Holding her upright with one hand, trying to ignore her body, he leaned into her shower and turned it to cold.
“You are not putting me in a cold shower. If you put me in there Valentine will bite you. There is no way you’re going to—agh!” She gasped as he deposited her under the freezing stream of water. “You’re a torturer. Valentine, help, help! Seize!”
The dog came charging into the bathroom, his feet slithering on the tiles in his haste to reach her. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then hurled himself into the shower to be with Molly. Knocked off balance, she slipped and landed on Daniel, who swore fluently.
Struggling with a wet woman and a wet dog, he shifted position to give himself more traction. Molly started to giggle helplessly and he tightened his grip on her arms to stop her falling, soaking himself in the process.
“Valentine,” he said through his teeth, “can you get out of the shower? You’re not helping.”
The dog wagged his tail, sending droplets of water flying everywhere.
Daniel swiped his hand over his face to clear his vision.
“I’ve never had a shower with a man and a dog before.” Molly grabbed the front of his shirt to support herself. “It’s a whole new experience.”
“I’ve lost count of the number of suits I’ve ruined since I met you. Right now I wish he didn’t love water so much.”
“Valentine hates water, but he really loves me. That’s why he’s in here. Isn’t he the most adorable perfect dog?”
“I’m not sure what I think of him. All I know is that he is costing me a hell of a lot in dry-cleaning bills.” He held her there, and then grabbed a towel from the rack. His shirt stuck to his skin and he was pleased he’d at least thought to remove his shoes.
He draped the towel around her, managed to reach around her to turn the shower off and ran his hand over his face to clear his vision.
“Coffee. Then you’re going to talk to me.”
Her head flopped onto his chest. “There’s nothing to say you haven’t already read.”
He rubbed her hair with the towel and grabbed a robe from the back of the door. “There are things that don’t make sense.”
“It all makes perfect sense. I tried to fall in love again and it didn’t happen. No love. No feelings.” She swayed as Daniel tied the robe at her middle.
“I get that part. What I don’t get is how ending a relationship meant you were labeled as a man-eater.” He stripped off his soaked shirt and saw her gaze drift to his chest. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Why not? I am a man-eater. And you’re seriously hot.”
“And you’re seriously drunk.”
“Not really. I can walk in a straight line. Maybe you should take the rest of your clothes off. Then I can lick you all over.”
He decided it was less taxing on his willpower to keep as many clothes on as possible. All the same he struggled to keep his focus. “And I don’t understand how you could have been fired from your job. An affair gone wrong is not cause for dismissal. You should have sued them.”
“Viewing figures plummeted and it was my fault. They did the only thing they could do.”
She stumbled back to the sofa and curled up. Without makeup and with her hair hanging in damp tendrils, she looked small and vulnerable. “You want the whole sorry tale? Why does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
“We have no emotional commitment, remember?”
His eyes darkened. “Just because we’re not in love, doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“What are you going to do with the information?”
He was about to make a sharp comment and then he saw the vulnerability in her eyes and realized she was genuinely scared.
The thought of her being scared ripped something inside him. “I would never expose your secrets.”
“If you hadn’t shown up at that party, you would never have known.”