Page 21 of Too Fast To Fall
Emilio blew out a breath. He couldn’t argue with them both. “Five minutes. You start. I’ll jump in when you need me.” He foldedhis arms across his chest and leaned against the bathroom doorway.
Piper kneeled on the bathmat next to Gus. Since Gus had drenched her after his impromptu swimming session, she’d showered,too. Her hair was up in a damp, messy pile on top of her head. It was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. She was wearinga pair of cutoffs that showed off her legs. A tank top that flaunted her shoulders. There were simply too many stretches ofher bare skin to avoid staring at or accidentally touching. To make it all worse, she smelled like vanilla. Sweet heaven.
Gus was fascinated as Piper turned on the faucet and ran her hand back and forth through the stream of water. “Have to getthe perfect temperature.”
Emilio had never bathed Gus, so he’d never considered this. When he showered, he used the hottest water he could get. “Howdo you know when it’s right?”
She sat back on her haunches and stared up at him with her mesmerizing blue eyes. They were somehow complicatedandcomforting, even when her expression said that she was truly confounded. “What do you do when you give him a bath?”
“Take him to the groomers.”
“You’ve never done this yourself? Not even when he was a puppy?”
“It’s not a moral failing.”
“But you should know how to do this. He’syourdog.” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re staying for the whole thing. Not just five minutes.”
“I have things I need to do.”
“What if I wasn’t here? What would you do then?”
“Give him a bath. And it probably wouldn’t be perfect.”
“Dogs have sensitive skin. It’s important to get it right. You can stay in the interest of learning how to do this.”
Emilio let out a low grumble. “Fine.” He took a step into the bathroom and peered down at her, trying desperately to ignorethe perfect view of her cleavage. Her breasts were incredible. Not big by any stretch of the imagination, but her skin lookedso buttery soft. It had the slightest glisten. Why couldn’t he have found a less appealing dog nanny?
“Come on. I promise I won’t bite.” She patted the spot next to her on the bathmat.
Emilio eased down onto his knees, but a bathmat wasn’t much territory to share. Their knees were inches from each other. Elbows,too. Making him think about Piper in ways that did not suggest professional distance. Why had Gus chosen today to leap intoa pond? “Show me what to do.”
Piper slipped her hand into the stream of water from the faucet. “That’s perfect, but I want you to feel it, so you know whatto look for.”
She sat back and Emilio reached beyond her to test the water, but his upper arm grazed her chest. She jerked back.
“Sorry,” he blurted. Heat plumed in his belly. Then in his cheeks.
“It’s okay,” she said, avoiding eye contact.
He gathered himself and ran his hands through the stream of water. “Got it.”
“Okay, Mr. Man,” she said to Gus. “It’s showtime.”
Emilio looked Gus in the eye. “Gus. In.” He snapped his fingers then waved his hand over the tub.
Gus just stared back.
“Gus. In,” Emilio repeated.
“We’re going to have to go with brute force,” Piper concluded.
They both stood, and Piper wrapped her arms around Gus’s torso under his front legs. Emilio did the same at the rear.
“Gus. What are you doing? You’re dead weight,” Emilio said.
“Clearly, he doesn’t want to get in the bath. We’ll have to lift him on three. One... two...”
On three, Gus squirmed out of their arms and launched himself into the tub, landing with such force that a good gallon ofwater sloshed onto the floor.
