Chapter Nine
T he Rottweiler shook in her bed and Holden hoped the woman hadn’t adopted the dog she’d seized from Perez.
The very dog the unstable man had harassed her about.
Emily shook her head, and his heart found its way back into his chest while the fingers of anxiety began to loosen their hold. “That isn’t Hera, that’s Queenie.”
Thank God.
He exhaled. “That’s good.”
“Her name used to be Hera,” she continued, sending his heart crashing back into his knees. “I changed her name to Queenie, as in Queen of the goddesses, when I adopted her last month. No way would I allow her to keep the name associated with the negativity she left behind.”
Son-of-a-bitch…
It was Perez’s dog. Former dog.
Carter, Hunter, and Sinjin stilled, and the gravity of the situation was evident in their eyes but not in the soft expressions on the woman’s face.
Queenie suddenly rose to her feet and moved to stand next to her owner’s chair.
Shit.
The dog was picking up on the tension in the room. The tension he started.
Holden flicked his gaze to the large clock on the wall and drew in a calming breath. No eye contact was key as well as a calm state. Rules he knew better than to break. Rules he hardly ever broke.
He glanced at Sinjin and Holden, who nodded at him, taking his cue, and they visibly relaxed.
And Carter?
Holden grinned. The guy was busy helping himself to another cinnamon bun.
With the tension in the air removed, Queenie returned to her bed and settled back down.
“Sorry,” he told Emily, and temporarily shelved the conversation until they were away from the sensitive dog.
At her urging, he poured himself a cup of coffee in the adjoining kitchen then returned to sit in the vacant chair and eat one of the buns before they all disappeared. The conversation remained light as they discussed the plans for the day. The women were hoping to get two coats of white paint on the living room ceiling, as well as two coats of “whitewashed taupe” on the walls. The sample looked like a shade of cream to Holden.
With the demise of the buns, they broke into their groups. The women headed to the living room while the men went outside. He was about to step off the porch when Emily joined him outside.
“You sure it’s okay to do this?” she asked, waving at the SUVs.
“Yeah, of course. Why?”
“Well…” She shrugged, her half smile a cross between amusement and worry. “Seems like you’re awfully free with Mac’s money and Carter’s time.”
He laughed. “No, it’s all good. In fact, Mac was the one who suggested it to me in the first place.”
Her brows knitted together. “But he wasn’t at the pub yesterday.”
“No. He suggested it on Friday when Sinjin and I told him about your encounter with Perez on Thursday.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “I still don’t know what to say. The equipment is way out of my budget. But I can hardly believe it. This is going to be so amazing for the sanctuary.”
Yeah, it was going to be helpful to her peace of mind for sure…and his, because of their ability to tap in remotely. Carter also promised to configure Holden’s phone to the system so alerts will shoot to his cell as well, if anyone stepped foot onto her property.
A small detail Holden was trying hard to omit.
Guilt flickered through his chest and pulled tight again. Despite his early resolution, Holden hated that he had to go behind her back. Then an image of Queenie flashed through his head and Holden’s guilt immediately disappeared. The woman had made things much more dangerous by adopting Perez’s dog. He didn’t have time to let guilt get in the way. Now, more than ever, he needed to keep her safe and couldn’t take the chance that she’d tell them where to shove their cameras. The obstinate beauty didn’t view Perez as a damn threat like everyone else.
On Friday, Rylee and Carter had done a deep dive on the guy, using Carter’s special equipment and a few back doors. Perez had a record of abuse and assault that included a long history of cruelty to animals and three restraining orders as well has having served two five-year stints in lock-up.
Holden’s stomach knotted and shoulder blades pinched tight.
The man was a dangerous, unstable SOB. No damn way would he allow someone like that anywhere near Emily. Or Queenie.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked, frowning at him. “You still upset about my dog?”
He closed his eyes and blew out a breath before opening them. “I think adopting her was admirable, but I wish you would’ve told us about it on Thursday. God, Emily, if he knew where you lived and that you had his dog—”
“He doesn’t, and she’s my dog, not his. Not anymore,” she stated firmly. “If you think back to his outburst, he was insisting that I go back to Houston with him to help him get his dog back. He didn’t say ‘give me’ my dog back. So, he doesn’t know.”
