All Riled Up: Trapped!\Riley (Men of Courage) by Lori Foster

Author:Lori Foster [Foster, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

BUTCH DIDN’T LIKE sleeping alone.

Regina found that out after a long night of listening to pitiful howls that finally broke her down. At two in the morning she gave up, retrieved Butch from his pen in the warmest corner of her kitchen, and carried him to bed.

He did a reconnaissance of the perimeter, sniffing every corner of her bed, her pillow, the sheets, before crawling under the covers. She watched the lump move here and there, then finally settle close to her. He dug—endlessly. She had no idea what he thought he was doing, but he ignored her pleas to stop and finally curled up behind her knees. She couldn’t move without making him grumble.

For a four-pound dog, he was sure bossy about his comfort.

At six, when her alarm went off, Butch scampered out, yawned hugely in her face, then wanted to play. When Regina only blinked at him, he reared back on his haunches, barked and nipped her on the nose. She groaned, which he took for a sign of life and started bouncing around the covers like a tiny rabbit. He could stop and start so fast, darting this way and that, it was comical. Even half-asleep, she grinned as he raced up to her, gripped the edge of her pillowcase in his teeth, and began tugging.

“Okay, okay.” It was a sorry truth, but she wasn’t a morning person. She’d tried over the years to become one, only because it seemed like the thing to do. Good, honest people went to bed at a decent hour and rose early to begin their day. They didn’t lie around for hours, being lazy.

Well, she was decent and honest, but she just couldn’t force herself to be alert first thing. It took her at least two hours and a pot of coffee to get her head together. Before that, she didn’t want to face the world. And with the way she looked in the morning, she doubted the world wanted to face her.

Moving around in the dark, she made a quick trip to the bathroom, turned on the coffeepot, which she’d prepared the night before, and put Butch out on his lead so he could potty. Because the morning was damp that late July day, he finished in a flash.

With only a dim light on over the sink, she slumped at the table in her cozy cotton jammies, nursing her first steaming mug of caffeine. Butch curled in her lap, content just to be with her—until a knock sounded on her door.

She froze.

Butch did not.

In what she now considered typical Butch frenzy, he leaped from her lap and ran hell-bent for the door. He made so much noise, she knew any thoughts of ignoring her early-morning caller were shot. Through the peephole, she spied Riley standing impatiently in her hallway, and she ducked away as if he might see her, too. Good God. What was he doing at her door so early?

“Open up, Red. I can hear Butch, so I know you’re up and about.

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