Chapter 12
“Tellme again how you managed to get Theo to adopt this mutt?” Ford asked later that afternoon. He had stopped by to talk to Theo and had been shocked into speechlessness at the sight of all Theo’s employees in Theo’s office admiring a dog.
“It’s temporary,” Theo said. “Is she going to pee on my rug?” he asked Amber.
“Of course not. She”s perfectly potty trained,” Amber said reassuringly. Theo watched broodingly as Amber leaned over to pet the dog that he was now fostering. He almost couldn’t believe how she had made it happen. Actually, he could believe it, especially as she smiled at the dirty looking dog lying on her back accepting belly rubs on the expensive oriental rug in his office. He was almost ashamed of how easy it had been for her to convince him.
Theo had always prided himself on his ability to maintain professional boundaries, to make decisions based on logic rather than emotion, yet here he was, talked into fostering a dog he didn’t want, and adding yet more chaos to his formerly orderly life.
He was uncomfortably aware that she not only had considerable persuasive skills, but her passion, her energy, her irreverent mouth all had a hold on him. And it wasn’t just him.
Charlotte, Todd, and even Diane sat around the room taking turns admiring the smelly animal. He wasn’t a monster; his office was not a horrible place by any means, but Amber’s presence over the last two weeks had changed things here. There was a relaxed camaraderie that she brought to any situation with her warmth.
“Will you keep her here during the day, Theo?” Charlotte asked. She was sitting on the floor next to Amber, her feet crossed at the ankles wearing a simple, classic red dress that gave her features a glow he wasn’t used to seeing. Hell, had he ever seen Charlotte wearing anything that bold?
Now that he thought about it, Charlotte had undergone more subtle changes since the night of the Finger Lakes Dinner. It wasn’t anything drastic that he could pinpoint, but as Charlotte sat on the floor laughing with Amber, it seemed as if more than just her clothing had changed, and he had a feeling Amber had a hand in that too. What was happening to his office?
“I’ll take care of her. You won’t even notice she’s here.” Amber answered, dangling a squeaky toy in front of the dog. Puddin’ batted it away and nosed Ford’s hand to keep petting. “I already ran out and grabbed her food. I”m going to leave at five o”clock, and I”ll meet you at your house and show you everything you need to know.”
“Tell me again where you found her.” Ford asked.
Amber looked down, and Theo knew it was not good news. ”Did you do anything illegal?” Theo asked with dread.
”No,” she said, and when she looked up, he recognized the smile. That smile always came before trouble with her. He groaned.
“Did you steal this dog?” Theo asked.
“I didn’t steal her. I rescued her,” Amber said indignantly. “She was on the sidewalk in front of the bank, and she doesn’t have any tags.”
Theo narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who she belongs to?”
She bit her lip. “Maybe. I”m not sure.” He could practically see the wheels in her head turning and his temper flared again.
“Am I going to have an irate dog owner knocking on my door telling me I stole his dog?” Theo asked.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Ford said cheerfully. “I don’t want to hear anything that might make it hard for me to defend either of you in court.” He gave Puddin’ one last scratch and got to his feet.
“I’m leaving too. I have a date,” Todd said.
Diane and Charlotte followed and closed the office door behind them. Theo looked at Amber. She was on her hands and knees, reaching for the toy. Her skirt slid up the backs of her thighs and stopped just short of revealing whether or not she made a habit of not wearing any panties. A heavy, hot weight settled in his groin making him uncomfortably aware of how long it had been since he’d had sex. Too long.
And the solution to that problem was not crawling around his office on her hands and knees, despite what his cock was screaming at him. Theo had never crossed a line with a woman in his employ, and he was irritated by the thought crossing his mind as often as it had with his new assistant. He stood up abruptly.
“I’ll get it.” Anything was better than getting a hard-on in his office.
Images of Amber, soft and wet and bare, spread out for him like a buffet on his desk seared his brain. He crouched down awkwardly and looked under the couch for the toy. And came face to face with a hot, stinky tongue. Puddin’ panted doggie breath in his face. Theo grimaced.
“See? She likes you,” Amber said. She looked delighted, on her knees in front of him now.
”Oh no, don”t eat that,” she said. She leaned down again and reached for the toy Puddin’ was trying to swallow. Her skirt slipped farther up the back of her thighs. She was pretty and lush in that ruffly little dress that made him want to slip his hands up her smooth, silky thighs and around to the soft, bare cleft he’d only had a glimpse of. He suddenly, painfully, wanted a lot more than a glimpse.
