Santa's Pet (32 page)

Cade stalked around the campus store and parked himself within view of the library exit where he’d left his dog, Red, who was at this very moment engaging in a hot round of sexual intercourse. From the tangled leashes and the tongues lolling, there’d be a load of puppies this coming spring, not that he or Red would be around to worry about them.

“Hurry, boy.” Cade crossed his arms and laughed. The female golden retriever seemed more interested in scarfing up a hamburger than what as going on at her rear end.

“Oh my!” a female human screamed. “Get away from her. Get. Get.”

A blur of red hair wrapped in a heavy scarf flashed by him and Andie was kicking and prying his male Irish setter off the back of the golden retriever, presumably, hers.

Both dogs squealed and whined, but Red wouldn’t let go. He kept pumping and gripped on tighter. Besides, it would be damn painful for the dogs if Andie were to pull them apart.

“I think he’s stuck.” Cade placed a hand on Andie’s shoulder, restraining her. “You’ll hurt them both if you separate them.”

“What do you know? I don’t want puppies. I just got her for my dad. She’s too young.”

“It’s too late now.” He rubbed circles over Andie’s back. “Keep her calm or they’ll both get hurt.”

Red unmounted the female, but they were still stuck together, back to back. One of his hind legs was angled over the female’s hindquarters, and the two dogs licked their chops and lolled in the canine equivalent of an after fuck smoke.

Andie bent toward her dog, hugging her. Her dog licked her in a sweet and endearing way. Oh well, there’ll be more cuteness in a few months.

“How long are they going to be stuck together?” Andie asked, glancing up at him. “Can you check the tag of the male? I want to know who to hit up for puppy support.”

“Seriously? Puppy support?” Cade almost rolled his eyes. Typical female. You knock them up, and they take you to the cleaners. “Look, if you didn’t want puppies, you should have had her spayed.”

“Excuse me?” She narrowed her eyes. “How come the girl’s always to blame? Whoever owns this mutt should have had him neutered.”

“Ouch.” Cade winced as if a pair of snips had clipped his balls. “Actually, he resents being called a mutt. His name is Red and he comes from prime stock.”

The two dogs were still tail to tail, looking like best friends. The same couldn’t be said for the ice between him and Andie.

“Your dog? You shouldn’t have let him loose. You should have tied him up if he’s so dangerous.”

“I did, but he obviously broke his leash. Can’t help that your dog’s such a raging beauty.” Cade shuffled his gloved hand over Red and scratched his ears. “Seriously, does he look dangerous to you? Red’s a good, loyal dog, and a prize-winning stud. You should see the Westminster champs he’s sired.”

“How long are they going to be stuck? You didn’t answer my question.”

Cade glanced at his watch. “Anywhere from twenty to forty minutes.”

“Twenty to forty?” she shrieked. “Does this mean I’m stuck with you that long?”

[End of Excerpt, to continue reading, please buy
Intercepted by Love, Part 1
]

Christmas Romances:

A Father for Christmas (A Veteran’s Christmas #1)
, Sweet romance between a homeless veteran and a single mother whose daughter asks Santa for an unusual gift. [Gold Award Winner, 2015 Readers’ Favorite]

A Pet for Christmas (A Veteran’s Christmas #2)
, A veteran suffering from PTSD fights to return from Afghanistan and give his family their Christmas wishes.

Christmas Stray
, A couple grieving for their son is snowed in with a stray puppy and a little boy. Is there room in their hearts for a Christmas miracle?

Christmas Lovebirds
, Can two little lovebirds and Christmas cheer open Melisa’s heart to giving Rob another chance?

Christmas Flirt
, Bad girl Lacy Reed gets more than she bargained for when her naked selfies turn up on her boss’s phone.

Santa’s Pet
, A brilliant girl genius plays elf to a substitute Santa and turns both their lives upside down when he is charged with a sex crime and she loses her company to hackers.

