Sadie didn’t know where to look, his bare chest, those broad shoulders, the abs that she wanted to lick . . . It was a complete feast for her eyes. But no way was she going to admit such a thing.

“Morning,” Caleb said with a lazy smile and a gruff morning voice that gave her a secret thrill.

Get a grip! she ordered herself. So he looked sexy as hell first thing in the morning. So what. And so she was thinking things, really erotic things. He didn’t need to know this. “Sleeping with my dog on your bed is the exact opposite of not letting my dog sleep on your bed,” she said.

His mouth curved. “Our dog,” he said. “And she wouldn’t sleep unless she was with me.”

“But you’re naked.”

He shrugged. “That’s how I sleep.”

Oh boy. She was torn between relief and disappointment that his sheet was pooled low on his hips, hiding his goodies.

“You look pretty,” he said.

She was in an oversize T-shirt and sweats. No makeup. And she knew damn well she had circles under her eyes and was pale. Stress. But here was the thing. This gorgeous man, naked or not, impeccably groomed or not, was staring at her absolutely meaning what he said. He thought she looked good and she was going to own that. But it was going to take her a moment.

His eyes darkened and a bolt of electricity came through from his phone to hers and directly to her good parts.

Huh. Maybe she wasn’t going to need a minute after all.

“Wow,” he murmured in that husky morning voice. “Mark the date. I just rendered Sadie Lane speechless.” He paused and his eyes took her in the way she looked at red velvet cupcakes. And then his smile spread. “You want me bad.”

“Wrong. First, it’s the middle of the night and my brain isn’t running on full power.”

The combo of humor and heat in his eyes said he was onto her but too polite to call her a liar. “And second?” he inquired.

Dammit, she’d forgotten the rest of her point. “You know what? So you have superior genes. That’s just good luck. Don’t let it go to your head. Either of them.” And then she disconnected.

She needed a cold shower.

Her phone rang as she rose from her bed a few minutes later. She expected it to be Caleb again, but it wasn’t. It was her boss at the day spa, reminding her that though she thought Lollipop was very cute, she wouldn’t be allowed in the spa.

Something Sadie already knew but had hoped for anyway. She looked at the time. Damn. And then she took a deep breath and thumbed to recent calls and hit Caleb’s contact.

Which meant it was a FaceTime call instead of a regular one. He answered wearing a whole lot of wet, sleek, sinewy skin and a towel wrapped dangerously low on his hips. He shook his head and drops flew into the steam around him. “What’s up?”

“Um,” she said brilliantly, operating on maybe two brain cells.

He smiled. “Tell me the truth. You just wanted to see me naked again.”

She bit her own tongue hard to get it to behave. No sense in giving information to the enemy. “You’re not naked, you’re wearing a towel.”

“I could lose the towel.”

“Not interested,” said her mouth.

Her brain though, it was telling her a different story.

He just grinned. He knew. Dammit. She forced her gaze off his body and into his eyes.

But that was almost worse because his body, great as it was, didn’t hold her as much as his eyes did. There were secrets there, and a dark edge that gave her a shocking thrill. Caleb Parker was a man of power and wealth, and he was always, always in control. But a part of her wondered what he might be like if he lost that control . . .

Nope. Not going there. With anyone. “I need help,” she said. Not an easy admittance. “Lollipop isn’t allowed at the day spa. I need to get her from you early so I have time to drop her off at doggy day care with Willa.”

“Why don’t you save the money and leave her with me,” he said. “She can stay here for my morning meetings. I’ll pick her up and get her to you before your shift at The Canvas Shop.”

“You don’t have to—

“I want to.” He suddenly stilled and looked around him. “Shit. Hold on.” He apparently tossed the phone down on a counter because then she was looking up at steam swirling around the ceiling. She could hear him calling for Lollipop and her heart stopped.

“Did you find her?” she asked.

Nothing.

