Rugged Boss

by Liz Fox

  A wave of relief washes over me, followed by an even stronger wave of desire. He does want me. This sexy, ambitious man who could have anyone he wanted is whispering words of adoration as he kisses down my neck.

  “How much did you miss me?” I groan, as he bites my shoulder in response.

  “Why don’t we go to my house and I’ll show you?” He growls and an answering purr starts in my throat.

  Still, I like to get him riled up. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble?”

  “Don’t worry. The only trouble I want to get into, is you.”

  “Then I suggest you drive faster, boss.”

  Epilogue

  Rand

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going, boss?” Tess sits in the passenger seat of my truck grinning at me.

  “For the third time, no. It’s a surprise.” I shake my head at her enthusiasm, but she knows I adore her. It’s part of what first drew me to her. Her genuine curiosity that she kept in the face of overwhelming trials.

  It’s just one of the things about her that turns me on—that and things like breathing, eating, existing, etc. Which is why I’m sporting an erection on the drive to Fairview. “You know I’m only the boss in the bedroom, fighter.”

  Her eyes widen and her breath quickens. She loves when my voice gets gravelly with desire. But this is not the time because I’ve just found a parking spot on Vincent Street in front of an old house.

  “This is it?”

  She hasn’t noticed the homemade sign in the window that says, “Penny’s Pups.”

  “Let’s go inside.”

  As we approach the front door, we hear the sound of puppies barking—lots of puppies. Tess turns to me, gray-blue eyes wide with hope.

  The door opens as we reach it, and a curvy Latina greets us. “Welcome to Penny’s Pups. I’m Penny.” Her wide smile must be contagious because Tess wears a matching one.

  “You must be Rand. And you must be Tess.” She welcomes us into the house. It’s been transformed into an animal shelter. Nothing fancy, but the care is obvious. “Let me show you the kittens.”

  “The kittens?” Tess squeaks, shock bringing her to a halt in the hallway.

  Penny stops to wait for her, smiling as she confirms, “You’ve got a good man. He called ahead to make sure we had some available.”

  Tess jumps into my arms, squealing as she gives me a full-body hug. I nod to Penny, indicating that she should continue, following her while carrying Tess.

  Of course, she leaps out of my hold as soon as she hears the chorus of tiny meows. “Oh my goodness. They’re so cute!”

  She approaches each of the kennels one at a time, hand outstretched and ready to be sniffed. When she gets to a little gray calico kitten she stops. The kitten stares at her with big green eyes, a little patch of orange on its chest and one paw. As we watch, the kitten stretches out her little paw and pats at Tess’ fingers.

  “I hear someone at the front.” Penny starts toward the door. “Sloane volunteers here regularly. She’ll take care of you.”

  It’s not until Penny says something that I notice the quiet woman sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. She has straight black hair and pale white skin. She holds a tiny kitten in her lap, feeding it with a bottle.

  Tess barely notices the woman, still enraptured with the kitten in front of her.

  “This is the one.” Tess wiggles her fingers, keeping the kitten’s attention.

  Sloane places the kitten into a cozy box, before opening the kennel with Tess’ kitten. Delicate hands take hold of the gray calico and pass the kitten to Tess. I swear both Tess and the kitten start purring as soon as they touch.

  “This is a good match.” Sloane smiles, her voice soft and ethereal. “Penny will take care of your paperwork. Just go to the front whenever you’re ready.” She sits down in the chair. A bottle and a different kitten appear in her lap.

  Tess turns to me, face glowing. Thank god she doesn’t know it, but I’d surprise her with a million kittens if I knew it would always put that look on her face.

  “Do you know what you want to name her?”

  “I’m naming her Eva.”

  “Well, let’s get you and Eva home.” Tess moved in with me about a month after her stepfather passed away. She stayed with her mom until Mrs. Martone decided to go on a world cruise. Everyone understood that she couldn’t stay in the house where he passed away any longer.

  Tess transferred her credits to a local university and is finishing her degree. When she isn’t doing homework, she helps me with some of my jobs. Thayer loves when she visits him at the Hawthorne project. Maxmillian’s house has had more than its fair share of problems, but we’re looking to finish it in the next couple months.

  It’s been good. Living with Tess is everything I didn’t know I needed. Sometimes, I think she doesn’t really feel like the house belongs to her too. That’s one of the reasons I wanted her to get a kitten. To make it feel more like our home. Plus, she’s been reading all these books with cats, kittens, shifters, and magic. When I thought about what kind of surprise she would like, it wasn’t hard to come up with an idea.

  We walk to the front of Penny’s Pups, Tess cooing the whole time. Only, someone came in while we were in the back.

  “Nina, please. It has to be you.” Penny sounds like she’s begging. “I signed up for it months ago, but now I’m with Johnny. I can’t be in the date auction, and you know your tía Camila will freak out when I drop out.”

  The other woman—Nina, apparently—sighs in defeat. “Why not? I already do everything for my sister. And I guess it’s for a good cause.”

  Penny, on the other hand, looks ready to bounce out of her skin. “Thank you, Nina. You’re the best cousin ever.”

  On the counter between them is a flyer for Valentina’s Charity Date Auction. I’ve heard of it before. All the proceeds go to fund cancer research. I pick it up and show Tess.

  Nina shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can—”

  Tess interrupts. “The proceeds go to cancer research?”

  Both Penny and Nina notice us at the same time, and start to explain.

  “My sister has—”

  “My cousin Valentina—”

  They look at each other and Nina nods. Penny begins again, “My cousin Valentina had cancer. She’s in remission now, but we must do everything we can to help her stay that way.”

  I already know Tess wants to help. Since last year, donating to cancer research is kind of our thing. “Rand, can we go?”

