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his eyes, those smoky violet eyes ringed with the thickest black lashes I’d seen outside of a mascara commercial. He had high cheekbones, with sharp, angular planes to his face, a thin, autocratic nose, and lush lips that made my knees feel like they were made of water. “For the love of the gods, woman, will you stop staring at me like I’m the last piece of pot roast in the pan?”
    “Oooh, pot roast,” I said, my mouth watering. “Nice metaphor.”
    “It’s a simile, actually.”
    “Damn. I always get those two confused. Regardless, it was a good one.”
    He made a little gesture with the arm holding the pug girls. They groaned in happiness. “I’m hungry. It was the first thing that came to mind. Also, I like pot roast.”
    “So do I. You don’t find many people admitting that these days, what with everyone eating leaner and healthier cuts of meat, but I always say that you can’t go wrong with a good piece of pot roast.” The incongruity of discussing pot roast with a stranger in the middle of the woods didn’t strike me until much later.
    “Agreed.”
    Silence fell around us, at least so far as speaking went. He continued to stare at me, one hand absently fondling the pug girls’ heads. I watched him with an avidness that I was hard put to explain, even to myself.
    “You’re looking at me that way again. You will cease doing so now.”
    I shook my head. “I can’t. Sorry. You’re the second male model I’ve seen in a couple of hours. I should go buy a lottery ticket, because clearly, my luck is riding high right now. Terrance, no means no! I don’t care if he likes pugs, it’s still rude to attempt to romance someone’s ankle without their express permission.”
    “I do not like dogs,” the man said sternly, glowering at Terrance when I tried tugging on the leash. It didn’t work. I had to pry him off the man’s ankle.
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you do.”
    He sighed heavily, like it was just so much trouble to speak. “You might be a lovely woman who is clearly allowed to have her own way far more than is good for her, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to allow you to dictate to me. I said I do not like dogs, and I don’t, and telling me I’m ridiculous because of that is unacceptable.”
    I pursed my lips and looked pointedly at the girl pugs snuggled in his left arm, their faces turned up to his, expressions of adoration filling their bulgy little eyes.
    He looked down at them, visibly startled. “How the hell did they get there?” Before I could answer, he glared at me. “You did this!”
    “Huh?”
    “You thrust them upon me when I wasn’t looking!”
    The girls wiggled in bliss, their back legs kicking as they tried to lick him.
    “How on earth do you thrust pugs on someone when they’re not looking? It’s not like they’re notes you can tape to someone’s back!” Honestly, the man may have gorgeous eyes, and a model’s body, and well-intentioned, trustworthy arms that I suddenly wanted to feel about me,pulling me tighter against his body while his wickedly delicious lips did erotic things to me…Drat. I lost my train of thought. Oh, he may be all that and a wedge of cheese, but that didn’t mean he had the smarts of an Einstein.
    His glare hitched up a notch. I noticed that his right hand, apparently unbeknownst to him, had moved up to scratch the girls under their chins. “You magicked them here.”
    “You are seriously off your rocker. Here.” I set down Terrance and held out my arms. “If you’re done petting the dogs, I will take them back.”
    He looked somewhat horrified to find he was still holding them, and quickly shoved them at me. “I’ve told you, I do not like dogs. I was not petting them. And I will thank you to keep your dog magic to yourself from here on out!”
    The two girls sighed sadly when I put them back on the ground, and tightened the leashes to keep them from jumping him again.
    “You just keep telling yourself that,