy, domineering, gorgeous, sexy . . . urgh. Stop it, brain!
Her phone started ringing and she glanced down at it as she grabbed a towel for Horse.
Arabella winced at the thought of using one of these pristine white towels on Horse. She’d need to leave housekeeping some extra money to cover the cost.
After wiping her hands quickly on the towel, she answered the call on speaker. Then she attempted to get Horse out of the tub.
But for some reason, he wouldn’t shift.
She ignored the sound of her name being called through the phone as she attempted to heave the huge dog out of the bath.
What was wrong with him?
“Horse! First, you don’t like the bath and cry. And now it’s time to leave, you won’t move?”
Another God-awful cry escaped him.
“Make it make sense,” she grumbled as she attempted to heave him up again. She was trying to hurry, knowing that someone was at her door.
But her foot hit a puddle of water and she flew backward. She managed to grab onto the towel holder to ease her fall so instead of ending up on her back, she slid onto her ass.
“Ow.” Tears filled her eyes as she tried to gather her composure.
Suddenly, Kellan and Eli were there. Where had they appeared from?
“What happened? Are you all right?” Eli asked worriedly. “Have you hurt yourself?”
“I’m . . . I’m fine.” Her body was. But her embarrassment was building. She was dressed in just a pair of shorts and a white singlet.
And no bra.
With a gasp, she covered her chest with her arm. “What are you doing in here?”
“Eli heard this awful noise and wanted to break down the door. He thought you were being murdered,” Kellan said calmly.
“I tried knocking,” Eli said. “And I called you. You answered the phone but then you never replied to me.”
“Um, sorry. I was dealing with Horse. He didn’t like being bathed. But he also won’t get out of the tub.”
“It was Horse making all that noise?” Eli asked as he helped her up, holding her steady.
Warmth zinged across her skin, making her feel slightly light-headed.
It’s just because you’re tired.
Yep. That was all it was. It had nothing to do with liking his touch.
Nope.
“Yeah. I’m so sorry he woke you up,” she apologized as she glanced around for a robe or something.
Horse was still sitting in the bath, staring at them forlornly. Once she’d washed him, she’d realized that the majority of the brown was actually dirt and he had mostly white fur with just a brown patch over one eye and on his back.
Why didn’t she have anything to put on?
“I’m just going to go get some more clothes,” she said, moving toward the bathroom door.
But Horse let out another god-awful wail and she froze.
Darn it.
She had to get him out first.
“Thanks for checking on me,” she said, her arm still across her breasts. “I’m fine and so is Horse. You guys should go back to bed.”
“We’ll help you,” Eli stated.
“Oh, you really don’t have to. I’m not sure he’d like that.”
But Eli had already whipped off his sweater. He wore a black singlet underneath that showcased his very impressive biceps.
Holy yumminess.
Arabella knew she was staring but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. How could he be that muscular? And tanned?
And sexy?
“You’re drooling.”
Her gaze moved to Kellan as he spoke.
What?
Then his words infiltrated her brain.
Oh. God.
She wasn’t, was she? She couldn’t be drooling. She tried to move her hand up to brush it over her mouth, but then she realized that her arms were trapped in Eli’s oversized sweater.
“I am not,” she muttered as she attempted to get her arms into the holes. Unfortunately, the sweater wasn’t cooperating.
“Urgh! Why is this thing so hard to get on?” she cried.
“Here, let me help you,” Eli said calmly as Kellan grabbed the towel she’d dropped.
She watched nervously as he approached Horse, barely noticing that Eli was basically dressing her.
Eli slid her hands through each hole and she headed toward Kellan.
“Be careful. I don’t think he’ll like you touching him.”
To her shock, though, Horse didn’t complain as Kellan wrapped the towel around him, lifting him out of the bath. But as soon as his feet were on the floor, he padded over to her, pressing into her so heavily that she nearly toppled.
Eli placed his hand on her back to keep her from falling and Horse growled at him.
