Lori Foster - Men of Honour - Ready, Set, Jett / When You Dare / Trace of Fever / Savor the Danger / A Perfect Storm / What Chris Wants / Bare It All

Her stilted speech amused Dare. “I do love my girls.”

She cleared her throat. “Chris, too?”

“Definitely.” Knowing she didn’t entirely understand, and willing to tease her, Dare said, “Chris will try to intimidate you, so be prepared.”

She cleared her throat. “Chris is …?”

“Housekeeper, manager, assistant—pretty much everything.”

“Everything?” she asked, her voice high and faint.

Dare couldn’t help but grin. “Sure.” And then, “Just ask him. He’ll tell you how important he is.”

Her jaw loosened. “ He will?” Then, before Dare could reply, “Chris is a guy?” And then with confusion, “You live with another man?”

“Yeah.”

“Does … he have a wife? Or maybe a girlfriend?”

“No.” Dare knew she was trying to figure out the dynamic. He waited two heartbeats, then said, “Chris is gay.”

“Gay?” Mystified, she stared at him. “But you’re not …?”

Dare gave her a look. “Are you actually asking me that? Because I thought I’d made my sexual preferences pretty clear already.”

“I thought you did, too. But then you kept mentioning Chris and your girls, and I wasn’t sure what to think.”

“I’m not involved with anyone.”

“Good.” Her eyes widened when she said that, and she quickly clarified, “I mean … okay.” Thoughts visibly churning, she took in the woods and the dirt road that changed to pavement, and then the landscaping as it opened up to his home. She fell back in her seat.

The sight of manicured lawns under bright lights that flickered on with their progress distracted her.

Molly gave up. “Okay, then, since you and Chris don’t have that kind of relationship, why would he want to intimidate me?”

“Suspicion, most likely.” And because that explanation didn’t suffice, Dare added, “I never bring women here. Hell, I don’t bring anyone here. You’re a first.”

Her interested gaze transferred to him. “You don’t?”

Dare shook his head.

“But … why?”

“Policy.” He glanced at her, saw her frowning and said, “Don’t worry about it, okay?”

Pulling around the circular drive, Dare stopped in front of the pedimented entry. Warm lights poured through the cut glass in the door, the transom and the sidelights, spilling onto the front porch and out onto the paved walkway. The double doors opened and his girls shot out in berserk joy. Each of them had a stuffed toy clamped in her teeth.

Chris came to stand at the top step. He folded his arms over his bare chest and waited.

Eyes widening even more, Molly asked in a whisper, “Is that him?”

Wondering what she’d expected, Dare glanced at Chris. His personal assistant stood there shirtless, sloppy shorts hanging low, feet bare. His shaggy black hair became even more disheveled by a brisk wind.

Shaking his head, Dare accepted that Chris looked nothing like a businessperson and very much like a lake bum. “I think we’ve kept him up past his bedtime.”

“Oh, dear.” Casting Dare a sideways glance, she said, “He was waiting up for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that part of his job description, or just because he was concerned?”

“Most likely, it was curiosity.” Dare grinned at her. “Chris and I are best friends. Like brothers, really.”

She let out her breath, but asked with accusation, “Did you know what I thought?”

“Maybe.” Tamping down his grin, Dare said, “It gave you something to think about besides your kidnapping.”

She frowned at him but said nothing more.

“And there are my beautiful girls, Sargeant and Tai’ree, better known as Sargie and Tai.”

Eyes rounding, Molly stared as the two Labs bounded toward them.

“Dogs,” Molly said, now completely exasperated. “So Chris is a guy, and your girls are animals.”

“They’re members of the family.” Impatient to see them, Dare didn’t pull on around into the garage. Before he had the SUV in Park, the dogs were at his door, jumping with undiluted joy. They dropped their toys to yap, bark and make other dog noises of pleasure.

For only a moment, Dare was able to take his focus off Molly.

He opened the door and was greeted with sloppy kisses, snuffling and wildly thumping tails.

Laughing, he stroked them both, taking the time to scratch Tai’s back just above her tail, which was her favorite spot and never failed to put her into a doggy trance. Sargie immediately did her Chewbacca impersonation, sort of a growling yodel of eagerness, until he rubbed her ears.

“Come on, ladies. I have someone for you to meet.” He rounded the car but not in time to open Molly’s door for her. After stepping out, she looked at both dogs and gave a huge grin.

“I thought you had daughters. Or … something.”

“Something furry,” he told her. The dogs eyed Molly, determined she was fair game and charged over to her.

Molly went to one knee—a mistake given that both girls took that as an invitation and immediately knocked her to the ground so they could jump on her, slobber on her and generally give her loads of wet dog affection.

Waiting to see how she’d react, Dare crossed his arms and watched. If she acted like she needed help, or was afraid, of course he’d intervene. But if she was going to stay with him for a spell, and she was, she needed to know how to deal with his dogs.

To his surprise and pleasure, Molly laughed.

“Oh, my God, they’re enormous.” Catching a collar in each hand, she moved the dogs back enough to sit up again. She opened her arms and embraced them both. “That’s the most loving I’ve had in … forever.”

Interesting. Dare pulled Sargie away. “She’s seventy pounds. And this beast of a girl—” he retrieved Tai “—is a solid eighty-five. Tai is the older and calmer of the two, but that’s not saying much. They both think they’re Lap radors instead of Labradors. If you’re on their level, they’ll sit on you. Or at least try to.”

“Guess I’ll have to remember that—not that I minded, though. It’s nice to be so accepted.”

Because she wasn’t used to it? She’d said many of her readers could count as suspects, too. Family, readers, ex-fiancé … He needed to start making a damned list.

Holding out a hand to her, Dare hauled her to her feet and waited while she dusted off that lush backside.

Both dogs now sat on their haunches, still trembling with energy and excitement but curious about Molly, too.

She offered a hand for them to sniff and then took turns petting them. Tai gave her a soulful look, earning a hug. “I love animals. Dad wanted nothing to do with pets when I was growing up, and my apartment doesn’t allow them. I’d actually been thinking of getting my own house just so I could get a dog. Probably not one as big as yours, though.”

Dare couldn’t imagine not having pets around. They were part of the welcome he got whenever he had time away from work. “House or dog?”

Grinning, she said, “Both—but I was talking about the dogs.” She straightened, looked beyond them to his home and shook her head in wonder. “And here I’d thought to impress you with my success. What a joke.”

“I am impressed.”

“At least enough to let me hire you, knowing I can pay up. But we should probably discuss terms, don’t you think?”

“Soon.” He released the dogs to retrieve his duffel from the SUV, and then put a hand to the small of Molly’s back to get her moving forward. “That’s Chris on the porch. He’ll stand there and stare all night.”

Under her breath, Molly said, “He’s as big as you are.”

“I’m bigger,” Chris announced, “if you know where to look.”