When the dog focused his attention on her, she found herself using that cooing voice all humans resort to when faced withcute creatures like babies and puppies. “Aren’t you a pretty puppy? Hmm? Yes you are. You look like a little teddy bear. Ijust want to cuddle you all up.”
That elicited a high-pitched bark from the little fur ball, and then he turned and charged to the open end of the bar by the swinging doors and careened around it, his little nails clacking on the hardwood.
“H.D., no!” G.G. said with alarm, dropping his plate on the bar and chasing after the dog even as he warned, “Get on a stool.He doesn’t like women and he’s an ankle biter.”
Ildaria ignored the warning, and turned to face the dog as he sprinted into view around the corner of the bar, still yippingas he came. Rather than climb up on a stool, she stepped down off the brass rail and crouched down to greet the little fluffydog. When he reached her, she caught him under the front legs and lifted him fearlessly to her face so she could press kissesto his furry cheeks. He immediately began licking wildly at any part of her face he could reach.
“Well, damn.”
Lowering the dog, Ildaria cuddled him to her chest and petted him soothingly as she glanced at his owner. The giant gave ahuff of disbelief.
“That dog doesn’t like anyone but me. Usually, anyway,” G.G. added, his gaze shifting to the dog now licking her hands, neck,and chin.
Ildaria shrugged almost apologetically. “Dogs like me.”
“So it would seem,” he muttered, some of the tension sliding out of him now that the danger of the little fur ball attackingher had passed. His gaze slid from her to the dog and then to his plate of food before he heaved a sigh and headed for theswing doors. “I’ll get Marguerite’s order.”
“No rush,” Ildaria said, sliding onto one of the bar stools and settling H.D. in her lap so she could continue to pet him. “Why don’t you eat your food first so it doesn’t go cold?”
The Giant paused with his hand on one of the swing doors and looked back with surprise. “Yeah?”
“Si. Marguerite expected me to be at the university for several hours so went to visit Lissianna. There’s really no rush.”
His lips quirked with amusement at this news and he asked, “Playing hooky?”
“You have to be enrolled in classes to play hooky from them,” she pointed out unhappily.
That had his eyebrows rising and his feet carrying him back to stand on the other side of the bar from her. “I was told youwere finishing your third year, taking accounting at the university.”
“Were being the key word in that sentence,” Ildaria said, her tone dry as dust. She pressed a kiss to H.D.’s head and then liftedher gaze back to G.G., surprised to find him eyeing her with concern.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said in a deep, sympathetic rumble. “Were the courses here harder than—”
“Oh, God, no,” Ildaria said quickly, dismayed at the idea that he might think she’d dropped out because she couldn’t hackthe courses here. “I was doing well. I didn’t want to quit.”
“Then what happened?” he asked with confusion.
“Lucian happened,” Ildaria said bitterly, and then deciding that wasn’t fair, added, “Or to be fair, the truth is I happened,and then life happened and Lucian was forced to intercede.”
Now, the poor man looked thoroughly lost, she noted and smiled wryly, but merely reminded him, “You should really eat your dinner before it gets cold.”
G.G.’s gaze moved back to the plate between them with surprise. Apparently he’d forgotten all about his meal. Reminded ofit, he nodded, but didn’t start eating at once. Instead, he raised his eyes back to her and said, “I need to get a drink.Do you want anything?”
Ildaria hesitated, but then asked, “Do you have any sodas without caffeine?”
His eyebrows rose slightly, but he asked, “Do you like Tahitian Treat?”
When Ildaria stared at him blankly, he grinned and said, “Hang on.”
She watched him move along the counter, and then focused her attention on the pup in her arms when he shifted in her holdso that her hand could reach his belly. Grinning at the silent request, Ildaria rubbed his stomach and then chuckled softlywhen the dog released a little sound that was part grunt and part sigh and then rolled completely onto his back in her armsand let his legs flop open so she could cover more belly. It was a very trusting move. He was lucky she didn’t drop him, butIldaria managed to retain her hold and petted his belly as he appeared to want. Much to her amusement the dog closed his eyesthen and seemed to fall asleep under her ministrations.
“Little gremlin. He’s never like this with women.”
Ildaria lifted her head to find that G.G. had collected two glasses of a clear, cherry-red liquid over ice and walked aroundto join her on the client side of the bar.
Settling on the chair next to hers, he placed one of the drinks on the bar in front of Ildaria and then took a sip of the other as he pulled his plate closer. After swallowing the drink, he set the glass down, looked at the dog again and shook his head. “Actually, he’s not like that with anyone but me. You must be a dog whisperer.”
Ildaria smiled faintly as she peered down at the sleeping dog. He was a tiny little thing. Hardly the breed she would haveexpected a big man like G.G. to have.
“Big dogs need room to run and in the UK I live in a flat four blocks from the club,” he said, as if having read her mind,which as a mortal he couldn’t do. She supposed most people commented on the size of his dog when he continued, “A walk tothe Night Club there and back is enough exercise for this little guy.”
He didn’t have to say it wouldn’t be enough for a
