"Pinky," he mumbled. He winced, waiting for the inevitable.

"You're fucking kidding me."

Damned if he didn't feel a flush stain his cheeks. So humiliating. "No."

"Her collar is actually pink. I told you she's a foo-foo dog!"

"She's tough. Arilyn named her, for God's sake, not me. And she's only mine temporarily."

"Why does it have to come with us? Dogs are left home all the time."

Stone made a right and headed into the neighborhood where they'd nabbed Pinky. "I know. I tried. She was shaking and crying, and I was afraid if I didn't take her, something bad would happen."

Devine laughed harder. "You are such a sucker. Dogs hate being alone, they all do it."

"I'm telling you, this is different. Look, it's only tonight. I'm begging you not to tell the guys or I'm gonna have to take shit for this stunt for the rest of my life. Then I'd have to transfer."

Devine wiped his eyes, looking happy over this complication. "Fine. But you owe me."

"Fine." They drove in silence for a while, scanning the quiet surroundings. Pinky was surprisingly well behaved. She sat perfectly still and stared out the window. Stone could use a little action tonight, but Verily seemed determined to keep the peace. "You find anything else out on that property I told you about?"

"Bluebird? Nah. Let's go check it out and see if anything's cooking. Night seems pretty dead."

"Yeah."

"So, how was the sex?"

Stone hesitated. Usually he enjoyed sharing details with Devine. They liked to rib each other, all in good fun. Sometimes compare. "Great."

"First time?"

He shifted in the seat. "Yep."

"Cool. Do it on the bed? Against the wall? Floor?"

He concentrated on his driving and made a left, heading toward the outskirts. "Normal stuff. You know."

Devine didn't answer. When Stone glanced over, his partner sported a shit-eating grin that was pure trouble. "Holy crap, it finally happened. You won't give me details because she's important."

Stone snorted. "That's ridiculous. Well, of course she's important; I don't sleep with women I don't like. Just don't feel like getting into it."

"Bullshit. You care about her, so you won't give me the down-and-dirty details." Devine shook his head in glee. "This is the best night ever. You got taken out by a dog and a woman in one shot."

"You're an asshole."

"Maybe. But I'm also right."

Stone refused to answer. After all, his friend was being ridiculous. Just because he couldn't stop thinking about her? Just because he felt addicted to her scent and taste and legs wrapped around his hips as he pumped inside her sweet body? No, it was the early flush of a new affair. A few more days, and the crazy need for each other would fade away.

He turned the car onto the dead-end street, but this time lights flickered around, and a variety of vehicles were lined up and down the street. A fire gave off smoke from the backyard. Stone's instincts flared. Oh, yeah, something was going on here, and it was time he figured it out. Catching Devine's excitement at some real action, his partner nodded and checked his gun.

"We got something, dude. Ready?"

Stone nodded, his cop radar going off in shrieks. "Let's do this. Pinky, stay here."

The dog perched on the seat, not blinking, and quietly watched him get out of the car and shut the door. She didn't whine or cry or move.

Pride shot through him. She might not be a drug-sniffing warrior, or have the genes of a shepherd or Lab, but something told him she'd be a good partner for the road. She was, after all, a survivor.

Stone quickly pushed the thought aside and followed Devine down the road.

THE BUST WAS EVERYTHING he'd wished for and more. Drugs. Dog fighting. And finally, some damn justice for not only Pinky but Arilyn. They ended up rescuing a bunch of other dogs and nailing a major drug dealer. Stone was buzzed for hours and reminded once again why being a cop was worth it.

He couldn't wait to tell Arilyn.

seventeen.

ARILYN LOOKED AT the men before her. Dressed in shorts and tanks, they gazed at her a bit warily. She'd recruited them to the Tuck-N-Pack gym, where she occasionally taught a yoga class to help out the community. The private room she reserved was used for a hot yoga class, which incorporated steamy temperatures and a rousing ashtanga workout. She'd used it for many of her clients, including Kate's husband, Slade, back in the day, and found the technique a good tool in breaking down barriers, especially ones leading to anger.

Unfortunately, she was quite distracted today. If Arilyn admitted the truth, she'd been fighting for focus the moment Stone took her to bed. Even now, her gaze kept getting stuck on his powerful bare thighs dusted with dark hair, the way his tank showed off his corded arms, the wicked glint of satisfaction in his inky eyes when he looked at her. Like he knew what she was thinking. And wanting.

Because he did.

Five days. Only five days, and already she craved him like all the bad things she kept away from her body. Sugar, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, all the wonderful, terrible items in life that made one happy in the moment and miserable later on. Sex with Stone had now topped any impulse and appetite she'd ever owned before. It was awful.

