“Here, put these on,” he said. “Throw your clothes to the doorway, I’ll grab them, and wash them.” He moved away.

“Josie,” she said.

He stopped and turned toward her.

“My name is Josie Moor, thank you for coming out when you did.” She held her hand out and he took it, feeling that spark.

His balls started to tingle.

“Elijah Snow,” he said.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Snow.”

“Elijah, please, and it’s a pleasure.” He pulled his hand away even though all he wanted to do was pull her against him and run his hands all over her body, touch her, strip her completely naked. Instead, he moved to the doorway and waited.

Each time he heard a sharp intake or a grunt, he wanted to turn toward her and ask if she needed help, but he didn’t think that was appropriate, so he stayed perfectly still.

Waiting.

Still fucking waiting.

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.