Chapter 16
Dutton woke to soft, wet kisses on his cheek. He opened one eye and stared into the face of the sweetest redheaded Havapoo he’d ever met. Her little body started wiggling in excitement as her tail went a hundred miles an hour. “Morning, sweet girl,” he whispered.
She jumped up on his chest and tapped her paws, clearly demanding something.
He turned to see Dahlia was still fast asleep, and not wanting to wake her, he slipped out of the bed, grabbed his jeans, and headed out of the room with Shortcake running ahead of him. He made a pitstop in the bathroom before letting Shortcake out the back door.
The pup stood on the back deck, looking at him expectantly.
“You can’t go out without someone? Is that it? You need someone to watch over you?”
She took a few more steps and paused, looking back at him.
“Fine, but it’s chilly out here. Give me a second.” He headed into the living room to grab a throw off the couch. After wrapping it around his shoulders, he accompanied Shortcake outside and stayed there until she finished her business.
Apparently, Shortcake was cold, too, because she didn’t hesitate to run to the back door and then whine when he wasn’t fast enough for her.
“You’re a demanding little thing, aren’t you?” he said mildly as he opened the door.
She darted in and went straight for her dog dishes.
Dutton got her fresh water and dug around until he found her food. Once she was fed, he placed the throw back on the couch and went back into the bedroom.
Dahlia blinked up at him, her sleepy eyes barely open.
“Good morning,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. “You don’t need to get up. Shortcake has been wrung out and fed.”
She placed her hand on his cold arm and grimaced. “She talked you into going outside with her, didn’t she?”
He chuckled softly. “Yes.”
“She’s got you wrapped around her little paw. Did you go out like that?” She brought her other hand up and started to rub his arms, apparently trying to warm him back up.
“I had a throw, but it’s pretty chilly out there.”
She scanned his body and said, “Lose the jeans and get back in here so I can warm you up properly.”
Dutton gladly obliged. Once he was back under the covers, Dahlia rolled into him, wrapping one arm and one leg around him. He let out a contented sigh, feeling, for once, like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. “Thank you.”
“For what?” She looked up at him, her mussed blond hair sticking out in odd places.
Dutton was sure she’d be mortified if she saw her appearance, but he found it endearing.
There was something about seeing her in the morning that not only made her appealing, but it also stirred something deep inside him.
He wanted to be the one who was responsible for her disheveled appearance.
He started to run his fingers through her hair, gently detangling it.
“For letting me stay here. I slept better than I have in days.”
She chuckled softly. “Well, if I’m honest, it wasn’t exactly sleep that was on my mind. But when I found both you and Shortcake cuddled up and fast asleep, I couldn’t bring myself to try to wake you.”
His libido was suddenly on high alert. He shifted his fingers from her hair to her neck and trailed them down to her collarbone and over her shoulder, making gooseflesh pop out over her skin. “I wasn’t exactly planning on going to sleep.”
“Well, neither of us are asleep now,” she said as she rolled all the way on top of him.
“No, we most certainly are not,” he agreed, his voice husky with desire.
Dahlia gave him a slow, sexy smile before she pressed her lips to his.
Every part of him started to tingle as he wrapped his arms around her, burying one hand in her hair while the other slid down her back until he slipped it under her satin pajama top, finding her soft skin.
She let out a little noise of approval.
He smiled against her lips and suddenly flipped them over so that he was on top and she was pressed against the mattress.
“Oh,” she said, delight shining in her eyes.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked, wanting to get her clear consent before they went any further.
“I’m sure,” she said, breathless.
“That’s good. Because I plan to touch and kiss every part of your body until you feel just as worshipped by me as I felt last night when you were taking care of me.” He started to unbutton her satin pajama top as he dropped soft, open-mouthed kisses over the swell of her breast.
“Everywhere?” she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
“Everywhere,” he confirmed. Then without another word, Dutton spent the next hour showing Dahlia exactly how much she mattered to him.
He didn’t care that they’d only really known each other for a short time.
They had a connection. A special one. And he aimed to make sure that she knew he cherished it.
Dahlia pulled Dutton into the shower. She looked wrecked in the best possible way, and Dutton wondered what she’d do if he started worshipping her all over again.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she said. “We’ve got to clean up so we can take Shortcake on her walk. If we don’t, she’s going to start terrorizing the house.”
Shortcake hadn’t exactly been pleased when she’d realized she was locked out of the bedroom, and her patience had completely run out.
Between the whining and the pawing at the door, she’d just sounded far too pathetic.
Eventually they’d let her in, but not until they were both completely satisfied.
Shortcake had made her displeasure known by refusing Dahlia’s affection and yanking one of the blankets right off the bed.
Dutton had been amused. Dahlia less so.
“You have a point,” Dutton agreed. “But first, I have work to do.” He stood behind her and spent a good deal of time washing every inch of her before moving on to wash her hair.
Dahlia made every delicious sound she’d made while he was loving her earlier, and he almost enjoyed the shower just as much as he had ravishing her.
When he was finally done, she turned around and said, “Let me return the favor.”
“You don’t have to,” he said, ready to do a quick clean up so they could get on with their day, but she insisted.
Once Dahlia’s hands were on him, all sense of time fled, and her touch was so intoxicating that he ended up making love to her again until the water ran cold.