“Don’t you know the meaning of loyalty?” she asked him. Kong shifted his bulky body, laid his massive head on her shoulder and moaned. “Sure, sure. I know your kind, buster. Love the one you’re with. Well, you can forget about me. I’m on to you.”

But she lifted a hand from the gearshift to scratch his ears.

Sebastian was just parking his motorcycle when Mel pulled up in front of her office. He took one look at her and at the hundred-and-fifty pounds of muscle and fur riding beside her in the tiny car and grinned.

“Just like a woman. Here I think we’re going out and you’ve picked yourself up another date.”

“He’s more my type.” She finger-combed her hair away from her face, used her arm to wipe the dog kisses off her cheek, then located the end of the twine. “What are you doing here, anyway? Oh,” she said before he could answer. “Movies. Right. I forgot.”

“You sure know how to flatter a man, Sutherland.” He moved out of her way when she unbuckled the dog’s seat belt. “Nice dog.”

“I guess. Come on, Kong, ride’s over.” She tugged and pulled, but the dog merely sat there, panting and grinning—and, she noted, shedding dusty yellow hairs on her seat.

Enjoying the performance, Sebastian leaned on the hood of her car. “Ever consider obedience school?”

“Reform school,” she muttered. “But he’s not mine.” Mel gritted her teeth and put her back into it. “Belongs to a client. Damn it, Kong, get your butt out.”

As if he’d merely been waiting for her to ask, the dog responded by jumping out, ramming Mel back into Sebastian. He caught her neatly around the waist as she lost her footing. While she worked on getting her breath back, Mel scowled at the dog, who now sat placidly on the sidewalk.

“You’re a real jerk, you know that?” she said to Kong. As if he agreed wholeheartedly, the dog went through his repertoire of tricks. Lying down, rolling over, then sitting up again with one paw lifted to shake.

She laughed before she realized her back was still nestled against Sebastian’s chest. His very hard chest. Automatically she brought her hands down to his and pried them off.

“Let go.”

Sebastian ran his hands up her arms once before she managed to break away. “You sure are touchy, Sutherland.”

She tossed her head. “Depends on who’s doing the touching.” Wanting to wait until her heartbeat leveled, she swiped halfheartedly at the dog hairs clinging to her jeans. “Look, do me a favor and stay out here with fur-face while I make a call. There’s a kid who, for reasons that escape me, actually wants this mutt back.”

“Go ahead.” Sebastian crouched down and ran his elegant hands over the dusty fur.