Any Time, Any Place (Billionaire Builders #2)(34)

“My brothers, me, and Morgan. She and Cal will be moving out once their house is built, but the place is so big, I rarely see Tristan. Want a tour?”

Yes. “No, thank you. Can you just show me the item you have for me?”

He studied her face, catching her stiff tone. She forced a polite smile and tried to avoid his gaze. Being here was more challenging than she’d thought. She felt as if she was betraying her father, or on enemy property. “Sure. It’s in the shed down the path. A bit of a walk. We can go this way and—oh, no. Stay still. Just don’t move.”

Raven froze. “What’s the matter?” she whispered. “You’re freaking me out. A bug? I’m not afraid of bugs.”

“Worse.” His voice took on a hard, disciplined tone. “Stay. I mean it, guys. I said stay.”

She swiveled her head slowly around and came face-to-face with two giant dogs.

They were covered in mud. Mottled brown, with perked up ears and chocolate eyes, they watched her and Dalton with a shaking excitement that told her they were about to launch. The tails began to wag furiously in rhythm. Damn, they were almost as tall as Dalton. Large canine teeth flashed in twin doggy smiles, and saliva dripped in small rivers to pool at their feet.

“Balin. Gandalf. Stay. Or I swear I’ll put you back in military doggy school and this time I won’t rescue you.”

His firm tone only increased their shaking. She sensed the battle was already lost.

“I mean it! I am not joking around—stay right there—oh, shit!”

They leapt.

Dalton tried to protect her by stepping in front, but the dogs moved like a flash, flying through the air with abandon and knocking into them so hard they both staggered back. Laughter ripped from her throat as they licked her furiously, bumping hard against her legs and acting as if they were Chihuahuas rather than canine giants. Dalton tugged at their collars to drag them off, but she finally caught her breath and managed to stand straight. Oh, they were adorable, but playtime was over. Time to teach them to obey.

She whipped out the command. “Gandalf, Balin, down!”

Without hesitation, they slammed their asses to the ground. They managed to be still enough that she nodded and smiled. “Good doggies. Good boys,” she crooned. “You just need some discipline, don’t you?” One began to rise again, and she firmed her voice. “I said down.”

He plunked back down.

Dalton’s mouth fell open. He blinked in astonishment. “Wait a minute. How did you do that?”

She patted their heads. They wriggled with pleasure but managed to keep their butts on the ground. “Huh? Oh, they just need to know who the alpha is. They’re still young, right? How old?”

“Two.”

“Oh, they should be listening better by now. Are they yours?”

“Cal’s, but we’ve all claimed them now. What do you mean alpha? Cal has always been firm with them. They flunked out of obedience school twice. We got blacklisted. They never listen.”

“Which one is this?” She pointed to the dog on the right. He had mud in his ears and a slightly bigger snout than the other one.

“That’s Balin.”

“Balin, down.” She lifted her hand and made the gesture to drop. “Lay down.”

Balin slid to the ground. Gandalf remained sitting.

“Good dog. Good Balin. Stay.” She turned her attention to Gandalf and made the same gesture and command. The second dog slid down to the ground, panting with happiness. “Good Gandalf. Stay.”

Raven smiled and turned to Dalton. His mouth was still hanging open like a guppy’s. “They want to listen, but it’s hard for them. Cal probably spoiled them as puppies and they never learned,” she said.

“Yeah, he found them chained to a tree in the woods. They almost didn’t survive.”

“Poor little guys. Makes sense.”

“Raven? How the hell did you do that?”

She shrugged. “My father used to call me the dog whisperer. Not sure. Something in my voice, maybe? I’ve just always been able to get them to listen.”

“I am so turned on right now.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that broke out. He was such an intriguing mix of sexy, brainy, and funny as hell. “Then Cesar Millan must be orgasmic to you.”

“He would if I swung that way.”

They stared at each other, smiling. Why did she feel so comfortable with this man? He had the amazing ability to calm her usual tightly wound energy and sharpness. As if he softened her some way.

She cleared her throat and broke the spell. “Do you want them to come with us?”

The dogs gave slight matching whimpers, as if they understood the conversation. “Sure. It’s getting dark and the woods are scary at night.”

“I’m not scared of the bogeyman, Dalton.”

“I’m talking about me.”

She shook her head, released the dogs, and watched them bound happily around her and Dalton. The sun was sinking over the horizon, scattering bursts of orange fire, shadowing the woods. The rich scents of earth and wood rose up to cloak them. Their feet were soundless over the pine-needled ground, other than the occasional crack of a twig or the dogs’ panting.

His fingers brushed hers. Lingered. Their pinkies intertwined. A simmer of heat hummed between them, reminding her that touching him was dangerous and not part of the plan. If he would’ve grasped her hand or made a sudden move, it would’ve been easy to pull away. But this seemed so natural, his touch just a whisper, giving her the option to break contact if she wished as they walked together through the woods.