Animal Instincts [The Andersons 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Marie Jermy

explosion of bedded and potted petunias, pansies, marigolds, and other summer flowering annuals, and without a weed in sight, signaled somebody in the household was an expert gardener.
    Somehow Rex didn’t think it was Matt. He wielded a badge and a gun, not a packet of seeds and a trowel. Nor did he think it was Ramona. He’d never once seen her watering the plants at the practice, let alone in the garden. That left shy, kind-hearted Samantha, who preferred old-fashioned romance to science fiction and vampires.
    Rex cursed that Raven had no balls and slid the key that Ramona had given him into the lock, but the door swung open and he found himself almost toe-to-toe with a much younger version of Ross Anderson Senior, but with a full head of blue-black hair, and almost a carbon copy of Matt Anderson.
    He introduced himself. “Rex Latimer. I’m Ramona’s partner. Business partner,” he clarified, though he didn’t know why he needed to point that out. It wasn’t as if he was going to say, “Oh, she also stirs my cock, so I wouldn’t mind being her partner in the bedroom, as well.”
    “Ross.” He rocked back on his heels and grinned as he appraised Rex. “So you’re the smug SOB.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Smug SOB. That’s what Mona called you. But don’t get pissed. I think it’s meant as a compliment.”
    “Some compliment,” Rex grumbled, following Ross into the house. On the floor in the living room were a variety of cardboard boxes, some empty, others half-filled with books. He picked up the nearest one—a book on pruning.
    “Sammy’s the green-fingered member of the family,” Ross explained. “I had no idea she had this many books, though. I haven’t even made a dent.”
    Rex followed the thumb, which Ross jerked toward the alcoves either side of the stone fireplace. Both were crammed full of gardening books, punctuated with romance novels. He gave a low whistle. “Surely she doesn’t need all of them. I mean, is the move back to your parents’ temporary or permanent?”
    “I’ve no idea. Did Mona tell you what happened?”
    “Not much. Just that Samantha was raped. I didn’t press for details.”
    “Actually, Matt and I got to Raven before he got that far.”
    Rex flicked his eyes over Ross, noticing the slight bruising to the knuckles of his right hand. Interesting. He remembered both of Ramona’s brothers were police officers, and for some reason, Ross struck him as upstanding, even more so than Matt. Though dedicated, he felt Matt was a bit of a hothead. Still, he wasn’t exactly in the right position to pass judgment. After all, they were talking about Raven here. “Like your brother, Matt, are you also a police officer?”
    Ross nodded. “Detective. NYPD. 19 th Precinct. Why?”
    “Just curious.” Rex went to the left hand alcove and began perusing the book titles. “I’m going to make an executive decision and say that Samantha’s move is temporary. I’ll just choose a couple more books.”
    “You hurt Mona, and Matt and I will feed you your balls.”
    The hardback romance novel he’d just selected from the shelf thumped to the floor. “Excuse me?” Rex asked, startled by the comment.
    “You heard. Whatever Sammy experiences, Mona does, too. She’s hurting like you wouldn’t believe.”
    “Don’t you think I don’t know that? If I wasn’t so damned sure you’d arrest me, I’d kick Raven’s ass well into the next century. And since I’m opposed to violence, that’s really saying something.” He planted both hands on his hips, his expression grim as he traded defiant scowls with Ross. “I like Ramona, and I would never hurt her.”
    Actually “like” was too tame a word. With a growing certainty, Rex realized his feelings for Ramona ran deeper than that, and had done for a while. The moment he’d tripped and fallen into her striking green eyes a month ago to be exact.
    Furthermore, the day before, in the treatment room, on the table, the out-of-control