Ten long seconds later, he picked up his phone and turned it out so she could see his room. One of his pillows had fallen to the floor and that’s where Lollipop had made herself comfortable, curled up on top of the pillow like she owned it.

And him.

“Oh my God,” she said. “See? Now you’re never going to get her out of your bed.”

He scooped up the dog and went nose-to-nose with her. “You’re cute,” he said. “I’ll give you that. But listen carefully. Last night was a one-time thing.”

Sadie snorted.

Lollipop licked his nose.

“No, I mean it,” he said.

This got him another lick and he turned to look at Sadie. “She’s not listening.”

What female would when faced with the sight of him standing there in just that towel? Then she realized he was staring at her. “What?” she asked.

He gave a slow shake of his head. “Nothing. For a minute there, I thought you were softening for me.” He smiled. “But that was my imagination, right?”

She cleared her throat. “Definitely.”

She knew that he knew she was full of shit, but he let her get away with it. “Do you want to keep her company while I get ready for work?” he asked.

Well, hell. If she hadn’t softened before when he’d run through his house looking for the dog, she did so now for giving her the few extra minutes. “Yes, thank you.”

“Anytime,” he said and though people said that word all the time and didn’t mean it, she somehow knew he did.

Caleb set Lollipop back on the bed and grabbed his fallen pillow to prop the phone up it so she could see. Then he grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to change.

Which was a bummer. How scary was that?

Three minutes later, he reappeared in a suit looking ready to take on the world. She had no idea how he did that, but even his expression was different.

Caleb Parker was in full business mode.

“Hold on a sec,” he called to her and vanished. A minute later he was back with a length of wood, which he quickly rigged up like a makeshift ramp against the bed for Lollipop to get safely down.

Sadie was floored.

He then showed Lollipop how to use it. “Okay, so you’re going to hang out here for a few hours. I’ll come back for you at lunch. All you’ve got to do is nap and . . . do whatever dogs do during the day.”

He gave her a quick kiss on the snout and caught Sadie’s raised brow. “You want a kiss too?” he asked.

Yes . . . “In your dreams.”

“You’re already there,” he said and that shut her up.

He dreamed about her?

He scooped up the phone and moved through the house.

“The ramp,” she said carefully. “That was . . . something.”

He flashed a smile. “Something good, right?”

Try amazing . . . “You’re the biggest sucker I’ve ever met,” she said.

He laughed, obviously seeing right through her.

And he was right. She was touched beyond belief by what he’d done for Lollipop, and damn. She was having feelings, so many feelings. “You’re different,” she said.

“So I’m both the biggest sucker you’ve ever met and different. So many compliments today.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like you need compliments from me.” She paused. “You’re . . . analytical, which makes you more cut-and-dry than the average person. You’re a tactical thinker. One who can build a ramp for his disabled dog on the fly and be a sarcastic smartass at the same time.”

He laughed. “Sarcastic smartass. Well, it takes one to know one.” He looked at her, eyes warm. “And you’re different too. Different good, by the way. You’re a puzzle, one I can’t seem to solve. That doesn’t happen often.”

“You can’t solve a woman,” she said.

He laughed again, and she thought she could get very used to that sound. Even addicted. So not good.

With their FaceTime call still connected, he went out what she assumed was his front door. She couldn’t see much but she had no problem hearing the sudden howling. And not just little howls either, ear-splitting howls of death. “Oh my God,” she said. “What’s wrong, what happened to her?”

Caleb quickly unlocked the door and stepped back inside. The howls immediately stopped and Sadie heard the pitter-patter of uneven paws as they skidded across the hardwood floors. And then Caleb was mobbed.

“She okay?” Sadie asked as he crouched low and hoisted the dog in his arms.

“Yes. I think she was just sad that I left. Listen,” he said to Lollipop. “You can’t howl like that. People’ll think I’m killing someone in here.” He set the dog on the phone and rose to his feet, and then suddenly Sadie’s view went topsy-turvy.

He’d dropped the phone.