”She smells. I”ll give her a bath tonight at your house. She just needs a little love and attention, don’t you, girl?” she cooed. Puddin’ sighed deeply and put her head on Theo’s shoe. “She knows a soft touch.”
“This is pathetic,” he said. ”We need a golden retriever, at least. She’s pitiful looking.”
Puddin’ let out a moan, and Amber covered her little floppy ears. ”Don”t say that; you”ll hurt her feelings. She”s perfect.”
“Perfect for the pound,” he muttered.
“Thank you,” Amber said, looking up at him. Her hazel eyes were more green than gold with her purple dress on, and softer than he’d ever seen them before. A faint, spicy hint of cinnamon lingered around her, distracting him. “I’m so grateful she doesn’t have to go back to that awful home. I promise you won’t even notice she’s here.” She looked down. “Look how she”s scratching her chin. Isn”t she so cute?”
He glanced at the dog. She probably had fleas. ”If she”s so cute, why don”t you keep her?”
“No can do. I don”t do animals, plants, or kids,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
”Why?” he asked.
She laughed, tinged with disbelief. “Can you even imagine? I can barely take care of myself.” A shadow of something flickered across her expression, prompting Theo to bend down to look at her face.
“Why do you say that?”
She hesitated so long he didn’t think she would answer. “Because I ruin relationships just as consistently as I do careers,” she said quietly. She lifted her chin. “I’ve learned it’s easier to not even try.”
They were so close he could feel the heat of her body. Her hair was up today, with pieces loose around her face, and he was close enough to see the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
He stared, wondering how the brazen, sexy woman in front of him could show him her bare pussy one minute, and then look as shy and vulnerable as she did now. She challenged everything he thought he knew about himself, his perceptions, and priorities, and yet he was drawn to her. It was a sobering thought.
A sharp rap on the door turned both of their heads. Johnny stood in his doorway, taking in the scene without expression. Theo knew exactly how it looked: he and Amber alone in his office, on the floor, so close their bodies were almost touching.
Theo stood up and helped Amber to her feet, and wondered yet again at the relationship between Amber and John Rossi. He was reasonably sure they were just friends because Amber herself had told him she didn’t do relationships, but why wouldn’t she answer him when he asked?
”Hey, Johnny.” Amber got to her feet, showing a flash of thigh, and hugged him. Irritation and something sharper pierced Theo as Johnny wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.
Johnny held out a set of car keys on his finger to Amber. “Here’s your keys, babe. I had a rookie follow me over and park it.”
Babe. Theo gritted his teeth at the casual intimacy.
“Thanks. I owe you one,” Amber said.
”What”s wrong with your car?” Theo asked.
“Nothing. Betty’s fixed now,” she said lightly.
”It was your carburetor this time,” Johnny said. “But your transmission is shot too.
”Oh no,” her brow furrowed. ”How much do I owe you?”
”I got it. You can pick up breakfast the next time we go out.”
Jealousy shot through Theo, thick and stabby. Johnny met his eyes and gave him a slow grin. “Our girl has a sweet tooth. Did you know that? Chocolate chip pancakes are her favorite.”
Theo ignored that. “I would”ve given you a ride,” Theo said to Amber.
”Don”t need one, boss.” Boss. He was so fucking sick of that word.
”All right, I”ve got a night shift to get ready for,” Johnny said. “Still on for Friday?”
”Sounds good.” Amber scooped up Puddin’. “I’m leaving too. We’ll walk you out.”
“Thanks, babe.” Johnny leaned down and kissed Amber’s cheek, holding Theo’s gaze as he did so. ”Later, Mr. Mayor.”
Theo nodded, and grimly wondered about his odds of being reelected with an assault record.
“You shouldn’t have done that,”Amber said once they left Theo’s office.
“What? I can’t kiss my friend on the cheek.” He grinned knowingly, that same grin that meant trouble wasn’t far behind. Johnny liked to push the boundaries even more than she did.
Amber tugged his burly arm down the hall. His Northfield Fire Department uniform shirt barely fit over his arms he was so big, but he let her pull him along. “You didn’t do it for my sake.”
“I know.” Johnny smirked. “Relax, babe. Can’t make it too easy on the guy.”
“He’s my boss. I’m not trying to be easy. And you’re complicating things.”