“Horse,” she said in exasperation as she started to dry him. “Really? Eli wasn’t hurting me. And you just let Kellan touch you.”
“Maybe he prefers me to Eli,” Kellan said dryly. “Most people do.”
Was that . . . was that a joke?
“Did you just make a joke?” she asked.
“He can’t have,” Eli replied. “He doesn’t know how to joke.”
Yeah, that’s what she’d thought.
But that meant he was delusional.
“Sometimes it’s best not to say anything,” Eli advised, as though he could read her mind.
Kellan sighed, rolling his eyes. “I know how to joke.”
“Uh-huh. Sure you do,” Eli said.
“Anyway, I don’t think it’s us touching him that he has a problem with. It’s us touching you,” Kellan told her.
Oh. That was actually a good point.
A wave of exhaustion ran through her. What she really needed to do was get some sleep.
“Thanks for coming to help. And again, I’m sorry that we woke you up.”
Eli frowned. “You’re sure you don’t need us to stay?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. We’re just going to sleep now. Right, Horse?”
Horse gave a huff that she was taking as agreement.
“Come on,” Kellan said, taking hold of Eli’s arm as though he was preparing to drag him out. But Eli nodded and followed him out of the bathroom. She and Horse walked after them and she glanced at the door.
Wait . . .
“How did you get in here?” she asked.
“Oh,” Kellan said. “I have a keycard for this room.”
Eli grimaced and shot his brother a look. Kellan just stared back at him.
“What?” Kellan asked.
“You shouldn’t have told her that. It makes you sound like a stalker or something.”
“I just have it in case of emergency. The room is under my name.”
It was?
Okay, she understood why the hotel had given him a card. But not why he’d kept it.
“Give me the card,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Why?” Kellan asked.
“Because I don’t feel comfortable with you being able to enter my hotel room whenever you like.”
“I would knock,” Kellan told her seriously. As though that made everything all right. As though she should be able to sleep easy now.
Not that she really thought he would harm her. But she was a woman on her own and she had to be more careful with her safety.
More careful than you have been lately, anyway.
“Unless I thought you were in danger,” he added, totally taking away from what he’d just been saying.
“Card,” she said firmly.
“Kellan, you can’t keep a keycard to this room,” Eli told him. “And you know it.”
Kellan sighed and dug the card out of his pocket, handing it over to her. “I think I should keep it. Clearly, you have issues with asking for help. But, fine. If you need any more assistance, call. Or you will not like the consequences. Make certain that you are up and ready at eight.”
Eli sighed as his brother left. “He really is a good guy. He just sees things in black and white sometimes. He’s really intelligent and analytical, but not great with emotions.”
“It’s all right,” she told him. Although had he really just threatened her? How did she feel about that? And what would he do if she didn’t call? Or if she wasn’t up and ready in the morning?
“I just really want to sleep now.”
“See you in the morning. Lock the door behind me.”
“Looking forward to it.” After closing and locking the door, she sank to the floor. “What was that, Horse?”
He came over and sat on her lap, making her groan. For some reason, he seemed to think he was a lap dog. And even though he was basically skin and bone, he wasn’t that light.
She hugged him tight, resting her head on his. At least he smelled good now. Maybe it was crazy to trust a dog that she’d picked up off the side of the road. Actually, it was definitely crazy. But she felt some kinship with him.
“Why did I say, ‘looking forward to it’?” she asked with a groan. “What an idiot.”
Horse let out a small woof.
“Okay, I think we should be quiet now. It’s late and I need some sleep and to not get kicked out of this hotel. Let’s go to bed.” She stood and turned to eye the door.
Surely he wouldn’t have another key card?
No. She had two.
Although that didn’t mean that he couldn’t get another one.
Sighing, she shook her head. She didn’t have the energy to worry about that right now. If he wanted in, he’d find a way. She just had to put faith in her instincts that said he wouldn’t harm her.
Morning was coming up quick.
And she would need her wits to get through this breakfast date.