It hit the floor, bouncing close to Lollipop, who leapt straight up into the air and, with a terrified expression, went scrambling out of sight.

“Shit,” Caleb muttered and then he called out to Lollipop in a gentler voice. “It’s okay, baby, it was just my phone . . .”

“Someone must have thrown things at her,” Sadie said, her chest tight.

“I know.” He was already moving, clearly going after her. “Lollipop?”

A noise alerted them both, a whimper really, and tugged at all of Sadie’s very new and very raw emotions.

“She’s under my bed,” Caleb said and dropped to his knees.

Lollipop was back as far as she could get, huddled up against the wall, cowering.

“Aw, no, baby,” he murmured. “Don’t be scared. No one’s going to hurt you, I promise.”

Lollipop just stared at him with those huge soulful eyes and Sadie could hardly breathe.

“I get it now,” Caleb said softly. “You don’t like to be alone. And some asshole wasn’t nice to you and probably threw things at you. That life’s over, okay? You can come with me to work. You liked it there, remember? My admin has that beef jerky you love.”

Lollipop didn’t budge except for the very tip of her tail which wagged once. She wanted to believe but she couldn’t.

Sadie’s throat burned. She knew just how the dog felt.

Caleb set the phone down low so Lollipop could see Sadie. “Talk to her,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

He reappeared in less than a minute with some deli meat and cheese. After coming out from beneath the bed to scarf it down, Lollipop appeared to forget her trauma.

Caleb met Sadie’s gaze via the phone. “So she can be bribed.”

“You just fed her a fortune in fancy cuts of meats and cheeses,” she said. “Anyone could’ve been bribed with that. Hell, I’d have jumped into a stranger-danger van for that.”

He smiled. “Good to know that too. I’ll bring you some when I bring Lollipop.”

She rolled her eyes and disconnected.

And then proceeded to think about him for the rest of the day.

A few minutes later, Caleb and Lollipop were in his car, finally heading to work, holding hands, one of them smelling like turkey and cheese and drooling on the passenger window.

Twenty minutes later they were in his building heading for Sienne’s office instead of his own. Hannah was there too and he gestured to the dog at his side in her harness and black patent leather Hello Kitty leash. “Take a good look at this,” he said to his sisters. “What is she?”

“You have an MBA from Stanford,” Hannah said. “I think you know what a dog looks like. Did you hit your head at the gym this morning? And why are you in possession of a dog?”

“The question isn’t why,” he said. “It’s how am I able to be with a dog in the first place. In the same room. Me not dying.” He squatted down beside Lollipop and she wriggled in happiness at him. “I mean, look at her. She was abused, abandoned, and has not a single clue that she’s got an owie. Also, I just used the phrase ‘she’s got an owie.’ What the actual hell?”

They both just stared at him, boggled, as they shook their heads.

He drew in a deep breath and studied his closest confidantes. “Someone tell me why I’m not allergic to dogs.” He pointed to Hannah. “Go.”

“Um . . . you outgrew it?” she asked.

“Bullshit.” He turned to Sienne.

Sienne shook her head at Hannah and then moved to Caleb. She squatted low to pet Lollipop, who surprised everyone by affecting a protective stance in front of Caleb and growling low in her throat.

Sienne didn’t take it personally. She smiled and rose. “She doesn’t want another woman touching her man.”

“I’ve known her all of two days,” Caleb said. “It’s not that—” Before he could finish the sentence, Lollipop sat on his feet.

“Cute,” Hannah said. “She’s claimed you.”

Out of patience, he shook his head. “One of you has a business MBA and the other was third in her law class. I want answers.”

“Okay, fine,” Sienne said. “You were allergic to everything back then. You eventually outgrew most of your allergies. It was more that a dogiiogou eventually outgrew most of your allergies. 'Sadie. red out from a black face. and in makeup, looking put together for onc didn’t fit our lifestyle.”

