Collared (Going to the Dogs) by Zoe Dawson Read Free Book Online

he clipped a leash on the dog and took him for a walk.
    When he got back, he fed Quinn and heated up a can of ravioli. His mother would box his ears if she knew he was eating ravioli this way. It was tantamount to a crime in her book.
    He should make an effort to get over to the Bronx to visit his mom and dad. They were always busy with the restaurant, but would make the time to at least have a meal with him. He often thought they should sell it and retire. But his mother loved to cook and feed people. The curse of the Italian woman. Besides, their restaurant was a fixture in that neighborhood and did very good business.
    He sat down to catch some of the Yankees and couldn’t help thinking about how Harper had felt in his arms. Lithe, soft, silky…and very, very rich. Out of his league. Way out of his league. Even for just sex. Which was most likely all she wanted from him.
    Fuck. Why did that bother him, and why was he reluctant to just take what she offered? Could it be because he wanted something more? Naw. That couldn’t be it. He’d be out of his mind to expect that a woman like Harper would settle for a cop.
    She’d been right. He wasn’t afraid of Tripp or his Lieutenant.
    Maybe he was just gun shy.
    She was the kind of woman that could get under a man’s skin.
    Something he would be smart to avoid.
    He simply had nothing to offer her.
    His thoughts went back to Rob Lang. He ran for a reason, and in Caleb’s experience, whenever a snitch didn’t want to get paid for information, it was because he was more afraid of getting dead than getting a paycheck. Not good.
    Caleb had a bad feeling about this whole theft. Why the hell hit a safe that would be risky for such a low payout? Especially if these were pros.
    Fatigue dragged at him. Maybe he wasn’t quite ready to go back to work, but catching this case charged his mind up. He couldn’t have stayed sitting around this apartment one more day.
    Then there was Harper Sinclair. He smiled as he remembered how she’d given as good as she got. How he was going to keep his hands off her was a mystery to solve another day.
    He pushed her from his thoughts and headed towards his room, calling Quinn. He’d cuddle up with the dog. At the bathroom door, Quinn stopped and looked through it to the tub. He made an inquisitive noise in his throat. Caleb rolled his eyes. “No, you’ve already had your impromptu bath today. You silly, water-crazy dog. I’ll take you to the beach this weekend and you can swim to your heart’s content. Bedtime.”
    He stared at the bathtub for a few more minutes, looked at Caleb then made a soft sound between a growl and a protest in his throat.
    Caleb laughed. “Not going to happen, buddy. Bedtime, Quinn.”
    The dog gave him what looked to Caleb like a disgusted look then bounded into the bedroom.
    Caleb chuckled affectionately and followed the dog.

    #

    Harper went back to the table, dreading what was going to happen next. All four of her friends had identical expressions, eyes big and eyebrows raised sky-high, and then Brooke and Callie each gave her The Look . They definitely wanted to talk .
    Just like in Vegas after Nate had gone. Harper had slipped on her bathing suit and gone outside to swim out some of the tension in her back. Whenever she was thinking about something too much her back would get tight.
    She’d completed three laps when she heard Brooke say, “Hey, what are you doing out here at three o’clock in the morning?”
    She swam to the edge of the pool. “I couldn’t sleep. What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you with your gorgeous Drew?”
    “He’s sleeping and I was worried about you, so I went to your room. When you weren’t there I took a guess you’d be in the pool working out that tension I saw on your face tonight.”
    “Brooke, always the mother hen.”
    She sat down and dangled her feet into the water, giving Harper a knowing look. “I’ve earned my title, and I intend to take full advantage of