Free The Truth About Cats & Dogs by Lori Foster, Kristine Rolofson, Caroline Burnes Page A

as they strode away.
    Bending down, he peered under his couch. Butch and Tish were curled tightly together in the yellow underwear. He could hardly tell where one Chihuahua started and the other ended. Cute.
    Tish opened one eye, saw him and inched farther back.
    â€œIt’s all right, baby girl. I won’t bother you. Go back to sleep now.” She kept watching him as if waiting to be pounced on.
    Sighing, Buck decided that sooner or later, he’d win her over. He really, really wanted to hold her.
    Sadie stood in the kitchen doorway. “The dogs are hiding?” she asked.
    Buck straightened; their gazes met. Sadie’s lips were parted to accommodate her fast breathing. His muscles tensed, his abdomen clenched.
    It was time—and they both knew it.
    â€œYeah.” He walked to her and held out a hand. “How long will they nap, do you think?”
    Sadie put her hand in his. Her attention was on his mouth. “Long enough. At least, I hope so.”
    His smile felt silly and right and full of anticipation. His heart turned over. Damn, but she was perfect.
    And starting now, she was his.
    Â 
    S ADIE WENT DOWN THE HALL to Buck’s bedroom with her heart tripping, her stomach fluttering and her thighs shaking. Anticipation stole her breath.
    Her hand felt tiny in his. She watched the play of muscles in his broad back beneath the soft cotton shirt. He was so sinfully, deliciously, unbelievably gorgeous.
    And he wanted her.
    Sadie didn’t care if it would be for an hour, a day, a week. It didn’t matter; she wasn’t about to turn him down. Whenever she fantasized, it was of a man like Buck, a man who was physically big and strong, but emotionally gentle and loving, who filled her dreams.
    No other man she knew had ever been so concerned for an animal. When he spoke to Tish, it was as if he related to her. That took confidence, in himself and in his masculinity. Though she’d deliberately kept her distance, she’d always admired him. And after seeing him with her dog, her heart was lost.
    He tugged her into his bedroom and shut the door. Facing her, his gaze molten and very direct, he murmured, “I don’t want the dogs to wander in.”
    â€œNo?”
    â€œI’m not into exhibitionism.”
    He liked to joke. “I doubt they’d understand.”
    She didn’t understand. Not yet anyway. But soon.
    He leaned against the door. “You put your cardigan back on.”
    Excuses tripped on her tongue, but nothing coherent came out.
    Lazily, Buck reached out with his long arms and began undoing the buttons for the second time that day. “It’s okay. I like undressing you.” His eyes lifted briefly to her face, then returned to her sweater. “Do you mind?”
    Did she mind what? Nervousness took hold, making it hard for her to think beyond the obvious desire to know him physically.
    â€œWould you be more comfortable in the dark? I can shut the blinds, but the truth is…I’m dying to see every soft, pink inch of you.”
    Oh, God. If he said things like that, she’d neverget through this. Sadie licked her lips. “No one’s ever looked at me before.”
    His expression heated even more. “I know.”
    He pushed away from the door, and with his fingers busy on the last button of her sweater, took her mouth. The kiss was unlike the ones earlier in the day. He ate at her mouth, consumed her, made her burn.
    â€œDamn.” His laugh was shaky as he stripped off her sweater. “I should be honest and tell you that your virginity is an enormous turn-on. I can’t wait to take you, to see your face when I push inside you, when you come…”
    Sadie sucked in a startled breath. She couldn’t wait, either. “You first.”
    Buck paused. “Me first what?” He half laughed. “If I come first, I’m afraid the gig is up. I’d need at least an hour