Sports Romances:

Played by Love
, A soccer star dons nerd glasses to score a anime fangirl who won't date jocks.

Playing the Rookie
, A rookie pitcher and a sports intern on the rebound connect to get over their exes.

Roaring Hot
!
A playboy motorcycle racer hires an aspiring actress when he is challenged by his grandmother to bring a real girlfriend to her birthday party.

Playing Without Rules
, A ballplayer's girlfriend hides his daughter from him because she fears he's like his abusive father.

Intercepted by Love
, A quarterback hiding from his Super Bowl losing interception meets a small town librarian with an active fantasy life.

The Remingtons: Leap, Laugh, Love
, A pro surfer on holiday after being attacked by a shark gets tangled up with an Army Ranger on leave with a mission.

Romantic Suspense:

Broken Build
, Build engineer Jen Jones falls in love with the man whose life she ruined.

Hidden Under Her Heart
, A young nurse, Maryanne Torres, struggles with a difficult decision over an unwanted pregnancy.

Knowing Vera
, Playgirl Vera Custodio belatedly discovers that her father might have killed her boyfriend's mother many years ago. [2015 Angie Ovation Award Winner]

Contemporary Romances:

Taming Romeo
, Medical student Evie Sánchez is recovering from heartbreak when she runs into the boy she left behind.

Claiming Carlos
, Restaurant manager Choco Sanchez finds herself caught between two hot men, an epic food fight, and a war to save the restaurant.

Whole Latte Love
, Carina Chen, a career-oriented young woman, has no time for distractions—especially the sexy, guitar-playing barista she rooms with.

Historical Romance:

Michal’s Window
, The young Princess Michal loves her father's enemy, the upstart David who becomes king.

Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes big-hearted. She writes sweet and funny stories, and believes in the power of love and hope. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2015 Angie Ovation Award for best Multicultural Romance with
Knowing Vera
and the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award for best Christian Romance with
A Father for Christmas
.

Check out her Reader’s Guide at
http://rachelleayala.me/reading-guide/

Join her Reader’s Club at
http://www.facebook.com/groups/ClubRachelleAyala/

I hope you enjoyed Brittney and Ben’s story. What an emotional journey! Initially, when I started the book, I envisioned it as a light-hearted romantic comedy. But then, deeper topics came up and had to be explored further. The slut-shaming is unfortunate, but happens in real life. When Brittney was judged for what she wore, I felt I had to deal with it in a way that was respectful and illuminating. Other issues like online privacy or lack of it is a pervading theme. These days, we may not have Big Brother watching us the way George Orwell imagined in
1984
, but we most certainly have a horde of strangers with cell phones only too eager to record and post our images and videos online to shame us with whatever they believe we are not doing well. Then there are peoples breaking into online sites to shame people. Our society has become disrespectful of other people’s privacy and feels a constant need to point fingers. I hope Brittney and Ben’s story resonates with you and together we can do our part to keep communications civil to our fellow human beings.

My beta readers and members of my reader’s club are the most fun and supportive group, ever. Thanks to Terri Merkel for being the club cheerleader and spreading good wishes and cheer throughout the day. Thank you, Amber McCallister, my personal assistant, for helping me organize reviews and blog tours. And many, many thanks to beta readers who gave me suggestions and responses that made my story better: Jessica Cassidy, Neena Martin, Corissa Palfrey, Sherelle Ellis, Patricia Shepard, Rachel Williams, Deborah O'Connor, Martina Arguijo, Amber McCallister, Aleen Davis – returned, reggaewoman, Terri Merkel, Chantel Rhondeau, Yomari Suarez-Rivera, Rebecca Austin. Much gratitude goes to my awesome proofreader, Kimberly Dawn, who always manages to find the tiniest error.

Finally, I thank the readers who enjoyed this story. I wish you many happy returns, a merry holiday season, and all your Christmas dreams come true.

Merry Christmas!