“Don’t make me no never mind. And you know Jessie Ann will take any ol’ stray off the street.” He looked down at the mixed mutt lounging at his feet. “Ain’t that right, Shit-starter?”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

“When did you start taking in strays anyway, Dee-Ann? Dee-Ann?” Smitty turned in a circle, finding himself completely alone in the room. “How the hell does she do that?

Blayne was running for the front door, knowing that no matter how hard or fast she ran, she was going to be way late for her morning training with Novikov, when she slammed right into a She-wolf walking toward the same front door. As they hit the floor, Blayne realized too late that instead of trying to call Novikov on her cell phone—and realizing she didn’t actually have his number programmed into her cell phone—she should have been paying attention. It was something her father complained about constantly. That she didn’t pay attention or she focused on the wrong thing at the wrong time. And staring down into the glaring face of a Southern She-wolf, Blayne knew her father had been right yet again.

“Uh . . . hi, Dee.” True, most days Blayne loved to torture the uptight female, but with all her vital organs within claw distance, she knew it would not be a good time to play that little game. Nope. Not a good time at all.

“You’re on me,” Dee replied. She must not be a morning person.

“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Off.”

“Um, sure. Sorry about—”

“Off, off, off!” Blayne stumbled away from the barking She-wolf.

Dee-Ann got to her giant feet, glaring at Blayne the entire time. Really, if Blayne hadn’t heard someone coming down the stairs, she’d have run to the kitchen and grabbed a knife to fend the bitch off.

“What’s going on?” Smitty demanded when he hit that last step.

“Nothing,” Dee snarled.

She yanked the front door open and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

“You all right, darlin’?” Smitty sweetly asked, his arm slipping around her shoulders.

“She hates me, doesn’t she?”

“Hate’s kind of a strong word. You’re probably better off with loathes or detests.”

“Gee . . . thanks.”

“Now don’t feel bad. Dee don’t like most people.”

“But everyone likes me. I’m so endearing.”

“True, but you should be used to the unfriendly types after a whole week working with that hockey player.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re—oh, my God!” she burst out, startling Smitty to move away from her. “Novikov!”

Bo had been on the treadmill for twenty minutes when she suddenly appeared in front of him. His MP3 player was pounding out The Who, so he couldn’t hear aword she said. He could only see her mouth moving. A beautiful mouth, for sure. But not worth the trouble if she couldn’t respect his schedule!

She kept talking, but when he didn’t say anything, she finally slammed her hand down on the treadmill console. Thankfully, it didn’t stop cold, since he was going about fifty miles an hour. Of course the cheetah on the other side of him was going about seventy, but whatever. That cheetah was always showing off.

Once the treadmill eased to a stop, Bo pulled the earplug out of his right ear.

“—ing to me?” she said.

“What?”

“I said, are you listening to me?”

“No.” He went to put the earplug back in, but she caught his arm.

“Bo, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, I’m Bo now?”

“That is your name . . .” She frowned, obviously not quite sure. “Right?”

“Yes. It is my name. But you’ve been calling me Novikov. . . until this second when you want me to overlook your total and complete disregard for my time. But don’t worry . . . that won’t happen again. I won’t let it.”

“I know you mean that in a really bad way.”

“I do. Now can I get back to work?”

Bo reached for the controls, but Blayne scrambled on top of the treadmill and threw herself over the console.

Stunned, he demanded, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Blocking you from getting your workout until you listen to me.”

“Why do I need to listen to you? It won’t change anything.”

“I had a reason. I swear.”

“People like you always have a reason.”

“People like me?”

“Yeah. People with no sense of time or commitment. Who just float through life knowing they can talk their way out of or into any situation because they’re that damn charming. And although I admire that, I’m not that easy. I’ve gotten this far because I’m a total and complete asshole. Forgetting that, Blayne, was your biggest mistake. Now get off my treadmill or I’m throwing you off.”

She gasped. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Dammit. She was right. He wouldn’t.

“Fair enough.” He stepped off his treadmill and over to the one next to him. He grabbed the cheetah by the back of his sweat-soaked T-shirt and yanked him off.

“Hey!”

Bo ignored him, slowed down the tread to fifty miles per hour, and jumped on. He was pumping hard when Bo suddenly had a weight around his neck and hanging down his back.

Letting out a really annoyed sigh, he slowed the treadmill and stopped it. As he stood there, the cheetah now on the other treadmill giving him the finger, Bo asked, “What are you doing?”