Read Hounded (Going to the Dogs) Online
Authors: Zoe Dawson
“It’s a shock to see your parents as vulnerable.”
He nodded. “You ready to go?”
She nodded and they left the food joint and headed across the street. Once inside, Daisy made the cutest baying sound when she saw Jared.
“Oh, my God. That is adorable.”
“I guess she’s happy to see me.”
“Did you get her to walk today?”
“I listened to you and applied the power of bacon.”
“What? What did you do?”
“Apparently more than zombies are attracted to it. I crumpled it up and left her a trail. When she started following it, I kept on walking and it worked.”
“That was pretty resourceful.”
Poe walked into the back room and set her CD into the player.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Ah, no, but let’s start.”
“Okay, so since we’ve been working on the steps for the past week, and you seem to have those down.
“And what about the dogs?”
“Let’s work on finessing the moves. I think we should start at the top and work our way through it. It will be really important to get the steps down before I show you where the dogs come in.”
“Sounds good.
“Let’s work on the signature John Travolta moves.”
He nodded. “We’ll see how that goes.”
“Now, I’ve been thinking about Daisy. I can see she has some training. She sits and stays. We’ll want to get her used to hand signals instead of voice. The way to do this is to add hand signals to your vocal commands, then slowly switch to just hand signals, then reward her with small treats when she does it, as usual. I’ll show you the moves we want her to learn at the end of practice.”
“I trained my Blue Lacy hounds to fetch, sit, roll over, that kind of thing, so I’m aware of what you’re talking about.”
“Good. Find something she loves as a reward…maybe bacon,” she added to see if she could get that twinkle back in his eyes, “since she seems shy and uninterested in performing right now.”
He nodded.
“All right, let’s start.”
For the next couple of minutes, Poe and Jared worked through the moves. When she put on the music, she watched him. “That was pretty good, but you’re a bit stiff. Still something to work on. Now we’re going to add in the Travolta moves. So our routine basically will consist of four hustles in a circle, then the Travolta moves, then four more hustles.”
“What will the dogs be doing?”
“My terriers know their part. They will spin when we spin, then on the part where we do the roll with our hands, they’ll sit on their hind legs and put their paws together.”
“I’ll need to teach Daisy that move, forward and back, and then spin?”
“That’s about it. When you do the Travolta moves, I’ll dance around you, and The Terrible Two will alternate jumping in the air. We can have Daisy roll over.”
“What Travolta moves do you want me to do?”
“Roll your hands, then point to the right and roll your hips, then to the left. Legs open to shoulder width, point to the right, then left, then right, touch your foot. Do that twice, then once more, but instead of touching your foot, turn to the left point and move your hips forward. All this is done on the eight count. That’s it.”
He practiced it through a couple of times.
“Move your hips, Jared.”
“I am.”
“Well more thrust and more roll. You look awkward and stiff again.”
“I feel awkward. This is not something I do every day.”
“Well, don’t try it in a public place, you might get arrested.”
He laughed.
“You’re not entirely comfortable, which is understandable. The more you practice and get used to the moves, the more comfortable you’ll be with them. I want you to really sell it, like Travolta. He always had that cocky look on his face. There will be three female judges, so you could win them over with these moves.”
He started again and, though he might think he was moving his hips, he wasn’t.
“No, Jared,” she said. “More hip action.”
She walked up to him and watched him struggle through the pitiful movements. “You’ve got nice hips and a really nice ass.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, crap, did I say it out loud again?”
He chuckled. “Don’t make me laugh, and don’t distract me,” he groaned.
She watched him again, then couldn’t stand it. She marched over there and, standing at his side, she put her hands on his lower stomach and the top of his butt and pushed his hips forward and then rolled them back.
He had ripped abs. She could feel the ridges beneath his clothes.
“Do you feel that? Make it natural, like when you’re with a woman.”
When there was no answer, she said, “Oh, for Pete’s sake.” She moved around in front of him and backed her butt flush to his groin. She grabbed his wrists and settled his hands on her hips. “This is what I’m talking about. Move with me.” She thrust and rolled her hips a few times. “See?”
All she got was a strangled gasp.
She looked at him over her shoulder, and when she met those thickly-lashed moss-green eyes, she froze. In the depths was a raw, primal look that sent shivers over her skin. And, like the idiot she was, she only just now thought about possible consequences of the fact that she had put her hands on him, her butt against his groin, and made him put his hands on her.
