Page 8 of Sinful Pleasure

Tamara came up to me and smiled.

“I’ll be right back,” she said before disappearing inside.

She had a meeting with a potential adopter for one of our Golden Retrievers—Brody, a 2-year-old sweetheart of a dog. I sat back and continued watching the dogs play in silence.

Then, his voice broke it in half with his sharp voice.

‘’You really like dogs, huh?”

Maddox was standing next to me now, his presence towering over me like a wall. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he was looking down at me.

To meet his gaze, I had to tilt my head way back, and even then, I couldn’t see much thanks to those damn sunglasses of his.

“I love them,” I corrected him, irritation lacing my tone.

It felt strange to hear him even try to start a conversation. He didn’t exactly seem like the type to engage.

“I’ve never seen someone with such empathy for animals,” he said, his voice low and serious.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his choice of words.

“It’s not empathy” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him.“Not that I expect you to understand.”

“Why is that?” he asked, his voice casual, but there was a trace of curiosityin his tone.

“Doesn’t seem like something you would understand,” I shrugged. “And knowing who you work for is enough to make a judgment’’

He blinked, his brow furrowing slightly under the dark lenses of his sunglasses.

“Who I work for?”

“Your boss—Angelo King,” I said the name like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

In fact, it was. And it was the reason he was here.

I noticed his jaw tighten, his teeth clenching for a brief moment as if the very mention of Angelo’s name left a bad taste in his mouth. He shook his head, dismissing it.

“I don’t work for Angelo.”

He sounded almost annoyed. Interesting.

He called him by his first name, a tone of familiarity that felt out of place. But I didn’t care enough to ask more.

“Then why the hell are you here, watching over me?”I stood up, meeting him with eyes that dared him to challenge me. His scent hit me then—musky, intoxicating—and it nearly threw me off balance. But I wasn’t about to back down.

Our bodies weren’t touching,but he was close. So close I could see the slight twitch of his jaw.

“Because I was asked to look after you.’’

I smirked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, sir, but that’s basically what it means to work for him.”

“I work for myself,” he growled, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at me, his jaw still tight.

I took a deliberate step back, putting a bit more distance between us.

I didn’t want to give him too much of my space, but I also didn’t want him to think I was intimidated. The anger rolling off him was palpable, but it only fueled my resolve.

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