Collared (Going to the Dogs) Read online

  “You don’t,” she said. “I simply have to decide to trust you or not. It’s not easy for me, so I think you’ll have to be patient.”

  He rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him, making her yelp in surprise. He laughed and kissed her. “You have met me, right? Grumpy, irritable, and downright contrary.” Then he rolled her to her back and kissed her again. She was pushing at his shoulders, but she was laughing. And she was kissing him back.

  “What? You? No. That can’t be. You are the most easygoing guy I’ve ever met.”

  He laughed again and tickled her waist as she twisted under him. “That’s dirty pool, handsome.”

  “Shane tells me I fight dirty, so I guess that’s a warning. I do what I can to get my way.”

  “Shane?”

  “My partner. He wants to meet you. He reads the society pages and is generally a pain in my ass.”

  “Awww, poor guy, he has to put up with you?”

  “Hey, whose side are you on?”

  “Right now I’m plastered all over your side.”

  “Hmmm, I like that.”

  She pressed a finger across his lips. “I do believe you mean what you say. It’s just…I’ve built up a tough skin for so long. It’s not easy to just let that go when we’ve only just started to get to know each other.” She pressed her finger harder against his lips when he tried to interrupt. “I’m not finished, pushy.” He smiled against her finger.

  Her eyes darkened, and he noted how she took a steadying breath. “I can already tell that you do what you say and say what you mean,” she said somewhat shakily.

  “You’re right. All I can do is ask you to trust me,” he said. She allowed him to tuck her under his arm again. He noted she settled far more naturally against him, her head resting easily on his shoulder this time. He wondered if she even realized it.

  He tipped up her chin and kissed her, gently but firmly, all playfulness gone.

  “I’m parched,” he said. “I suppose you’ve got high-priced water in your fridge?” He reluctantly rolled away from her.

  She laughed. “As a matter of fact, I do. Do you want me to get it for you?” She slid with him, and he liked that very much.

  “No, I got it. You want one?” He sat on the edge of the bed and she pressed herself against him, her arms slipping around him and banding across his chest. “You got any high-priced food in there, too?”

  “Ah, men, food and sex. Probably the only things that you need.”

  “And, what’s it with you, sex and shopping?”

  “Oh, my, you are a good detective.”

  He chuckled. “Cute, lady.” He rose and slipped on his pants.

  “Can you find the kitchen okay?”

  “Yes,” he tapped his temple, “I memorized it the last time I was here. I’m good at mazes.”

  “Part of being a good detective, I’m sure.”

  He shook his head and smiled all the way to the kitchen. He had no idea where the damn light switches were in this place, but the dim glow from night lights illuminated the way well enough for him to find his way to the kitchen.

  He was almost to the fridge when someone grabbed him into a chokehold and started to squeeze. His immediate reaction was to throw himself backwards. He was gratified to hear his attacker grunt. He had only one thought on his mind, and that was to subdue this intruder in Harper’s penthouse. He was pissed. If she hadn’t changed those codes.... All thought scattered as he had to fight against the grey edging around his vision. Every move he tried, the guy was ready to counter, as if he was highly trained.

  Caleb struggled against the punishing hold, and with several quick, fast jabs of his elbow, he finally broke the guy’s hold, but a fist came out of the dark and collided with his jaw and he staggered backwards. Then his attacker was all over him with jabs and punches, the blows driving Caleb to his knees. This guy was good…military good…no, Special Forces military good. At this point, all he could do was defend.

  Light flooded the room. Shit! Harper.

  “Oh, my God. Jeffrey what are you doing?”

  Caleb braced himself against the floor and looked up at Harper’s chauffeur with a fierce look on his face. Protection mode.

  Harper was there helping him up. “Oh, God. Are you all right?”

  Caleb leaned back into the counter as Harper glared at Jeffrey.

