One Winter's Night

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He heard her at the door and knew she had looked out the peephole at him. He had felt her checking him out, which was fine since he planned on checking her out, as well. Chances were she wasn’t covered in all those coats and sweaters today. Hell, he hoped not.

The door opened, and she stood there. He had to clamp his jaws together to stop them from dropping. If he’d thought she looked good yesterday then he was totally unprepared for how stunning she looked today. His gaze roamed over her, and he quickly decided that he loved her outfit. It emphasized her figure.

“Riley.”

“Alpha.”

She licked her lips, and his stomach tightened. Not for the first time, he thought she had a nice-looking tongue. He couldn’t wait to taste it.

“You brought the scarf?” she asked, intruding into his thoughts.

“Yes.” Did she expect him to hand it over to her right here and now and then leave? Did she not expect him to hang around for a few minutes? He hadn’t thought of that possibility.

He pulled the scarf out of his jacket pocket. “Here’s the scarf.”

She took it. “Thanks.” And then she asked the question he’d been waiting for, the one he had begun to fear she wouldn’t ask. “Would you like to come in? I just made a fresh pot of coffee and was about to have a cup with some cinnamon rolls I made earlier.”

He forced his feet to stay put and not rush past her. “Sounds good. Yes, I’d like a cup of coffee and rolls.”

She moved aside and he walked in, inhaling her scent as he brushed by her. It was the same scent on the scarf. He glanced around her home, admiring the furnishings, crown moldings, spindle staircase and beautiful light fixtures in the ceiling. She had a great room with a huge fireplace, and he loved that a blaze was going inside of it, throwing warmth into the room.

“Would you like to give me your jacket?”

He glanced over at her. “Sure,” he said, shrugging off his jacket and handing it to her. She walked over to the coatrack, and he watched her every move. He had to clamp down on his lips to not let out a whistle. The woman had the most gorgeous legs he’d ever seen. When she turned around, there was no need to act innocent. He’d been caught red-handed checking out her legs.

He cleared his throat. “Nice shoes.”

“Thanks.”

“Different.” Although he hadn’t been concentrating on her shoes, they were different. Striped.

She glanced down at them. “Different but comfortable. Do you want your coffee out here or in the kitchen?”

He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. “Where do you usually take yours?”

“In the kitchen.”

“Then lead the way.”

And she did. He deliberately stayed a few paces behind her to check out her legs, waist and backside. And no, he had no shame. She had more sensuality in her walk than some women had in their entire bodies, and the male in him felt the need to take the time to appreciate it.

She was wearing flats, but with her shapely calves he could just imagine those legs in a pair of stilettos. Her skirt was a decent length, but if it had been just a tad shorter he would probably have already had a heart attack. At that moment, he felt blood rushing straight to his groin.

He walked into her kitchen and stopped, equally impressed by the custom maple cabinets, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. The high-top café table was facing a huge window overlooking her backyard, which included a view of the mountains.

“How do you take your coffee?”

He glanced over at her. “Black and as strong as you can get it.”

She smiled. “My dad drinks his the same way.”

“Does he?” he asked, sliding onto a bar stool.

“Yes. My mom prefers hot chocolate and so did I.”

She brought the coffee to him with a tray of sweet-smelling rolls. They looked fresh, hot and delicious. Just like her. He took a sip of coffee. It was good, just like he figured she would be. He bit into a roll and closed his eyes. It was delicious.

He opened his eyes and found her smiling at him. “Hit a sweet tooth, huh?” she asked.

If only she knew. “Homemade?”

“Yes, one of my mom’s old recipes. She likes to bake.”

“It’s delicious,” he said, taking another bite and then gobbling up the rest of it while thinking he would love gobbling her up in the same way.

“You can have another. I ate a couple earlier.”

“Thanks.” He didn’t waste time taking her up on her offer, grabbing another one off the plate and biting into it.

“Thanks for bringing my scarf back, but like I told you, you didn’t have to do it. It could have waited.”

Riley glanced over at her, thinking that, no, it could not have waited. He was one of those men who, once he made up his mind about something, there was no turning back, no hesitation and no stopping him. He hadn’t been in an affair for about four months now, mainly because he’d had a lot on his plate at the office while taking over for Dillon. Now that he had things at a level where he could work without too much stress, he had time for some of the finer, more enjoyable things in life. All work and no play wasn’t good for anyone.

“The reason I brought the scarf back, Alpha, is because I wanted to see you again. And I would have found any excuse to do so.”

He watched her expression. She probably hadn’t counted on him being so in-your-face honest. But he always was at the beginning of his affairs … and at the end.

She licked her lips. He was beginning to recognize that as a sign that she was nervous. She held his gaze for a moment and asked after taking a sip of coffee, “Would you have … found any excuse?”

“Yes. We’re adults, and I don’t like playing games. I believe in being up-front with any woman I’m interested in.”

“And you’re interested in me?”

He heard the surprise in her voice. “Yes, but you should have known that after yesterday. There is chemistry between us. A lot of it. I could barely watch you while you gave that presentation without getting turned on.”

Maybe he’d given her too much information, but he wanted her to know just what he was dealing with. What they were both dealing with, because although she hadn’t admitted anything yet, he had a gut feeling she was as attracted to him as he was to her.

She looked down and nervously began toying with her paper napkin, but he preferred that she look at him. He needed to know what she was thinking. “Alpha?”

She glanced up, and the look he saw in her eyes made his stomach quiver all the way to his groin. That same potent chemistry, that electrical sizzle, they had shared yesterday was present today whether she wanted it to be or not. It was just as strong and powerful … but he could tell she was fighting it tooth and nail. Why?

