Synopsis : And they call it puppy love!
When Jack falls head-over-paws for
cute and cuddly Jill next door -- that creamy coat, those soft brown eyes, and,
yowza, those long legs, he simply cannot help himself. Bing, bang, boom,
a few weeks later, Jack has some 'splaining to do when that cute female is with
puppies. Jack's going to be a father, trouble is his lady love's owner
and his owner need a little shove into love. Being a large and in-charge
Great Dane, that's no problem for Jack. With a little cooperation and a
little matchmaking, some nudging, whining and puppy dog eyes, hopefully,
everyone will live happily ever after together.
Chapter Excerpt from Leashed
Book #1
Going to the Dogs
By Zoe Dawson
(All rights reserved)
Chapter
One
A woman’s laughter drifted into
the hall as Callie Lassiter trudged home. She glared at Owen McKay’s door as
she slipped her key into the lock of her trendy Tribeca loft. Sounded like Owen
was having much more fun on his date than she’d had on hers.
Yep, another dating disaster.
Okay, so not as much a disaster as a ho-hum snooze fest. With an inner sigh,
she reflected on this evening’s dating fiasco. He was nice. Quite nice, but he
might as well have been an amoeba, because she’d felt no attraction. None. When
had dating become so…rote?
Since she decided a man with an
edge was not an option. Yep, she was a bad boy junkie, but often addictive
things were just plain not good for you. Like chocolate. Also not good for you.
Still, Callie couldn’t help but feel let down.
The laughter tinkled again,
sweet and clear. Envy twisted in her stomach and pressed against her chest. She
threw his door another glare. She bet the woman Owen was entertaining looked
like one of those high-fashion models she usually saw hanging on his arm in the
New York Scoop photos she pretended
not to notice. The guy was gorgeous; of course he would only date high-quality
arm candy, never a girl-next-door type like Callie.
He also had to keep up
appearances. As one of Manhattan’s players, he owned FLASH, a classy nightclub
that everyone in the city considered the
place to see and be seen. He was often reported to be with a different woman
each week. But even his stylish clothes and expensive, hip haircut couldn’t
disguise his true nature. And she’d learned the hard way that untamable,
audacious, and daring meant Bad Boy with capital Bs.
At least there was one male
eager to see her, one she could depend on, and who was always excited to greet
her as she came through the door. And this enormous boy wasn’t at all boring.
Pushing the door open, she
braced herself for her exuberant but well-trained Great Dane, Jack. He was
right there to greet her, as always, and Callie kissed him on the bridge of his
black and white nose.
She deposited her Judith Leiber
vintage clutch on the hall table and gave her full attention to Jack.
He filled the doorway with his
big body. Every time they did their welcome-home ritual, she was grateful for
the first skill she had taught Jack—not to jump up. With a dog this large, it
would be unpleasant, and could be dangerous to small children.
“Hi there, Jack! Who’s a good
boy?” Callie cooed as she stroked Jack’s head and rubbed all over his silky
fur. She wouldn’t be able to get past this cheerful, affectionate two hundred
pound bundle of canine energy without first paying the entry fee of a big dose
of love, which she did gladly.
She was having so much fun with
Jack that she barely noticed a door open down the hall, followed by a brief
conversation before the door closed and footsteps retreated toward the
elevator.
Grabbing Jack’s leash, she
clipped it to his collar, headed back out the door, and locked it behind them.
She enjoyed their walks as much as he did, and did them as often as her busy
business allowed. And since she was the boss and owner of Sit Happens, an
obedience and dog training business on the Lower East Side, she could build her
schedule to suit her needs, and Jack’s. “I had a really disappointing date,”
Callie confided as they headed down the hall.
Jack’s ears pricked and he made
a comforting sound. Then, prancing with excitement, he proceeded to get tangled
in his leash. As Callie bent down to unravel him, she heard a most unwelcome
voice behind her.
