“A collar? Is that what you dragged me out here for?”

The dog placed a muddy paw on her thigh and lifted the collar for her inspection. She touched one end of the strap and bent close to study the brightly colored stones. “These look real.”

But they couldn’t be. If the jewels were real, the collar would be worth a fortune. There were diamond, sapphire, and ruby look-alikes. She was no jewel connoisseur, but surely the collar had to be fake. “Is it yours?”

“Woof!” The bark was mumbled since he still had the collar locked between his teeth.

“It’s gorgeous. Did your owners give it to you? Let me see it.”

Maybe it had a name or phone number, some way to identify him.

Sunlight reflected off the jewels in a thousand tiny sparkles. If she didn’t know better, she would swear it was real. She glanced around nervously. Was she being punked? Was this one of those televised experiments to see how honest she was?

An unusual chill lifted the hairs at her nape. She looked again. There was nothing but trees around her. Birds chirping and the dog panting were the only sounds she heard. She studied the collar again. It was much older than the dog appeared.

It could possibly belong to him since it was large enough to fit around his neck. She turned it over in her hands, but didn’t see his identification listed anywhere on it. Just a strap of leather with sparkly jewels.

The dog whined and bumped his head against her. Shaking off her concerns, she bent down beside him. He’d known where it was buried. Possession was nine-tenths of the law, after all.

“You want it?” Regina wrapped it around his neck and over the plain one she’d bought him. The jeweled collar was beautiful and all, but at least the utilitarian one she’d put on him had her cell number listed.

When it was buckled, she stepped back to study how it looked. “It’s a bit girlish, actually. Are you sure you want to wear it?”

She moved to take it off, but the dog gave a warning growl and backed away from her. The noise lacked venom, but it was stern enough to let her know he definitely wanted to keep the collar.

“All right, I won’t take it off. But now that you got what you came for, can we go?”

One minute, she was reaching for his leash, the next she was flat on her ass, knocked aside by an unexplainable force. Dirt and leaves swirled around her, making it difficult to breathe and impossible to see.

The maelstrom stung her eyes and made her blink as she waited for it to settle. When it finally did, she got the surprise of her life.

In front of her stood a very tall, very large, very naked man with two dog collars encircling his neck.

She let out a scream, scrambling backward on her elbows. Who in the hell was this guy, and how had he just appeared before her like genie poofing out of a lamp? Had her lunch been tainted? She had to be imagining this. Were hallucinations a sign of food poisoning?

The man approached her, holding out a hand as if he wanted to help her up. Fear made her ignore the offer. Despite the fright, she studied the nude stranger before her. Shoulder-length black hair framed a strongly chiseled face. Dark brows slashed over equally dark eyes. His nose was straight. A firm jawline hinted at his powerful strength. His legs and arms were corded with thick muscle. A lightly furred chest appeared as if it had been carved from marble. He personified the male model of every romance cover she’d ever seen.

And dear God, she’d seen a lot of them.

Ignoring the rush of unbidden attraction, Regina focused instead on the scare she’d just received. She climbed to her knees, but the position put her eyes on the level of his crotch. Jerking her gaze away from his impressive package, she hastily got to her feet.

What the hell just happened? She threaded her fingers through her hair and struggled to get a grip. Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her. No way had she just witnessed a dog turn into a man…a very desirable man at that. Running away was her first inclination, but she refused to do that without her dog.

“Who are you?” She glanced around in confusion. “What have you done with my dog?”

“Your dog?” The man’s chuckle was deep. His accent was foreign, almost guttural, but he spoke English with ease. “Forgive me, but I belong to no woman.”