  “I got an invitation, but I haven’t replied yet.” Mostly because it’s being hosted at Maxmillian’s hotel, The Monolith, and I spend more than enough time with the pretentious ass building his designer home. “But of course we can go. I know this is important to you.”

  “It’s important to all of us.” Nina seems to have resigned herself to the fact that she has to go. “I would do anything for my sister.” She glares at Penny. “I’ll do it, but tell your mamá that she owes me one of her famous tres leches cakes.”

  At that, Nina huffs and stalks through the front door. Penny quickly draws up the paperwork and ten minutes later, we’re driving home with our new kitten.

  We pull into the garage, Tess still cuddling Eva in her arms. I open the door to the house for Eva, since her hands are full and she’s a tiny bit distracted. “Tess, there’s more. Come into the living room.”

  She follows me, gasping in surprise as she notices the plethora of cat toys, food, litter, structures, etc. Jesse stands to the side, sweeping his hands in a Vanna White gesture as he presents the goodies. “Surprise, my dear.”

  “Oh, my god.” Her eyes fill with tears. “Thank you, Rand. Thank you, Jesse. You’re the best. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

  “I made sure to get all designer labels. See these cat beds? These are luxury—”

  “Jesse, get out of here.” I interrupt his monologue.

  He huffs with indignation, but I
can see the pleased sparkle in his eyes. “Fine, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He waves goodbye with a wiggle of his fingers.

  “I still can’t believe you did all this.”

  “Let’s take Eva upstairs to the bedroom. I read that they transition better if they start in a smaller space.” The shock on Tess’ face right now is worth every hour spent researching cats and kittens.

  Entering the bedroom, we shut the door and Tess sets Eva down so she can explore her new home. Tess watches her, eyes full of joy and tears.

  “Is everything alright, fighter?” I sit on the bed and pull Tess into my lap.

  “It’s just, I always wanted a kitten. Not just because they’re cuddly and cute. But because it’s the start of a family of my own.” She sniffles. I grab a tissue from the side table and hand it to her.

  Thinking about her words, I consider if the time is right. I’ve been ready for months, but waiting for the perfect moment. Now, I’m pretty sure this is it.

  Subtly, I reach for the nightstand again, this time opening the bottom drawer and pulling out a small, velvet box.

  I’d get on one knee, but holding her on my lap feels right so I tighten my arms and start. “Tess, since the first moment I saw you, I knew you were special. You work so hard, trying to better yourself and take care of the people you love all at the same time.

  “You don’t always get it right. Nobody does. But you never give up. You keep hoping, keep trying, keep putting yourself out there. Every single day I appreciate that you choose to share your life with me.

  “Today, we added little Eva to our family. Now, I want to make it official. You are my family, Tess. You are my fighter, my hope, and my everything.

  “Will you marry me?”

  My heart pounds as I hold up the ring, waiting for her response. Her hair covers her face, so I can’t see her expression.

  After a minute of silence, my patience is gone. “Goddammit Tess, you’re going to marry me whether you like it or not.” I take the ring and slip it on her finger.

  She stares at the diamond, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ear. There she is. My gorgeous woman. She wasn’t hesitating or rejecting me. Tears stream down her cheeks, evidence of her overwhelm.

  “I don’t even know what to say right now.”

  “Say yes.” I demand.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That’s my fighter.”

  Thank You

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Rugged Boss! I’m honored that you gave my story the gift of your time and attention. I put a little of my heart into each of my books, and it’s amazing to me that you read (and hopefully enjoy) them.

  A special thanks to Holly J. for the use of her furbaby in the story. Eva is a real cat! And Holly is the amazing woman who adopted him.

  This book was especially difficult to write because I included some stuff from my personal life--specifically, that my stepfather passed away from a cancerous brain tumor while I was in college. As I wrote it, I worried that the sadder aspects of the story would keep you from enjoying the romance. I hope it was okay.

  If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review. It doesn’t have to be long, just a line or two makes a big difference.

  For more sweet and steaminess, keep reading for a sample of Dirty Boss, the third book in the Bad Bosses series.

  If you want to chat about your favorite books, come join my Facebook group! We host giveaways, play games, and share samples of upcoming books! I look forward to seeing you there.

  Hugs,

  Liz

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  Also by Liz Fox

  The Right Men Series

  Right on Time

  Mister Right

  Right or Wrong

  Always Right

  The Right Men Bundle (with bonus story)

  Vincent Street Valentines

  written with C.L. Cruz

  Legal Love

  Library Love

  Puppy Love

  Latte Love

  Bad Bosses (coming soon)

  written with C.L. Cruz

  Naughty Boss

  Rugged Boss

  Dirty Boss

  Sinful Boss

  Don’t miss Nina’s story in Dirty Boss!

  Nina

  I never got to go to college because my family needed money for my little sister’s cancer treatment.

  That was the start of putting myself last and putting my family first, which is also how I end up auctioning myself off at a fundraiser.

  When my boss makes the winning bid, I can’t help but wonder if it’s just professional courtesy or if he is interested in something more.

  Tobias Kline is sexy, demanding, and makes me feel like I’m someone special.

  When life gets crazy, can I say no to my family and finally put myself first?

  Tobias

  I’ve always been the responsible older sibling, putting in long hours and taking care of the family business.

  My latest required appearance is at a date auction. I have no intention of participating, but when my long-time office assistant appears on the stage, I know I’m not letting her go home with anyone else.

  Nina Rodriguez is curvy, smart, and makes me want to have fun for the first time in a long time.

  At this point in my life, maybe it’s time to change my priorities.

  Available for Pre-order

  About the Author

  Liz Fox writes short, sweet, steamy romances. They feature curvy women and the alpha men who fall in love with them. A curvy woman herself, she has a special place in her heart for happily ever afters.

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