Her Top Dog: An Alpha Man Workplace Romance (Rescue Me Book 2)

by Katana Collins

  “So, you missed me?” I asked. “Is there anything you want to do about that?”

  She squirmed, and I could see in her body language that she was searching for the courage to answer. Harley tugged again and I reached for the leash, giving her a quick pull back into Nina’s side. “You have to be firm with her,” I said, leaning in. “She’s pretty headstrong, so you need to let her know who’s boss.”

  I looked down, now dangerously close to Nina, and our mouths were nearly lined up as she exhaled. I became acutely aware of her breath, shallow little pants that caused her breasts to heave. Her eyes, pupils dilated and eyelids hooded, dropped to look at my lips. She wanted me to kiss her… she wanted me to take her.

  But I needed her to say it. To admit she had feelings for me too. She didn’t need to be in love with me yet… that could come later. But, step one: Nina, tell me you want me. “Just say it,” I whispered. “Say the words and we’ll go to HR right now.”

  “Sam, I… I love—oh!” Harley yanked free of Nina’s hold and took off running into the park.

  Chapter 8

  Nina

  No! This couldn’t get any worse. Just as I realized how much I ached for Sam, missed him, maybe even loved him… I lost his fucking dog!

  “Harley!” I yelled, taking off behind Sam who was already several steps ahead of me, running. He was a hell of a lot faster without these stupid stilettos. I paused, hopping to take them off, and tossed them aside before running faster to catch up with Sam and Harley.

  “Harley, come! Come here, girl!” I shouted.

  I finally caught up to Sam where he had paused in the middle of the wooded area of the park. No one else was around, most people opting to sunbathe in the grassy lawn area. “Fuck!” Sam shouted. “She’s never done that before. What the hell got into her?” He cupped his hands around his mouth and called for her again.

  Emotion clenched in my jaw as a tear spilled over my cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

  He didn’t turn to look at me, but I felt as his hand snaked behind him and clamped onto mine. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I’ll find her. I’ll stay out here all day and night if I have to—”

  Wait. I dug in my purse, tugging free the to-go meat and cheese plate I had put together for my lunch and tore open the sandwich bag, holding up a piece of cheese. “Treats,” I said, handing one to Sam. “Dogs like cheese, right?”

  “Like? They love cheese. Especially Harley.” He held up the cheese and called out for her again. “Treat, Harley!”

  From deeper in the trees, I saw a blur of fur come bounding toward us, and I heaved a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God. She was okay. Sam bent, scooping up her leash, but we both grew concerned when she ignored the cheese and instead pulled us both deeper toward the woods.

  “Harley?” Sam asked. “What is it?”

  She whimpered and pulled harder.

  “I think we should follow her,” I said. “What if someone’s hurt?”

  Sam nodded, grabbing my hand once more, and we let her guide us deeper through the trees. I heard the whimpering animals before I could see them. “Oh, my God,” Sam said and dropped to his knees.

  There at the base of a tree, Harley was sitting over two puppies and a mother dog. They were significantly smaller than Harley—some sort of small mutt mix—and the mother was licking at a deep gash in her leg as the puppies nursed.

  Sam immediately rushed to help, giving Harley a quick pet on the head. “Good girl, Harley. Good girl,” he cooed and fed the piece of cheese to the mother dog who gobbled it up quickly. She was thin… too thin, and I dug in my purse for a bottle of water, offering it to her in my cupped hands.

  “Save me some of that water,” Sam said. “to wash her cut.” He tugged his tie off from around his neck and cleaned the gash on her leg before wrapping his tie around the cut.

  My heart squeezed watching him jump into action, caring for the dogs. Any hesitancy I had regarding him—us—washed away with the dirt on her leg.

  “I’m going to try to carry her back to the set. Do you think you can carry the puppies?” He didn’t wait for my answer, just kept on talking. “I think they’ll be okay if we can get them to a vet as soon as possible. And even if we can’t hold onto Harley’s leash, I think she’ll follow us back now that she found them. She must have heard their cries.”

  “Sam,” I whispered, placing my palm on his arm. His gaze snapped to me, startled at my touch. “I love you.”

  He blinked, surprised by the shift in tone. “I love you, too.”

  He gingerly handed me the puppies who wriggled for a moment, but quickly fell asleep in my arms. Then, gently, he hoisted the mama dog into his arms and stood.

  I leaned over, kissing him quickly. “After we get these pups to a vet, let’s go talk to HR. And then maybe house hunt for a bigger place… because my apartment can’t fit four dogs and two people.”

  A slow grin spread along his face. “Luckily, mine will.”

  Epilogue

  Sam

  One year later…

  “I look like I swallowed a balloon.”

  I glanced over at my beautiful wife, spinning in front of a floor-length mirror in the doctor’s office. She tugged at the hem of her shirt and angled her small but swollen belly away from the mirror.

