Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗

Piper took one last look around the rescue center courtyard, making sure the few remaining dogs had everything they needed before she left for the day. It felt wrong to leave them—as if it would be perfectly reasonable to curl up with them and sleep there for the night. But they were all safe in their temporary doghouses that Tamara had ordered from the pet store. They would be fine.

Fine. The word was losing its comfort. Like each time Piper thought the word or said it out loud, an invisible question mark popped up behind it.

Opening the gate, she let Colin slip into the back alley ahead of her. He sniffed around, searching for the ultimate place to mark his territory. Some days he acted choosy, a connoisseur of pee spots. Others he just went wild, like he owned the whole world. It’s mine. All mine! he would gleefully declare as he swung his leg into the air.

Piper shut the gate behind her and closed the padlock, yanking on it to make sure it was secure before turning around. She blinked. Her body froze. Someone was standing out there in the dark.

Her heart jumped into her throat. Had Tamara come back to corner her after dark? Did she not have enough opportunities to harass her that day? Or maybe it was worse. Maybe it was the arsonist.

Piper got ready to scream for help. Surely the cops stationed in front of the building would hear her. Maybe.

The person stepped out of the shadows, and she quickly bit back her yell. Piper slumped against the fence in relief. It was just Aiden.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She swallowed her heart back down into her chest. “I’m more worried about the dogs.”

“They’ll be okay. There’s no call for rain over the next few days, and they’ve got everything they need. Besides, the police said they’ll still be watching the building.”

Piper nodded, knowing everything that could be done that day had been done—and then some. Addison had been in and out all day, delivering guests to their temporary lodgings. On top of running to the vet hospital twice for emergency weekend calls, Piper had coordinated everything and had done the rest of the chores. There was nothing more she could do. Except sleep. Possibly forever.

“Did you just get finished at the office?” she asked Aiden. “That’s a long day.”

“Yeah, but I bet yours was longer. I hope Tamara helped.”

“She did.” There was a definite “but” to Piper’s tone of voice. But she insulted me every time we were alone. But she threatened to feed me my own hair. But she’s crazy.

Piper didn’t want to get into that at the moment. And Tamara did deal with the investigators and insurance in Aiden’s absence, so it wasn’t all bad. However, if Piper could have taken that responsibility on, she would have, just so she didn’t have to deal with that woman all day. But she was just a volunteer. It wasn’t in her job description.

“That’s good,” he said. “And I heard from the police today about the taxi.”

“You did? Did they find it?” Answers. Finally. Piper didn’t think she could fit any more questions or worries into her stuffed brain.

“Yes. Along with my briefcase. They think it was either a joyride or the thief was going to chop it for parts and decided not to. Whatever the reason, it seems it had nothing to do with the documents in my briefcase.”

So, no answers then. Just the lack of them. She scrubbed a hand over her face and groaned in frustration.

Grabbing her hand, Aiden dragged her into his embrace. She melted against him as his hands rubbed her back comfortingly. The movement slowed until it became caressing, exploring, groping.

Piper’s brain, exhausted from one of the longest days of her life, relinquished control. Her body responded to his touches like he was her puppet master.

In the back of her mind, questions jingled like loose change. She knew she should pull them out and see what they were. However, just as when she searched the bottom of her purse, she knew loose change never amounted to much … until you added it up, of course.

But it had been a long day. Piper wasn’t in any mental state to do the math, especially not as Aiden brought his mouth to hers. Questions? What questions?

Eventually, he drew away. Even in the dark alley, she could see the desire in his half-lidded eyes. He grinned down at her. “You know what you need? Something to take your mind off things.”

“You’re totally right. Maybe I’ll go find something.” Smirking, she started to leave.

Aiden yanked her back and pressed her up against the fence, bringing his lips to hers. “I meant me.”

“Be careful,” she said between kisses. “Holly might still be lurking around. She could catch us.”

Piper bit her lip. That was a subject she hadn’t meant to broach. But there it was, and now that they lingered on the edge of it, could she ignore it? Should she?

He paused his trail of kisses down her neck. “And I’m supposed to care?”

“You mean you don’t?” She tried to make it sound breezy but couldn’t quite catch her breath.

He snorted and resumed his path. “Of course not.”

She clamped her lips shut, trying hard to ignore the little voice in the back of her head, the worry that had been rubbing her the wrong way ever since they’d gone to dinner. But rubbing turned to blisters, and this one was about to pop.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want someone, I dunno, say, more model-like or Harvard material?”

Yeah, real breezy, she chastised herself. That blister didn’t simply ooze out; it erupted.

The hand sneaking up under her shirt froze. Aiden pulled back. In the light glowing between the fence’s wooden slats, she could see him cock his head.

“Been doing your research?”

She shrugged, like, “No big deal.” It wasn’t like it had been on her mind for days or anything. It’s not like she couldn’t think of anything else. Well, before the fire, anyway. “Holly Hart might have let something slip at dinner the other night.”

Aiden sighed and stepped back.

Piper mentally kicked herself. Way to kill the mood. But while her body threw a tantrum, her brain found this coin particularly interesting.

“Well,” he began. “I’d like to say that Holly is full of it. But there’s probably some truth to whatever she said.”

Piper’s heart clenched like it too was about to burst in a mini explosion in her chest. “There is?”

“It seems like a long time ago,” he said, toeing at the gravel underfoot. “Before my father died, I guess I took advantage of the easy life I had. Let’s just say, I overindulged.”

“In … models?” she asked.

He laughed. “In the general lifestyle. I had no responsibilities or care, but I possessed a large trust fund. I didn’t need to be the serious, focused CEO I am now. But then I lost one of the most important people in my life, and the weight of the world fell on my shoulders. I guess I started to care. I realized what was important in life.” He gave her a pointed look, a message for her. Maybe he meant she was important.

“But what about at the restaurant the other night? It was like you were embarrassed to be with me.” She rushed on before he could interrupt. “We ate in a far corner of the restaurant, we snuck out the back alley, and when you saw Holly, you practically hid under the table. It was obvious you didn’t want anyone to see us.”

“I didn’t.”

Kaboom. There went her heart.

“Well … glad we cleared that up.” She took a step back, feeling herself close off to him. She couldn’t help it,