Souze was both different and more than them, in her opinion. And since the moment she’d met him, he hadn’t exactly been generous with the direct tactile contact.
It’d be worth an experiment to see if she could get a clearer response out of him. Standing, she headed to the door and placed her hand on the knob as she craned her neck to watch Souze. As soon as her fingertips touched the rounded surface of the doorknob, he came to his feet and wagged his tail once.
“That’s pretty clear, then.” She wondered if he could hold it a minute or two longer. “Just let me swap clothes and get a bra on, then we’ll head downstairs. Hopefully, Gary and Greg are already down there and they can let us out the back door.”
Alex had told her not to go outside until he’d returned in the morning, but she couldn’t very well leave Souze in distress. She personally hated the feeling of needing a restroom and having to wait. Didn’t seem fair not to care about Souze in a similar circumstance. Besides, she really didn’t know how good the dog’s discipline would be, and she didn’t want him ruining the nice carpet up here. Somewhat gross, but could she get him to stand in the shower?
She’d prefer not to try the option. Instead, she hustled into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. Then she grabbed the hem of her sleep tee and started to pull it up over her head.
A quiet knock sounded at the door. “Elisa, are you awake? It’s Alex.”
She yanked the tee back down. Turning to Souze, she asked, “Did you know he was here?”
Souze only gave her a doggie grin.
Maybe that was why the dog had woken her. Gah. Either way, she needed to get a bra on.
Or maybe there were other priorities. Giving Souze a look, she rushed to the door, scooping up the leash. Undoing the deadlock and the lighter lock on the doorknob, she cracked open the door. Alex stood on the other side, dressed in a black Revolution MMA tee and gym shorts. It’d be interesting to ask him how many of those he had later. She shoved Souze’s leash through the door. “Here.”
Alex regarded the leash. “Um. There’s supposed to be a dog attached to the other end.”
True. And she had no idea whether Souze would let her put it back on again. “Give me five seconds to get into the bathroom, then you can come in and grab Souze. I’ll meet you both downstairs.”
There was a pause. “Five seconds it is. Should I count out loud?”
Oh, Alex was extremely entertained. She could hear the amusement in his voice even if he wasn’t outright laughing. “Out loud can’t hurt.”
With that, she bolted past Souze for the bathroom, slipped inside, and shut the door.
Good for his word, Alex counted out loud. He even gave her a play-by-play account of what he was doing once he finished counting.
“I’m coming in now.”
“I’ve got Souze.”
“We’re leaving now, and I’m closing the door behind us.”
Great. Fantastic. She still waited until they both left to actually go to the bathroom.
*
Rojas made it downstairs and caught sight of Cannon. There were chances that’d passed Rojas by over the years, and this was one of those moments he didn’t want to let pass him by just because he was too much of a gentleman to give a woman an option she hadn’t considered.
“Hey, Cannon.” Rojas waved the man over. “You owe me from yesterday.”
“Huh?” Cannon walked over. Luckily, the man still had his shoes on.
“Do me a favor and take Souze out to do his morning business. When he’s done, he can come back here and hang out over in the corner while you guys train.” Rojas turned to head up the stairs. Cannon was a capable handler for a little while. Souze would be fine.
Cannon called a question after him, but he didn’t answer. He didn’t care what anyone thought, and possibly he’d be right back down in about thirty seconds. But he was hoping not.
He knocked on the door and heard a very muffled surprise squeak. After a few seconds, Elisa opened the door, her hair in adorable disarray. Her eyes were narrowed. “Did you forget something?”
He cleared his throat. Not exactly the reception he’d been hoping for. “Did I do something wrong?”
Her cheeks colored, and she looked anywhere but at him. “No. You just have…interesting timing.”
Oh, now there were some possibilities.
“Well, if I’m timely, maybe there’s something I could help with.” He smiled, nice and slow, enjoying the way her gaze zeroed in on his mouth when she finally looked at him.
“I do not need help getting my shirt off.” The words tumbled out, and her eyes widened as she clapped a hand over her mouth.
It surprised a laugh out of him. “If you don’t need help, can I watch instead?”
She narrowed her eyes again and uncovered her mouth, which was good because he liked looking at it and imagining naughty things. “Almost every time I’m about to take off my shirt, you’ve managed to knock on the door.”