One Winter's Night by Brenda Jackson Read Free Book Online Page B

mouth then the other. And he was doing it with such intimacy that she felt it deep in her bones.
    He was taking her mouth greedily, as if this was his one-and-only chance. He was giving a whole new definition to French-kissing, and she moaned with every lick, every suck and every blatant stroke.
    Alpha was certain she would lose her mind if Riley didn’t let go of her mouth, and he seemed in no hurry to release it. Instead, he continued to take it in an even deeper kiss, stroking his tongue in a way that sent high degrees of desire spreading all through her. The hard bluntness of his arousal pressed like steel into her belly, and she moved her body to cradle it in the juncture of her thighs.
    She knew he was intentionally driving her mad, branding her and leaving his mark. The heat flaring in her midsection was sending her hormones—which were getting his name stamped all over them—raging out of control.
    And then he slowly pulled his mouth away. Heavy-lidded dark eyes remained steady on her. She tried to stop the way her stomach was quivering and found she wasn’t able to do so. Nothing was capable of bringing a halt to the sensations stampeding through her.
    “Now, a promise to you, Alpha. If you agree to what I suggested,” he said in a low, throaty voice, “I’ll make sure that we enjoy each other in a way no two humans have ever done.”
    He then leaned down and lightly brushed the tip of his tongue across her lips before opening the door and walking out of it.

Five
    R iley thought this had been the longest week of his life. Now the day had finally arrived when he would be seeing Alpha again. More than once he’d been tempted to come up with any excuse to pick up the phone and call her to see how she was coming along in her thought processes regarding the affair he’d proposed.
    He would find out in a couple of hours at their scheduled meeting. He’d even arrived to work early, had advised the receptionist covering the lobby to send Alpha in as soon as she arrived. There was no need for her to wait. He was tired of waiting.
    There was a knock on his door, and he knew from the three repetitive knuckle raps that it was his brother, Canyon. Dropping by Riley’s office at the start of the workday was the norm for both Canyon and his other brother, Stern. Riley was eleven months older than Canyon and almost two years older than Stern. The three of them had been close while growing up, and although they didn’t always agree on everything, they had deep respect for one another. Working for the family firm after college had always been their goal in life, and they enjoyed working alongside Dillon to preserve the legacy their father and uncle had begun. All his brothers worked in some capacity at Blue Ridge except for Micah, who was an epidemiologist with the federal government; Jason, who, along with cousins Zane and Derringer, was in the horse training and breeding business; and Riley’s youngest brother, Bane, who was in the navy.
    “Come in.”
    Canyon, who was one of the firm’s attorneys, quickly walked in with his briefcase in hand. “I need to run something by you, Ry. It’s that dispute we’re trying to settle out of court with Shade Tree Developers. We’re holding our initial meeting tomorrow.”
    Riley looked at his watch. “Okay, I have less than a half hour to spare, so make it quick.”
    Canyon lifted a brow. “And just what fire are you going to?”
    Riley tossed aside some papers on his desk. “No fire, just an important meeting at ten.”
    “With who?”
    If Riley didn’t know of his brother’s penchant for being inquisitive, he would have been annoyed with Canyon’s questions. “I’m meeting with our event planner, Alpha Blake, about the holiday party next month.”
    “Oh,” Canyon said with a smirk on his face. He took the chair in front of Riley’s desk. Riley knew why the smirk was there. Dillon had tossed the responsibility to both of them and neither had wanted it. In the