One Winter's Night

by Brenda Jackson

  Being so enmeshed in sharing this heated kiss with Riley, she wasn’t aware that they had sunk to their knees in front of the fireplace until he pulled his mouth away and she saw the room beyond his shoulders.

  But that observation was short-lived. His mouth left hers to trail kisses along her lips and nibble the sensitive flesh around her mouth. She slid her hand up and down his chest, liking the feel of the curly hair beneath her fingers. She threw her head back when he began sucking her neck then moved slowly down to her shoulder blades. On instinct, she arched backward to rest on her elbows, which caused her breasts to rise upward and her hips to lift off the hearth rug.

  His warm breath caressed the side of her face when he whispered, “I love you in this position, and I’m about to show you why.”

  * * *

  Riley was convinced he had never wanted any woman this much. Everything about Alpha was perfect, from the smooth slope of her chest, which held two of the most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen, to her firm stomach, curvy hips and thighs and long, shapely legs with gorgeous calves.

  Not holding back, he swooped a nipple into his mouth and began sucking on it intensely, hungrily, displaying the voracious sexual appetite that he had for her. With his mouth still clamped to her nipple, he began moving his hand, letting it roam everywhere, but definitely making a path toward the juncture of her thighs. His finger slid inside, finding her not just wet but drenched. Her hum of pleasure drove him to penetrate deeper and massage her clitoris with circular strokes.

  “What are you doing to me, Riley?”

  He figured he could ask her the same thing. The womanly scent emanating from her tempted him to eat her alive. It was such a luscious, feminine fragrance.

  He released her nipple and before moving to latch on to the other, he glanced up at her and said, “I’m giving you pleasure. I also intend to pay you back for tempting me in the car.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You deliberately flashed me some thigh. Not that I mind. But it was a hard drive back to your place. No pun intended.”

  Deciding he didn’t want to talk any longer, he began giving her other breast the same ardent attention. He felt her hand on his head, rubbing gently. And she was shoving her breast deeper into his mouth. He didn’t have a problem with either movement.

  The more he devoured her breasts and inhaled her scent the more he was thrown into a sexual frenzy. He pulled back, smiled up at her flushed face, the heavy-lidded eyes staring back at him. Seeing her so stimulated plunged him into primitive desire, as raw as it could get.

  He began licking his way down her body, liking the feel of his tongue on her skin. And when he dipped his head between her legs and replaced his fingers with his tongue, she cried out riotously while digging her nails into his back.

  He ignored the pain as he lapped her up, using his tongue to pleasure her the way he’d done in his dreams. He held tight to her hips when she moved them from side to side, gyrating against his mouth. He heard her moans, and they were sensual music to his ears.

  The trembling of her thighs was the first sign that an explosion was on the horizon, and when she released a deep, throaty groan followed by a hell-wrenching scream, his tongue penetrated deeper within her womanly folds. She pushed her hips upward even more, calling his name.

  By the time she lay whimpering softly, he had stretched to settle between her legs. “Alpha?”

  She slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at him. A shiver of some unknown force passed through him, gripped him within its clutches. The reflections from the blaze in the fireplace danced across her naked skin, making her even more beautiful. Desirable.

  Alpha reached up and cradled his face in her hands. “That was incredible,” she whispered.

  He wanted to tell her no, that she was incredible. But instead, while still gazing into her eyes, he lifted her hips with his hands and entered her with one smooth thrust.

  “Riley!”

  “I’m here, baby, and tonight I intend to ride you hard all over the place.”

  And then he began moving, thrusting within her like the demented sexual maniac that he felt like tonight. The room was filled with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, moans and groans, and with him whispering words to her that were erotic and wicked.

  Then, for the third time that night, he felt her body explode as her inner muscles clenched him hard. He threw his head back and growled her name as he continued to plow her with deep, hard strokes.

  He felt his own body shatter and fought to hold it together and couldn’t. No orgasm should be this powerful, this mind-blowing, this dominating.

  That’s the one thing he couldn’t let happen. He couldn’t let any woman dominate him in any way. He refused to be another Bane. He forced the thought from his mind, deciding no domination would be taking place tonight. He was getting paranoid. He figured over-the-top sex could do that to a man. And this definitely had been over-the-top. She had blasted them off the Richter scale, hands down.

  He continued to ride her hard while she wrapped her legs tightly around him. He took her mouth and kissed her with more hunger than he’d ever felt for a woman. His tongue was commanding and demanding as an orgasm continued to rip through him, flinging him to a universe unknown.

  The fire roared in the fireplace when a short while later he settled on his back and pulled Alpha into his arms, trying to get their breathing and heartbeats back to normal. He wrapped his arms around her, needing to hold her this way. Not fully understanding why, but just knowing that he did.

  She raised her head and looked over at him. “Riley?”

  “Hmm?”

