Dark Desires (Dark Romance Boxed Set)

by Cerys du Lys

  What the hell, it’s only four kittens. He shrugged and started the car. How much trouble could they really be anyhow?

  Chapter 2

  “That was a disgusting display, Gabby.” Tonya shook her head as she tsked at Gabriella.

  Doing up the two buttons she’d undone for Colin’s benefit, Gabriella grinned. “A means to an end, my friend. A means to an end.”

  “Uh-huh.” Tonya turned and made her way into the section where the dogs were being held.

  “And I have a sort of date with him tonight.”

  Tonya laughed and gave her head a shake. “So he took the kittens home in the hopes of taking you home?”

  Gabriella shrugged. “Hey, they’re going to a good home. That’s all that matters. And if I recall correctly, I singlehandedly find forever homes for almost as many pets as the rest of you combined.” The shelter had four employees who processed adoption applications and dealt with potential pet owners. For the past several months, once Gabby realized she could use a little flirting to up her chances of sending an animal home – with the men at least – she’d been able to singlehandedly find forever homes for forty-five percent of the adoptions in the shelter.

  “That’s ‘cause they’re hoping to get a piece of ass.”

  Gabriella huffed, ignoring her last remark. “In fact, Oscar is also going to a new home tonight.”

  Tonya stopped in front of Oscar’s cage and turned, eyeing her suspiciously. “Who’s taking Oscar?”

  Gabriella grinned. “Colin.”

  Tonya’s face went blank a moment before she exploded in a fit of laughter. “Girl, there is no way in hell you’re going to convince that man to take chunky, fart-factory Oscar.”

  Upon hearing his name, Oscar rose to his feet and clumsily made his way to the front of the cage he was housed in, eyeing both women.

  Gabriella planted her hands on her hips and grinned. “Wanna bet?”

  Tonya looked down at Oscar and then back up at her. “You were lucky to get him to take those kittens back home with him.” She waved her hand at Gabriella. “Girl, you may be hot and you may be able to talk men into just about anything when you get your pretty little mind made up, but there is no way that man is taking…” She pointed to Oscar. “That dog.”

  Oscar whimpered and bowed his head.

  “Then take the bet. Say your terms.”

  “Hmmm.” Tonya turned to face Oscar fully, her expression one of deep consideration.

  “Well?”

  “Tell you what. You get him to take that dog I’ll clean the cat boxes and cages for two weeks. If you don’t you have two weeks of kitty duty.”

  “All right. Fair enough.” Gabriella thrust her hand out for Tonya to shake to cement the deal.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  “Oh, hell no! You hearing me?”

  “He’ll be a great guard dog and great company,” Gabriella protested, brushing past Colin and into his quaint, two-story home. In fact, his house was perfect for Oscar and the kittens. He was a little out of town, with no neighbours within barking distance.

  She removed the lead from his black leather studded collar and passed it to Colin. Oscar immediately went into exploration mode, sniffing and snorting as he examined the living room. “Your house is perfect for Oscar. Lots of room to run around. Lots of space outside and no neighbours to disturb when he barks.”

  Colin looked down at the leash in his hand and then back up at her, his mouth slightly agape.

  “This will be good.” Knowing she was going to have to pile on a little charm to make this happen she reached out and touched his upper arm and ran her fingers up and under the arm of his t-shirt and back down again. The muscle flexed as if on reflex at her touch. “I promise.”

  His jaw clenched as he looked down at her, over at the dog and back down at her. “You don’t understand. I can’t. As I said at the shelter, I go away on business a lot and could be gone for days, even a week or so. This is no place for a dog. It’s no place for cats, but you refused to take no for an answer.”

  Gabriella looked over at Oscar, who’d jumped up onto the leather armchair and was in the process of falling asleep. There was no way Oscar was going back; this house was perfect for him.

  “What if I offered to care for him when you go away?”

  “I, ummmm.”

