Then it struck him. He shook his head, his lips quirking in amusement as he wrapped his hands around her small waist and lifted her into bed.
Little minx.
He settled her on her side, facing him, her thumb already in her mouth. He tucked her in, unable to stop himself from kissing her forehead. Longing filled him. What if things were different? What if he’d met her under other circumstances? Where she wasn’t Arianna Silvers, famous rich singer and he wasn’t just her bodyguard?
Where he could be her Daddy and she could be little Ari?
He turned the light on in the connected bathroom and kept the door open. Rugger jumped onto the end of her bed and settled in with a deep sigh.
“Don’t wake her,” he warned the dog. Then he tried to leave.
And found he couldn’t.
“Shit.”
He moved to the other side of the bed and climbed on top of the covers. He probably still wouldn’t sleep, but he knew he couldn’t leave her side tonight.
9
Smelly, hot air brushed against her face.
She screwed up her nose. Eww.
She opened her eyes, right into a pair of dark brown eyes. She gasped. Then the owner of those eyes reached out and licked her. Right across her face.
Gross.
She giggled. She loved dogs. She loved all animals, but she thought she might love dogs most of all. She wrapped her arms around Rugger’s thick neck and rested her head against him. A low-grade headache thumped behind her temples.
She was kind of surprised she’d slept. She’d expected to be woken with nightmares. She shuddered as she remembered last night. She held on tight to Rugger, who just lay there and let her cuddle him. Maybe she should get a dog. It no longer mattered that her mother was allergic to dog hair, she didn’t live with her.
And maybe it would stop her from visiting.
Bonus.
She sighed, knowing she had to get up. Last thing she wanted was Bain coming to wake her up. It would no doubt just add to the negative opinion he had about her. Staying in bed and hugging Rugger wasn’t going to fix her problems. She forced herself to sit up. She had to get back home, check on Joe and Estelle.
Rugger gave her hand a slobbery kiss. She patted him then got up and dressed. She took a look in the mirror, sighing at the state of her hair before pulling it back and twisting it into a bun. It was a total rat’s nest that was going to take her a ton of conditioner to untangle.
Later.
She wandered downstairs, Rugger trailing after her. She followed the scent of coffee and found Tom at the stove in the kitchen.
“Well, good morning,” he said with a smile. Then he looked down at Rugger. “Thought that must be where you were, Rugger. Hope he didn’t annoy you.”
She shook her head with a smile. “No, not at all.”
“Coffee?”
She nodded. “Please.” He poured her a cup. “Creamer and sugar are on the counter already. Bain’s in the living room, he’s watching news reports about last night.”
She wrinkled her nose. She knew she had to face reality at some stage. But not right now.
“Would you mind letting Rugger out? Just open the sliding door, the backyard is fully fenced.”
“Sure.”
She walked towards the back door, coffee in hand, and slid it open. Some air sounded like a great idea. Rugger slammed into her on his way out and she dropped the cup of coffee, watching with horror as it fell onto the tiled floor, smashing and spilling hot coffee on her bare feet.