He wasn’t at all sure about the dog thing either. Irritating little bastards. Dez had made it clear, though. Love her, love her dogs. He actually picked up dog shit for her.

He pushed his mane of blond-brown hair out of his eyes. Within twenty-four hours, his hair returned to its standard length. It took him all of puberty to grow the first round, but once there it didn’t like to go.

Mace sighed and looked at the clock next to Dez’s bed. Where the hell was she? A shower shouldn’t take this long.

He hated waiting. It was the lion in him. He didn’t wait to eat. He didn’t wait to go out. He didn’t wait for anything if he didn’t have to. True, he could leave without her. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not with him having the best time he’d ever had with a woman. Cranky bitch that she was, he liked her as much as he loved her. So, for once and without any direct orders from a C.O., Mace would wait. He would wait for Dez. Christ, what was his life coming to anyway?

A tongue swiped at the fingers he had resting on the carpet. Great. Playful dogs. They’d started liking him. In typical dog fashion they found a way to make this work. Even if they forced him to like both of them.

He growled and the dogs yipped back. He almost smiled. Grudgingly.

“Are you being mean to my dogs again?”

Mace looked up, about to tell her he had just been considering what pieces of her dogs would taste good with barbeque sauce, when he pretty much stopped breathing completely.

He barely noticed the black jeans she had on or the black leather boots. No, it was that black leather bustier that had his full attention. Clearly created specifically for her, because no way could something off the rack from a fetish store have done those magnificent tits as much justice as the bustier she now wore. Tight and form fitting, it tied up the front, showing a healthy amount of cleavage that simply called to him. The bustier fit over a black leather top with long leather sleeves that molded to her strong arms and scooped nicely off her shoulders. Her tits practically defied gravity in that outfit. She didn’t need a bra, and he could make out her tight nipples through the leather. The light brown skin she showed looked satiny and soft. For some reason he found her outfit almost as hot as when she stretched out in front of him completely naked, and at the moment she barely revealed anything. He wanted to rub himself up against her until he was purring and she was coming.

She’d even put on a little makeup for the occasion and brushed her hair until it fucking gleamed. No one had a right to be this pretty, least of all the woman holding onto his heart like she held onto one of her many guns. One good squeeze and she could blow his whole life apart.

“Christ, you haven’t said a word. Is this outfit that bad?” He still didn’t answer her. Not with him fantasizing about her, that bustier, and those damn handcuffs.He wondered how many times he could make her scream his name.

“Okay. I’m changing.” She turned to walk away.

“Don’t you dare.” She stopped, clearly surprised by his order. And it was an order. “Get my ass over here.”

She smirked. “What? You think you’re going to give me orders when we’re not—”

“Now.”

What a demanding son of a bitch. Yet she did exactly what he told her to. Of course, she only seemed to operate that way when she knew some kind of sex would be involved. Otherwise, she made the man work for it.

He lounged on the bed like a lion sunning himself on a rock in the Serengeti. With crossed arms, she stood in front of him.

“What?”

He watched her with those gold eyes. “I like that top.” At least she guessed that’s what he said since he growled more than spoke.

Dez ran her hands down the front self-consciously. The bustier had been a guilty pleasure buy. One so expensive she saw it more as an investment. She didn’t do the S & M thing. Yet she did like their wardrobes. Very few people knew that. Somehow, though, she didn’t mind showing that side of herself to Mace. Although she never expected to see that expression in his eyes. It went way beyond desire to something else altogether, and Dez had no idea if she were ready to handle that.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve only worn it once. The cop bar down the block from the precinct just doesn’t seem the right place for this thing.”

His eyes narrowed. “Some guy buy it for you?”

“What do you care?”

He slowly pulled himself up until he kneeled on the bed in front of her. “Answer my question.”

“No.”

He watched her closely, then leered. “You bought it for yourself, didn’t you?”

“Are we going or not?” She started to walk away again, embarrassed he picked up on her thing about leather so quickly, but he grabbed her arm and hauled her up against him.

“You did. Didn’t you?” He brushed his lips against hers. “My kinky little puppy.”

“I hate you.”

He kissed the bare flesh above the swell of her breasts. “You wish.”

Her hands snaked through his hair. “God, I do.” She breathed desperately as he bent her back. She wanted to hate the man, but he continued to make her ache in all the best places. No man had ever gotten to her like this before.

“I thought…we were…going…”

He gripped her tighter. “Fuck ’em.”

“No. We’re going out.” She pulled away from Mace.

Surprised and none too happy, he made a grab for her. She jumped back to the door.