  “No. No. Hear me out. Oscar needs a good stable home, and I don’t live too far from here. I’d be more than happy to come over a couple times a day to check in on him when you go away.”

  Colin frowned, indecision filling his dark eyes. “Gabriella. It’s not that I don’t want to…”

  She planted a hand on her hip and cocked a brow up at him.

  “Well, you’re right, I don’t want him. But it’s more than that.”

  She continued to eye him, scepticism in her gaze.

  He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “I just can’t.”

  Time to adjust my strategy. She sniffed and blinked a couple of times, thinking about all the animals that were being put down weekly. Tears dammit, I need tears! She covered her eyes with her palms and sniffed a second time; finally the tears began to gather and she lowered her hands.

  “I wasn’t…” She sniffed again as the first tear rolled down her cheek. “They’re going to put him down, Colin, you have to take him!” She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into the nook between his shoulder and neck.

  “Pleeeeease, Colin.”

  His body stiffened against her for a moment, but quickly relaxed and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. The scent of his cologne drifted to her nose, a deep scent of woods and musk. As her arms wrapped around him, she could feel the lean muscle under his suit. Very nice.

  “Gabriella. Oh fuck. Don’t… Please… I don’t deal well with women crying…”

  Her mind took a slight detour, wondering what he would look like naked and how nice it would be to run her fingers along his bare skin, tracing the curves of muscle. A heat began to form between her legs and she shuddered as a wave of desire raced through her.

  Mistaking her shudder as one of upset, rather than what it truly was, Colin held her a bit tighter, stroking her silken locks. “It’s okay. I’ll take him. And keep the kittens. If you’ll stop crying I’ll take care of them.”

  “O… Oh… Okay.” Fake sniff. She kept her gaze cast downward as she reluctantly pulled away from him. Taking the palms of her hands, she wiped at her eyes, pretending to wipe away the tears. She felt slightly remorseful for her deceit, but as she peered back at Oscar and the nice new home he now had, the guilt faded quickly away.

  “So you’re fine? Right?”

  Gabriella nodded, giving him a bright smile. “I’m great. Thank you for this.”

  Colin frowned, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. He was on to her, but too bad. Too late now.

  “Come on out to my car, we can run into town and get some cat and dog toys and food and I can get you to sign the adoption forms for Oscar.”

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  He’d been had. He had no doubt about it. Colin looked over Gabriella’s shoulder to see Oscar making himself at home on his leather armchair. The dog snorted and shook his head, a string of slobber dripping from his mouth and whipping back and forth until the line of slobber broke, dripping onto the floor.

  Oh dear God! He groaned inwardly, his stomach turning ever so slightly.

  “Is he supposed to be doing that?”

  She turned her back to him to look at Oscar. “Do what?”

  “That nasty slobbering he’s doing all over my chair and floor! Does he drool like that all the time?”

  She shrugged, turning back to face him. “Pretty much. It’s a bulldog thing. Part of their charm.”

  Colin raked his fingers through his hair in frustration, making a mental note to wipe the chair and floor down with disinfectant wipes when they got back before sitting down. He was anal about neatness and cleanliness; havin
g a bunch of kittens and a drooling dog was in direct conflict to that.

  “Yeah. Sure. Let’s go.”

  He followed her out, locking the door behind him. He’d just gotten the door locked when the first of the barking began. A loud, throaty wail of a bark. Colin cringed.

  “Does he do that a lot?”

  “Well. He’s… vocal. Bulldogs aren’t normally so vocal, but he had a bad experience before we got him so now he has abandonment issues.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s a new place. He’ll adjust once he realizes that you’re coming back.”

  Colin wanted to tell her to take the dog back, but looking into her bright blue eyes made it impossible. His dick jerked in his pants as he remembered the feel of her soft body against his and the lavender smell of her perfume, it a sheer test of his restraint being near her.

  He shook the thoughts of how much he wanted her free from his mind. It’s thinking with my cock that got me stuck owning four cats and a dog.