He stared at her as the truth hit him with the force of a two-by-four. Back when he’d been a kid, they couldn’t have handled even one more mouth to feed. His mom and sisters had had their hands full just keeping a roof over their heads and him healthy and alive. And like always when he remembered what it’d been like, he felt a gratitude fill him that those days were long over. Letting out a breath, he nodded. “Well, she fits my lifestyle now.”

“You’re really going to keep her?” Sienne asked.

“Yes. Well, half of her,” he corrected. “I’m sharing custody.”

Sienne’s eyes sharpened. “With who?”

“Whom,” Hannah corrected.

“Whom isn’t relevant,” Caleb said.

“So it’s a woman,” Sienne said. “Just tell us.”

He laughed. “Are you kidding me? Last time I was interested in someone, you put her through all your search programs and cyberstalked her.” No way was he subjecting Sadie to that.

“Which turned out to be a good thing, since she was also cyberstalking you,” Hannah said. “She was looking to get herself a MRS degree and become Mrs. Parker so she could spend your money.”

“Maybe,” he allowed. “But I was still just having a good time, until you went all Sherlock on me and delivered the report about her every indiscretion, including the time she’d cheated on a spelling test in the third grade.”

“Well, I thought you should know,” Sienne said in her best fuck-off-and-die voice.

“Sienne.” He squeezed her hand. “Just the other day, you told me it was my turn to get a life. Did you mean it?”

“Of course I did.”

“So then, maybe that’s what I’m doing.”

“Maybe?”

“Definitely, so back off.”

“Caleb—” Sienne started and he shot her a look that told her he was done talking about this. He had no problem defending his feelings for Sadie, but they were too new right now and not for public consumption. His phone was vibrating in his pocket, but he waited for Sienne to acknowledge that he was serious. She stared back and then let out a sigh.

“Fine,” she said. “It’s your life.”

“Try to remember that.”

With a nod, she left. Hannah followed. Lollipop had made herself at home and was sprawled out on the floor beside his desk, her Hello Kitty leash flashing in the light as he answered Spence’s phone call. “Sorry,” he said. “I was in a meeting.”

“With The Coven?” Spence asked.

“Half of them. Introduced Sienne and Hannah to the new woman in my life.”

“Sadie?”

“Lollipop. Jesus.”

Spence laughed and said something that Caleb missed because Lollipop started barking at something beneath his desk. He got down and looked.

“Problem?” Spence asked.

“There’s a Skittle under my desk. She’s apparently convinced it’s the enemy, but she isn’t sure, so you can imagine the stress she’s under.”

Lollipop headed to the door, in a sudden hurry.

“Oh shit,” Caleb said, rising. “Gotta go—”

Too late. Lollipop was hunching into position on his rug.

“Oh shit?” Spence asked.

Caleb sighed. “Literally.”

Just before lunch, Sadie checked her phone, wondering how Lollipop was managing. Actually, that was a big fat lie. She was wondering how Caleb was managing. He’d left her a text.

Sadie laughed and a couple of her coworkers stared at her in shock. She rarely laughed here at the day spa. Honestly, she rarely laughed in general. But Caleb brought it out in her. He was nice to dogs. He employed his sisters, and not just as office staff, but in high-powered positions. He’d fed Sadie. He’d paid for her dog’s vet bills.

Their dog’s vet bills, she reminded herself.

It was a struggle to remember he was practically still a stranger. Everyone had their armor. Hers was obvious, it was her bad attitude, and she’d been unapologetic about that.

Your bad attitude isn’t your only armor , a part of her brain whispered. And that was certainly true. She hid behind the colorful streaks she liked in her hair, behind the shiny sparkly jewelry she favored, behind the clothes that said back the eff up  . . . Even her tats hid something—her old cutting scars, for example. And the not so old ones.

He’d taken Lollipop to a pet park. He held her hand whenever she got scared. Damn. The man was dangerous to her heart and soul.

Which made him the very opposite of perfect . . .