Read Online Under His Kilt by Melissa Blue - Free Book Online Page B

her laughter when she said it.
    “Somewhat better, but you can do classy.”
    “Ruff?”
    He made a sound full of pity. “Poor dog.”
    “And Sadie for a male dog was the epitome of Great Britain’s and its colonies superiority over Americans?”
    “It was humorous. With a ‘u’, by the way. You guys spell it wrong.”
    She grinned up at him. “Okay. Okay. Lexxie.”
    He eyed the slumbering dog and nodded. “I won’t make fun of Lexxie then. See you in a bit.”
    She’d texted him directions to her address once she put down the dog. He left her behind, feeling light-hearted. He wasn’t losing his mind by pushing the boundaries they’d drawn. They’d have sex at her house. To make sure of that he picked up a few extra things on his doggy run.
    *****
    Either puppies slept a lot or she picked an incredibly lazy one. Lexxie checked out the house and sniffed at things. If Jocelyn had been slower on the draw, Lexxie would have peed on most of the stuff she’d sniffed. But after that grand adventure, her puppy tottered around in a circle on the cover from her previous home and went to sleep. Not at all what she imagined having a dog would be like. Since she had no Frisbee, chewed up shoes or tennis balls it was kind of anti-climactic.
    She didn’t have time to do something really sappy like watch Lexxie sleep because Ian knocked. It hit her for the first time he’d see the inside of her apartment. Not a neat freak or a slob, the apartment was presentable. Nothing close to high scale as his, but it fit her. Should she care if he liked it?
    A moot point, but nerves settled into her stomach. Before she could let them screw with her head and momentary confidence, she whipped open the door for Ian. The man had shopping bags up to his chin.
    “How much crap did you get?”
    “Half the store.” He glanced around her apartment. “Nice place. Looks like you.”
    He had to push a few pillows out of the way to drop all but one bag on the green couch. The matching love seat had a huge pillow. Normally she would have sunk into the chair by now while watching TV on her flat screen, but she had stuff, so she dug in. “What do you mean it looks like me?”
    “Comfy. A few surprises.”
    She looked up at him and around the room. The apartment looked like her office with both functional furniture and also things like pictures, replicas of famous statues only the size of her palm…little things that made her apartment a home. “Comfy?”
    He stuffed one hand in his pocket and gripped the black bag in the other. “You’re soft. I like it. It’s a compliment. Now revel in all the doggy glory I’ve brought you.”
    Still wary, she asked, “How much do I owe you?”
    He blinked. “Pay me? Why?”
    He sounded incredibly offended so she put up her hands. “It’s just…not what I expected from you.”
    His brows slashed down into a frown. “Well, yeah, I am dobber.”
    “Not that.” She sighed, tried again and then shook her head. “Never mind.”
    Ian’s gaze was intent on her face. “Say it.”
    “It’s just unexpected.” And made her feel for him what she definitely shouldn’t. Made a little nugget of hope grow that they’d become more than sex buddies. “It’s thoughtful. Thank you.” She paused, narrowed her eyes. “What’s in the other bag?”
    He smiled. “After you get everything together for Lexxie, I’ll show you.”
    Ian walked her through how to prep the food. At that point Jocelyn accepted she did get the lazy dog. Lexxie woke up the moment food hit the bowl and toddled back off to sleep once done on her new sleeping pad. It amused the hell out of Ian.
    They settled on her living room floor and watched her sleep. It felt good. Not at all awkward, but she didn’t know what to make of it. Was he changing the rules? Or did he do this with every woman he slept with? She opened her mouth to ask but then stopped.
    Ian snorted and continued to rub the puppy’s head. “That makes it twice