Page 84 of The Lyon Whisperer
The combined scents of metal, leather, and dust filled his nostrils, and the sweet voice of his wife murmuring softly reached his ears. As always, his body reacted as if she had caressed him with silken fingertips. He went hard.
He bit back an oath. Not now, dressed in his damned robe. He gritted his teeth and forced back the inconvenient desire for the woman.
“Oh, yes, I missed you, too, Roddy. Not so fast, Fergus, you’re going to give yourself a tummy ache. Let Rose have some. Who wants to go out first?”
Roddy? Dear God.She’d brought those damned puppies. Snuck them in, right under his nose.
“Roddy, stop.”
Of course the one-eyed pup ran straight for Chase, and Amelia, also true to form, dashed after him. “Where are you—eek.”Her words cut off on a shriek.
Both the dog and his wife slammed to a halt before Chase. Amelia held a hand to her heart and gasped for breath.
His eyes had long since adjusted. The dim light from an oil lamp she’d hung in the alcove housing her contraband litter of puppies limned her body and shone through the loose folds of her nightshift to outline her lithe body.
“Good evening, Amelia. Allow me.” He bent and scooped the puppy at his feet—Roddy—into his arms.
The puppy, much larger than the last time they met, wriggled with delight in his arms. His body was warm and pliant, his brown fur soft. His nose was cool and wet, Chase discovered when the little mutt did everything in his slight power to plant puppy kisses on Chase’s cheek.
“Be still,” he commanded.
Abruptly Roddy ceased his wriggling. Instead, he nestled into Chase’s chest and stared at Amelia with his one good eye.
“M-my lord, what are you doing here? You gave me quite a fright.”
The audacious wench had nerve. “What am I doing here, you ask? I think a more appropriate question is what areyoudoing here?” He craned his head to look behind her into the alcove where it appeared two other puppies cowered in a corner. “Or do I need to ask?”
She clasped her hands behind her back and had the grace to duck her head. “I’m checking on the dogs, my lord. They needed to be fed and taken out. They’ve learned manners since arriving here, you might be interested to know, and usually hold their business until I or…” She cleared her throat, evidently thinking twice about implicating anyone else. “Until I come to take them out for a bit of exercise and to empty their bladders.”
Chase said nothing for a long moment. “You come down in the middle of the night to feed them, regularly?”
She inclined her head. “Normally I feed them earlier, but yes, I do routinely make my way out here late at night and early morning.”
“I see.” Tonight, she had been too busy preparing and departing for the ball to see to their dinners.
He shook his head and eyed the rafters as if he might find divine guidance there. None was found. “Well. Shall we?” He started toward the alcove and remaining puppies.
She hastened after him. “My lord?”
He stopped in the opening and counted two besides Roddy. “I thought there were five.”
The air shifted behind him as she halted inches from his back. Her sweet perfume wafted over him. “There were. I found homes for two of them before our wedding.” She sounded very pleased with herself.
“My lord…” She shimmied around him, her soft curves brushing over his arm as she squeezed past. “My lord, what do you mean to do?”
He arched a brow. “I thought you said they need to go out.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You intend to help me?”
“I suppose I must. I can’t have my wife traipsing around half naked, chasing after puppies in the middle of the night.”
A smile tugged at her lips. She bent to scoop one puppy into her arms and reached for the second.
“Allow me.” He crouched and tucked the second puppy under his arm.
Without another word, they exited the building.
“Where is it you generally take them?” he asked.