They were whispering as she led Johnny out of the building, but he stopped abruptly in front of Charlotte’s office.
“Hey,” he said, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Amber rolled her eyes. She had been watching Johnny charm women with that smile since they were kids. There was no way Miss Prim and Proper Charlotte would look twice at a guy like Johnny.
“Sorry, we’re just leav—” Amber stopped because Charlotte was staring. She was sitting at her computer, glasses on, with a pencil paused in midair, staring boldly at Johnny, who started right back.
“Er. Do you know each other?” Amber looked back and forth in the awkward silence. Charlotte’s red sheath dress fit perfectly, and her hair was soft around her face rather than her usual severe bun. She looked calm and confident, and lovelier than ever.
Slowly, Johnny straightened up off the door frame and walked toward her.
”Charlotte Thornton, this is my friend, John Rossi,” Amber said.
Charlotte held out her hand. Johnny held onto it, and they stared at each other without blinking.
They stared at each other so long, Amber got uncomfortable. “Should I wait outside?”
”Oh, sorry,” color flooded Charlotte”s cheeks, but she didn’t take her hand back.
”Why don”t you come out when you”re...er, done?” Amber said, backing out of the office. What in the world just happened?
She walked past Diane, who was eating burnt popcorn. She was just opening the car door when Johnny came out.
“Sorry about that.” He shook his head like he was clearing it.
She eyed him. “What was that all about?”
“We, uh, met at that Finger Lakes dinner.”
Well, well, well. Go on, Charlotte, you little minx.
“Be careful with her, Johnny. She’s a sweetheart.” Johnny had as much luck as she did at relationships, and for the same reasons. They both bolted as soon as that awful feeling of vulnerability reared its ugly head.
The difference between them was that he had a lot more women in his wake than she had men, and yet he was never called a slut. The irony wasn’t lost on her.
He grinned that bad boy smile and got on his bike. “See you.”
Later that evening, Amber let herself into Theo’s house with the spare key he had given her. She had joked that he was moving pretty fast for a new relationship, but he hadn’t cracked a smile. She let it slide, considering he had agreed to let Puddin’ stay with him for a while.
“You’ll be much more comfortable here,” she chattered to the dog as she put away the food and treats and various dog things Theo would need. “He’s got a thing for rabbit food, so don’t expect any good scraps.”
Puddin’ stopped sniffing around the kitchen and stared with a rather disgruntled expression on her face.
“I know. It’s a fault of his, but I’ll bring you something good when he’s not here.”
The dog lifted her nose disdainfully and Amber laughed. That was the Puddin’ she remembered. She knew a soft touch and could lay it on thickly when she needed to, but Amber always pictured Puddin’ as practical more than anything else. She did what she had to do to survive. Amber understood that sentiment perfectly.
“Don’t go far,” she called out as Puddin’ meandered out of the kitchen.
Amber puttered around the kitchen for a while, looking in the fridge for something to eat and finding washed produce in glass containers and more types of lettuce than she could identify. He didn’t even have a single pint of ice cream in his freezer, the psychopath.
She set up Puddin”s new crate in the living room and decided she needed something soft that smelled like Theo so she could bond with him. ”I told him you sleep in a crate, so pretend like you do,” she said.
”Come on, let”s go take a bath.” She figured Theo would feel happier with a good-smelling dog since he didn”t want one at all.
There were four doors at the top of the stairs. The first one turned out to be Theo”s room. It smelled like him, dark and sexy, masculine, and she had the sudden urge to lie down on his bed and envelop herself in his scent.
Instead, she headed to the bathroom. The en suite bathroom was just as tidy. No cap off the toothpaste or little dark hairs in the sink for her boss.
”Come on, Puddin’, hop in.” She gave the dog a boost into the tub and got to work with the special shampoo she’d picked up. The more she scrubbed, the more Puddin perked up, and the wetter Amber got.
By the time they were done, Puddin’ looked ready for a nap and Amber needed a change of clothes. She stopped at Theo’s dresser to look for two T-shirts: one for Puddin’s crate and one for her. The first drawer held neat rows of folded socks and she smiled, remembering how she had teased him that first night about going home to organize his sock drawer.
The next drawer was his folded T-shirts. She grabbed a soft gray Columbia Law school T-shirt and only hesitated a second before taking off her soaked dress and bra. If Theo came home, he wouldn’t mind her borrowing an old college shirt while her dress dried, and his T-shirt was almost longer than her dress anyway, hitting her at mid-thigh.