It was wonderful.

They couldn't keep their hands off each other. Between their work schedules, driving back and forth to care for Pinky, and the scattered visits with Poppy and her newly adopted dinner guest Mrs. Blackfire, they met when night fell, tumbling into bed with an endless yearning that never seemed to be satisfied.

Arilyn tried to ignore the faint warning in the back of her mind. She didn't want to fall in love with a man who intended to leave when the fun stopped. She tried to concentrate on the bruising pleasure he wracked from her body and told herself it would be enough. If only she hadn't learned to look past his gruff, crude, annoying exterior and see the real man underneath.

A man who her friends liked. A man who showed up to have dinner with her neighbor and Poppy with a smile on his face. A man who helped with a dog he didn't care for. A man who had told her in a casual way he'd made a drug bust at Bluebird and shut down a dogfighting ring in the process. He hadn't given up investigating the house, even though everyone else had. When Anthony called her, telling her that a variety of shelters and the Humane Society were stepping in to help with the dogs, she'd turned to Stone with tears in her eyes and thanked him.

He just shrugged and told her she could make it up to him in bed.

Arilyn took a deep, calming breath and refocused.

"I'm going to take you through a demanding yoga routine. It's commonly known as hot yoga, so we do the workout in a set temperature of one hundred degrees. I've placed water bottles by your side and checked with your respective physicians to be sure each of you is in proper health."

Luther spoke up. "How is this supposed to help with anger?"

"Funny, I was gonna ask the same thing," Stone drawled. "Sure this isn't just a way to punish us and get your kicks, Teach?"

She narrowed her gaze, but his dancing eyes told her he was deliberately baiting her for a show. She smiled at Luther and ignored her lover. "Hot yoga is a great way to break down both your body and mind. We've been studying barriers and mental blocks that keep anger suppressed. Any exercise is excellent, but this is particularly cleansing. You'll be uncomfortable, and when your mind fights, anger can take hold. The mat is a safe way to practice all the scary things in life, master them, and move on."

Luther nodded. "Thanks. I understand better now."

"As for you, Officer," she said, tone hardening, "do your best to keep up."

Eli snickered.

"Let's begin."

The routine was long, hard, and messy. She kept her attention on all three men, making sure they weren't experiencing any health issues or emotional blockages that sometimes radiated through such a cleansing process. She was surprised at the loosening of Stone's hamstrings and biceps during the transitions. Funny, it was almost as if he was doing something different. His body was more relaxed and limber than before. As she moved into Downward Dog, Stone tossed off his tank. The sight of his bare chest gleaming with sweat, muscles bunching as he moved, caused her to miss a step and almost fall on her ass.

By the end of the session, she was wet in many places.

They completed circle time and broke for the weekend. Luther and Eli chatted with her awhile as Stone helped stack the mats in the corner. He checked his phone and waited for them to leave. Finally, the room was empty.

Her heart pounded. Her skin prickled with awareness. He stalked her slowly, those lush lips twisted down in the familiar sensual sneer that made her hot. "Slade warned me about your tendency to torture men with hot yoga. You enjoyed that, didn't you?" he asked.

She took in his hard, sweaty body and smiled with promise. "Slade is right. And yes, I did enjoy it."

"Payback's a bitch, little one. Everything you do to me in this room will be done to you later on. In private."

Her gaze deliberately raked him from head to toe. She dragged her tongue across her bottom lip as if imagining his taste. He growled low in his throat in warning.

"You're a lot of talk, Officer," she answered coolly. "Not much action."

Sexual tension squeezed between them. Arilyn tried to keep up her demeanor even though her core throbbed painfully and her nipples begged for release, hardening with anticipation. Excited to see what he'd do, she studied him in silence, the obvious challenge in the air sparking like an electrical current gone crazy.

"I'll be at your place by eight tonight. Then you'll get your action. And your lesson."

Disappointment cut through her. She craved his kiss, his touch, but as if he knew what she wanted, he dropped one eyelid in a wink and sauntered out the door. "What if I'm busy?" she called out.

"Don't be."

He shut the door. Arilyn tried not to sulk. He thought he could play sex games with her, huh? Well, wouldn't he be surprised when she countered with her own demands tonight.

Bring it.

STONE PUT HIS HAND out and shook his head. Hard. "No way. I already took you to work twice this week. Tonight I'm getting laid."

Pinky walked quietly across the floor and sat in front of the door, blocking his way.

"Oh, you think you're smart, huh? Well, guess what? If I did take you, you'd freak out because there's a pit bull over there. You'd probably go into convulsions and I'd have to turn right back around. You have to stay home, and I'm not giving up getting lucky just to watch football with you tonight."

