The weather was gorgeous, the sun shining as we walked around the booths. William had picked me and Edgar up and brought us to the Seattle Food and Wine Tasting Festival. It was an outdoors event, a bit like a farmers’ market. Restaurants, wineries, and breweries had booths offering samples of their food and drink.

We wandered around, sampling things. William held my hand or kept a light touch on my back. It was a bit more crowded than Edgar liked, but people tended to give him space. He’d been a good dog—no growling at anyone—and the proprietors at many of the booths had dog treats on hand. Those seemed to make up for the abundance of strange humans.

William pointed to another booth displaying little tarts filled with fruit. “Dessert?”

“I’m so full, I don’t think I have room,” I said.

“Me neither.” He paused and tucked my hair behind my ear. His eyes were so captivating. He gave me his little half-smile, one side of his mouth turning up.

He grabbed my hand and led me through the crowd, veering toward a break in the booths. I had to quicken my pace to keep up. I was just about to ask where we were going when he pulled me around the corner of a building and stopped.

His hands slipped around my waist and his mouth came to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he drew me against him. His kiss was deep and hungry, his tongue tasting faintly of wine. I ran my fingers through his hair and he held me close.

Kissing him felt so good, I didn’t care if anyone walked by. He slid one hand down and squeezed my ass. My body pressed tighter against his and I felt the hard bulge of his erection. God, that was such a turn-on. He groaned into my mouth as I rubbed against him again. I loved making him do that. He was usually so relaxed, it was exhilarating to feel the urgency in his touch, the need in his kiss.

Edgar’s leash went slack, but I could hear his tail thumping against the ground. William kept kissing me, finally getting bold with his hands. He lifted one side of my skirt and squeezed my ass again. I gasped, and he backed me up against the side of the building. His hand moved lower, lifting my leg, and his fingertips brushed the crease of my thigh.

I was on fire for him. My inhibitions burned away by the rising tension between us, I reached down and stroked his cock through his pants. He groaned again and moved his hand around to my front, sliding it between my legs. His fingers slipped beneath my soaked panties, pushing them to the side. Touched my desperately sensitive skin. I squeezed him again and he carefully dipped his fingertips into my pussy.

I shuddered with pleasure. He stroked me gently, his mouth never leaving mine. I wanted more. I wanted his fingers deep inside. I wanted friction and pressure. I rubbed his cock and moved my hips. He grunted, grazing his teeth across my lower lip.

Edgar’s wet nose nudging my leg startled me back to reality. He barked, a short, quiet sound, and William pulled back. Took his hand out from between my legs. His cheeks were flushed, and he was breathing hard. He stared at me, his eyes full of lust.

A second later, footsteps and voices. I realized I still had my hand on William’s erection. I gasped and let go to quickly smooth down my skirt. A small group of people walked by, heading away from the festival. Edgar stood guard, watching them pass with his ears at full attention.

William blinked slowly, like he was coming to after being unconscious. Desire still flowed hot through my veins, but the interruption had cooled me off enough to clear my head.

“Maybe we should get going,” he said, his voice rough.

I nodded, still feeling dizzy. “Yeah.”

In a daze, I followed William to his Jeep. Edgar got in the back and I opened the window, hoping the wind would cool me down. William held my hand as he drove, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye every so often, his mouth hooking in that enigmatic smile.

By the time we reached my house, I was rational again. I could still feel the tantalizing sensation of his fingers stroking me, but I was glad we’d been interrupted—even more so that Edgar had warned us first. I wanted William—I was so ready for this—but outside against a building was probably not the best place.

Although it had been thrilling. I’d never done anything like that before.

Edgar barked when we pulled into my driveway. I let him out of the car, but instead of running for the front door like usual, he stayed back and barked again.

“What’s up, buddy?” I looked around, but didn’t see anything. There was no one else parked on the street nearby, no dogs or animals that might agitate him. I reached down and clipped on his leash, just in case he decided to bolt. “Do you see something?”

William looked down at Edgar. Their eyes met, and I could have sworn they shared a look of understanding. Edgar barked again.

We walked down the driveway to the front door. I unlocked it, but Edgar growled, and William stepped in front of me to go inside.

At first, nothing seemed amiss, and I was about to tell Edgar to hush. He kept growling. I looked through to the back of the house and realized the back door was broken—the glass smashed.

I gasped, and a surge of adrenaline made my hands and feet tingle. I clutched Edgar’s leash and backed up toward the front door.

“Stay there,” William said, his voice hard. He checked the back, then made a quick circuit of all the rooms. I heard doors opening and shutting. He was inspecting everything—rooms, bathrooms, closets. He went out to the garage and came back a moment later.