  He motioned for her to follow him to his Mercedes. “I’ll drive. I can sign the papers when we get back.”

  She hesitated at her car a moment and then followed him to his car. “Remind me. We can’t forget, I need to file the paperwork. The shelter is very strict when it comes to formalities.”

  Opening the passenger side door for her, Colin waited for her to get in and closed the door behind her once she was settled in. He could feel her eyes following him as he walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side, making him wonder if the attraction was mutual. He couldn’t be certain quite yet, but he suspected it was.

  Getting into the car, he started it up. Fifteen minutes later they were walking into Pets and Stuff, a pet supply superstore.

  “Wait, we’ll need a cart.”

  He was about to grab a hand basket when her voice made him pause. “Huh? What for?” He glanced over his shoulder at her and watched as she pulled a cart from the line.

  “You need to get supplies. Start from scratch. You don’t have anything yet, right?”

  “Nope. A cat box.”

  “Then come on.”

  He dutifully followed behind her as she took him through the aisles gathering supplies. It shocked him to see what people would buy for their animals. Who bought booties for dogs? Or doggie diapers? There was an entire aisle filled with toys that claimed to increase your cat’s confidence. Cats had confidence issues? News to him.

  “Oh, come on. Are they serious?” He picked up a box of doggie breath mints, which were actually small dog bones that claimed to improve a dog’s breath.

  She nodded as she took the box from his fingertips and tossed them into the cart. “Oh yeah.” She bent and grabbed three more boxes of the doggie breath mints. “And you’re going to need them with Oscar, I assure you.”

  What in the hell have I gotten myself into?

  She started to continue down the aisle when he stopped her, grabbing the cart.

  Gabriella looked up at him quizzically. “What?”

  “Gabriella, do you realize that I’m a bit of a neat freak. Some would say a germaphobe.”

  “You’ll get over it. Besides, it’s a well-documented fact that pets reduce stress.” She continued down the aisle, Colin in tow.

  “Sure. I recall you mentioning that. See, I don’t get how cleaning cat boxes and dog drool is relaxing.”

  “You’re focusing on the negatives, which are far outweighed by the positives, such as unconditional love and affection. Or if you take Oscar to a park you’ll be twice as likely to score.”

  “I assure you. I have no issues in that department.”

  She stopped walking and turned to face him directly. Her blue eyes scanned him from head to toe, her brazen examination making him surprisingly uneasy.

  Guess this is how women feel when they walk past a construction site, he mused.

  She made a soft “humph” sound, turned back to the cart and continued pushing it down the aisle.

  Humph? That was it? Talk about a way to shoot down a man’s ego.

  Chapter 3

  “Whatcha got there, Oscar?” Colin asked, catching sight of the bulldog.

  “When did you buy dog treats?” Gabriella asked as she unpacked the numerous bags of pet supplies, spreading them out on the kitchen counter.

  Colin frowned as he looked down at Oscar, who waddled his way into the kitchen chomping on something.

  “I didn’t. You surprised me with him, remember?”

  Gabriella stopped unpacking the bags to stand beside Colin, and peered down at Oscar. “Oscar, drop it.”

  Oscar hesitated a moment, his chocolate brown eyes pleading with her to allow him to keep his treasure.

  “Drop it now,” she commanded, her voice taking on a no-nonsense tone.

  Oscar groaned and released the “treat” he had in his mouth.

  “Oh fuck, Gabriella! That’s disgusting!”

  Oscar cocked his head to the side and eyed first Colin and then Gabriella, as if wondering what all the ruckus was about.

  Gabriella cringed. Not the best way to start off in a new home, buddy, she silently chastised the dog. “Dogs sometimes do that.”

  “My God, Gabby, he’s eating shit. Cat shit. What kind of fucked up animal eats another animal’s shit! And it’s partially covered in cat litter!”

  Gabriella was aghast yet at the same time fighting back laughter.

