She went still, then stared up at him. “So what is?”

He met her gaze, his own unreadable. At his silence, she pushed away from him. He caught her before she could open the door, pulling her back against his chest. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears, the frustration of giving to a man who didn’t give back.

He tightened his grip on her, and she felt more than heard the words as he breathed them against the shell of her ear. “Damn you.”

“You need to let me go.”

“You make me crazy,” he said.

“Clearly.” She shook her head. “I threw myself at you and you turned me down. That sounds crazy to me, too.”

Still behind her, he had one hand low on her belly, the other across the front of her thighs. She could feel him, still hard against her.

“I’m not one to fall in love,” he said so softly she almost missed it. Again she fought to free herself but he held her still. “I’ve been in lust plenty of times,” he admitted against her ear. “But I haven’t done love. Not once. Not since you.”

Oh, God if that didn’t just about kill her, and she fought him again, but for an entirely different reason now. He’d never admitted he’d loved her back then. She’d guessed, but she’d never known for sure. She wanted to turn and face him, wanted to get closer, but it was useless. He had her in his grip. “Adam—”

“You scare the hell out of me, you know that?” he asked. “I could fall for you again, you know. Right into your sweet baby blues and never come back up for air.”

She went still.

“Yeah,” he murmured, running his jaw along hers. “But it wouldn’t be good for either of us. Last chance, Holly. Stop this. Stop me.”

Instead, she wriggled free, turned around, and nuzzled his neck until he bent his head, seeking her lips. He hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him as he turned to his bed.

Milo hopped off just as Adam turned and fell backward to the mattress, bringing Holly down with him. He didn’t ask again if she was sure, or if she wanted to change her mind. That was one of the things she loved about him. He assumed she could walk and chew gum at the same time. He never second-guessed her, and he didn’t try to change her.

He accepted.

Feeling choked up again at the thought, she snuggled up against his broad chest. He took one of her hands and slid it down his stomach and into his jeans.

Decision made.

She never got tired of touching him, but it was Adam who was impatient now. He was one of those men who looked as good out of his clothes as in them, proven when he sat up to kick off his jeans, his abs crunching, folding in on themselves without an ounce of fat, the lucky bastard.

Except she knew it wasn’t luck. It was hard work.

With his every movement, the testosterone practically leaked out his pores, making her tingle in her hot spots, and he’d barely touched her. They rolled on the bed, jockeying for position, teasing, stroking…Adam’s lusciously colored skin always felt so good against her. She loved rubbing herself over him and gasped when he moved on top, sliding a hard thigh between her legs. Mmm, the feel of his unshaven face against her soft skin, the way he quivered when she ran her hands over his taut muscles. Yeah, touching was nice, but tasting…even better. It didn’t matter what he’d done that day, he always tasted like warm sun and everything male.

He ran a finger over her boy-cut panties. “Off.”

She reached for them, but he beat her to it, divesting her of them in one quick, economical move, his eyes taking his own sensory inventory of her body before slipping a hand between her legs. “You should wear a warning label,” he said.

“Like you’d heed a warning label.”

This garnered her a smile as he lowered himself over her, making her moan with sheer pleasure as the contour of his hard chest met the soft, sensitive skin of her breasts. Pushing her hair over her shoulder, he gently put his lips to the sweet spot beneath her ear. His hands roamed, taking a slow perusal of her body, paying special homage to all her favorite spots, of which he seemed to know every single one.

She tipped her head up, catching his mouth with hers. He let out another of those sexy growls, this one pure hunger, as he slid down her body. Her heart began to pound in her chest as he kissed every inch. Sliding his hands beneath her, he pulled her forward.

To his mouth.

At the first touch of his tongue, she shot straight up as the pleasure reverberated through her.

He pushed her back down, maneuvering her right where he wanted her. Then he lowered his head and went back to driving her out of her ever-loving mind, not stopping for a very long time…

Not until she begged him to.

Only then did he surge up, grabbing for the condoms. Together they got him covered, and then he came over her again, kissing her as he slid in deep. With a gasp, she tore her mouth free because it was impossible to kiss through the first delicious slide of their joining.

“Holly.” That was all he said, just her name in a low, rough, reverent voice that had her forcing her eyes open to look at him. His head fell back, his face a mask of desire. Watching him find such pleasure took her to the edge, and she hovered there, moving with him, meeting him thrust for thrust, little whimpers of need escaping her, whimpers she couldn’t have held back to save her own life. Finally, she burst with his name on her lips, and with a rough groan, he followed her over, shuddering in her arms.

Gasping for air, damp and utterly limp, she purred when Adam’s arms pulled her in close. He held her tight, his lips gliding along the line of her shoulder while his own breathing slowed.

“Wow,” she finally managed. “I like your moves while under the influence.”

“That wasn’t the Jack.”

She recognized the tone of his voice—pure male ego—and hid her smile. “No?”

“Hell no.”

“Hmm.”

He lifted his head, eyes narrowed. “You doubt it?”

“Of course not.”

He crooked a finger at her. “Come here.” Before she could move, he rolled, tucking her beneath him again, his face intent, his hands even more so. “I’ll show you.”

She was still smiling in triumph when his mouth claimed hers again.

Much later, she was warm, still pleasantly fuzzy with the whiskey, and just about as happy as she could ever remember feeling. Of course, she wasn’t sure she could walk again.

And she wasn’t sure she cared…

Twenty-two

Adam woke up alone. Well, not entirely alone. Milo was sprawled across most of the entire bed, his head heavy on Adam’s pillow.

Snoring.

