Going in Deep (Billionaire Bad Boys 4)

“It’s hard for us not to get attached,” Josie explained quietly. “Kendall has a soft spot for Steve because he’s been here for such a long time.” Josie treated him to a warm smile. “I’ll leave you now. Kendall can get you settled from here.”

Josie stepped away, heading back to the front office. Julian stood in silence, watching Kendall. Her head was bent low, her long ponytail falling over one shoulder, her neck exposed. The desire to glide his lips over the exposed skin was strong. The urge to mark her there even stronger.

Something about Kendall affected him deeply.

As he quietly walked closer to the pen, once again he was struck by the quiet strength in her now, the even keel to her mood compared to before. He’d known she was smart, but this woman clearly had depths he hadn’t seen or plumbed. And he realized how much he wanted to know her again. To learn who she was now and to introduce her to the man he’d become. The one he wanted to be, in part, for her.

At the realization, he blew out a sharp breath.

As if sensing him, she looked up. She stood, the gray dog still in her arms.

He smiled. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Go on,” she said warily.

He took in the protective way she cuddled Steve against her chest. Steve wasn’t tiny, and it couldn’t have been easy to hold him for long.

“Why didn’t you take him? You’re obviously bonded,” he said as the dog licked her neck. The lucky bastard.

She sighed. “My building has a one-dog-only rule. And you’ve met Waffles. Besides, we can’t save them all ourselves, as Josie likes to remind me.”

He inclined his head. “Then your loss is my gain.”

She shifted the dog and held him out for Julian. He accepted his new pet, juggling him with the leash, and held him up, meeting his gaze. “Looks like it’s you and me, bud. You ready for your new life?”

Kendall watched them, her gaze softening as she took in the interaction.

“I bought you something,” Julian said to the dog, fully aware he was being watched. He bent down and placed the dog on the ground. “Here you go.” He hooked the new collar around Steve’s neck and backed away, giving him time to adjust.

He shook his head and brushed at the offending collar with his paw, ducking his head at the same time.

“Gotta wear it,” Julian said.

“He’ll get used to it.” Kendall watched the dog and laughed, the sound familiar, welcome, and to his surprise, arousing.

He clearly wasn’t over Kendall Parker, despite the fact that he had to be.

“Hook up the leash,” she said, oblivious to his thoughts.

He clicked the hook onto the ring on his collar. “Ready to go home?” he asked the dog.

Steve sat in response.

“Remember,” Kendall said, “this is a rescue situation. We know he had a prior owner; we think he had a good life before the older man had to give him up. But there’s going to be an adjustment period. You have to get to know each other.”

“I guess we’ll have plenty of time for that, right, Steve?” Julian bent and patted the dog’s head. “Kendall, thank you. I’m sure if Steve could talk, he’d say the same thing.”

She treated him to a warm, if sad, smile. “Just give him a good life.”

“I will,” he promised, clenching the leash tighter in his hand.

She met his gaze. “I know.”

He fought with himself over what to say next. Whether he should engage her in the conversation he needed to have or respect the boundaries she’d erected from the minute he’d walked into the shelter.

She sniffed and brushed a hand beneath her eyes, clearly holding back tears over the dog’s departure. Her emotions ran deep, in ways he’d never had the chance to notice before, and his gut clenched, making his decision for him.

“Kendall?”