“Whoever it was, they’re gone,” he said.

I moved to where I could get a closer look at the back door. Jagged shards of glass lay everywhere, sparkling in the light. I held Edgar’s leash tight, so he wouldn’t step on any and cut his paws. I was hoping to see something that would explain the break—something other than an intruder. A tree limb, perhaps. But I knew that wasn’t likely. The trees in my backyard weren’t large, or close enough to have caused this.

William put his hand on the back of my neck and squeezed gently. “We should call the police.”

I nodded, but I wanted to see what else was out of place. Had they stolen anything? Why had someone done this?

“Does it look like they stole anything?” I asked.

“Probably,” he said. “They went through your bedroom, and your office.”

“Oh my god.” I handed Edgar’s leash to him and went to check the other rooms.

He was right. My bedroom was torn apart. Drawers opened, their contents strewn all over the floor. Clothes and containers ripped out of the closet. My office was the same. Desk drawers emptied—pens, pencils, papers, and files everywhere.

“Was your laptop here?” William asked.

“No,” I said. “I left it at work; I usually do on the weekends.”

“That’s good,” he said. “Your TV is gone.”

“I didn’t even notice when we walked in,” I said. “They probably took other stuff. It’ll be hard to tell until I can get this all cleaned up.”

A sick feeling spread through my stomach. I felt so violated. Someone had done this—been inside my home and gone through my things. I pulled out my phone and called the police. After I explained that the perpetrator was gone, they said they’d send someone out.

While I spoke to the police, William got Edgar some food and water. He put it by the front door, so Edgar wouldn’t walk near the broken glass.

“Thank you,” I said.

He slipped his arms around me and drew me close. Kissed the top of my head. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

I leaned against his chest, letting the warmth of his body seep into me. I felt better—safer—in his arms.

“I should call Jessica and let her know what’s going on,” I said.

He kissed my head again and let go of me, but he stayed close. I brought up Jessica’s number and called.

“Hey, Ivy,” she said.

“Hey, listen, I’m okay, but someone broke into my house while I was out today.”

“Oh my god,” she said. “Do you need me to come over?”

“No, it’s okay,” I said. “I called the police and they’re on their way.”

“I’m coming,” she said. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Really, you don’t have to,” I said. “I’m not alone. William is here.”

“Oh,” she said. “Was he with you when it happened?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We were out with Edgar.”

“Did they steal anything?” she asked.

“My TV,” I said. “I’m not sure what else. I don’t have much here that’s worth stealing, but they certainly looked everywhere. It’s a mess.”

I heard the muffled sound of her talking to Peter.

“You should come over after you talk to the police,” she said. “Stay with us tonight.”

I met William’s eyes and moved the phone away from my mouth. “She wants me to come stay with them tonight.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re coming home with me.”

A wave of heat swirled in my core at the thought of spending the night with William. I shouldn’t have been thinking that way. I’d just been robbed. But my cheeks flushed, and I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the very distracting rush of tingles between my legs.

I put the phone back to my ear. “Thanks, Jess, but I’ll stay with William tonight.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Ivy…”

“Don’t use your mom-voice on me,” I said. “You don’t even have kids.”

“I don’t have a mom-voice.” She sounded offended.

“You absolutely do,” I said. “I’m fine. Promise. I’ll talk to the police and go to William’s. Then I’ll figure out what to do about the mess here.”

“Okay,” she said. “And don’t come to work tomorrow. Take at least a couple of days off, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I said.

“Call me if you need anything. And let me know what the police say.”

“I will. Thanks, Jess.”

A police officer arrived just after I ended the call. He inspected the house and took a report. He said it looked like a typical home invasion. The thief had probably been watching the house and waited until he saw us leave. My backyard was fenced, but the gate didn’t lock, so it wouldn’t have been difficult to get in and break the glass door. He’d gone through my things looking for valuables, and likely made off with anything he thought he could sell to make some quick cash.

After the officer left, I sent a message to my boss, and to Lisa, letting them know what had happened and that I needed a couple of days off to deal with it. Then William helped me clean up the glass. We found some plywood in the garage and boarded up the hole. I’d have to get someone out here to replace the door.

But for now, I was exhausted. I packed a bag with some extra clothes and a few essentials. William had already put Edgar’s dog bed in his Jeep, along with his food and a bag of toys.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked. “Edgar’s a big dog. Can you have pets in your building?”

William shrugged. “I don’t know. But I have space. It’s fine.”

I was too tired to worry about him getting in trouble with his landlord. The three of us got in his Jeep and left.