  She opened her mouth to say something and then, as if she thought better of it, closed her eyes and shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He lifted a brow. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes.” She then settled into his arms, snuggling close.

  He entwined her legs with his and tightened his hold on her, wondering what she’d been about to say. He glanced down and saw she had dozed off already, breathing gently. Reaching up, he pulled the afghan off the sofa and draped it over their naked bodies.

  They would sleep awhile and then wake up and make love some more.

  Eleven

  “Hey, what did you do this weekend, Alpha? You can barely keep your eyes open. I don’t ever recall you being so exhausted.”

  Alpha took a sip of her coffee as she looked across the table at Lindsey. Her assistant was right; she’d never been this exhausted. But then she’d never had to deal with the likes of Riley Westmoreland before, either.

  It had been one heck of a weekend. He hadn’t just spent the night with her on Saturday, but had stayed Sunday night, as well. To say it had been wild was an understatement. No matter how many hot baths she’d taken, she couldn’t completely work the soreness out of muscles she hadn’t used in a long time, if ever. And her hair—for crying out loud, ever since Riley had said he liked it down, that’s how she’d worn it. It had been down all weekend, even when it had begun looking tousled and disheveled. When she had mentioned how crazy she must look, he’d said she didn’t look crazy, just wildly sexy.

  She was convinced Riley had a mental manual in his head of every sexual position known to mankind and some he probably conjured up himself. He had names for all of them. There had been the Electric Slide, the Ball Game, London Bridge and Sweet Seat, just to name a few. And after kissing her, before leaving this morning, he had assured her with that sexy smile of his that there were plenty more where those had come from.

  Needless to say, in one single weekend, the man had given her more orgasms than she’d gotten in her entire life. There had definitely been no climax control. How he stayed up she wasn’t sure, but at no time did he go soft on her. He was always forever-ready.

  “Alpha,” Lindsey said, popping her finger in front of Alpha’s face. “Come back down to earth. And why the heavy breathing? Are you all right?”

  Alpha set her coffee cup
down and smiled at Lindsey. “I’m fine but I admit to feeling tired.”

  Lindsey scooted back. “You might be coming down with something, so if you don’t mind, I’d rather not catch it. With three little ones at home, that would be disastrous.”

  Alpha nodded, deciding not to tell Lindsey what she had wasn’t contagious…unless your bedroom was invaded by the likes of Riley Westmoreland.

  Besides, as much as they needed to go over the decorations they’d decided on for the party, she wasn’t fully concentrating anyway. “Yes, maybe I need to go back to bed and get some rest after all.”

  “Sure, but just so you know, I think your decoration ideas are going to wow everyone that night. When do you meet up with Riley Westmoreland again to go over everything?”

  Alpha drew in a deep breath. She hadn’t a clue. Riley had decided that unless it was a scheduled business meeting, their time together was not about discussing business. Their time was strictly used for pleasure. “I’ll probably meet with him in a week or so.”

  A half hour later Alpha was preparing to take a nap when her phone rang. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch at the thought that the caller might be Riley. She picked up the phone and tried to hide her disappointment when she saw the caller was not Riley, but was, of all people, Eddie. Why was he calling her? It had been more than a year since they had spoken last. She was certain he had gotten on with his life like she had gotten on with hers.

  She started not to answer but curiosity had her clicking on the line. “Yes?”

  “Alpha, this is Eddie.”

  “Yes, I know. Your name came up on Caller-ID. This is a surprise.”

  “Yes. I ran into your father the other day when I took Cleo in.”

  “Okay.”

  “I asked your dad about you. I’d heard you moved to Colorado.”

  “Yes, I’m living in Denver. I love it here.”

  He chuckled. “But I’m sure you hate the weather. You and I both know you don’t like anything cold.”

  He was right. So why had she tolerated him for so long? It had taken spending time with Riley to realize Eddie had been as cold as a dead fish. “Yes, well, sometimes we learn to tolerate things that aren’t good for us.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment and then, “I’ll be in Denver on business next week and I’d like to see you while I’m out there.”

  She lifted a brow. “Why? Nothing has changed, Eddie. I didn’t go along with your ultimatum, and there was nothing left to be said.”

  “I’m beginning to think that’s not the case.”

  Not the case? She held the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Was she really talking to Eddie? The man who hadn’t hesitated to dump her a week before their wedding because she wouldn’t let him control her? “Well, I know that is the case. You made your decision.”

  “Yes, but since you and your twin aren’t on speaking terms…”

  Not on speaking terms? Where in the world did he get such erroneous information? “That’s not true. Omega and I are closer than ever. Where did you hear such a ridiculous thing?”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute. “From your father. And even if it isn’t true, I think that it should be.”

  Anger flared up within her when she heard the sharpness in his voice. “And what if I told you that I don’t give a royal damn what you think? Now, goodbye and please don’t bother calling me again.”

