Free Collared (Going to the Dogs) by Zoe Dawson Page A

just her nature. But he was slain at her feet all the same.
    He gave himself up to the biggest mistake of his life. He was in so much trouble. He needed somebody to come and save him—because he wasn’t going to save himself.
    No fucking way.

Chapter Five
    His beard was soft, but his mouth was softer, oh-so-soft and hot, and wet, and gloriously melding with her lips as if he needed her breath to live. This was the passion she’d been looking for, this kind of chemistry that both frightened her and drew her irrevocably.
    And—ohhhh, damn— his skin, the back of his neck, was like velvet, so shocking on such a potently dynamic man. Everything about him should be hard.
    Ooooh, lucky her. He was hard in all the right places. His chest, his corded arms, behind his fly. She’d never wanted to explore a man as much as she wanted to spend hours…days…going over every inch of him.
    She opened her mouth for him, inviting him to plunder and take her. He tightened his hold on her face and stroked his thumbs along her jaw. When his tongue touched hers, she groaned and he sucked on her bottom lip, making her body vibrate like a tuning fork.
    Sirens wailed in the distance, then closer, coming from a couple of directions.
    He took a deep, uneven breath and broke the kiss, resting his silky jaw and soft hair against the hollow between her shoulder and neck.
    “Harper!”
    She jumped and they both turned their heads to find her chauffeur standing at the entrance to the alley. He looked murderous, like he’d been frantically trying to find her in the bar brawl. She felt incredibly guilty that Jeffrey had been in there dodging fists while she was out here locking lips with Caleb and losing her damn mind.
    “Go,” Caleb rasped out, “I don’t want you here when the boys in blue arrive.”
    Oh God, no. She didn’t want to let go of him. But she had to because he was right. She didn’t want to end up arrested for a bar fight, or—worse yet—caught on film running from a bar fight. The thrill of Caleb’s passion still swirling around in her, she cupped his face and planted a hard, quick kiss on his mouth.
    He stepped back, exchanging a very heated look with her, and she could only hope that she’d given him enough of a prelude to make sure they eventually came together in bed. Soon.
    “Go. Now, Harper, before I do something crazy.”
    She started to walk, her knees weak. Jeffrey cupped her elbow when she reached him and hurried her to the limo. He eased her inside against the butter-soft leather seats. She’d never taken her gaze off Caleb as he watched her walk away.
    She closed her eyes when he was no longer visible. How had everything gotten so out of hand? One minute she was playing pool with a bunch of friendly guys and the next she was plastered against Caleb while he practically devoured her.
    One thing was certain, she’d never forget how he looked when he was getting her out of that bar. He was so earthy, so primal, so threatening. Excitement coursed through her as she remembered how physically menacing he was in fight mode. He made rough and tumble look so damn sexy.
    He made her want to throw caution to the wind…and that made her feel exposed and vulnerable. She’d always stayed safe behind her armor. She’d been reserved for so long. It was easy to understand why she responded so strongly to Caleb. He was different. He wasn’t afraid of her, didn’t cater to her, wasn’t intimidated or diffident. Was that why he also made her feel afraid of her own emotions, her own passions?
    With Nate it had been easy to have sex and feel nothing but the pleasure of the act, the feel of a man’s body, the explosion of her own desire. But Caleb wasn’t Nate, and that kiss had broken open something inside her that she needed him, and only him, to fill.
    And, then she remembered how he’d blocked that chair and the flash of pain on his face while he clutched his shoulder. Damn, that’s right! He’d said he’d been