Again, Holden inhaled then blew out a breath. She was right. The guy had said that. “Doesn’t mean he won’t find out.”
She shrugged. “I’ll deal with it then. I’m not going to waste my time and energy on that horrible man. I’d much rather channel it into helping Queenie learn to be a happy, balanced dog.”
He nodded, admiration for the woman cracking open a chunk of his heart. “She seems to trust you.”
“Yeah, I’ve been taking it slow, but am pleased by the fact she’s gained over seventeen pounds in my care.” Her gaze brightened and her features softened as she talked about the Rottie.
“I noticed,” he said, a smile pulling at his lips as he stared into her happy face. The dog was still underweight, but she was a far cry from the way Emily had described her to them Thursday night. “She looks a lot healthier.”
“Thanks.” Her grin widened and a flush filled her cheeks.
God, he loved when that happened.
“I know we still have a long way to go,” she said. “But we’re headed in the right direction. I just need to make sure Queenie isn’t subjected to tension.”
Guilt gripped his shoulders. “Yeah, sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting to find Hera—I mean Queenie—at your house.”
“Adopting her hadn’t been my intention at first. But the more I was around her at the Houston Humane Society, the stronger our bond became, so when the vet cleared her for foster, I took her home…and I fell for her. We connected. No way could I let someone else adopt her when she was ready.”
The dog still wasn’t ready, based on what he’d seen inside, but he kept that to himself, unwilling to chase away the light in Emily’s eyes.
“You okay?” the astute woman asked.
He would have to remember she had superpowers of observation…and of other areas.
With a nod toward Carter, who was helping the guys unload the equipment, Holden changed the subject. “Just wondering what was taking Carter so long to set up his table of goodies.”
“Guess he doesn’t work fast enough to outrun your expectations.” She grinned. “Or high enough. That bar must really be high up.”
He returned her grin. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“On what I’m expecting and from whom.”
“Ah.” She cocked her head, and her brown gaze twinkled. “So, how’s that bar where I’m concerned?”
Holden definitely liked the change of subject.
“At the perfect height,” he told her, and to prove it, he stepped close and captured her smiling lips with his, stealing the kiss he’d thought about since she drove out of the parking lot last night.
Uncaring that they had an audience, Holden ran his hands up her arms, shoulders, then into her hair to hold her head at the perfect angle for him to deepen the kiss. He slid his tongue into her sweet mouth, exploring her essence with slow, thorough sweeps.
She sighed and melted against him, brushing his tongue with hers as she did some exploring of her own. Damn, he loved her responses, couldn’t get enough of them.
“Um, so are either of you going to get to work today?” he heard Carter ask, then grunt, no doubt from a smack from one of their buddies.
As much as he wanted to ignore the idiot and allow Emily to continue her delicious assault on the brain cells she was blowing, Holden ended the kiss and slowly drew back.
“Sorry. You’re addicting, but he’s right.” He motioned with his head toward Carter, who was connecting a cable to one of the cameras, a huge grin on his face.
Emily nodded, dragging in air. “Yeah, got a lot of painting to do before I leave for my father’s birthday party tonight.”
Damn, that meant they couldn’t pick this up later.
A sheepish grin spread across her very kissable lips. “I vote we rendezvous back here for round two after lunch.”
He deployed a sheepish grin of his own. “I like how you think, Officer Harrison.”
She tapped his nose. “That’s Emily to you.”
“I like how you think, Emily,” he corrected, leaning down to brush his mouth over hers. “And kiss and taste. How you sigh and melt against me,” he said between kisses.
She did some of that sighing and melting as she cupped his head and kissed him back, and before Holden knew it, several more brain cells bit the dust.
“Is it lunchtime already?” Carter asked, then grunt, no doubt receiving another blow from his buddies.
Emily drew back first this time, laughter bubbling up her throat. “I don’t know how you work with him without a stitch in your side.”
He snorted. “And I don’t know how I work with him without him requiring a stitch in his side.”