She turned, but his hands and arms acted like a cage, his palms sliding across her firm butt. She was trapped, close to him, her hips squared to his. She tried to backpedal away, embarrassed at her awkward and inept behavior. But his hands tightened on her hips, burning hot through the fabric.
She held his gaze, caught in the dizzying hold he had over her. His eyes spoke volumes, and just as he let the warrior free the first time she saw him, now he let her see the longing in his eyes, the eyes of a man who wanted her. A man like him, a man who wasn’t really her type. But that longing in his expression, with that glimpse of such tangible emotion, was nearly her undoing. Her heart fluttered.
“Did you know that each of the suits on a deck of cards represents the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages? Hearts represented the church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class.” Air seemed to disappear and she whispered. “The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.”
Jared smiled and held her gaze for what felt like an eternity, then his head dipped toward her, his eyes focused on her mouth.
Poe stopped talking…stopped breathing. Her gaze riveted to his handsome face. Her body was very aware of his nearness, responding to it in ways that were instinctive and fundamentally feminine—warming, melting. She shivered.
He was almost there. Her eyes drifted closed. She could feel the powerful energy of his mouth so close to hers, a whisper away. Then he backed up, released her hips and swore.
Poe opened her eyes as Jared stepped away. She felt dizzy, weak, as shaken as she had been when that mugger had punched her in the face. Like a woman in a daze, she lifted a hand and touched her fingers to her lips, lips that felt hot and swollen as if she’d been thoroughly and soundly kissed. Her plan was to just step away, but when she moved, she didn’t realize how close his foot was to hers. She lost her balance. When he swooped in to try to save her from a fall, she accidentally elbowed him really hard in the jaw, then fell flat on her ass.
Poe didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or throw up. Her stomach was still in knots, her emotions were all over the map…and her body had responded to Jared’s like never before. Was still vibrating with need. Maybe she needed to Google ‘how to find a hole to crawl into”.
Thank God Brooke had called to ask her to go along to the grocery store. She needed food anyway, and she told Jared that while she whisked them both out of Callie’s place, and then dropped him, his dog, and her dogs off at her apartment.
“I think I have blurt-itis.”
Brooke looked at her skeptically. “Is that even a word, Poe?”
“No, I made it up. I blurt out these idiotic, random
non sequiturs
to Jared.”
Brooke looked over the cantaloupe, smelling and squeezing each one. “Like what?”
Poe put a bunch of grapes in her basket. She hoped Jared liked grapes. “Like did he know the clavicle is the only horizontal bone in the body?”
“Was that really random?” Brooke picked over the lettuce until she found a bunch she liked. Poe grabbed some, too.
“No, I was ogling his clavicle.”
“You’re the only person I know who would say clavicle. So maybe it’s not random.”
“I didn’t do that when I was practicing with Miles.”
Brooke grabbed a zucchini and held it up. “Ah, that’s because Miles is gay and you’re not attracted to him.”
“Are you saying I’m attracted to Jared?”
“If the zucchini fits…Duh.”
“Stop with the zucchini,” Poe said with a snort.
Next it was the meat case. Brooke picked up chicken and ground beef and set it in her basket.
“Does Jared give you the tingles?”
Poe listlessly looked over the meat. “Yes.”
“Did you think about him last night?”
She chose chicken strips and put them in her basket. “Yes, until I fell asleep.”
“But you still put up the argument that he’s not your type.”
“Yes, look at me. I have two tattoos, one on the front of my shoulder that says
Nevermore
in the shape of a raven because I’m extremely clever, and one on my ass. I pair up red riding hood capes and schoolgirl skirts with combat boots.”
“And rock it.”
“Damn straight. I believe there will be a zombie apocalypse someday and blurt out random facts to an almost-complete stranger right before he’s going to kiss me.”
“Wait, you have two tats?”
“Oops, I didn’t tell you that?”
“No.”
“Well, I didn’t want my mother to freak, so I put it on my butt.”
“OMG. Now I have to see it.”
“Really—now? You want me to drop my drawers right now?”
“No, not now, but later. Wait. What did you say? He almost kissed you?”
“Are we having the same conversation, Ms. Airhead?”
