Page 3 of Wicked Little Thief

“You must be Utah.”

His deep voice could melt butter. And his woodsy cologne smelled incredible.

Get it together, girl. Don’t be an idiot!

Hoping she projected confidence when she took his warm, soft hand, she purred, “And you must be Liam. So nice to meet you in person.”

He openly checked her out from head to toe before giving her a cheeky wink. “Likewise.”

They stared at each other for a beat, oblivious to the wiggly butt of the blonde dog standing between them.

He finally tore his gaze away from hers and knelt to pet Phoebe.

Utah’s ovaries may have exploded at the sight of him petting the dog while talking sweetly to her. Phoebe seemed to be as enamored with her new owner as Utah was; she was eating all the attention up, dancing on her hind legs, and kissing his face before rolling onto her back to expose her belly.

Was it wrong that Utah felt the urge to do the same?

“Okay, pretty girl, come on,” he murmured as he stood up. “We need to show Ms. Douglas around.” With a smile, he waved his hand in front of him toward the entry of his house. “Right this way.”

A little shiver ran down her spine as his fingertips came to rest against the small of her back until they reached the front door. She stepped through the threshold and inhaled a deep breath. His place should not feel like home.

But that’s exactly how she felt the minute she walked in.

Maybe Dakota had been right.

****

Liam

Utah was even more beautiful than her sister. And that woman had been so gorgeous that he’d agree to adopt the cocker spaniel Dakota had taken around the ARF fundraising gala.

He hadn’t even been at the event twenty minutes when Dakota and Phoebe approached him and his chief of staff, Dr. Parker Preston, at the bar and struck up a conversation. She’d been wearing a sexy-as-fuck red dress and high heels and while she touted a long list of the dog’s attributes, all he could focus on was her shiny red lips.

Both had politely declined adopting Phoebe but promised to make a large donation to the rescue. After Dakota walked away, the two men lamented about how beautiful she was and how single they both were. Liam had quipped that he’d consider adopting Phoebe if Dakota came with the dog.

Parker had practically dared him to make a move, so Liam took off after her. After some small talk and Liam’s lame attempt at flirting with her, Dakota politely let him know she was “sort of” interested in Aiden Matthews, one of the doctors at Boston General. Aiden was one of the best cardiologists in New England and there was no way Liam was going to run the risk of pissing him off, so he quickly stepped back.

Then Dakota casually dropped that her younger sister, Utah, was single, and if Liam would be willing to adopt Phoebe, she could probably arrange that Utah was the one to do his home inspection and deliver the pup.

He’d still been on the fence when Utah called him yesterday afternoon. But after listening to her sexy voice for less than five minutes, he found himself agreeing to at least foster Phoebe if Utah agreed to help him find a daily dog walker.

Liam had been hoping she’d volunteer for the job, but she hadn’t.

He’d been disappointed to learn the home inspection was somewhat of a formality, and she’d only make one visit. He’d been hoping he’d have at least two chances to charm the woman.

But now she was here in his house and the electricity between them was palpable. Still, he didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her off. He needed to feel things out, see if they’d be compatible.

Correction—he knew they’d be compatible at least once or twice, but that’s usually as far as it got. Not every woman was into his kinks, and once he showed them—they usually bailed.

He needed to take things slow and feel her out.

Perhaps he’d start by convincing her that he’d need extra, aka daily, help with Phoebe, and Utah was the only one to do it.

Chapter Two

Utah

“Your home is beautiful, Liam,” she said as they walked into the kitchen after he’d given her a tour of the rest of the first floor.

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