As he walked out of my sight with his security in tow, I returned to the most critical task of the moment—to pull myself together into enough semblance to leave the study and make my way back upstairs to his bedroom, and more importantly to his marble bathroom where I could indulge in a hot shower or maybe even a bath. I found a small mirror on the wall and dared to take a peek at my reflection.

Not a good look.

My face was a flaming wreck, and my hair was a hot mess, annnnnd I had a large hickey exactly where I thought one might be, just below my ear at my jaw—a place he seemed to favor. Since it was so high on my neck, there was no covering it up with the green shirt I was wearing. More tissues plus water from the Evian bottle I found on his desk later, I’d managed to rinse and dry my face. I decided to re-braid my hair to the opposite side to cover the hickey… sort of. The result was as good as it was going to get while being trapped inside the study. I located the trash bin and threw away the tissue evidence, then I put my socks and boots back on.

I went over to the door and put my ear to the edge of the doorframe and listened. Nothing. Time to make a run for it.

Unlocking the latch, I cracked the door carefully, prepared to do my very best stealth-walk back to the grand staircase so I could make my escape to the upstairs.

But no such luck was to be had. The two greyhounds were waiting for me on the other side of the door.

I froze, hoping they were only here to make friends with the new girl.

Once I saw warm brown eyes and the slow wag of long tails, I knew I was most likely in danger of being licked more than anything. “Hi guys,” I said, crouching down to my knees and holding out my hand. “Who do we have here coming to greet me? I’m Gaby, and I’ve been invited I promise you.”

The gray and white female approached first and licked my hand. She lowered her body down to the floor, that tail of hers wagging fiercely, happy to have me pet her. So very sweet and gentle-mannered. She came closer to my face, and as she did, I was able to read ZULY on her tag. “So that’s your name. Zuly. What a pretty name for a pretty girl.”

The black one, a male, followed suit and nosed forward to get in on the petting action his sister was receiving. His tag read ZEKE. And while Zeke was a bit more reserved than Zuly, he was still super friendly. He also licked my hand and then sniffed it, but he didn’t stop there unfortunately. He kept right on going up my arm to press his snout between my breasts where he stayed, sniffing me deeply. The very same spot where Ivan had presented me with a “pearl necklace” right before the drone incident—oh my God, the dog was smelling the sex on me! Fuck my life.