“Oh, you say you have blurt-itis, but you keep all the juicy tidbits to yourself. Dish now, nerdette, while you help me pick out a body wash for Drew. Ooh, this one smells good.”
Poe shook her head. “Nope that’s not Drew.”
Brooke looked indignant. “How would you know?”
Poe gave her a wink. “I stealth-smelled him.”
“Hey, keep your nose off my man.”
They looked straight-faced at each other and then both laughed.
“This one?”
“Nope, too flowery, definitely not Drew.”
“You blurt out random stuff with us, too.”
Poe rolled her eyes. “Yes, but you already know I’m weird.”
“You don’t want Jared to know you’re weird?”
“I think that horse has already gotten out of the barn. I’m random, weird and awkward. ”
“The trifecta of nerd.”
“Hey! You can pick out your own body wash.”
Brooke grabbed her around the shoulders and grinned. “I’m sure you weren’t that awkward. Give me an example.”
“I grabbed his hips and tried to teach him how to thrust. I was teaching him the Travolta moves and he looked so stiff.”
“And not in a good way.” Brooke snickered and elbowed Poe.
“Are you going to be immature about this?”
“I’m afraid I am. I can grab the zucchini again.”
“No, not the zucchini. And you’re supposed to be the nurturing one. Fine. I grabbed his hips and told him to feel what I was doing. I ‘blurted’ out ‘make it natural like when you’re with a woman.’”
“You didn’t,” Brooke covered her mouth and laughed harder.
“I did. But he got worse and even stiffer.”
“You probably gave him a hard-on.” Several women in the aisle glanced at them.
“Shhh.” Poe hissed, smiling reassuringly at the women and turning back to Brooke. “You’re going to get us kicked out of here,” she muttered
“I doubt it. There isn’t a woman here who doesn’t want to hear about hard-ons.” Then Brooke looked around at the numerous shoppers and raised her voice. “Am I right?”
Several women sniggered and rolled their carts over to the next aisle.
Poe closed her eyes in total embarrassment. “You are something. Are you going to let me tell the rest of the story?”
“Yes, sorry.”
Brooke stuck another body wash under Poe’s nose.
Mmm cinnamon, spicy.
“That’s Drew.”
Brooke dropped it in her basket. “Continue.”
“So, because that wasn’t enough nerd fail, I grabbed his wrists and put his hands on my hips.” Poe grabbed a couple of frozen pizzas out of the glass case.
“Oh, man. I wish I had some popcorn. Is it getting hot in here?”
“You’re a mean, mean girl, Brooke Palmer.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep going nerdette.”
“I rolled my hips around and then thrust and released and asked him if he understood what I was talking about.”
“And, did he?”
“There was utter and complete silence, so I turned to look at him and he was looking at me with that intense Jared stare, like he was going to devour me whole.”
“Definitely sounds like he has the hots for you. What happened then?”
“I tried to escape, but he had me caged in with his arms. Facing him was a bad idea. Our gazes got more tangled and breathing was hard. My heart was beating like a mule kicking the side of a barn. Thud, thud,” Poe thumped her chest to demonstrate.
Brooke had opened the box of soft chocolate chip cookies that she’d picked up in the bakery and popped one in her mouth. “And?”
Poe looked at her wryly, then the box in her hands.
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay for them. What happened?”
“I said, and I quote my crazy nerdette self, ‘Did you know that each of the suits on a deck of cards represents the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages: hearts represented the Church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class?’”
“Then what? Did he kiss you?”
“God, I could only wish. That would have least shut me up. No. I then said, ‘The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.’”
Brooke burst out laughing, the box of cookies tumbled out of her hands and scattered all over the floor.
“Get out of here.”
“Then I stepped on his foot, elbowed him in the jaw really hard and fell right on my ass.”
Brooke clutched her stomach and doubled over, as Poe picked up the scattered cookies, trying to contain her laughter while she plunked them back in the box.
“And, Brooke, I was exactly at crotch height, and I can confirm for you, even after I almost knocked him out, there was absolutely no doubt about his hard-on”
One of the women who’d been eavesdropping in the bath products aisle was picking up a loaf of bread. Brooke had to lean on Poe, she was laughing so hard.
“I think it’s time to check out,” Poe said as the woman put her bread in her cart with raised eyebrows and fled from the two crazy women in the bakery section.
