One Winter's Night

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.”