Home Is Where the Bark Is (28 page)

She indicated the garden and the house with a sweep of her arm. “I guess I’m an old-fashioned girl at heart because I think this place is just perfect. It doesn’t seem like an old lady’s house at all.”

Nick laughed. “Wait until you meet Aunt Alice. She’s no stereo-typical old lady. She moved here years ago for what she calls its ‘bohemian vibe.’ She hates how touristy Sausalito has become, but tourists are the lifeblood of the gallery she runs here.”

“I noticed there were a lot of paintings inside.”

“Some are hers, some by artists she couldn’t bear to part with. She’s quite a character.”

“You sound fond of her.”

“She says we’re kindred spirits because we both wanted to get out of the valley where we were born. Difference is she’ll never go back there whereas I’m keeping my options open. All the rest of my family is still there, parents, brother, sisters, and a whole parcel of cousins.”

“I envy you that, your family, your roots,” she said. “I’ve got some cousins in England on my mom’s side I met once and don’t even remember and no one on my father’s side.”

“My family’s okay. But there are times I would happily swap with you. C’mon, let’s go inside and get a beer. Or coffee. Or Diet Coke. Whatever you like.”

“Diet Coke sounds good,” she said. “We’d better check on Mack, too.”

“He’s as out of it as a bear in hibernation,” Nick said.

She laughed. “No wonder, with all the meds they’ve given him.”

The big dog looked comfortable, though his leg with its bright purple cast now stuck out at an angle. She knelt down beside him and gently repositioned the injured leg. “My special boy,” she murmured. Then she started to stroke around his ears the way Mack loved.

She felt Nick’s hands on her shoulders.

“Serena,” he said in that gravel-rough voice that sent shivers down her spine. “You’ve stroked that dog’s ears so much there soon won’t be any fur left on them.”

He pulled her to her feet and turned her to face him. “There’s a boy here who wants your attention, too.”

He was joking but there was a watchfulness in his eyes that made her aware of how serious he was. She knew she was guilty of hiding behind the dogs rather than facing situations she found difficult. But she didn’t want to hide anymore.

“You want your ears stroked?” she asked with a teasing edge to her voice that she hoped disguised the fact she was suddenly paralyzed with nervousness. “Like Mack?”

She was twenty-eight years old, her image emblazoned on billboards across the country in nothing but bikini undies and a cloak of chocolate, but she was nervous before this big, tough guy who had made her dream way beyond the boundaries she’d set to keep her life comfortable and safe.

“Well, if you’re offering . . .” He bent his head closer to hers.

In his black T-shirt and jeans that molded to the strong muscles of his thighs and butt, Nick Whalen was the hottest guy in the universe and she felt dizzy at his nearness. But it wasn’t just his looks. For all her initial worries about him being the same type of man as those who had hurt and disappointed her, he had proved himself to be a rock.

She could stroke his ears; she could stroke . . . Well, she could stroke him all over. Then lie back and let him stroke her. Her life had been peaceful with no sexual interest in it, but she was beginning to remember how passion was way better than peace.

She cupped his face in her hands, enjoyed the graze of his beard under her fingers, met his gaze full-on as his eyes narrowed with interest. Slowly, she slid her hands up toward his ears. He had nice ears, well formed and flat to his head. She reached out and traced the edges with the tips of her fingers, caressed the lobes and gently tugged on them. She felt a shudder run through his body. “You like that, big boy?” she said.

“Ruff-ruff,” he replied, his voice hoarse. Serena laughed a low, husky laugh—she was enjoying this. Pleasing him was a pleasure in itself. Her laughter seemed to echo through the house.

Nick’s breathing was loud and ragged. There was an old-fashioned clock somewhere and she could hear it tick-tick-tick. Mack shifted in his basket. She was aware of the rapid thudding of her own heart.

“Scratching, too? You like scratching?” she murmured as, with the edges of her nails, she scratched the short stubble of his hair behind his ears, making it a slow, tantalizing caress.

