Animal Magnetism Read online

  the smallest of string bikinis . . .

  And that’s when he heard it, the one sound that could bring him back from the beach and the sexy woman on it: “Arf!”

  Fuck.

  “Arf, arf, arf . . . ”

  The next morning, Brady came awake to a noise he didn’t recognize and rolled off the bed, automatically reaching for his weapon.

  When he realized he wasn’t in combat, was in fact a million miles from any combat zone, he lay back down and scrubbed a hand over his face.

  Then the sound came again.

  What the hell?

  He sat up and found the dog sitting in front of the kitchen sink, head deep in the trash he’d clearly hauled out from its place in the cupboard beneath. He was surrounded by a pizza box, an orange juice container, and two bottles of beer.

  All empty.

  “You are a menace to society,” Brady said, and scrubbed a hand over his face. What had he gotten, maybe half an hour of sleep? Well used to sleep deprivation, he staggered out of bed thinking he might as well get on with what he’d agreed to do here.

  Work on the Bell. “No more trash,” he told the dog after he’d showered and dressed. “It’ll make you sick.” And with the little guy happy at his side, clearly not sick at all, they headed downstairs, stopping at Jade’s desk. “Anyone come looking for him yet?”

  Jade was one of those women who looked like she belonged in Vogue. Gorgeous but . . . different. Today she was wearing a sunshine yellow sundress that required sunglasses to look at her straight on. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a haphazard knot, held there by wooden tongue depressors. Her makeup was photo-ready. He nearly looked around to see if he’d stepped onto a movie set. “His name is Twinkles,” she said.

  He just looked at her.

  Not particularly intimidated, her mouth twitched suspiciously.

  He narrowed his eyes, and she let a very small smile free. “Lilah did her thing, putting out notices and flyers. We’ll let you know.”

  “It’s been two days.”

  “It has. Dell told me he examined him. He’s about a year old, and other than slightly malnourished, he’s healthy. Great news.”

  “Uh-huh. And you’re certain Lilah’s trying to find the owner,” he said.

  Jade smiled and patted his hand. “Lilah would never put a dog’s well-being at risk for her own amusement.”

  “But she is amused.”

  “Oh, honey. There’s no doubt.”

  It took Brady three days just to clean out the Bell 47. Not surprising, considering the chopper had suffered nearly three decades of neglect and abuse. It also needed airframe repairs, battery servicing, and a whole long list of engine and parts maintenance.

  He enjoyed the work. In the army, he’d started out as a nobody, but well used to that he’d worked his ass off and through performance had earned a warrant officer slot, which had qualified him for flight training.

  He’d never looked back. He loved being in the air, but when he couldn’t be, his second love was this, taking apart and reassembling a chopper. As he worked, his new shadow stuck close, alternately snoozing in the sun or watching him with hero worship.

  Belle Haven continued to do business around them. Del and Adam ran a tight ship, and it was a busy one. Adam, apparently the resident dog whisperer, was currently in the yard with three golden retrievers and their owners, teaching a class. Even from twenty-five yards away, Brady could tell it was more about training the wayward owners than the dogs.

  When class ended, Adam ambled over.

  “The dogs are pretty good listeners,” Brady said, wiping his hands on a rag.

  “It’s not the dogs that need to listen.”

  “This one does.” Brady nodded to the dog sleeping his day away in the sole sunspot as close to Brady as he could possibly get.

  “What’s his problem?” Adam asked.

  “He won’t sleep.”

  There was a moment of silence while Adam took in the dog doing just that. Well, not complete silence, since the mutt was snoring like a buzz saw.

  “I mean at night,” Brady said with a disbelieving shake of his head.

  “What does he do instead of sleep?”

  “Cries. Barks. Drives me up the fucking wall.”

  Adam’s mouth hinted at a smile. “I’m going to tell you what I tell all of my clients. You’re the one in need of training, not him.”

  “What are you talking about? I’d sleep all night just fine if he’d shut the hell up.”

  Adam let the smile escape. “Okay, man. Let me know when you’re interested in being trained.” He crouched and ruffled the dog’s fur, and the little guy immediately rolled over on his back, exposing his belly for more.

  Brady slid the dog a dark look, at least glad to see that his little belly was rounder now, no longer concave. “Traitor.”

  With a smirk, Adam rose. “So what’s going on with you and Lilah?”

  Dell had tried asking him this question days ago. Brady hadn’t answered. Not because he wanted to be an ass, but because he honestly hadn’t known. “Other than she saddled me with this thing?”

  “Yeah. Other than that.”

  “Not sure.”

  “But something,” Adam said.

  Brady nodded. Yeah. There was definitely . . . something. And holy Christ, that something was explosive whenever they got too close.

  “She’s important to Dell and me.”

  “I know.” He wondered if Adam was telling him to back the fuck off, and if it mattered. Could he back off? He honestly didn’t know.

  Adam was quiet a moment, just studying the Bell. “You’re important to us, too,” he finally said.

  Brady let out a breath and nodded, feeling an unexpected tightening in his chest at that. There sure as hell weren’t that many people who felt that way about him. He started to say something, he had no idea what really, when a truck pulled into the lot, interrupting him.

  A leggy blonde hopped out of the truck wearing a business suit, the skirt as narrow as a pencil, emphasizing mile-long, perfectly toned legs. The high heels added an I’m Sophisticated and Expensive tone.

  Turning to her truck, she reached back in and the red suit tightened across a world-class ass, wrenching a sound from Adam.

  Brady looked at him but his face was carefully blank. Too blank. “Know her?”

  “Yes,” Adam said tightly.

  The woman straightened and Brady saw that she was carrying a golden retriever puppy. She glanced over, drew herself up at the sight of Adam, then strode toward them, face cool and impassive.

  Actually, Adam’s expression was impassive. A battle-ready soldier.

  The woman’s face was set in stone. Angry, cold stone.

  Brady figured she was one of those snooty bitches who was wound too tight. And going off the steam coming out of her ears, her hair was also wound too tight.

  “Holly,” Adam said with no inflection in his voice.

  “Adam.” There was plenty of inflection in her voice. Mostly temper. “Here.” She thrust the puppy into Adam’s arms. “She’s defective.”

  Adam looked down at the puppy, who wriggled and licked his nose. A genuine light of affection came into his eyes. “Defective?”

  “She’s up all night crying.”

  At that, Brady was forced to rethink his opinion of her. She wasn’t bitchy. She was exhausted.

  He knew the feeling.

  Adam gave Brady a brief look. “He’s in a new place, Holly. He’s scared.” He thrust the puppy back into her arms, where it wriggled some more and licked her, too.

  “I suppose you think this is funny,” Holly said, attempting to stay lick-free.

  “A little bit,” Adam said evenly, not showing the smile that was in his voice.

  Her mouth tightened. “My father’s a domineering, annoying, meddling ass. And you. You’re . . . ” Breaking off, she shook her head. Turning on her heels, she strode off, long gorgeous legs churning up the distance