Unleashed: Volume 1 (Unleashed #1) by Callie Harper

the night, I could see the
light on in Declan’s cabin. Was he up? Had he left it on while he’d
gone out? I couldn’t see his truck, but he could have parked it
around behind the barn. Part of me wanted to go and check but I still
had a scrap of dignity left in me.
    But maybe he was down
there in his cabin, lonely. He might be shirtless like he had been in
the barn the other day. Lying in my bed, I wasn’t wearing much,
just a tank top and panties. It was a hot night. I traced my fingers
lightly down my side, along my thighs.
    I could picture him on
the old beat-up couch I knew he had in his quarters. What would he do
if I walked down there? What if I came right into his cabin late at
night? Would he turn me away, harsh like he had that afternoon? Or
would he be different in the darkness?
    “Declan,” I
murmured, wishing I knew more about him. Had he spent time in juvie?
Even if he had, I somehow felt like he had a good reason. He wasn’t
a shifty-eyed criminal, that much I felt in my bones, but there was
so much I didn’t know about him. I knew he’d grown up in Montana
because I’d overheard him talking with Bill, but where and how and
with who? What was his family like? What had he been like as a kid?
It was difficult to picture him young, sitting behind a desk in
school all neat in a row. He had such a live current of energy
coursing through him.
    How many girlfriends
had he had? If you could even call them girlfriends, I rolled my eyes
at myself. I was so naïve.
    Shifting onto my back,
I willed myself to close my eyes and think of stupid, meaningless
things like popcorn or mountains or tree bark. But the image I
fixated on as I drifted off to sleep fascinated me far more than any
other. Declan in the barn without his shirt, all long, lean muscles,
a few tattoos licking around his shoulders and arms, teasing,
beckoning, captivating.

Now
    “You’ve got this,”
I murmured, psyching myself up as I thrust back my shoulders and
smoothed out my itsy-bitsy black dress. I had to own it tonight. Any
sign of weakness and I was done for. Declan was tough, I knew that,
but I’d watched a lot of movies and tonight I was going to channel
every cutthroat, stone cold sexy bitch I’d ever seen on a screen.
This was my night. I was going to walk in there and knock him dead.
Then, when I had him right where I wanted, I would pitch him so
convincingly he’d have to say yes.
    Giving me a small
business loan was a great investment opportunity. For a guy who
invested in ranches, no less. Plus, I had a ton of work experience I
could put to use on his other properties. This could be the beginning
of a whole new amazing chapter in my life.
    I parked a block and a
half away, not too far so that I couldn’t walk it in my 4-inch
heels, but far enough to let the warm summer breeze gently caress my
hair and leave that pick-up truck behind. I needed a block and a half
to get into character, an actress before the “lights, camera,
action.” I rounded the corner and saw it: fig & fennel, all
lower-case black letters with subtle back lighting. Were capital
letters uncool now? I hadn’t gotten the memo.
    Shoulders back, chin
up, I strode down the sidewalk like it was a red carpet, paparazzi on
the side snapping my pic. A man standing outside the restaurant did a
double take while his date glared. That had to be a good sign, right?
A few more groups stood outside in the warm summer night. Apparently
fig & fennel packed them in.
    Inside, the subtle
lighting, low, pulsing music and laughter of the well-dressed created
a chic ambiance. A tall, striking hostess greeted me with equal parts
warmth and efficiency.
    “Good evening. Do you
have a reservation?”
    I strode toward her
like I did this every night. “I’m here to meet Declan Hunt.”
    It would be an
exaggeration to say that a hush fell over the entire restaurant, but
I definitely felt a sudden change. Every wait staff within earshot
and even a couple of patrons looked at me with