Page 32 of Keeper
Nice one, Ainsley,I thought, feeling shameful in my tiny dress.Way to stick to your guns.
10
Tanner
I guided Ainsley, my hand on the small of her back, past the rushing water fountain and to the elevator. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She walked with a seductive sway in her hips and God, I couldn’t wait to peel that little dress off her sexy curves and run my hands all over her body …
If she were impressed by the lobby’s gleaming marble floors or the glinting gold elevator, she sure didn’t show it. Hell, she didn’t show it when I showed her my watch, and she didn’t show it when she got in my car, either. I mean, she compared a $400,000 Lamborghini to arobot alien shoe,whatever that means.
I’d started to wonder if this girl simply didn’t have an eye for luxury items—until she joked that I could sell my Lambo if my job didn’t get better.
Okay, so she knows exactly what this is,I’d thought.
Which meant she knew I had money and nice things and wasn’t swayed by it.
Or was she? Shewascoming up with me to my place, after all. Maybe she was just better at hiding her interest than most girls.
But at this point, I found that hard to believe.Most girlscouldn’t keep themselves off of me once they found out I had money. At this point—riding the elevator up to my penthouse—I had my tongue downmost girls’throats.
Ainsley, however, stayed quiet and kept her gaze low. I wondered what was going through her mind.
We stepped off the elevator and I unlocked the door to my pad. We stepped in and I hit the lights. Theclick clackof her heels on the hardwood floor was a warm and welcome echo throughout the open expanse of my penthouse.
She squealed. “Oh. My.God!”
I grinned—finally, a reaction.
But as she hurried into the living room, I realized what had grabbed her attentionwasn’tthe floor-to-ceiling windows that offered an unobstructed view of the city skyline.
Nope.
It was my dog, Cujo, sitting on his throne: the giant leather recliner thatwasmine before the chocolate Pomeranian claimed it all for himself.
“Careful,” I warned as she rushed over to him. “Helookscute but he’s mean.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that,” she said, putting her hand in front of his face to let him sniff it.
“No no no, don’t!” I said, hurrying to stop her—but I wasn’t going to make it in time.
Strangely, Cujo didn’t bite. He didn’t even snarl. He sniffed her hand and apparently, she passed the test, because he let her stroke his head. His tongue hung from his mouth and he began to pant as Ainsley scratched his chin.
I was surprised, to say the least. “Huh. How about that.”
Ainsley scooped Cujo up and held him in her arms. His eyes were puffy and sensitive to the light, but the cute little bastard suddenly didn’t mind being held at all. “He’s a little angel. Look at him! He’s like a little teddy bear. And look how cute he is with those sleepy eyes.”
“Yeah … I’m not sure I’d call him an angel.” I shook my head. “He growls at everyone that isn’t me. You’re lucky he didn’t nip your hand just now.”
I’d seen that scenario nearly play out with every other girl I’d ever brought home, after all.
“I don’t believe you,” she said. “What’s his name?”
“Cujo.”
“Cujo?!” Ainsley gasped, appalled. Cradling him in her arms, she turned away, as if she were shielding him from me. “You named this precious little guy after a rabid, murderous dog?”
I chuckled. “No, actually, I named him after Curtis Joseph. CuJo.”
“And who’s Curtis Joseph?”