Pinky sighed.

How had this happened? How had a half-catatonic dog suddenly become a manipulative, mushy, demanding pet? Sure, he'd spent a lot of time at the shelter talking to her. Sure, he'd given her a quiet, safe home to heal again, and finally let her sleep in his damn bed. Sure, he took her with him almost everywhere because he couldn't stand the idea of her crying. But this? Messing up his sex life?

Not gonna happen.

"Move out of the way. I bought you a new bone-it's the chewy kind, 'cause I know you hate the hard stuff. Probably because you still have baby teeth." Pinky stared. "For real, you are definitely not a man's type of dog. If the guys at the station other than Devine caught sight of you, I'd be fucked. And not in a good way. Not like I'm getting tonight."

Pinky cocked her ear.

Stone grabbed his coat and stomped over. "Go sleep. I left the TV on, and I'll be over at the crack of dawn again to take you out." The accidents were hardly happening anymore so somehow, the dog had been trained. Stone tried not to think that the dog had had a good life before she was dognapped or lost to the scum in the world. Hated to imagine she'd once had a family and children to love, and that she was still struggling to process it.

He grasped the doorknob and made a mistake.

His gaze met hers. In those brown puppy eyes, staring from beneath tufts of crazy hair, above her rat nose and strangely proportioned face, he saw it.

Adoration.

She looked at him with pure love, making low sounds of need in her throat, only wanting to be near him. And just like that, the big bad wolf fucking retired to become the wimpy grandma who liked cookies.

"Ah, crap. Fine. But I swear to God, if you give me problems, I'm gonna lose it."

She wriggled with joy, knowing she'd won, and he scooped her up into his arms.

ARILYN OPENED THE DOOR. Wearing a sexy black camisole, stretchy pants, and bare feet, she was both comfortable yet a bit naughty. She always preferred cotton to lace anyway, and Stone seemed to agree. Ready to jump into his arms and throw him off his game, she dropped her voice to a seductive whisper. "Why, Officer, are you coming to arrest-oh!" She blinked. He filled her doorway, dressed in his usual jeans, a faded blue-and-green-checked flannel shirt, and a fierce frown. His midnight-black hair slid over his brow in tousled disarray, setting off the intensity of his narrowed dark eyes. Waves of irritated male energy beat from his aura. Tucked under his muscled arm, peering out from beneath the cuff of his shirt, was Pinky.

"Look, I'll leave her in the car if she can't deal with Robert. The little rat fink was freaking out about me leaving again, so I broke. I told you this would be a disaster, Arilyn. I don't know why you were thinking I could take care of a dog."

And that's when it happened.

The great sex turned into more. Arilyn looked at this massive, pissed-off male cradling the tiny Chihuahua, with her pink collar and soft brown eyes that had come back to life, and did the dumbest thing in the whole wide world.

She tumbled into love right then and right there with Stone Petty.

He loved Pinky. Oh, yeah, he fought it and hated the idea, but he loved her so much, he didn't want to leave her alone. That was just the type of man he was. He didn't fall gracefully or willingly, but when he did, Arilyn knew he belonged to you for life. God, how she wanted him to belong to her like that.

What had she done?

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she fought for composure, swearing to bottle up the tide of crazy emotions to deal with later. Smiling through the sting of tears, she reached out and took Pinky from him, murmuring soothing nonsense to her. She shook slightly in her arms, looking back to Stone with an imploring look. "Don't be silly, I'm glad you brought her. The worst-case scenario: she can stay in the bedroom. But let's see how she does meeting Robert." She turned at the sound of front paws skittering over the wood floors and kept Pinky safely tucked in her arms. "Here's my good boy. Robert, we have a special guest tonight. Her name is Pinky, and she's been hurt. But she's a fighter like you."

Robert's tongue lolled out in excitement, but he stayed quietly in front of her, waiting for the go-ahead.

"She's scared, especially of pit bulls, so we need to show her how to trust again. Just like Stone did."

Robert looked up at Stone as if giving him a doggy high five.

"I want you to stay. I know you're happy for some company, but don't move. Understood?"

Robert dropped his head to his front paws and stilled.

"Damn, he's smart," Stone muttered. "Good boy."

Arilyn smiled and slowly knelt. Pinky began to shake with mini convulsions, a high-pitched whining beginning from her throat and growing into a panicked howl. Arilyn settled her on her lap, her hands stroking her small body, and allowed her to get used to Robert's presence. The howling went on for a while, but Arilyn never moved, and neither did Robert. As if he understood how important it was to remain completely still, Robert barely breathed, keeping his submissive posture.

Finally, the howling stopped. Pinky stared at Robert, who didn't make a move to attack her, and calmed.