Emmie Dark - Just for Today...

Jess had a feeling it might get noisy, but she figured the resale values were safe.

“Whoa, hey, girl,” Sean said as they stood on the porch and he tried to push the door open. For a confusing moment, Jess thought he was talking to her, but then Hailey and Rob’s aging golden retriever, Suzie, woofed an excited greeting. Jess could hear her tail banging against the wall inside.

“Come on, Suz, you’ve got to stand back so I can get inside,” Sean said with a fond tone. He muttered from the side of his mouth, “Gorgeous dog, but certainly not the smartest one in the litter.”

“Uh-huh.” Jess was more than familiar with Suzie’s goofy smile. She usually wore it when Hailey brought her into the clinic with yet another accidental injury. Suzie had perfected the “Whoops! Look what I did” look.

The dog was bouncing around excitedly, and Sean was doing his best to control her as they stepped inside the house and closed the door behind them. “The neighbors walked her today,” Sean said as Suzie jumped up, her paws landing in his gut and making him oomph. “Not that you can tell.” He was laughing and patting her and saying, “Down, girl,” not using a tone the dog would recognize as a command.

“Suzie, down,” Jess ordered. The dog dropped to the floor and turned her interest to Jess instead. “Sit.” Suzie sat. “Good girl,” she praised, giving her ears a scratch.

Sean looked at her with wide eyes. “You’re like, Doctor Dolittle or something.”

“Not quite.” Jess smiled. “Suzie and I know each other, that’s all. I’ve bandaged her tail more times than I can count.”

“Really?”

“She’s the most accident-prone dog I’ve ever met.”

“That sounds like Suzie.” Sean took over patting the dog, crouching down to rough up her fur and scratch under her chin as he muttered in a silly tone, “Who’s the most accident-prone dog in the world? You, huh?”

Jess could only watch as Suzie drooled with pleasure.

It was ridiculous to be jealous of a dog.

But as much as Jess loved animals, it was time for this dog to go to her kennel and leave the human beings to indulge in a little primal behavior of their own.

Sean seemed to read her mind, because he straightened up and gave Suzie one last pat. “Suzie, go to bed,” he ordered, pointing to the back of the house.

Suzie pouted at them for a moment, pulling a puppy-dog-eyes look, before turning away and obeying the command, tail between her legs.

“She thinks she’s done something wrong,” Jess observed.

“I’ll make it up to her in the morning.”

Dogs don’t work that way, Jess almost said. But then tonight wasn’t about that. Suzie would be fine. Jess on the other hand was feeling a little chilled. Goose bumps skated up her arms as Sean turned to face her, his eyes dark with promise.

Then, suddenly, the intent in his eyes faded. “You’re right,” he said. “I need to take care of her. Don’t move. I’ll be back in a second.”

Jess barely had time to realize what was happening before Sean was back at her side.

“I gave Suzie one of those disgusting liver treats she loves so much. She’s happy now.”

“That’s good.” He’s kind to animals. That gave Sean an automatic big tick in Jess’s book.

And that delicious sparkle was back. “Let’s go in here,” he said.

He grabbed Jess’s hand and led her into the living room, turning on one lamp in the corner to bring a soft peachy glow to the room. Hailey’s housekeeping was immaculate, not a spot of dust to be seen anywhere.

“I’ve been dying to get this off since about five minutes after I put it on,” he said, shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket and draping it over the back of a chair. He kicked off his shoes and tore off his socks at the same time.

“It suits you,” Jess said. She took a few steps back, bumping against the end of the solid timber dining table that dominated this end of the open-plan living/dining room. Sean stood between her and the doorway, and her nerves suddenly came back to life with a vengeance. She wasn’t trapped exactly—she knew, without knowing why, that if she changed her mind, he’d let her go without a problem. But part of her anxiety was realizing that she didn’t want to change her mind—and she didn’t want him to, either.

“Nah, the formal look’s not me,” he said, batting away her compliment. “But that dress, on the other hand... You look gorgeous.”

He gave her an admiring full-length assessment that sent more chills through her. Then he worked at the cuffs of his shirt, frowning at them in concentration, pulling out the cuff links and tossing them carelessly on the table before turning the sleeves back to reveal strong, bony wrists, lightly dusted with hair.

Jess’s stomach flipped. Maybe she couldn’t go through with this after all. Maybe she just wasn’t ready. “Sean? I—” She broke off and licked her lips nervously.

“Can you help me with this thing?” He stepped closer to her, tugging ineffectually at his bow tie. “I’ve got no idea how it works—Rob did it for me. I’ll probably strangle myself, left to my own devices.”

Jess sucked in a breath as she raised shaking hands to his collar. Her breath brought with it a lungful of his scent, as spicy and exotic as she’d thought when he’d sat down beside her back in the hotel ballroom. Only all the more powerful now that it was just the two of them.

Jess understood how scent worked in the animal kingdom. Pheromones were chemical communication signals that many animals used to let the opposite sex know they were ready to mate. She wondered what scent her own body was giving off. Would it reflect the turmoil of desire, confusion and fear that she was feeling right now?

It took only a couple of tugs on the tie to loosen it, and then it was hanging free. Having her untie it was clearly a ruse, but it had brought them closer together. Jess was backed against the table—nowhere to go. Sean was in front of her, looking down at her with an intense expression in his darkened eyes.

Those fancy tuxedo studs glinted at her, and Jess recalled her urge to find out how they worked. Before she knew it, before she’d made a conscious decision to do so, she found her fingers at the top one, working it free.

“I, uh, haven’t come across these buttons before,” she said. Looked as though she was committed now. Some of her nervousness disappeared simply at having made the decision. But her fingers still shook.

“You’ll work it out.”

She could feel the vibration of his voice as she worked the stud free, unhooking it from the button on the shirt flap below. Her hand brushed the bare skin of his chest as she parted the fabric, and his breath snagged.

His skin was smooth and lightly tanned, a sparse sprinkling of hair in the center of his chest revealed when she undid the second button. Sean helped her by reaching behind himself to unhook his cummerbund, letting it drop to the floor and then tugging his shirt free of his trousers.

Finally, his shirt was hanging open, and Jess held out her hand, the four tuxedo studs sitting in her palm.

“Here you go.” Her trembling was obvious, but Jess figured that was entirely understandable. He was standing there, right in front of her, like something out of a GQ celebrity photo shoot—bare feet, black pants, bared chest, white shirt hanging open, undone bow tie dangling around his neck. Jess half wished she could stop and take a photo, because this was a sight worth preserving.

“Thanks.” He took the studs and tossed them on the table, barely even glancing at them.

“How complicated is your dress?” he asked.

Jess frowned. “What do you mean?”

He gave a little wave at her neck. “I mean, is it like my tux? Do we need to begin preparations to remove it now? Or does it just unzip?”