“Your Dane is big enough to be
a pinto, and he has the right two-tone coloring.”
Callie’s bad boy meter shot up
into the red zone. Owen McKay would
have to mock her. There he stood in all his glory, just outside his loft door,
his hip cocked and his intent eyes studying her. Naturally, Owen lived in the
most modern and sleek of all the lofts her brother and his outrageously
creative friends had produced. As if his clothes were a natural extension of
his upscale residence, he had on a black crew neck sweater and a pair of
sinfully tight black leather pants, accentuating narrow hips and hard,
strong-looking thighs. His come-hither eyes traveled slowly over her, and she
realized that she was staring and holding her breath.
Instructing herself to snap out
of it, she mentally reiterated her vow never to get involved with another man
who was dangerous, unpredictable, a rebel who didn’t care whose feelings got
hurt. Callie firmly reminded herself why she had stopped dating selfish and
emotionally unavailable men. She was the one who usually got hurt.
She straightened and stood for
a moment in silent agony. Why did she
become speechless every time she saw Owen? Thank God it only happened with him,
or she’d be out of business in a week!
“His markings are referred to
as Harlequin.” Oh, my God! Did that nonsense come out of her mouth in that stuffy,
schoolmarmish-correcting-the-student-tone? She should find a comfortable and
quiet spot to bang her head repeatedly against the wall. Hard.
He smiled as if he was
indulging her. “I know.”
A big, dark muzzle pushed its
way out of his half-open loft door. The big body came after, the dog’s tail
wagging so hard her whole body shook.
“Ah, another Dane lover.” Then
he probably wasn’t all bad. Maybe.
Owen reached inside the door
and grabbed a leash, then closed and locked his door. “Yes, I am. I’m Owen
McKay, by the way, and this is Jill.” He clipped the leash to the fawn-colored
bitch’s collar. “Time for your walk, girl.”
“No way.”
He shot her a puzzled look.
“Meet Jack. And I’m Callie
Lassiter,” she said with a grin.
Owen laughed, and it was like a
rich, decadent dessert. Incredibly tempting and probably very bad for her.
At the moment she was
distracted by Owen’s hot-fudge-sundae laugh, Jack made a totally unexpected,
lightning move, all the while crooning a soft woofing noise deep in his throat.
“Jack, heel!”
Jack merely jerked the leash
out of her hand as he bolted for the pretty female.
Her dog’s completely
uncharacteristic behavior left her speechless, and, for critical seconds,
completely at a loss.
“Jack!”
Jill coyly sidestepped Jack as
Callie zipped down the hall and caught her dog’s collar, but moving two hundred
unwilling pounds was impossible. “Jack, sit!”
Incredibly, he ignored her
again.
In the meantime, Jill danced
around her master with Jack in hot pursuit. Jill’s leash wrapped around Owen,
and then around Callie, at the same time that Jack’s loose leash got snagged around
their ankles. In moments they were completely entangled with the dogs and with
each other.
The clinging black crew neck
shirt he wore felt soft under her fingers as she clutched him for balance. His
pecs were thick and hard, his scent and physicality making her feel weak in the
knees while her insides melted into a gooey mess.
This close, she could see that
his irises were a vivid blue, shot with deep gold and rimmed in black. His eyes
were intense and compelling, and she felt her interest in him deepen. Damn!
In spite of the canine
commotion surrounding them, she could not shake off this man’s spell! At least
she couldn’t until she felt the leashes tighten and yank her off-balance and
into a tangled heap with Owen on top.
And then her brain seized up
completely when one of those hard thighs pushed between her legs and that flat
stomach came up against hers.
For a suspended moment she took
in his gorgeous, masculine features backdropped by thick black hair that was
mussed and sexy. His mouth was close to hers, lips pursed and so sensual. Her
mouth tingled and ached with wondering what they would feel like against hers.
Almost as though he also could feel the magnetic connection vibrating between
her mouth and his, he angled his head toward her, his eyes on her lips.
