Page 76 of My Fiancé's Brother
Two black eyes looked up at me, and a tail wagged.
Jackson had a lazy smile on his face. “Chloe and Emily.”
I stroked the dog’s head. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me the best gift anyone has ever given me. I have never gotten something I loved so much from anyone.”
He cleared his throat. “We should bathe her. I can smell her from here.”
“I’ve never given a dog a bath before,” I said with wide eyes. “Maybe I should YouTube it and see how it's done?”
He laughed and rubbed his eye. “I think we can handle it. Do we have a bathtub that has a shower hose?”
I nodded. “Your bathroom.”
“That figures,” he said, as he stood up. “Come on Chloe. Let’s go.”
As if she knew her name, the dog got up on shaky legs and followed behind Jackson.
“We should've YouTube'd this,”Jackson said through gritted teeth. He was thoroughly drenched, and so was I. The only one who didn’t seem to be getting any wetter or cleaner was Chloe, who apparently hated getting a bath.
She drenched us when she kicked an incredible amount of water out of the tub. Then she jumped out of the tub, causing Jackson to chase after her. She managed to outrun him and simultaneously shake water everywhere. Jackson slipped and slid after her, trying but never quite getting her in his arms. I laughed until my sides hurt. When he finally captured her in his arms, they were both panting. While he carried her back, Chloe repeatedly licked his face.
“That was like a greased pig chase,” he said, looking back at thepuddles of water that trailed down the hall. After that, Jackson decided to shut the bathroom door.
“Okay, time to get serious,” Jackson took off his wet shirt and wet socks and stepped into the tub, jeans and all. He pulled the scrambling Chloe onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She instantly calmed.
I sat there on my haunches stunned. His body was a thing of beauty. All corded muscles and broad everything. And the way he tenderly cuddled Chloe to his perfect chest took my breath away.
He looked at me. “You're going to have to do the washing.”
“Okay,” I said blinking with nerves. I squeezed some shampoo onto Chloe and started to massage it into her fur. I alternated between using the water hose and rubbing her body. My fingers, more than once, accidentally brushed over Jackson’s warm bare stomach that was nothing but smooth skin and rippling muscle. As I touched him, my insides clenched in weird ways.
He seemed oblivious to my hand brushing against him. He just shifted her to the left or the right so that I could get my hand in between him and Chloe. As I washed her belly, all I could think about was how his hard, corded stomach felt against the back of my hand. The guy radiated heat. How was it possible that someone could be this muscular? He had muscles on top of his muscles. Even though I finished washing Chloe’s belly, I was having trouble pulling my hand away. So I just repeated the circular motion of my hand against her, so that I could drag the back of my hand against his abs again and again. I seemed physically unable to stop touching him. I concentrated to steady my breath. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t stop. I told myself to stop, but my hand kept brushing against him again and again.
“Emily,” his voice was low.
My eyes slid to his face. His eyes burned hot. I swallowed. He reached out and wrapped one huge hand around the back of my neck. Slowly, he tugged me closer to him. With wide eyes, I stared up at him. My lips parted.
And then his eyes went to the door, and he dropped his hand, a second before the door swung open.
“What the hell?” Matt sounded confused as he stood looking at Jackson sitting in the tub, holding Chloe, who was doing her best to look like the most pitiful and bedraggled dog in the world. I crouched on the outside of the tub, soaked, heart racing and probably looking like I was about to combust sexually.
“We have a dog,” I said, as I looked up at Matt from my knees.
He frowned. “I fucking hate dogs.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“God, it stinks in here. Dogs stink. And they’re messy.” He looked disgusted.
“Chloe is different,” I said, indignant on her behalf.
Matt gave Chloe a dirty look. “So you just went out and bought a dog?”
“No. She’s a homeless dog. That we saved.”
