Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) by J.H. Croix Read Free Book Online Page A

knot in her heart. It was all made worse by the fact that the betrayal was on two levels—that of Kyle and her friend.
    Becca stood abruptly, snagged her bag off the floor and walked to her bedroom. After a quick shower, she ordered pizza and turned on the television. Most evenings, she worked at home, but tonight she couldn’t focus. After her pizza arrived, she idly nibbled on it while flipping through the channels, eventually settling on a home remodeling show. She rarely let herself think about it, but a tiny corner of her heart wished for something other than evenings alone in her small apartment in downtown Seattle.
    Aidan kept nudging his way into her thoughts—his sharp, knowing blue eyes, his muscled body, and the feel of his lips on hers. Her body thrummed with desire just thinking about him. She recalled her insane proposal to him and wondered if she could see it through. She desperately wanted to, wanted him, but she didn’t know if she had the nerve. They hadn’t even spoken of it again today. Not once. Though it wasn’t spelled out, she sensed the ball was firmly in her court.

    ***
    Aidan walked downstairs into his offices. His security company was on the outskirts of downtown Seattle. What had started as a small endeavor was now much more. He had a staff of over twenty security agents. Most of his agents were ex-military like him with a few former SEAL team members from his days on active duty. His offices were in a nondescript building that once served as a storage facility. The upper floor of the building was residential. He had his own apartment up there, along with others that were rentals. The outside was plain gray steel with no signage. Aidan quickly walked down the hall and pushed through the doors into the reception area.
    “Hello Aidan, how are you this morning?”
    He glanced over to the desk and smiled at Jo Morton, his secretary and personal assistant. She was a single mother in her early forties. At a glance, she was tidy, neat and could easily blend into a crowd. On the petite side, she was whip-thin and always dressed in black. At work, it was black slacks, gray blouses and black suit jackets. Off duty, it was black jeans, faded t-shirts and a black leather jacket with boots to match. Jo had a rough and tumble personality that she hid under a polite exterior at work. She was completely reliable, impossible to ruffle, and exactly who Aidan needed to handle his day-to-day support.
    “Hey Jo, I’m doing fine this morning. You?”
    “Good. Did you get the schedule I emailed last night?”
    “Of course. I’ll handle the security at the courthouse this week.”
    At Jo’s nod, he continued. “Has George come in yet?”
    “Come and gone. He said to tell you Becca Hamilton’s car is at the shop you prefer and should be ready to pick up by the end of this week.”
    “That long?”
    Jo nodded. “George said they had to order some parts and take care of the body work before it can be cleared for her to drive. Is Becca okay?”
    Jo knew Becca in passing through Aidan’s friendship with Gage. The moment Jo said her name, Becca flashed in his mind—the hazy look in her eyes when he pulled away from kissing her, the feel of her silky hair through his fingers. Lust jolted through him so hard and fast, his breath caught. Damn. Not the time and place, dude. He forced his attention to Jo and nodded. “Becca’s in much better shape than her car. She said she jammed her shoulder against the door when the car rolled in the ditch, but she didn’t have any injuries. Damn lucky.” He shook his head when he considered that whoever carelessly drove Becca off the road had blithely left the scene. Anger simmered at the thought, but she was safe and that was all that mattered.
    Jo nodded. “Good to hear. Speaking of the courthouse, Dale said he wanted me to buzz him when you got here. Ready for him to see you?”
    “I’ll go see him. No need to send him my way.”
    “I’ll let him know you’re