  Breathing heavily, Jeffrey leaned back, too. “Dammit, I didn’t know he was here. I thought they’d come back for round two. I’m so sorry, Detective Shaw.”

  Technically, this guy had attacked a police officer, and he could haul him in. He silently considered that. It would give him a reason to check the guy out. But Caleb saw the look on his face and the look on Harper’s. Something passed between them, and he suddenly felt like the odd man out, wondering what exactly was their relationship as jealousy slid into him like a knife between the ribs.

  “I’m going to overlook the attack because I suspect you were just trying to protect Harper, so no assaulting an officer charges.”

  Harper looked more relieved than she should have and suspicion started to grow. They had just had a talk about trust. But she was hiding something, and that made him wonder why. It also made him understand that his instincts about this guy were spot on.

  With another apology, Jeffrey left and Harper grabbed two bottles out of the fridge and a couple of sandwiches. She shoved everything into his arms and hauled him back to the bedroom, shutting the door. Taking the stuff out of his hands she dumped it on the bed. She brought him into her bathroom and sat him on the vanity.

  “Every time I’m near you, I get my ass either knocked down or kicked. Are you trying to tell me something?” he said it lightly, but Harper’s face didn’t change.

  Grabbing a washcloth, she ran it under the water. If she was upset, her face didn’t show her distress. If anything it was cold and blank. He suspected this was the face she put on for the world. He immediately got pissed. He didn’t want that kind of face from her. Dammit, just when he’d thought he was starting to make progress.

  He grabbed her wrist when she went to dab at what felt like a cut on his forehead. “Don’t look at me like that!”

  “Like what?” Her voice was carefully modulated.

  “Your public face. After what we just shared less than ten minutes ago, this is bullshit.” He stood up. “I want more than that. Let me see something more than that. Who is he? Tell me the truth.”

  She blinked a couple of times, then her eyes closed. “I don’t want to care about you. It complicates everything.”

  “I bet it does. You have no problem protecting Jeffrey.”

  Her eyes flashed open and then he saw the emotion there and it cut him. “I see. That’s the way it is.” He dropped her wrist and strode out of the bathroom, snatching up his shirt.

  “Caleb,” Harper said rushing after him from the bathroom. “Please don’t go. I don’t have any interest in Jeffrey, if that’s what’s bothering you.”

  He continued to dress. This hurt more than it should. More than he expected.

  “Caleb, please. Don’t make this an ultimatum.”

  “Why? Sounds like I’d lose.”

  “No, that’s not the case. And you just finished promising not to push me.”

  He sighed and looked at her.

  Her face crumpled. “Don’t push me on this. Please. Just forget it ever happened. All right?”

  She wrapped her arms around him and he took a breath at how good it felt to have Harper show him something other than her biting cynicism.

  “There’s something happening between us,” she said against his chest. “I’ll admit it if that’s what you want. I don’t know how it’s going work out, and quite frankly, you scare me shitless. But when something scares me I just want do it all the more. I never give in to my weakness. But please don’t go. I want you to stay. Stay with me,” she was pleading and he was completely sure that she’d never done that before in her life. He dropped his shirt a
nd gathered her up in his arms in a tight embrace. She pressed her face against his shoulder and relaxed against him.

  “He’s sort of a bodyguard. Okay? I’ve never been with him and never will be. I just don’t think of him like that. You, on the other hand, I can’t stop thinking about you. All the time. Dammit,” she said, thumping her forehead against his chest. “All the time.”

  His heart melted, just dissolved into a gelatinous goo. This woman had him—she had him, and he was okay with that. “He’s military, Special Forces, I’m sure of it. Why didn’t you just tell me this when I asked you about him before?”

  “I don’t like to talk about it. It’s not an aspect of my life that I like thinking about. Just let it go, please.”

