Can't Touch This (Can't Touch This #1)

No, it wasn’t. But it was when I was embarrassed to admit it out loud.

Ryder plucked a black studded collar from the rack and came up behind me. Pressing his front against my back, he looped the collar around my throat, trapping my hair around my neck. Claustrophobia clawed all while I became instantly wet, trembling at the idea of what he would do to me shackled and bound.

“You still agree to do anything I want if I guess right?”

I couldn’t breathe.

“Better answer me, Ves.” His breath tickled the curls against my cheek.

I swayed backward, connecting my ass with his hard cock. Instead of words, I gave him an inviting moan. “Uh huh…”

“Trying to play dirty won’t help you.” The collar was whipped away. With quick hands, Ryder placed it into the trolley where it sat weighty and full of dirty promises on top of the dog food. “I have a few more questions and then I might be ready to guess.”

Moving away a little, he selected a rainbow lead with orange, purple, and turquoise beads stuck on the nylon and ran it through his hands. “Do you plan on using the food you’ve selected in any way for the animals in your care or your own pets?”

“I already said yes to some. For the animals recovering.”

“That’s it, though?”

“Yes…”

Dangnamit, where is he going with this?

He rubbed his jaw. “And you still haven’t shopped for what you need at Tales of Tails. Correct?”

Goosebumps returned with a vengeance. I stupidly felt as if I stood on unstable ground, slowly hollowed out more and more as Ryder questioned. “Yes.”

“How often do you pick up supplies of this quantity?”

I dropped my gaze. “Once a week.”

He tensed. “Once a week? Wow, you have some very hungry beasts relying on you.” He fell silent, the whirring of his brain filling the silence between us.

“I’ve been in every zone in your vet practice, and I’ve never seen a store room with space to keep so much merchandise. Do you buy and store somewhere else?”

Crap, he’s getting warmer.

“You could say that.”

“Do you buy and give them to someone else?”

I should scream Polo because his question was the perfect Marco.

“Maybe.”

“You do know how questions and answers work, Ves. ‘Maybe’ doesn’t cut it.” He moved closer, his black sneakers silent on the linoleum. “Yes or no?”

“Yes or no to what?”

He smirked, knowing he’d prodded a nerve. “Do you buy this for someone else?”

I desperately wanted to drop my head, but I held his gaze. I couldn’t force my lips to say the damning words though. So we ended up staring. Our hearts pumped harder, our tongues licked bottom lips as chemistry and electricity demanded physical contact.

Ryder murmured, “You do know I care for lots of dogs and have firsthand knowledge on how expensive keeping a tribe is, right?”

I swallowed, doing my best to avoid looking at his luscious lips and thinking how damn much I wanted to kiss him. “Yes.”

“And I’m also aware of what it would cost approximately to operate a veterinary surgery and the estimated income you and Polly would earn.”