Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

Daniele and I settled on the floor. It was bonding time, not just between him and
me, but also with Loulou, while Simona had her afternoon nap. The last couple
of evenings Cassio had come home late again, and I hoped it wouldn’t turn into a
permanent thing. For now, I focused my main attention on Daniele, Simona, and
Loulou. They kept me distracted enough.
Loulou trotted closer with a ball in her muzzle as she usually did when I sat
down on the floor. I took the ball from her and rolled it over the floor. Daniele
followed everything with curious eyes. After two tosses, I held the ball out to
him. He took it and flung it away then smiled widely when Loulou chased her
toy. We did this for a couple of minutes before I put the ball away and patted the
spot in front me. Loulou came closer, her pink tongue lolling about adorably. I
stroked her gently then crossed my legs and motioned for Loulou to come even
closer. She curled up in my lap, and I stroked her ears gently, amazed at how
silky this spot of her felt to the touch.
Daniele moved closer until his knees bumped against my thigh. I could tell
how much he wanted to touch Loulou. I regarded her for a while to see if she
was ready for more closeness. In the last few days, she hadn’t tried to avoid
Daniele anymore. Now, she seemed completely relaxed, her eyes half-closed as
she watched Daniele. “Do you want to touch her?”
Daniele gave a quick nod.
“Try to move slowly, so she can get used to your presence, all right?”
Another sharp nod.
“She’s shy. She needs to get to know you and see that you’re her friend.”
I took Daniele’s hand and put it on Loulou’s back. Her ears twitched in
curiosity and her eyes opened a bit more. Slowly, I moved Daniele’s hand along
her side, staying away from her head for now because I’d read that dogs often