#
Jared called Harper from the lobby of her penthouse. The doorman wouldn’t let him go up unless Harper was aware he was on his way. Daisy was lying down on the floor. Probably felt good after the heat outside. When Harper answered, he said, “It’s me. I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, come on up.”
“Tell that to your very vigilant doorman.”
He handed the phone to the doorman, who finally let him get in the elevator. When Harper opened the door, Jared stalked in.
“Where’s Poe and what are you doing here?”
“She made a grocery run with Brooke. I have one of my guys tailing them, don’t worry.”
“Why are you here?”
“I don’t think I can continue to do this.” He set Daisy down on the rug and she sniffed around. Blue, Harper’s poodle trotted into the room and made a beeline for Jared.
“What? Why?”
“I’m deeply attracted to Poe and I don’t like lying to her.”
Harper’s poodle stopped in front of him and sniffed at Daisy, dancing back when the little hound let out a soft bay.
He reached down to give the standard a pat but froze at Harper’s next words.
“Would you rather she be dead?”
He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes tight while the cries of agony, the blood, the sound of rapid gunfire all clamored in his head. When he opened his eyes and looked into her stricken face, tears welled. His voice came out in a terrible whisper. “Don’t say that.”
“Oh, God, Jared. I’m so sorry. I’m distraught. Sit down.”
She walked to the kitchen, waving away the maid who showed up. Getting a glass, she poured some water and walked back to him. “Here. Drink this.”
“I need something a little stronger than that.”
Harper nodded, getting a knowing gleam in her eye. She walked over to the bar and poured them each a drink. Back at the sofa, she held his out. “Bourbon. Bottoms up.”
Suddenly from the hallway, there was a banging on the door. Brooke’s voice was loud through the door. “Harper! Poe and I are here. You’ve
got
to hear this.”
Blue barked and Harper shushed her.
Jared shot straight up from the sofa, sloshing his drink onto her carpet. “Shit,” he hissed.
Harper looked freaked out as her maid made her way to the door. “Jared hide!”
He shoved the drink into her hand, grabbed Daisy and flipped over behind the sofa as Brooke and Poe exploded into the foyer. Daisy made a startled little grunting noise, but thank God didn’t bay.
“You have got to hear what happened to Poe. We can’t stay long, because we have groceries in the car.”
“What? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine” Poe said. “As nerdy as ever.”
The sound of her voice travelled through him like a drug. He closed his eyes and concentrated on staying still and imagining himself invisible.
And she told the whole story of their disastrous practice session. He had to cover his mouth to stifle a guffaw when she got to the part about the cards. That was classic Poe, and he’d loved every minute of it. He sighed. He couldn’t walk away from protecting her, no matter the consequences. He just couldn’t.
“Oh, Poe,” Harper said, her voice on the verge of tears. Jared hoped she kept it together.
“Why aren’t you laughing?”
“I’m sorry. It’s very amusing. I must be tired.”
“Then we should go and let you get some rest,” Brooke said. “But first, drop your drawers, Poe and let’s see this tat.”
“What tat?” Harper said.
“The one on her shapely ass.”
“Oh, God, this really isn’t…”
“Wow, Poe. I love it,” Brooke said. “It’s so you.”
A flood of heat shot straight to his groin and he gritted his teeth against the groan struggling to emerge.
He needed to be thinking about his assignment. He needed to be thinking about how to get the dance steps right. He needed to be thinking about how to make sure she was covered by his elite team 24/7.
He did not need to be thinking about seeing the tattoo on her ass. The ass she was baring to her girlfriends at this very moment.
Jared felt the sofa jiggle as they rose and he breathed a sigh of relief. The maid passed by him and never even batted an eyelash. He had to cover his mouth again the situation was so absurd.
Daisy sniffed at his face, then licked him.
When the women were gone, Harper came around the sofa. “Do we need to discuss this some more?”
He rose, cradling the dog. “No.”
“Just hold it together until this guy is caught. I have a private investigator working on it.”
“All right.”
“What changed your mind?”
“She did. I’d better get back there.”
Harper nodded. “Thank you. And I’m so sorry about what I said.”
He waved his hand. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. You were just trying to protect your friend.”
Harper scratched Daisy’s head. “She is really cute.”