  I crossed to her, sliding my arms around her bump and kissing her neck. “You look like you’re growing our child. And you’ve never looked sexier.”

  She exhaled a breath, and her bangs blew with the gust of air. “You have to say that because you’re my husband. Seriously, though… look at me. I’m only four months. I thought I was supposed to only have a little bump by now. People should be wondering if I’m pregnant, not assuming I’m well into my second trimester.”

  I cupped Nina’s jaw and brought my lips to hers, quieting her nerves with a kiss. If there was anything I’d learned in the last year, it was that Nina talked through her concerns when she was anxious.

  But sometimes she needed a little help quieting her mind.

  “What about Autumn?”

  She smiled and ran her nose down the edge of my jaw. “I like it…but not as much as June.”

  “Hmmm,” I thought out loud. “We can’t even combine those names… Autumn June just sounds silly.”

  She snickered, her shoulders bouncing gently within my arms. “And for a boy? I love August… Auggie for short.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “What is with us loving months and seasons for names?”

  There was a knock at the door, and the doctor didn’t wait for us to answer before she poked her head in. “Morning you two! How are you feeling today, Nina?”

  Nina smiled and draped her palm over her belly. “Tired. But the nausea has gone down in the last couple weeks.”

  “Good, good. Go ahead and hop up here.” Dr. Samson patted the rolled-out paper lining a reclining table and slid a small cart with a monitor on it over as Nina climbed up, crinkling her way into place for her exam. “So, have you decided if you want to know the sex or not?”

  I wrapped an arm around Nina’s shoulders. “We do,” she said.

  I had to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. Of course we want to know… this girl of mine is a planner. She wants every piece of clothing and every color in the nursery set up and ready to go. No surprises.

  Her hand found mine with a tender squeeze, and my chest felt like it could explode with happiness. I kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Don’t be nervous.”

  She gave me a sweet smile, and her eyes widened as a pulsing sound filled the room around us. She gasped. “Oh, how I love that sound.”

  I jerked my gaze to the monitor, searching the shapes for what might be a head or a nose. “That’s a good, strong heartbeat, right Doc?”

  The doctor smiled and moved the wand over Nina’s belly. “It is… only…” she paused, grinning at us. “Tell me, do twins run in your family?”

  My eyes widened. “My brothers are twi
ns. But, but, I’m not a twin—”

  The doctor gave a thoughtful hmmm. “Well, you don’t have to be a twin for the genes to pass down. I hear two heartbeats.” She pointed at the screen to a tiny little hand and face. “Here is baby number one… a girl.” Then, moving the wand, another small profile nose came into view. “And here is baby number two… a boy.”

  Two babies. One of each. My head felt light, like it was suspended and floating up from my body. “Holy crap,” I said. “Auggie and June?”

  Nina’s grin widened and she squeezed my hand. “Or Auggie and Autumn.”

  The doctor wiped Nina’s stomach off, then handed her some extra towels to finish cleaning up. “Congrats, you two. I’ll give you a little privacy.”

  Nina launched to her feet, eyes bright and wide. “Well that explains the baby bump!”

  I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into hug. “Holy shit… we’re having two kids.”

  She grinned wider. “We never do anything half-assed. You went from being a bachelor with one dog to being engaged with four dogs in a matter of three months.”

  “And now, we go from newlyweds to a family of four in less than a year,” I finished the thought for her. Her hands shifted around my neck and she pulled me into a kiss.

  As Nina pulled away, she chuckled and whispered in my ear, “I told you we were going to need a bigger house.”

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  About the Author

  When Katana Collins was younger and stole her mother’s Harlequins to read beneath the covers with a flashlight, she wanted to read about the tough as nails heroine. The perfectly imperfect girl with quirks and attitude and sass. And the anti-heroes who were anything but “Prince Charming.” Forget the knight on a white horse … she wanted the bad boy on a motorcycle.

  So, now, she writes those romance novels she craved to see on the shelves all those years ago—the sassy heroines. The badass heroes. She penned her first romance novel back in 2012 and now, a few years later, she is a Top 100 Amazon Best-Selling author with 15 published books, in a wide range of contemporary romance genres (Paranormal, New Adult, Small town, Erotic Suspense … you name it!).

  She lives in Portland, Maine, with an ever-growing brood of rescue animals: a kind of mean cat, a doofy lab, a very mellow chihuahua, and a very not mellow cairn terrier puppy ... oh yeah, there's a husband somewhere in that mix, too. She can usually be found hunched over her laptop in a cafe, guzzling gallons of coffee, and wearing fabulous (albeit sometimes impractical) shoes.

  She loves connecting with booklovers like herself, and fellow sassy storytellers, so feel free to drop her an email, visit her on her website. She also loves connecting on Instagram, Facebook or in her reader group, Kat’s Kittens!