”All right, let”s get you something to eat.” She picked Puddin’ up, wrapped her in a towel, and Puddin’ snuggled close, getting her wet all over again, but she gave the dog a kiss on her little head, anyway. “You’re safe now,” she whispered.
”Amber,” came Theo’s deep voice from downstairs. Amber looked into Puddin’s velvety-brown eyes and tried for stern. “This is your chance for a second first impression. Make it a good one.” She let her down and Puddin’ disappeared.
She heard the second Puddin’ found her man and paused at the top of the steps to watch.
“You”re all wet. No, stop. Okay,” Theo said, bending over to scratch the dog’s head gingerly. Puddin’ flopped over onto her back and spread her legs wide in blatant invitation, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. “This is moving quite fast for me, Puddin’,” Theo murmured, and Amber laughed out loud.
Theo looked up, a smile on his face, and froze, his eyes fixed on her chest. She looked down to see the T-shirt clung damply to her breasts where she was holding Puddin’. Her nipples, clearly outlined, stiffened into points at the look on his face. She swallowed hard.
”I gave Puddin’ a bath and got a little wet. Hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your shirt.”
”Would you like to borrow pants?” he asked tightly.
She looked down skeptically. “Why? Do you have a pair that would fit me?
“Probably not,” he said. “But put them on, anyway.”
”Why? Is it bothering you?” she teased. She held out one leg from the step and pointed her polished toes. “This old T-shirt covers almost as much as my dress.”
”Amber,” he said tautly. “Right now, I”m not your boss, I”m not your friend, I”m not the mayor. I”m a man, and you need to put something on.”
”What if I don”t want to?” she asked, taking another step down. She expected him to take a step back, but he didn’t.
Instead, his large, warm palm circled her neck. His fingers slid into her hair and tugged her head back, his thumb settling in the hollow of her neck. He stroked his thumb lightly against the pulse there. Her breath was coming in faster pants now, her body hot and aching in all the places she wanted his hands.
“This is a terrible idea,” he murmured. His hands were rougher than she expected and warm on her neck as he stroked the indent at the base of her throat. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, imagining all the other places he would take his time stroking. She opened them to find his, dark and intense, looking at her.
“Those are my favorite kind,” she whispered back, and felt the response in his body. She wanted him like she wanted her next sugar fix, and just as she knew too much sugar made her sick, she still wanted every last bite of him.
Slowly, watching her eyes until the last second, he dipped his head, and replaced his thumb with the soft, hot press of his mouth, a kiss where her heartbeat fluttered. She tilted her head back to give him access to the underside of her jaw and closed her eyes at the feel of his lips playing over her throat. “Mmm,” she moaned, and was rewarded with the stroke of his tongue.
Puddin’s indignant howl pierced the air.
Amber looked down and laughed shakily. “Sorry, girl. Are we ignoring you?” Puddin’ laid her head on Theo’s shin and glared balefully up at her. She looked up to laugh with Theo only to find his face serious.
“Stop looking at me like that. Nothing happened,” she said.
“I’m your boss, Amber.” Theo said tightly. “We just came very close to crossing a line.”
“I know,” she mused playfully, despite the flutter of anxiety in her stomach. “I’ve had a lot of really dirty fantasies around that dynamic.” She laughed genuinely when she saw Theo’s face. She would never get tired of teasing him. “Relax, boss. It was consensual and fun.” She wiggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly to hide her unease. “Want to hit first base before your date?”
Theo scowled. ”It”s not a date.”
”I don”t care if it is,” she said, and even to her ears she sounded like a liar.
“Amber,” he said quietly, watching her with those cool blue eyes that pierced right through her. “I’m not dating anyone.”
”Oh,” she said, the significance not lost on her. With the heat of playful lust cooling, unease took its place. She was never good in the aftermath of desire. The intimacy of it had every instinct in her screaming to back away, at least, or to leave in a blaze of glory. She settled for backing up. ”I better let you get ready. I already fed Puddin’, and her crate is all made up.” Flippant. Cheerful. Evasive.
”Thank you,” he said, more formal than a man who had just had a half-naked woman ready to wrap around his body should be. He looked at her in that way of his that made her want to pull her T-shirt over her face for some measure of protection. Only, it wasn’t her body that was in danger.
“Okay if I borrow your shirt?” she asked. Down two more steps, far enough that she couldn’t see the knowing look in his eyes.