Smiling, she offered him one last chaste kiss before releasing him to disappear into the house. Holden wished he could make the hard-on behind his zipper disappear as quickly. With his control rebounding, he joined the men and got to work, grateful no one said a word about his lack of control or decorum on her porch, not even Carter.
It was several hours after a delicious lunch and equally delicious helping of Emily’s kisses that he stood next to Sinjin and eyed their handiwork. The outbuilding was done both inside and out, with the exception of the cat colony room, which wasn’t completed yet.
Now, they just needed to set up the cameras in key areas around the perimeter of her driveway, house, and land behind the outbuilding. Some of it, Emily knew about, but not all the locations.
Like the back of her house. Key location for a B&E.
He pushed away his disquiet and headed to the table to grab a camera and figure out a way to install it without Emily catching them.
“Can I interest you guys in some sweet tea?” the woman in his thoughts asked from the porch, where she held a large pitcher while her friends each held several glasses.
His mind immediately noted that Emily stood in the very spot where he’d enjoyed a taste of her that morning. His lunch “tasting” had commenced on the back patio on a very soft, nicely oversized outdoor chair. After they ate roast beef sandwiches she’d whipped up, the temptress had straddled his lap and kissed him with the same fierce need that had pricked at him for hours.
Her responses, her demands, were all addicting, and he promised himself he wouldn’t participate in a round three while their friends were around. She deserved more respect than that, even though the only audience for round two had been her dogs. Princeton and Queenie had sat inside, watching through the patio door.
It had been cute but also a revelation that anyone else in the house could easily see them too.
That wasn’t going to happen. Not again. Holden already knew with each embrace, he was finding it harder to hold onto his control. It was also tough to remember the reason he was there in the first place.
To set up surveillance for her safety.
He gave himself a mental shake and followed his friends to the porch to pour himself a tall drink. Doing his best to behave, he silently applauded the fact he didn’t move closer to the beautiful woman.
Of course, he hadn’t counted on temptation to approach him.
Emily touched his arm and leaned in, the gorgeous swell of her breast brushing him in the process.
“Hey, Mom,” she said into her phone. “Was that today? Oh, shoot. Sorry. I got caught up.” Her gaze shifted to him, and heat entered her eyes and crept up her neck. “Uh, I was painting. I’ll grab a quick shower and be there within thirty minutes.” She ended the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket. “Sorry. I’m late for my dad’s birthday party. I’ve got to get cleaned up and go. You girls can go home. Thanks so much for the help. I’ll finish the rest another time.”
“Go enjoy time with your family,” Lyndsey said. “You’ve hardly seen them since you’ve moved back.”
Emily nodded. “I know. Between the long shifts at work and trying to get settled in and the sanctuary ready, it’s been nuts.”
“I know, so we’ve got this. You go,” Lyndsey insisted.
But Emily didn’t move, she just frowned. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
Christa shrugged. “You didn’t.”
“Yeah.” Isla nodded. “We offered. There’s a difference, you know.”
Emily laughed and hugged her friends. “Thanks. You’re the best.” Then she turned to nod at him and his buddies. “Feel free to get another drink or use the bathroom.”
“Thanks.” He walked with her toward the door to get her moving. “We’ll lock up when we leave. Don’t worry about anything. Just do as Lyndsey said and go enjoy time with your family.”
She turned to him and smiled. “Sorry to kiss and run.”
Technically, they hadn’t kissed in several hours, but he didn’t point that out, he just brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “We have all the time in the world. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her smile widened and an instant later, she pressed that smile to his mouth and kissed him soft and sweet. He wondered if that had been her plan all along.
“Me either,” she said against his lips. “Except this birthday party.”
Before he could respond, she stepped back and rushed into the house.
“Damn, there goes our entertainment,” Carter said with a sad shake of his head.
The women laughed and his friends smiled, but Holden came to a realization.
With Emily leaving for the rest of the day, it would make installation a whole lot easier and less of a struggle to keep certain cameras a secret.
Yeah, this turn of events was great.
So why didn’t he feel relieved?
Because he was admittedly frustrated for reasons that would now require a cold shower.