He growled a deep sound in his throat that was pure aroused human male and nothing to do with pretend dog noises. The sound seemed to connect with every nerve ending in her body. Her nipples tightened to painful peaks and her thighs clenched in a spasm of desire. She found the look of pure bliss on his face very sexy. Heck, she found everything about him very sexy.

Still with teasing lightness, she feathered her fingers down and along the strong, hard line of his jaw. Then she reached his mouth, that wonderful mouth that felt so good on her own. Her breath quickened. She traced the fuller lower lip along the edges, then the top lip she found so incredibly sensual.

He took the fleshy pad of her finger between his teeth and nipped it. She gasped. It was more pleasure than pain, a sensation that shimmered through her. He took hold of her wrists and pulled her hands away from his face, holding them by her sides. She leaned forward to press her mouth against his.

“Boss lady in charge,” he murmured against her mouth.

“Mmm,” was all she could manage in reply. This felt too good to interrupt with talk.

She traced the seam of his lips with her tongue until the tip of his tongue met hers. Kissing Nick was heaven. She pressed her body close to his. His muscles felt like a rock wall. The man was built like a fortress.

His strength attracted her. In the past she had feared being taken over, having her life taken out of her hands, but the only feelings she got from Nick were of security and safety. He was man enough to let her be a boss lady without feeling threatened. But was she woman enough to let go and trust him to look after her?

This full-frontal kiss had a lot going for it. Breast to chest. Thigh to thigh. Every part of her body aware of the contact, his heart pounding against hers. She didn’t resist when Nick released her hands to slide his up the outsides of her thighs, warm and strong and confident. She trembled with pleasure and arched her back to get closer.

The sound didn’t register at first, the loud shrill of a cell phone. Not hers. She broke away from Nick’s kiss, looked questioningly at him. He shook his head. “Ignore it,” he said and claimed her mouth again.

The cell phone fell silent, only for the landline in the room to start. Nick cursed, pulled her close to him again, kissed her so she scarcely heard the phone.The second it stopped his cell started again.

The mood was broken. She couldn’t help the anxiety invoked by an incessant ringing of a phone. “They . . . they’re not giving up,” she said, too breathless to speak coherently. “It might . . . might be urgent.”

“It had better be urgent.” He stepped back but took hold of her hand and led her to where his leather jacket was flung over the sofa. “I’m not letting go of you.” With his right hand he pulled out his cell from a pocket and checked the caller ID, all the while holding on to her with his left hand. “It’s Adam.”

“Better take the call, then,” she said, pulling regretfully away from him, forcing her breath to return to normal.

 

 

Nick
cursed. Of all the damn times for Adam to call. He was sorely tempted not to pick up. But Adam might be trying to reach him with information about the case. Information that could help him help Serena. He had no choice. He flipped open his cell.

Adam had news, all right. Nick spoke briefly to his business partner, then disconnected.

Then he turned to Serena. Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth swollen; strands of hair had come loose and fallen across her face. He groaned his frustration and closed his eyes. The sight of her made him unable to concentrate on the investigation that, with a phone call, had intruded so rudely.

When he opened them, he was better able to control himself. Although Serena didn’t look any less alluring, any less kissable. It would be so easy to put this news on hold and start again with Serena where they’d left off. But that wasn’t how it worked for him.

“Adam reports that your stalker is still safely locked away.”

She closed her eyes briefly, her relief palpable.

“Adam says that”—he nearly said the stalker’s name but stopped himself in time—“he is unlikely to be plotting trouble for you from his cell. He’s terminally ill. Cancer.”

She paused. “I don’t care one way or the other what happens to him so long as he never comes near me again.” She took a deep breath. “And Eric Kessler?”

“Adam has tracked down Eric Kessler and is on his trail.”

“That’s good news, isn’t it?” She gave a wry smile. “Though the timing of its delivery could have been better.”

“Agreed,” he said, taking her hand again.

She squeezed his hand in response. “Is it a breakthrough?”

“Could be. Kessler is high on the suspect list. Adam has also been working on Tony Cross. What he’s found out about him is not such good news for your friend Jenna. The guy has got a record as long as my arm. You name it, he’s done it. Criminal trespass, assault, trafficking stolen property are just some of the things Adam dug up on him.”

