“I am a very oral dog,” he teased.
She laughed, loud and long. “I’m getting that.”
“You don’t mind, do you?”
She shook her head, reaching down to play with his disheveled hair. “Not in the least.
They finally made it out of bed and into the shower. Lindsey called and asked Genna if she wanted company today, but she declined her offer. She looked at Jeremy, who was scrambling them some eggs. “I think we might actually make it into the office today,” she said.
He smiled.
Ivan the dog greeted them at the lobby, tail wagging and tongue hanging out as he circled Lindsey, walked over to Genna, and rubbed his head on her legs. Genna laughed and stooped down to pet him. “Hi, Ivan.”
Lindsey smiled from her seat at the reception desk. “Good to see you’re past your fear.”
“Well, of him, at least.” Ivan rested his head on her shoulder then looked at Jeremy, lifted his lips in a snarl, and growled.
“Oh, stop it, boys,” Genna said playfully, scratching Ivan’s head. “You can quit being pissed at him. We’re working it out. It’s okay.”
Ivan didn’t seem convinced, but he snorted at Jeremy before getting one final butt scratch from Genna and returning to Lindsey’s desk.
“I know I deserve it,” Jeremy told Ivan, “but my patience only goes so far.”
Ivan stuck his head out from behind the desk, looked to see if anyone else was coming, and shifted back into a man, hidden from the waist down by the desk.
He jabbed a finger at Jeremy. “Screw up and I find out about it, and you’ll deal with me.”
Genna laughed, which apparently defused Jeremy’s ire. “Don’t worry.” He pulled Genna to him and kissed her. “Lindsey, call off your dog.”
Ivan started to protest, but Lindsey laughed and put a staying hand on his shoulder. “Easy, mister.” She pointed at the front doors. “Besides, we’ve got civvies coming.” Three people were walking toward the lobby.
“Shit.” He ducked down behind the desk again. Seconds later, Ivan the dog stuck his head out around the corner. He let out one final bark as Genna and Jeremy headed for the elevator.
Jeremy turned and flipped him a bird with a playful smile before stepping into the car. “Back atcha, buddy,” he said.
When the doors slid shut behind them, Genna asked, “What’d he say?”
“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t polite.”
She laughed again.
He smiled. “But if it makes you laugh when he does it, I’ll put up with it.”
They had their first counselor appointment three days later, after work. She had to admit she felt uncomfortable talking about what happened, but she gave Jeremy credit, he didn’t shy away from the difficult discussion.
Especially when the counselor chimed in with his opinion. “It seems, Genna, you’ve already forgiven him. I’m a little confused why you’re here, what your goals are.”
When he’d directed a quizzical glance at Jeremy, he shrugged. “I was an asshole. And I’ll do whatever it takes.”
The counselor laughed. “I wish all of my clients had breakthroughs that quickly. It’d make my job a lot easier.”
By the time their hour-long appointment ended and they were back in the car, she felt a lot better.
“Why didn’t you make another appointment?” Jeremy asked her.
She shrugged, taking his hand in hers and lacing her fingers through his. “Because I don’t know if I need another appointment.” And she really didn’t. She knew her feelings for him had changed dramatically in just a few days, deepened more than she ever thought possible. Every fiber of her being told her in no uncertain terms that his remorse was genuine.
She didn’t want to spend her life dragging him through the muck out of retribution. “Let’s see how I feel over the next few weeks and go from there.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
The next few weeks bled into the next few months. As she became involved in not just the personal and business ends of Jeremy’s life, but in the shifter-politics part of it as well, the more convinced Genna became that forgiveness was the right decision.
She also came to realize she could trust him.
Especially when she learned more about Jeremy’s cousin, who Lester murdered in cold blood.
In fact, Genna found it difficult to understand how Jeremy could forgive her for being associated with the man who had taken the life of such a beloved member of the shifter community. Forgive Jeremy for some revenge?
Piece of cake.
On the night marking their fourth month together, in bed Genna straddled Jeremy and put her hands on his chest. “I think it’s time to let you out of the doghouse.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He reached over to the bedside table and pulled out a small, velvet ring box. He opened it, presenting her with a gorgeous emerald and diamond ring. “Then will you do me the honor of marrying this recent doghouse parolee?”
She laughed. “Yes, absolutely.” She smiled as he put the ring on her finger. “But why did you wait this long?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to rush you. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to push or bribe you into making up your mind.”
“Thank you.” She stared at the ring. “I’m guessing you won’t give Lindsey and me a hassle about us planning the wedding?”
He laughed. “Nope. I learned my lesson. I plan on staying out of the doghouse for the rest of our lives together.”
She grinned. “And who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick?”
Puppy Dog Eyes
“So, what are you wearing to the party this weekend?” Tessa asked Scudder.
Her team partner didn’t look up from his computer monitor and simply shrugged. The slight gesture of his broad shoulders made her heart race.
“I don’t think I’m going, Tess,” he said.
Tessa Gilroy crossed her arms and leaned against her desk. “Scudder Harris, you’re not telling me you’re going to bail on the company Halloween shindig, are you?”
He shrugged again. She wished he’d stop doing that. Or take his shirt off before he did. Damn, I bet he has a gorgeous chest…
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He finally leaned back in his chair and swiveled it to meet her gaze, which was deadly to her reserve. Dennis “Scudder” Harris had huge, sweet golden-brown eyes that melted her insides and sent all the juices straight to her nether regions, paired with brilliant jet-black hair that glinted with almost blue highlights when they sat outside and ate their lunch.
“Why not?” she asked.
“Why not what?”
“Why aren’t you going?”
He cocked his head. “Because I don’t know many of the people there, and I don’t have a costume.” Employees and their families from all of the regional offices were invited, so several hundred people, most likely, would attend.
“It’ll be a full moon, beautiful night, perfect for a costume party. Come on, you have to go so I don’t have to go alone.”
At the mention of the full moon, a cloud crossed his face. “I’ll pass, sorry.”
She’d broken up with her skunk of a boyfriend a week before Scudder came to work for Callahan Consulting five months prior and was assigned to her team. Team being a misnomer, because it was just the two of them. She knew Scudder was thirty-five, single, and straight, but beyond that his life was a mystery. They talked about a lot of things, just not about him.
Her pouty face usually won him over. “Please?” She leaned forward, her arms on her desk, trying to entice him to look down her blouse.
He kindly laughed. “Tess, I’m sorry, sweetie. I can’t.”