“I heard you. Entire street did, too.” Cruz tore his gaze from the other man to focus on Sophie and Lyn before Sophie made a bigger scene. “It’s never good to reinforce bad behavior.”
Sophie gasped in mock outrage and Lyn choked on a laugh.
“You two just finished lunch?” He’d might as well chat with them and make sure all was well.
“Oh, actually, I think I forgot something at the shop down the street.” Sophie made a big show of fishing through her shopping bags. “I better go try to find it.”
Obvious. So incredibly, painfully obvious.
Lyn leaned over to look in the bags, too. “I’ll…”
“No, no.” Sophie waved a hand. “Stay here and chat with David. I’ll only be a minute.”
Before Lyn could say anything else, Sophie was walking at a fast clip down the street expertly dodging other shoppers on the sidewalk.
Damn. He was pretty sure a grenade had just fallen into his foxhole. If he stayed, it was likely to be a mess. If he made a run for it, Sophie would shoot him down in his tracks.
Lyn cursed under her breath.
He studied her. “You don’t have to wait with me if you don’t want to.”
What? He didn’t see any reason to pretend politeness if either of them was uncomfortable.
She looked up at him with wide eyes, her lips parted in surprise. Her very kissable…Shit. He should go.
“I don’t mind waiting with you.” The words came out quick, with a weird note of panic.
Oh, even better. Creepy might not be a strong enough word for the reaction he was inciting in her.
He did not want to be the cause of it. “It really is okay. It’s your day off. You should get to relax.”
He took a step away, then suddenly stopped. Because her hand had shot out to snag his wrist.
“I really don’t mind.” Her grip on his wrist was firm, not hesitant.
Interesting. He turned his wrist in her hold until she released him and he caught her hand in his instead. “No?”
Her fair skin turned a pale pink over her cheeks. He wondered if other parts of her flushed when she was embarrassed.
She left her hand in his, relaxed and warm. “Feels weird being out and about instead of working with you and Atlas.”
“It’s been an intense week.” So was this…moment. Or whatever it was. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, enjoying the softness of her skin. Hanging around was becoming a better and better idea.
She nodded. “He’s coming along very well. And I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to learn from you.”
Very well was an understatement. Atlas’s transformation over the last several days was continuing. His responses to commands had become quicker, more enthusiastic. The dog was starting to actually pay attention to his surroundings and listen for commands. His desire to work was coming back. And that drive was key in a military working dog.
“There’s a lot more to this concept of balance you’ve been talking about than I’d initially given credit to.” Cruz had been skeptical at first. The whole dog-whisperer technique of head shrinking a dog had been tough to keep an open mind to at the beginning. Most of his training had to do with understanding the natural drivers of a dog and making sure training coincided with those instinctive impulses. “It’s good to see him engaged.”
Of course, Cruz had some reservations. The rehabilitation they were doing with Atlas was good now. But in the future, the question would be whether Atlas had become too attached to a single handler again. They’d have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
Lyn, though, had lit up thinking about Atlas. “Seeing him in action is exhilarating. I knew the military service dogs could do amazing things, but seeing it in person is a whole new level of wow.”
She’d said “wow” several times through the week. And every time, Cruz had pondered how he could make her say it in bed. Completely inappropriate, but hell, as long as the thoughts stayed locked inside his brain they couldn’t hurt. And they were definitely entertaining.
Cruz grinned. “Atlas is capable of more. Maybe we should take you out and rig you up for some of the more adventurous training exercises. A little rappelling, maybe even take you to one of the bases and arrange for a jump out of a helicopter.”
Could be a lot of fun. Though it’d depend on how she faced the challenge. Atlas had done it plenty of times, but back then his handler had been practiced in the action first. If Lyn was nervous or afraid when she tried, Atlas would react to her anxiety.
“Really?” Lyn’s eager expression and her genuine smile made Cruz rethink. She’d come through some crazy shit already. A little hop out of a helicopter wasn’t likely to daunt her.
“We’d need to get you trained first.” He wanted to take her out on those new experiences himself. Savored the idea. And if he imagined a few other naughty experiences, too, who could blame him? Adrenaline was a great aphrodisiac.
She probably looked fantastic in rappelling gear. All those nifty straps.