The color drained from Serena’s face. “That’s not totally unexpected. I’m not surprised at all. I don’t like Tony one little bit.” She looked up at him, fear and worry for her friend etched clearly in her expression. “Poor Jenna. I’ve got to warn her about him.”

He shook his head. “Not a good idea to show our hand. He’s a suspect now.”

“But what if he hurts her?”

“Come here,” he said, leading her to the sofa. He could, at least, have the pleasure of snuggling with her as they spoke. “Your friend’s a big girl, Serena. She lives with the guy. She might not welcome your interference. But we’ll have him under surveillance. Either by Adam or another guy who works for us on this type of job.”

“So you think Tony might be involved?” She shuddered. “He’s always given me the creeps.”

“He could be our guy. But so could Eric Kessler. It all hinges on that collar and whether or not he planted the camera.”

“If Adam finds him, what does that mean for you?” The expression in her eyes told him she already guessed the answer.

“I’d planned to cook you dinner. But now I’ve got to go meet with Adam at the office.” He didn’t try to hide the regret he felt.

“Shame,” she said with a sigh. “What about Mack? He can’t be left alone. Do you want me to stay here with him?”

“There’s nothing I’d like better than to come home after a night in a surveillance van to find you here waiting for me.” He kissed her. “But I don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll take you and Snowball home. I’ll ask my aunt’s friend Hannah to come and keep an eye on the dogs for me while I’m out. She loves Bessie and is looking forward to meeting Mack.”

Serena didn’t do a good job of hiding her disappointment at the way the evening was ending. “I wish . . . I wish it had turned out different here.”

“Me, too,” he said. “But we’ve started something we’re going to go on with, Serena.”

She turned to face him directly. He pushed clear the lock of hair that always fell across her cheek. “That is, if you want that.”

She leaned closer and kissed him on the mouth. “Yes. I want that,” she said. “I want that very much.”

Next
morning, Serena sat in her office with the Maltese terrier snow globe in her hand. Idly she shook it so the snow danced all around the little plastic dog in the striped scarf. The flakes settled in drifts around his tiny toy feet. No matter what was happening in that toy’s world it kept on smiling its static doggy grin.

That was just how she felt today, a smile hovering around her lips, no matter how gloomy the outlook from the bank. No matter how worried she was about Jenna. Or puzzled over Mack’s collar. Little shivers of anticipation and pleasure ran through her body when she thought about Nick, and that smile turned into a grin.

When Kylie popped her head around the door she didn’t miss that grin, though Serena hastily tried to subdue it.

“You’re looking very happy,” said Kylie. “Any particular reason?”

Serena shrugged, knowing that smile was still lifting the corners of her mouth. “Do I need a reason?”

Kylie took a few steps farther into the room. “No. I just wondered if it had anything to do with your newest employee, you know, the big blond hunk who’s just come in to work late.”

“Nick? Is he here?” Darn! Why did she have to sound so eager and jump halfway up from her chair?

“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Kylie with a big, knowing smirk.

Serena settled back into her chair and tried to look nonchalant. “Yes, well, he called to say he would be delayed, and of course I’m anxious to hear how Mack is doing.”

“Of course you are.” Kylie’s dimples were in full evidence.

Serena sighed. “Am I that obvious?”

“It’s been obvious since the day Nick first got here with that honey bunny of a dog of his.” Kylie laughed. “Of course, I’m talking about obvious on both sides,” she amended, much to Serena’s relief.

“Really?”

“Sure. That guy was smitten from the get-go. And I’m pleased for you. I’ve got to say I didn’t like the idea when you told me you’d hired him. But he’s okay. Pulled his weight yesterday and the dogs like him. That’s the most important thing.”

“Of course it is.” Two nice girls Serena had employed over the first weeks of Paws-A-While hadn’t lasted. They’d needed jobs but it had soon been obvious that they weren’t dog people. The dogs had soon let her know that. She’d learned to trust their judgment.

“And you like him?”