Sugar

She found herself stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and turning to face him. He lifted an eyebrow and smiled, maybe knowing where she was going to go with this.

“Listen, I want to apologize for how everything played out.” She glanced away and licked her lips, wanting to word this right but knowing it just needed to be said. Lifting her head, she stared at him again. “I should’ve been honest with you as soon as I realized who you were, as soon as I saw your name on that business card. I guess at first I was dumbstruck by it all, and then afterword I didn’t want to ruin anything.”

“Ruin anything?” The tone of his voice told her that he found humor in the situation.

Here she was stuttering out her words, nervous beyond belief, and he was grinning at her like a fool.

“Yeah, whatever this is between us.” She lifted her hand and moved it between them, just trying to say what she meant even though she didn’t know what the hell she was trying to spit out. “It’s just we were getting along, I was helping out with Boscoe, and I figured that since time already passed, it didn’t matter, that whenever I brought it up it would still look bad. I would still look bad.”

“Sugar, I’m a firm believer in water under the bridge.” He smiled genuinely. “I don’t want to dwell on this and I don’t want you to either. Do I wish you would have been honest with me? Yeah, of course, but I see where you were coming from. You were afraid. Hell, if I had been in your shoes I probably would have kept it to myself as well.”

And just like that she felt the stress of all of this leave her. “Really? You’re okay with all of this?”

“I’m more than okay.” And then he lifted his hand and brushed his finger on her cheek.

Chills raced up her spine and she felt arousal take a strong hold. She wanted Colton. There was no doubt about that.

“Come on, let’s get something and start over.”

She stared at his face. God, she could get lost in his eyes. “I’d like that.”

He grinned wider. “Let’s get to know each other.” He took a step closer. “I really want that with you, Sugar.”

10

For the next week, that was all Colton did. He found out everything there was to know about Sugar. She was so smart, brilliant, sharp, a fantastic negotiator. Even though the initial deal had been struck between their companies, they still had a few snags to iron out and she was one hell of a negotiator.

He couldn’t admit it to her in the boardroom but watching her fight for her company and to protect their interests aroused him. He couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if she belonged to him.

Thinking about her in his bed, her dark hair spread out across his pillow, kissing her beautiful dark skin. His cock got so damn hard. He wanted her. Spending his days in the boardroom and their nights with their dogs, his attraction to her was high.

Most nights he woke up with a hard-on, with only the thoughts of her able to take him over the edge so he didn’t lose his freaking mind.

“I’m thinking ice cream,” Sugar said.

“Before dinner?”

“It’s hot and I want some ice cream. Come on, my treat.” She grabbed his arm and walked ahead of him, Poppy happily following behind her.

With her dog being so small, by the end of the evening she’d be carrying her back home. Boscoe, however, didn’t have a problem with all the extra exercise.

Socializing him, walking him, and making him part of his world, the shitting around his apartment had stopped. In fact, he hadn’t even had to do much in the way of cleaning. He’d also installed a camera system so throughout the day, he could keep an eye on him.

He’d seen that Boscoe would randomly play with a few toys, eat the food he’d put down, drink a little, or sleep.

This had been another fantastic idea from Sugar one day. They’d all taken a coffee break from negotiations and he’d been agitated while he thought about Boscoe. Sugar had seen how nervous he was and she’d shown him Poppy from her cell phone. The next day, he’d gotten something similar set up and Sugar had been there, playing with Boscoe while he spoke with the guys who installed it.

Now, wherever he was, he could check on his dog.

When he’d gotten the damn dog, he hadn’t been an animal lover, not even slightly. That had all changed with Boscoe. Now, he couldn’t think for a moment of living without him.

There was a small ice cream truck set up a few feet away from the dog run. Sugar got in line and he stayed out of the way, holding both of their dogs while she got them both ice cream.