“We just met yesterday,” she said softly.

He nodded. She had to do better than that. As far as he was concerned meeting just yesterday didn’t mean a thing. People were into one-night stands. He’d done a number of those himself. “And?”

“And I’m working for you.”

Okay, now she was trying to play the “it’s not ethical” card, but it wouldn’t work. “No, you’re not working for me, at least you’re not my employee. You’re on assignment for Blue Ridge Land Management for a project that ends next month. As far as I’m concerned that has nothing to do with what’s going on between us.”

“There’s nothing going on between us,” she said, taking another sip of coffee.

Now she wanted to be in denial and he wasn’t going along with that, either. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her. For a long moment he didn’t say anything and then he said, “I want to know why you’re sitting there denying what is so blatantly obvious.”

Her lips began quivering, in anger or desire he wasn’t sure, but neither curtailed the electricity sizzling between them. “And just what do you think is so blatantly obvious?” she asked in a quiet tone.

He reached out and placed his hand over hers. The moment he did so, he felt what she wanted to deny. A heated spiral of desire flowed between them, and she gasped softly. He wanted her to feel it. He needed her to feel it. And he knew by the look in her eyes that she had.

“What is so blatantly obvious, Alpha, is that I want you and you want me.”

Alpha couldn’t stop the chaotic fluttering in her stomach. Nor could she slow down the beating of her heart. What was Riley doing to her? What was he making her feel? All these incredible sensations that she’d never felt before were swamping her all at once.

She tried to force herself to think logically. She needed to make him understand something about her. “I’ve never been a woman to engage in casual relationships, Riley.”

“There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” he asked, still holding her gaze as if he was looking deep into her very soul.

Yes, there was a first time for everything, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for what she knew would be nothing more than a fling. But another part of her was demanding to know why she wasn’t ready. She had moved from Florida to Colorado to start a new life. It wasn’t that she hadn’t gotten over Eddie, because she had. So what was the holdup? Riley was ultrahandsome, much too sexy, and he was attracted to her. Why was she afraid to go with the flow?

He leaned in close to her. “In that case, I propose we take some time to get to know each other, but …”

She’d known there was going to be a but in there somewhere.

“But that we enjoy each other while doing so.”

Her pulse quickened. She didn’t have to ask how they would enjoy each other. The man was pushing all her buttons, in ways she hadn’t known existed. He was making her consider doing things she’d never thought of doing before.

“With all of my affairs there are rules so we have a good understanding from day one,” he added.

She lifted an arched brow. “What rules?”

He smiled. “First, there needs to be a time limit on how long the affair will last. Definitely no longer than six weeks.”

She nodded. “What else?”

“There has to be exclusivity. I’m not into sharing. Neither am I into clinginess. This affair doesn’t give us the right to crowd each other. We need to respect each other’s space.”

Evidently he’d had issues in the past. Well, he wouldn’t have to worry about those issues with her. “Okay.”

“And if, for whatever reason, the rules are broken by either of us, the affair ends,” he said.

His rules were reasonable, but still … “I need to think about it,” she said. At least he was being honest by letting her know up front what he wanted out of a relationship. She could appreciate that.

“That’s fine. Since we need to meet next week to discuss some things regarding the party, you can give me your answer then. What about Monday? Hopefully the weather will be better and we can meet at my office. Let’s say around ten. Is that time okay for you?”

“Yes, ten o’clock will work.”

“Good.” He stood. “I’m sure you have a lot to do today, so I’ll be going. Thanks for the coffee and rolls.”

She stood as well, thinking how his height seemed to dominate the room. She never thought her kitchen was small until now. “You’re welcome.”

He took her hand and held it gently in his while they walked through her great room back toward the door. Handholding was something she’d always craved but something Eddie had never delivered. He wasn’t a touchy-feely type.

When they reached the door she turned to Riley, to again thank him for returning her scarf, but the words died on her lips. He had the most irresistible smile, one that showed his dimples. To distract herself, she looked over his shoulder at the picture hanging on her wall, but Riley lifted his hand to cup her chin and return her gaze to him. Then he softly trailed his fingertips along the lines of her jaw.

In that heated moment, when their eyes connected, she felt a sensual connection to him all the way to her toes. She wanted to take a step back but couldn’t. Like he’d said, she couldn’t deny what was taking place between them.

“I want to leave you with something to think about.”

She didn’t have to ask what that something was because she knew. The rippling of coiled anticipation in her stomach spelled it out for her. He was about to stamp his presence all over her, and she would do more than think about it, she would fantasize about it for years to come.

Her heart skipped a few beats when he released her chin to ease his arms around her waist and settle his hands right above her backside. Then he took a step closer while their gazes remained connected. There was a heated resolve in the dark depths of the eyes staring into hers. And when she saw him lowering his head, her feet—of their own accord—arched on tiptoes so she could meet his lips. All those amazing and incredible feelings she’d encountered since meeting him totally obliterated her senses.

The man had all but admitted the only thing he wanted from her was sex, but she hadn’t decided whether or not he would be getting what he wanted. All she cared about for the time being was locking her lips with his, taking in more of his scent and acquiring his taste. She was tired of dealing with all these crazy emotions and sensations. She wanted relief, and she knew one place where she could find it.

Right here, she thought, the moment Riley’s mouth aimed straight for hers.

His tongue entered her on impact, and she responded on instinct. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body closer to his. No kiss had ever made her feel like this. Riley was a master at using his tongue, and he was doing so with a skill that nearly brought her to her knees. He explored first one side of her mouth then the other. And he was doing it with such intimacy that she felt it deep in her bones.