It left her feeling lighter somehow. Forgiven.
A peaceful smile curving her lips, she glanced at the clock. It was a little after two in the afternoon. She’d slept aboutseven hours. Good enough, she decided and slid from bed to go to the closet to survey her clothes. She’d normally wear jeansand a T-shirt or a pretty summer dress during the afternoon depending on what she and G.G. had planned for the day. But todayshe grabbed her leather pants and bustier. If there were South American Enforcers out there waiting to try to grab her, shewanted to be prepared for battle.
The thought disrupted some of the serenity she’d woken feeling, and Ildaria sighed as she felt it slip away. She might haveforgiven herself for the past, but Juan Villaverde obviously hadn’t . . . And he’d found her. Which meant she had to talkto G.G. and decide what to do about it. Moving on and hiding would be her normal action, but she had a life mate to considernow, Ildaria thought as she closed the closet door and took her chosen clothes into the bathroom with her.
She’d brushed her teeth, showered, and was dressing when she recalled H.D. G.G. had never come to collect the pup. An hour after he normally collected the dog, she’d assumed he was still sleeping and had finally taken H.D. into the bedroom. She’d crawled into bed, settling him next to her, and fallen asleep. But the little fur ball hadn’t been there when she’d woken up, she realized.
Concerned, she stepped out of the bathroom and took a quick look around the room. She didn’t see him right away and wouldhave done a more thorough search, but the fact that the door was closed when she knew she’d left it open last night made herhead that way instead. She suspected G.G. had come to get him, but wasn’t positive, so opened the door cautiously and peeredout before leaving the room.
The hall was empty, but it was also full of delicious smells. Sniffing the air, she stepped out of the room and started upthe hall at a more relaxed pace. She was pretty sure neither dog-nappers nor Enforcers from the south who were out to kidnapher would cook bacon before going about their business.
A smile claimed her lips when she stepped out into the living room and spotted G.G.’s wide back at her stove. Her smile grewwhen H.D. came hurrying around the island and pranced toward her, tail high and tongue hanging out.
G.G. knew the minute his dog jumped up and scampered from the kitchen that Ildaria must be up. Turning from the bacon he was frying, he glanced into the living room and nearly swallowed his tongue. Bloody hell, the woman looked like a walking wet dream.
Ildaria was encased in leather from head to toe . . . well, mostly just from her breasts to her toes, he acknowledged. Whileshe had high-heeled, knee-high leather boots, and tight, body-hugging leather pants on that completely covered her from thewaist down, the upper half of her body was trussed up in some kind of bustier/corset-looking thing that was just as tightas the pants, and followed the upper curve of her breasts, ending in a low V between them. It had inch wide straps that ranover the shoulders to help keep it up, but still left a hell of a lot of her beautiful tawny flesh on display. It was sexyas hell. If these were the leathers she’d mentioned wearing when she went vigilante, the bag guys she’d gone after probablyhadn’t had a chance. They’d have been too distracted by her figure to fight back.
Much to his relief, Ildaria squatted then and leaned forward, her damp hair dropping around her like a curtain as she pettedH.D. and G.G. was able to drag his attention away from her. It dropped automatically to his dog, and he immediately rolledhis eyes with disgust. The fur ball was on his back, rolling back and forth and twisting his head ecstatically as she pettedhis belly.
“Come on, H.D., you’re embarrassing us both,” G.G. said with exasperation. “You could at least pretend to have a little dignity.”
Predictably, the dog ignored him. But Ildaria chuckled. He just wasn’t sure if it was at his words or the dog’s antics, though,since she followed it up with, “Hey baby. How’s my furry little sleep buddy?”
“Gloating all over the place that he got to sleep with you first,” G.G. said with amusement. When his teasing drew her gaze to him, he smiled and said, “Morning, Angel, you look ready to take on the world.”
Ildaria glanced down at her outfit, grimaced, and then scooped up H.D. “I thought I’d better be ready for anything. We hada little trouble last night.”
“I heard,” he said grimly as she carried H.D. to the island and settled on one of the chairs. “Mirabeau and Tiny are out inthe hall keeping an eye out for trouble.”
Ildaria nodded. “Tybo and Valerian were out in the hall when I went to sleep last night, but mentioned they’d probably bereplaced before I woke up. I assume this Mirabeau and Tiny are the Enforcers sent to replace them?”
“It seems so,” he answered, and then told her what he knew of the pair from gossip and comments made in the Night Club. “Mirabeauused to be a full-time Enforcer and Tiny was a private detective for the Morrisey agency. Now they split their time betweenthe two jobs. Today they’re enforcing and guarding you.”
“An immortal detective,” Ildaria said with a faint smile. “He would have been exceptionally good at it if his clients wereall mortal.”
“He was mortal when he worked as a detective only. Mirabeau turned him. They’re life mates.”
“Oh,” she said, drawing out the word.
Noting the concern drawing her eyebrows together, and knowing what was causing it, he quickly assured her, “But they’re pastthe passed-out-from-sex-all-the-time stage, so should be good.”
When Ildaria relaxed at