  He wasn’t sure whether she was telling him everything, but he was sure about one thing. He wanted her to trust him, but he couldn’t force her. He’d let his jealously get the better of him. But she’d let that mask drop, and that was at least something. Building a relationship with Harper was a delicate thing. She had some really tough barriers. And he intended to break them down. He wanted to go like gangbusters, but his usual tactic of overwhelm and annihilate wasn’t going to work here.

  It would take a more delicate touch. He’d have to figure that out as he went along, he supposed.

  He leaned back and captured her chin to make her look at him. He sighed. Now she showed her distress quite clearly, and although he was gratified, he was also thinking he was being a little bit of a jerk. “Okay, I’ll let it go.”

  “And, you’ll stay with me tonight? All night?”

  “It’s why I brought Quinn with me, isn’t it? I’m not fooling myself, right?”

  She shook her head. “No, you’re not fooling yourself. I want you to stay.”

  That was progress, at least.

  Chapter Ten

  Harper took a moment to enjoy the heat of Caleb’s body wrapped around her and right then she couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful than waking up next to him. Opening her eyes, she had to bite back a laugh. He was on his back, one of his hands buried in Blue’s fur and the other trapped beneath and curled around Harper. The poodle was sprawled on top of him.

  Harper met the dog’s gaze. She looked so besotted and content. “You hussy,” Harper whispered and Blue’s tail thumped. It was early, but they really didn’t have time to dawdle.

  Then she saw the cut on his forehead and everything that had happened last night rushed back at her. She didn’t like glossing over the truth, but that’s what she did. Not about being interested in Jeffrey, that was one hundred percent true. It was more about the fact that she was withholding information—and trust—from Caleb.

  He wanted her trust, and her barriers were weakening. She half trusted him now, but how could she trust him with Jeffrey’s freedom? He was a dedicated cop and Jeffrey’s past was his past. It was over, and she wasn’t going to allow anyone else to subject him to scrutiny now. Besides, she didn’t want to put Caleb in an awkward position, where he’d have to make a decision to go against her wishes or against his principles.

  Her heart softened when she looked at Caleb again. How had it happened? She had been so sure it was just about the chemistry, but the look on his face last night when he’d stormed out of the bathroom had sent her into a blind panic. She couldn’t hold onto the blank, unemotional mask for one more second around him because he made her feel…so much, it scared her all over again.

  She’d told him the truth then. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. Even when she’d been busy, he was always there in her mind. And those four days of separation had been harder than she’d expected. She was thankful for his phone calls, though, quick and hurried as they were. She’d been touched that he even thought to call.

  But that was before she knew he wanted more.

  Could this really be something special? It felt that way, that he was the man she’d waited her whole life for. But how could it possibly work? His job scared her, too. She wasn’t sure she could handle being with a cop. So far he’d taken her lifestyle in stride, as if it didn’t matter to him at all, but what were his thoughts about her money and her lifestyle? What did it all mean to him?

  What if she was wrong about him?

  He could really hurt her, devastate her. She knew that instinctively. But what would she be giving up if she didn’t try? Him? The resistance to that thought made her whole body and mind just seize. Not really an option.

  “Either you’ve gotten much furrier overnight, and that’s terrifying, or I’m feeling up your poodle.”

  He turned to look at her. “Oh, thank God, princess, it’s your poodle.”

  She pushed the hussy off him and Blue made a protesting sound in her throat. Quinn lifted his head from the foot of the bed and yawned and stretched. Harper climbed right on top of Caleb. “You sly dog.”

  “I was just making an observation.” He grinned.

  Then she realized he had a full erection. “That better be either a morning hard-on or a result of my body on yours…”

  “Wow, princess, you look amazing in the morning.”

  “Okay, I’ll forgive your indiscretion with Blue, that wild wanton.”

  He smoothed his hands through her hair. She looked down at him. Speaking of who looked amazing. His dark hair appeared even darker against her silk pillowcase, a tousled mess, his eyes a sleepy, sinful brown, his eyelashes so ridiculously long and thick. He was so different from the men she knew and socialized with. It made her giddy. He was unique and special. She couldn’t be wrong about that.

