And then, her clothes landed beside him. He bent down, picked them up, and carried them to his laundry room. Her clothes were still warm. Lifting them up, he pressed them against his nose and inhaled her soft, female scent. Beautiful.
What the fuck was happening to him? Sniffing a stranger’s clothes. He truly had gone mad. There was no other word for it. He’d never done such a thing before in his life.
He threw her clothes into the washing machine, put on the correct cycle, added in some detergent, and then got the wash started. Elijah stayed in the laundry room, glancing around to see if there was any other kind of work he could do. There was nothing. Fuck. Shit.
Heading back to the room, he was tempted to walk in, but that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly.
You’re not a gentleman.
“Are you … dressed?”
Now, all he wanted to do was see how good she looked without her clothes on. He imagined she had full breasts, a beautiful ass, and hips made to be held while he fucked her.
“Yes, I’m dressed.”
So not fucking fair.
He didn’t say a word, and instead entered the room to find that Buster, his gorgeous and loyal Labrador, had decided to go and sniff her.
Josie smiled at his dog. “You’re so cute.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his head.
Of course, Buster just loved the attention and rested his face on her knees.
“He is so gorgeous,” she said.
Elijah smiled. “I got him from a pup. Well, I got him and his sister, who is upstairs on my bed. She’s a little grumpy when we have company.”
“You have two dogs?”
“Yeah, found the two of them wandering around outside a couple of years ago. I was looking to get me some dogs, and it seemed like fate. So, I took them in and they’ve been mine ever since.”
“I never had a dog,” Josie said. “I’ve always wanted one.”
He saw the smile on her face drop and he also noticed how tired and worn down she looked. Elijah recognized that all too well.
They heard the sound of padding feet and he found Trixie, his brown Labrador. Buster was a beautiful golden color. She looked toward Josie and gave a sniff.
He laughed. “Go on, girl, you know you want to be petted. She’s a jealous kind.”
Josie kept one hand on Buster, and with the other she stroked Trixie. “So cute. Both of you are.”
And his dogs adored her.
Chapter Two
Josie opened her eyes and the events of the night before came rushing back to her: the walk, the freak snowstorm, the man who’d come to her rescue. Rolling over, she turned toward the window as she thought about Elijah. He was rugged, sexy, and everything she had ever dreamed about in a man.
But that was crazy. There was no way a man like that was single.
He had the most beautiful dogs. Trixie and Buster.
Pushing the blankets off her body, she moved toward the window. With the storm in full possession last night, Elijah had suggested they get some rest. He had a spare bedroom, which he’d helped her to last night. The clothes she wore seemed to smell like him. Did that mean there was no woman in his life?
There was no way she could have feelings like this for a married man. Just the thought made her uncomfortable. So, she nibbled her lip and padded across the soft carpet toward the window. Pulling the curtains back, she glanced outside and gasped. It looked so stunning. Beautiful. The whole of outside was covered in white. Even the trees didn’t show much green, covered in snow. It had been a long time since she had experienced such a freak snowstorm. Was there any way for her to leave?
Josie made her way toward the door and rubbed at her chest, hating the sharp sting that struck her hard at the thought of leaving.
She didn’t want to leave. How crazy was that? She didn’t even know the man, but what she did know was the fact she didn’t want to leave. It was so bizarre.