When Vicki takes in a stray Saint Bernard, she has no way of knowing he is really a man under a dark spell.

Stefan Rigatos was changed into a dog by a vengeful witch bent on teaching him a lesson about casually seducing women. Despite the curse, he finds affection he's never experienced before — as Vicki's temporary pet. But, for a few hours each night, Stefan reverts to human form and sets out to seduce Vicki. During their nights of passion and days of discovery, he develops deeper feelings for her.

Meanwhile, the witch who cursed him wants him back under her control, threatening to destroy Stefan and his newfound capacity for love.

An Excerpt From: LOVE UNLEASHED

Copyright © MARGARET CARTER, 2008

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Oddly, she already missed the dog. It was just as well he wasn’t in the room, though, because he would have begged for ice cream and chocolate was poisonous to dogs. Stowing the unfinished pint in the freezer, she went to the garage to check on him. She blinked in surprise when she switched on the overhead light.

The outside door was open. I’m sure I locked that. “Dog? Here, boy!” How was she supposed to call an animal whose name she didn’t know? Scanning the garage, she didn’t see any sign of him, not even the quilt he’d been lying on. Surely he hadn’t dragged it into the yard with his teeth? It worried her that he didn’t come trotting in at the sound of her voice, considering how closely he’d followed her around inside the house.

She zipped into the laundry room for a flashlight, then walked through the garage into the yard. “Here, dog! Damn it, where are you?” Growing anxiety made her voice shrill. Shining the light around, she didn’t see any sign of him. The bushes by the back fence rustled, though. “Dog?” She turned the flash in that direction.

Someone called out of the dark, “Wait! Please don’t look at me.” A man.

Her heart raced with alarm. “Who are you? And what are you doing on my property?”

“Nobody you know. I’m sorry to bother you.” He sounded vaguely familiar but the low, hoarse tone of his voice disguised most of its individuality. “Please don’t look.”

Ignoring his plea, she directed the beam at him. The light wavered with the trembling of her arm. She saw only a shapeless lump huddled under the quilt from her garage.

“Where’s my dog? Did you let him out?” And why hadn’t he barked at the intruder? Some watchdog!

“I don’t know. I’m lost.”

The despair in the words dispelled some of her fear. Maybe he was only a homeless man looking for refuge? If so, why didn’t he hike the couple of miles downtown to the shelter? It wasn’t a cold or wet night. Or was he telling the literal truth, that he was so lost he didn’t know which direction downtown was? She hardened herself against the pity that might wreck her defenses. He could still be a thief or worse. “I’m calling the police.”

“No, please. I won’t hurt you.” The pain in his voice made her nerves quiver, even as its deep pitch resonated in the pit of her stomach “This is all a mistake. I don’t belong here.”

“That’s obvious. Why didn’t you go to the homeless shelter? They might still let you in.”

“I can’t.” The anguished whisper brought unwelcome tears to her eyes. “Don’t be afraid. I’m leaving now.” With surprising quickness, he scrambled over the chain-link fence, with the quilt still wrapped around him and draped over his head like a cowl.

Vicki trained the light on him but even when the cover slipped as he clambered over the fence and dropped to the other side, all she caught was a glimpse of the back of his head. In the shadows she couldn’t see well enough to have any hope of identifying him if he ever came back.

And why would he? He was probably a pitiful derelict who wouldn’t want to linger anywhere near a place where he might get arrested. She ignored the nagging insistence in the corner of her mind that his resonant voice, even distorted by pain, didn’t sound like a street bum’s. After all, educated people could wind up homeless just like dropouts.

She rushed out the front gate and around the side yard to the rear, where her lot adjoined the woods of Back Creek Nature Park. No sign of the fleeing man. Nothing but the quilt discarded on the ground.