One Winter's Night. Brenda Jackson

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      Riley sat on the sofa in his living room in front of his fireplace, drinking a cold beer while replaying in his mind his encounter with Alpha. Now that he had satisfied his curiosity about her, knew she was competent and could handle what Dillon had hired her to do, he could easily delegate any one of his supervisors to work with her. But he didn’t want to do that, and for the life of him he couldn’t understand why, especially when it was obvious the woman posed a lot of problems for him.

      He knew that she had the ability to drive any man to distraction, which was the last thing he needed. No other woman had been capable of doing such a thing to him, but after meeting her today, he believed that she could, physically and mentally. The thought that he was even considering mixing business with pleasure was the first sign that he had messed up somewhere. He’d allowed her to get under his skin. But with single-minded determination, he intended to get her out.

      He had learned his lesson by watching how obsessed his youngest brother, Bane, had been with Crystal Newsome and the heartbreak Bane had suffered when the teenage lovers had been forced apart.

      Riley released a deep sigh. Bane had been the last child born to his parents, and everyone had assumed Bane would be a girl, the daughter their parents didn’t have. Things didn’t turn out that way. They’d gotten Bane. Personally, Riley had been happy about it. Who wanted a sister anyway? He had his girl cousins, Megan and Gemma, and as far as he was concerned, they were enough. So he’d become Bane’s protector while growing up, or at least he’d tried. But he hadn’t been able to foresee the pain Bane would suffer when, at eighteen, he fell in love with sixteen-year-old Crystal. Her parents had been against the match from the start and had separated the teens by sending Crystal away to parts unknown.

      Riley would never forget that day for as long as he lived. A heartbroken Bane had ridden his horse out alone. When he hadn’t returned at a reasonable hour, Dillon had gotten worried and sent Riley looking for him.

      He had found Bane in an old abandoned shack that had been on the Westmoreland property for years. The moment Riley had entered the place he’d known it had been Crystal and Bane’s love nest. But what had really gripped Riley’s insides was the sound of Bane howling like a tormented and wounded animal.

      Riley had actually felt his brother’s pain and heartbreak that day. The sound had pierced something deep within him, and he’d wondered what there was about love that could torture and torment even a badass dude like Bane. On that day he’d vowed never to find out.

      Without letting Bane know he was there, Riley had backed out of the shack and left, allowing his brother to grieve privately for the love he’d lost. That had been several years ago, but Riley’s vow to never fall for a woman hadn’t changed. That’s when he had implemented Riley’s Rule.

      Reaching out, he picked up the wool scarf Alpha had left in his truck and brought it to his nose. It smelled like her. Sweet. Womanly. Enticing … so damn enticing. And the scent reminded him of all the heated desire that had warped his senses during the time he’d been with her. It was heated desire that was still slowly driving him insane.

      He placed the scarf aside and picked up his cell phone to redial the number that had come through that morning. He felt his stomach tighten when he heard her soft voice.

      “Hello?”

      “Alpha? This is Riley. You left your scarf in my truck, and I want to get it back to you. Will you be home tomorrow?”

      There was a slight hesitation and then she said, “Yes, but you don’t have to come out of your way to return it, Riley. I have several of them.”

      “No problem. I want to make sure you get this one back. You live in the Arlington Heights area, right?”

      “Yes.”

      “I’ll be out that way tomorrow around two. Is it okay for me to drop by?”

      Another slight hesitation. “Yes, I’ll be home.”

      “Fine, I’ll see you then.”

      Riley clicked off the phone. He was doing the decent thing by returning the scarf and nothing more. The thought that he was itching to see her again had nothing to do with it.

      He brought the scarf to his nose once more. Yes, he definitely wanted to see her again.

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