A beat of silence. “So did Souze whine because things were getting intense or because he heard Cruz coming to the stairs?” Elisa asked.
“Actually, I don’t know.” Rojas considered himself a good trainer, and he could read canine body language most of the time. But there just wasn’t any way to know this time what exactly had nudged Souze to whine when he did.
“Well.” Elisa let out a soft laugh. “Good timing either way, I guess.”
Maybe. He was still arguing with the raging hard-on he had at the moment.
“I guess you guys are going to head back now. Boom’s going to need to take her medicine before bedtime.” Her voice had gone softer, but he heard the tremor anyway.
He turned back to her and brushed a stray lock of dark hair from her face. She’d be here by herself, and he really didn’t want to leave her alone if at all possible. And he also appreciated that Boom was at the forefront of both their otherwise chemistry-distracted minds.
Inspiration struck. “Why don’t I leave Souze here with you?”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Sure.” He jerked his head back to indicate the dog. “He’s already demonstrated good behavior in your company, and it doesn’t hurt to give him some exposure to a night outside his kennel. It’s not like the two of you even have to leave this room. Cruz and I will lock up.”
The relief was palpable in her expression, the tiny wrinkles between her brows clearing. “I mean, just the company would make a difference, I think.”
He nodded. “If there’s any issues at all, call us. If you hear anything outside or if he starts to fuss in here, it’s no problem. Just hit my number on speed dial.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
“Rojas!” Cruz amped up his call a couple of decibels.
“Yeah!” Rojas called back over his shoulder. “On my way.”
Elisa rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him, then gave him a decent shove. “Go on. And thank you.”
*
Rojas murmured a quiet command and shut the door behind him.
“Doesn’t hurt to lock it,” he called back, muffled by the wood between them. “Gary and Greg have a room down in the basement so they won’t disturb you.”
Both Elisa and Souze stood staring at the closed door, listening to the sounds of Rojas and Cruz greeting Gary and Greg. Then her new friends were turning off the lights and locking up the school downstairs. When she couldn’t hear any more, she watched Souze as the big dog continued to stare at the door, apparently still listening. After a few more minutes, Souze sat and looked at her.
“Don’t ask me what we’re supposed to do now. I’ve no idea.” Elisa looked into those liquid, dark eyes and wondered what the big dog was thinking.
Souze seemed to be considering her, too. Or maybe she fancied he was.
After another minute, she crossed over to him. “Let me at least take off the leash so you don’t drag it around behind you.”
Souze watched her as she approached, and she decided it’d be prudent to move slowly as she reached for his collar and unclipped the leash. There was a tension. Not something she saw in his body language, but she felt it, and it eased once she backed away again. Casual petting was probably not going to be a thing.
“I should have listened more closely to the commands Alex used.” Even if she wasn’t using them, she decided to speak directly to Souze. It was what came naturally, and, at the very least, the dog would go along with natural. Right?
It was still better than being alone.
“Having you here is a hundred times better than the first night I was out on my own,” she told Souze.
Or the nights after.
She grabbed up her big purse and set it at the foot of the bed. Then she unzipped her overnight bag and pulled out a few toiletries.
“I didn’t unpack last night.” Talking to Souze as she went about her business was actually a lot more relaxing than the silence she’d moved through the night before. At least then, though, she’d been tired enough to have fallen asleep listening to the late night class below. She hadn’t heard Gary and Greg lock up for the night. Hadn’t realized when she’d been left alone.
A cold, wet touch at her wrist made her jump. Souze backed away and sat again. She stood there, mouth open. “You can’t pretend you didn’t move. You’re about five feet from where you were sitting before.”
He sat there, ears up, looking about as innocent as a really big dog could. So?
“Did you want to sniff?” She held out her hand in a loose fist the way Alex had instructed her the first time.
Souze didn’t move.
She stared at him.
Nope. Still not moving.
Then she realized she was trying to get into a staring match with a dog as if some sort of telepathic communication was going to occur. And Alex had told her not to make eye contact.