  “So, this hard-on you’ve got between your very nice, muscular thighs. What are you planning to do with that?”

  His breath hitched when she wiggled her hips against him. “Oh, you’re a naughty princess,” he said. “I’ve got a few…” he pressed up against her and she groaned…“ideas I thought I would run by you.”

  “Oh, start running and make it quick. You have to go home and change, then go suit-shopping…”

  He kissed her and rolled her onto her back, giving her every indication that he wasn’t going to make this quick at all.

  “I thought I’d pick you up at nine in the limo to save time…”

  “Well, then, I don’t have a whole helluva lot of time. Stop talking, more kissing.”

  There went her whole crazy schedule today. She’d have to cut out yoga, and her massage…and…oh…who the hell cared!

  #

  Caleb hesitated as he slid into Harper’s limo. Four pretty faces looked back at him along with a pair of adoring canine eyes. He smiled. All the females in his life. “I don’t know how I warrant four beautiful babes and one saucy poodle for one fancy-pants suit. Can I sit in the middle?”

  “Oh, he is smooth,” Callie said, returning his smile.

  Harper and Brooke scooted over and he sat between them.

  “I thought you said you were rough around the edges?” Harper gave him a skeptical look.

  He shrugged. “My mother still made sure I had some manners or she would box my ears.”

  “I’m sure you had your ears boxed plenty of times,” Callie said.

  He chuckled. “Plenty.” He met each of their interested gazes. He bet they’d never seen Harper with a guy like him. “So, how many suits are you going to torture me with until I can get this over with?”

  “Oh, hundreds,” Brooke said. “Although, armor would be a better choice.”

  “Amor?”

  “She’s kidding,” Callie said.

  “You all do know that I’m a detective, right?”

  Brooke chuckled. “Okay, in that case, I would suggest you come dressed in full raid gear.”

  Harper laughed. “That might not even save him.”

  “Do I need SWAT as backup for this?”

  “Don’t you worry,” Brooke patted his face, “Harper is amazing backup.”

  He glanced over. “You did say this was a children’s tea party, right?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what
I said.” Harper didn’t elaborate and that made him very suspicious. Being a detective and all.

  “What’s with Blue?”

  “I always take her shopping with me when it’s something fun.”

  “And the store owners are okay with this?”

  Brooke laughed. “Are you kidding, Harper could bring a whole zoo with her and store owners would fall all over her.”

  It was a whirlwind trip with these women, and by the time he’d had his ass grabbed and molded by Brooke to make sure the pants fit him to perfection, his measurements taken by Poe to double-check the fit, and had Callie pick out about a million ties—he argued vehemently against a bow tie—he was completely in stitches, his usually gruff manner overshadowed by four beautiful woman who simply loved each other like sisters.

  He understood now why she loved her friends so much. He fell in love with them, too.

  They talked him into a white linen-blend suit that they said would be perfect, one that he would probably never wear again, but this was all about the challenge and not about the clothes. They insisted he had to have a white panama hat as well.

  Except, he kept losing track of it. When he tried it on, Blue had jumped up, putting her paws on his chest and licked his face as a distraction, then she sneakily plucked it off his head and ran off with it. Then she kept snatching it off the counter, digging it out of the bag. One of them would take it from her and before they knew it, she had it again, racing away from them inside the store like it was a game.

  “Shopping isn’t for the faint of heart,” he said as they dropped off the last dog park babe, Poe.

  Poe smiled, giving him a soft look. “You are a good sport for putting up with us and Blue. See you later.”

  As soon as the door closed, Harper wrapped her arms around him and pressed her mouth to his, and, like that, he went from zero to one hundred miles an hour. She worked him over, took his bottom lip into her mouth, gently biting, then sucking it until he was groaning and pushing her deeper into the seat.

  “My place isn’t far from here,” he whispered.