“When we’re together, Erin? Naked, sweaty, our bodies touching and me kissing and tasting you? It’s going to be when your head is clear and you aren’t talking about or thinking about Owen. When you’re ready for that, you let me know.”
He opened her car door for her and she slid inside. She looked up at him, suddenly wishing his mouth was on hers more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
He smiled at her, and her heart did a series of jumbled flip-flops, her stomach tumbling along with it.
And then he closed the car door.
Damn. What had that been all about?
Well, she knew what it had been all about.
Desire. Raging, hardcore, I want you right now desire.
For Jason.
Not just for revenge. But just for her. Her own wants, her own needs.
And she wanted him right now.
Unfortunately, he’d already walked away, gotten into his truck, and was waiting for her to leave.
Also unfortunate? She was turned on, hot as blazes, damp and so ready for sex she might explode right there in the car. She shot a look over at him, but he wasn’t paying attention.
Come on, Jason. I’m sending sexual vibes your way. Look at me.
She tapped the steering wheel, waiting.
And . . . nothing.
Clearly, she was no sexual psychic.
She should just give it up for tonight, give Jason some space, because she’d already taken up enough of his time today.
But she wasn’t finished with him yet. In fact, things were just heating up between them.
CHAPTER
ten
SHE’D HAD AGATHA for five days. Five relentless days of Agatha running amok in her office, chewing on her laptop cord, eating one of her favorite shoes—that one had been painful. And the running. So much running, when Erin had been given specific instructions not to let the pup run. She’d called Jason and told him the pup would not listen to her. He had laughed. Laughed at her.
Jerk.
Laughing was not useful advice. He said to keep her contained in a small area, then laughed again when he’d told her he had to go.
Asshole.
And then the whole housebreaking thing? How many trips outside to pee could one pup make during a twenty-four-hour period?
And the crying at night. Agatha did all right in her crate, but Erin felt kind of bad about abandoning her, when all she really wanted to do was cuddle her. Though she knew crate training was the right thing to do for her, especially while she was trying to housebreak her.
The whole thing was frustrating. And she was so damn tired she wanted to lie on the ground and cry.
But right now she was walking with Agatha, who bounded ahead like the happiest dog ever, oblivious to Erin’s plight. The cast on Agatha’s leg didn’t seem to hinder her ability to maneuver at all, which was both a good and a bad thing.
At least they had the property. Agatha liked being around people so she never wandered too far, fortunately. After the first few days Erin already knew where her puppy was headed.
“Buongiorno, Agatha,” her dad said as Agatha found her father in the vineyards and limped over to him, her tail wagging furiously. “How’s the beautiful girl today? Would you like a treat?”
Her father had absconded with one of the bags of treats Erin had bought and kept some in his pocket at all times, giving one to Agatha every time he saw her.
“You’re going to spoil her, Dad.”
“Puppies should be spoiled. Like babies.”
Erin rolled her eyes, but watched as her dad spent some time with Agatha, using treats to teach the pup how to sit. Agatha was a free spirit and conveniently ignored anything Erin asked her to do. For treats, apparently, she could sit on command. Erin made a mental note about that one.
“She likes you.”
Her dad laughed. “She likes treats. And people who pay attention to her.”
“I pay plenty of attention to her. I’m walking her right now.”
“Your mind is scattered and puppies need your full attention. She knows it, which is why she gets into trouble. You need to sit on the floor and wrestle with her, tire her out some so she won’t be so rambunctious. And carry treats with you for training. She’ll follow you everywhere.”
“Okay, Dad. Thanks.”
Her father handed her the treat bag. “Try it.”
“Sure. Come on, Agatha.”
The pup had planted her butt on the ground and stared up lovingly at her dad.
“Agatha, come.”
“Rattle the treat bag,” her dad suggested.
Erin lifted the bag and shook it. It worked. Agatha bounded over to Erin, and when Erin took off, Agatha stayed in step with her.
“You will never be a success in life if you’re motivated by food, Agatha. You need to find your purpose.”
Agatha looked up at her with a happy puppy smile as if to say, Yeah, my purpose in life is getting what’s in that bag you’re holding.
She rounded the side of the house toward the front, surprised to see Jason’s truck pulling up. When he got out, Agatha dashed over to him.
Jason crouched down and rubbed all over Agatha’s furry body.
“Hey, Agatha. You’re looking very cute today. Are you out for a walk?”
Erin caught up. “She’s taking me for a walk.”
“Maybe too much freedom for her,” Jason said, examining her cast. “This might be a good time to start leash training her.”
The last thing she wanted was more advice from the men in her life, but since Jason was a veterinarian and knew better than she did, especially about Agatha’s injury, she supposed she had no choice but to listen to him. “Okay. I’ll go get her leash.”
“I’ll hang out here with her and help you, if that’s okay.”
She looked down at him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Hey, I came here to check on her. And you. So I