Groomed for Murder (Going to the Dogs) by Zoe Dawson

her bedside lamp, swept the pillows to the floor and pulled the vibrantly colored cover away to reveal soft blue sheets. He sank down with her in his arms, into the comfort of the cloth and mattress, and gently removed the gingham jumper so she was naked to the moonlight and his eyes.
    When she opened her arms, he sank into them, his cheek briefly brushing at the cufflink she’d woven into her braid. With gentleness born of intimacy, he removed the pretty blue blow at the end of her braid and released her bound hair, doing the same to the other braid. Her dark hair pooled on the pillow like mysterious liquid amber.
    She slipped her hand into his hair and pulled him down to her mouth. He met her lips, warm and sultry, the aftermath of their lovemaking a resonance that pulsed beneath his skin.
    “Brooke.”
    She closed her eyes and dropped her chin, resting her forehead on his. “I know what this is all about. I also know you never expected it to go this far, but sometimes the best laid plans can just simply blow up in your face.”
    “ Kaboom ,” he said and she smiled a little, which made him smile a little. “I don’t want you to think this is part of the manipulation.”
    “So you admit there was manipulation…I knew that,” she said her smile edging toward impish.
    “I know you did. It almost made the whole thing…sexier.”
    “It did. But I won’t hold that against you, Drew.”
    “I tried very hard to keep it to a flirtation level, but it became something more, Brooke. I don’t want this to be some kind of sordid—” He stopped, shook his head again. “I don’t know. I’m trying to be articulate.” He looked her in the eyes. “But, what I think I do know, what you should know, is it wasn’t my plan and it isn’t casual. Not for me.”
    And right there was the raw, stunning truth of it. Shocking, really, since he’d never come up against this particular problem before. And sure as hell hadn’t expected to here, now.
    “I think you got lost along the way when our attraction became something more,” she said gently. “It was your plan to get to know me, find out what made me tick, and it bit you in the backside. Now that you do know me, are attracted to me, it complicates what you have to do with this lawsuit. I know you think it’s as stupid as I do, but it’s a job assignment and has ramifications for what you do for a living. But I ask you this. Is it important enough to you to complete the assignment anyway?”
    The softness of her skin sidetracked him from the uncomfortable conversation, and he allowed himself to be distracted by the feel of her breasts, soft and warm against his chest. He nestled his face in the hollow of her shoulder and neck, breathing her scent in deeply, letting the homey fragrance of apple and cinnamon stabilize him. “If I don’t follow through on it, he’ll get someone else much more ruthless than I used to be…thought I was. I won’t let him get anywhere near you, Brooke.” He raised his head and captured her gaze, allowed his eyes to travel over her face bathed in moonlight. “He has no conscience.”
    She smiled. “And you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t be spilling your guts to me. You’d be trying to convince me to settle out of court.”
    “Ah, woman,” he groaned, dropping his head back to that sweet spot in the hollow between her shoulder and neck. “I have been trying to get you to settle out of court. A brick wall has more flexibility.”
    That got him a tinkling laugh that wormed its way into his soul. “This isn’t exactly what I had planned to do with my law degree, you know.”
    “What was that plan?”
    He rolled to his back and brought her on top of him. She braced her elbows on his chest, and it was obvious from her determined expression that she wasn’t going to drop this line of questioning. He sighed deep and long. “I was so angry when my parents were killed. That bastard who hit them got off with rehab and time served. He had to