  Colin shifted his gaze from the dog to her, an expression of astonishment on his face. “Do you guys not feed the animals? I know you guys are hurting over there, but damn!”

  Slightly offended by his insinuation she shot him a glare. “I’ll have you know we feed our animals quite well, but some dogs like… cat poop.” Not wanting the cat poop incident to ruin the chances of Oscar staying with Colin, she rushed over to the sink, pulled a piece of paper towel from the dispenser and quickly cleaned up the poop, disposing of it in the bathroom next to the kitchen.

  She returned to the kitchen to see Colin with a Swiffer Wet Jet scrubbing at the area where Oscar had dropped his “treat.”

  “We’ll just have to place the cat box up on something so Oscar can’t get into it. No biggie.” She nudged him playfully in the side. “Right?”

  Finished with cleaning the floor and putting the mop away in the broom closet, Colin met her gaze and raised a sceptical brow at her. “Yeah. Sure.” Despite his serious expression she could see a hint of amusement in his eyes.

  Going back to the pet supplies she set the cat food dish on the floor, filled one side with dry food, opened a can of soft food and emptied it into the other side.

  Oscar stood and began to make his way to the dish.

  “Oscar, no,” Gabriella commanded, giving him a stern look.

  He immediately stopped his advance on the dish and sat down, never taking his eyes off the food.

  She could hear the faint thumping of little feet making their way to the kitchen once the smell of the cat food drifted to them. Less than a minute later the four kittens came rushing in, skidding as they rounded the corner, one slamming into Oscar’s side.

  “So Colin, what do you do anyhow?” She leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I work for the CIA.”

  “Hmmm. What do you do for them?”

  Colin chuckled and waved a dismissive hand at her. “I wouldn’t want to bore ya.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re not one of those, ‘If I tell you I’ll have to kill you’ CIA types, are you?” She laughed half-heartedly at the idea.

  Laughing, he walked across the kitchen to stand next to her, reclining against the counter. “Fine. I work in the copyright infringement division.”

  “I thought it was the FBI that deals with that stuff. You see it on the movies all the time. FBI warning, copy this movie and your ass is ours.”

  He shrugged. “We deal with it too.”

  “Hmmm.” She rolled her eyes. “Must be a more serious issue than I thought.�
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  “It can be intense.”

  Gabriella had to fight to keep from laughing fully. “So you spend your days tracking down computer geeks who live in their parents’ basements?”

  A smile began to form on his lips. “Listen, this is a big deal. It’s theft.”

  “No doubt.” She nodded her head in agreement. The last thing she would have guessed was that. She had him pictured as more of a James Bond 007 kind of guy. “Those internet pirates are a serious threat to our society. We definitely need to crack down on them.”

  Colin chuckled. “Are you mocking me?”

  She gave him a swat on the shoulder. “Of course not. I just pictured you doing something a little more physical.”

  “It means I can settle down a bit. I like that. When you’re a field agent then you’re travelling all over. Never stopping. I still have to travel and it’s not all about copyright infringement, but it’s more stable. I’m 30; I could use a little stability.”

  Gabriella glanced down at the kittens gulping down their food and further over Oscar sitting back on his haunches hoping for a taste. “It looks like you have all the stability a man could ask for now.”

  “Yeah. Don’t remind me or you may be going back to the shelter with the lot of them.”

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  With Oscar trailing behind them, Colin and Gabriella made their way along a dirt path toward the lake behind his house. Day was giving in to the night and bright streaks of orange and red were present in the horizon. Being a little out of the way of civilization had its advantages, like privacy and the beauty of nature – which is what Colin loved.

  “How long have you been here?” Gabriella asked, thrusting her hands into her back pockets.

  Colin looked down at her as her eyes scanned the horizon. Her blonde hair was whipping wildly around her head and into her face, but she didn’t seem to notice or mind. She looked at ease. He liked the way she could relax and just enjoy their surroundings.