Adam looked around but nope, there was no soft, warm, sexy female anywhere, and then he remembered. Holly had left at the crack of dawn. Bending low over him, she’d slid a hand down his back as she’d kissed him, whispering that she had an early meeting. Then she’d nipped his ear, slapped his ass, and vanished.

Fair enough. It had been a seduction, after all, and she’d gotten what she’d come for. In spades.

So had he.

But now, in the light of day, he had to wonder what the hell he’d thought he’d been doing. He didn’t want a relationship. Never had. He liked being accountable to no one, not having to worry about anyone else’s schedule or, worse, feelings. His life was busy and he didn’t have time or inclination to fit anyone into it.

And yet…

Holly had managed to fit into it just fine.

He rolled over, shoving Milo to make room. His bones felt liquefied, and damned if he wasn’t wearing a stupid just-got-laid smile.

Milo licked his ear.

“You big oaf.” He glanced at the clock. Eight. He just slept more solidly than he had since getting home. Guess sex till you drop did a body good. Rolling off the bed, he fed Milo and hit the shower, then made his way downstairs. The day had started without him. Jade was at her desk, dictating his and Dell’s world with calm efficiency. “Hey, hot stuff,” she said.

“Hey, hot stuff,” Peanut the parrot repeated from his perch on the printer.

Gertie scrambled to greet Adam and Milo, and there was the usual sniffing and tail wagging as Adam grabbed his messages from Jade. “What?” he said when she gave him a brow waggle.

“You know what. You’re smiling,” she said.

“No, that’s you.”

“Because you are,” she said. “You win the lotto?”

“No.”

“Is it your birthday?”

“No.”

“Huh,” Jade said. “Must have something to do with Holly sneaking down your stairs at the ass crack of dawn this morning.”

Jesus. “What were you doing here at the ass crack of dawn?” he asked. “Does Dell need to put more men on the job at home?”

She smacked him. “I was doing month-end accounting.”

Adam shook his head and strode out the back. He saddled up Reno and, with Milo and Gertie tagging along, rode out to the lake. There Adam hid various items, including a boot and a sweatshirt, training the dogs under the guise of hide-and-seek.

Actually, Milo trained. Gertie napped.

Two hours later, they were back and Adam closed himself up in his office to get some work done. He had an article to write on rescue dog policy and procedure, a bunch of correspondence to go through, and some S&R training to plan out for several agencies he was visiting next week.

Milo settled on his dog bed in the corner, turning in three precise circles before plopping his graceless ass down so hard the place shook like an earthquake. Two minutes later he was up and setting his large head on Adam’s thigh, staring up at him adoringly.

“No,” Adam said. “It’s not time to eat.”

Milo sighed, drooled on Adam’s leg, and went back to his bed.

Adam was halfway through the article when Dell poked his head in, holding a tiny puppy in each hand.

“They’re here to be checked out,” Dell said. “Mama’s having trouble feeding them all. Grab a bottle and pitch in?”

Adam followed him to the back and sat on the floor with Dell next to the box of puppies. It took them forty-five minutes to fill the bellies of the mewling, starving crew. The puppies got a little rambunctious after that, playfully chewing on one another’s limbs and tails and on Adam’s and Dell’s fingers. With puppies all over them, Adam asked, “So what’s this bullshit about you telling Holly she’s my cave?”

“You’re afraid of caves,” Dell said, as if that were an explanation.

“I’m not afraid. I—”

“And you’re afraid of Holly, too, so…”

“Jesus.” Adam pulled the runt off the biggest sibling, where he’d been trying to start something he absolutely couldn’t finish. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“You sure about that?” Dell asked.

No. But he was sure about the urge to pound his brother much like the runt. He was trying to decide how best to do that without hurting the puppies when Lilah picked that very moment to poke her head in. “Dell, I’ve brought you a rescue—Awww.” Dropping to her knees between them, she hugged the puppies into her.

“Saved by the princess,” Dell murmured to Adam with amusement.

Lilah divided a look between them. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Adam said.

“Adam disagrees that Holly is his cave,” Dell said.

Lilah rolled her eyes. “She’s totally your cave.”

Dell sent Adam an I-told-you-so look, which Adam had to ignore because he couldn’t very well kill his brother with Lilah sitting right there as a material witness.

“So cute,” Lilah said as Adam hugged a puppy.

“They’re getting big,” he agreed.

Lilah took the puppy from him, set it in its puppy box, and then wrapped her arms around Adam, snuggling her face into his neck as she snorted with laughter. “I meant you, silly. You’re both so adorable, sitting on the floor playing with puppies.”

Adam tried to untangle himself from her but she held on, laughing at him. “We are not adorable,” he said.

“Speak for yourself,” Dell said. “I’m adorable as hell.” He slid Adam a long look. “And Holly must think you are, too, because somehow you convinced her to spend the night with you.”

Lilah nodded her agreement.

There was no use wondering how everyone knew. Not a single one of them could mind their own business to save their lives. But they were smiling at him, all happy and proud of him, and he had to shake his head. “Maybe she made the first move,” he said. “Maybe it was her idea to come over and spend the night seducing me. You ever think of that?”

Dell and Lilah looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“It really was her idea,” Adam muttered, and they only laughed harder.

“Let me get this straight,” Dell said when he got control of himself. “You telling me you can’t get away from her?”

Yes. Exactly. She was taking his classes, showing up at his place…He couldn’t get away from her. And the scariest part? He wasn’t even sure when he’d stopped wanting to.

That night Adam was upstairs on his laptop working when his computer beeped an incoming IM from Grif: Open Skype so I can call you.

Adam clicked on the program and waited for the call. When it came, Grif was wearing desert fatigues and a frown. “Hey,” Adam said. “You look like shit.”

Grif shoved his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Man, what are you doing?”