  She hung up the phone, furious with herself for answering Eddie’s call in the first place. He hadn’t changed. He still expected her to adhere to his wishes like a good little girl. The man just didn’t get it.

  As she crawled on top of the bed for her nap, she couldn’t help but recall that the last time she’d been in it, Riley had been with her. Shifting, she pushed a wayward curl from her face as she lay on her side with her head resting on her hands, wondering how long it would take for the soreness to work itself out of her body. When she picked up Riley’s scent, which was entrenched on the pillow, she closed her eyes, remembering the weekend. As desire gripped her…of all places…between her sore legs, she knew she couldn’t wait to see him again.

  * * *

  After his meeting, Riley made it back to his office with both Canyon and Stern on his heels. He went straight to his desk, sat down and sent both brothers a questioning look. They were standing in the middle of his office with smirks on their faces.

  “Okay, what’s going on with you two?” he asked.

  Stern crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. “We should be asking you what’s going on. You could barely keep your eyes open during that meeting with Dillon. We expected him to call you out for dozing.”

  Riley rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. Had he really dozed off in one of Dillon’s meetings? Especially one that Dillon had specifically come into the office to hold with them?

  “You must have had one hell of a weekend, Ry,” Canyon said, eyeing him curiously. “I dropped by Riley’s Station a couple of times and it was apparent you weren’t home. That means you were gone all weekend. Must be some hot number you’re seeing.”

  Straightening in his seat, Riley picked up a file off his desk. Instead of responding to Canyon’s comment, he said, “Don’t you guys have other things to do? Because if you don’t, I do.”

  “Will you be able to stay awake long enough to do any work?” Stern asked, grinning.

  He was about to tell his brother where he could go…in not-so-nice words…when there was a quick knock at the door just before Dillon walked in. He smiled when he saw his three brothers. “Good, all three of you are here. I just got a call from Mack Owens. He’s ready to sell that piece of land we’ve had our eyes on for a strip mall in Memphis. The trip will last until Sunday since Mack and his wife are hosting a dinner party Saturday night. Which one of you wants to go and close the deal with Mack?”

  Riley could see both Stern and Canyon easing toward the door. Evidently they had hot dates for the weekend. But then so did he. He had invited Alpha to the movies Saturday night. He was about to tell Dillon he had plans but quickly changed his mind. Dillon was depending on them to keep things running smoothly while he was away from the office. And if Canyon and Stern had other plans that meant things fell on his shoulders. Going to Tennessee wouldn’t be so bad if he could talk Alpha into going with him.

  “I’ll be able to go to Memphis, Dil. When do you need me to leave?”

  “Thursday, if possible.”

  Riley nodded. “Okay, I don’t see a problem.” He glanced over at Canyon and Stern and took note of their relieved expressions. They owed him big-time.

  “Good.” Dillon headed for the door but then suddenly turned back around. “You’re evidently keeping late hours someplace, Ry. I suggest that you get some rest.”

  Ignoring the “we told you so” grins on Stern’s and Canyon’s faces, he said, “I will.”

  When Dillon left, Riley glared at his brothers. “The only reason I decided to go to Tennessee is because the two of you evidently had important plans for this weekend.”

  Canyon waved off his words. “We do, and we appreciate you being the sacrificial lamb this time. Mack Owens has a tendency to bore you to tears.”

  “Whatever. Now will the two of you leave so I can get some work done?”

  Moments later, after his brothers had cleared out of his office, Riley leaned back in his chair, finding it hard to believe he’d actually dozed off during one of Dillon’s meetings. There was no excuse for that. However, he would be the first to admit he’d experienced one hell of a weekend. It had been simply incredible. He closed his eyes as erotic memories flowed through his mind.

  First, he and Alpha had made love in front of the fireplace, then when they’d gotten hungry they went into the kitchen for a snack and ended up making love in there, as well. He had introduced her to the Courting Chair position. Never before had he enjoyed making love to a woman who was not only open to trying different things but was as exciting, energetic and beautiful
as any woman could be.

  He reached for the phone, but then hung it up before the first ring. He would wait until later tonight to call her when he could be assured there would not be any interruptions.

  He opened the file in the middle of his desk, hoping that Alpha would agree to go with him to Tennessee. If she did, he would certainly make the trip worth her while. He would guarantee it.

  * * *

  Later that night, Alpha sat on the sofa going through her book of party favors. Since this would be the fortieth anniversary of Blue Ridge, the Westmorelands wanted each attendee to leave with a favor that would remind them not only of the significance of that night, but also of the party theme. She had marked a few items she thought would be perfect and still within the budget. The vendors she’d spoken with had pretty much guaranteed everything would arrive well in advance of the party date.

  A log broke in the fireplace and the pop made her look up. It was then that she remembered making love to Riley, right there in front of the fireplace on the hearth rug. It had been simply amazing, and the memory caused flutters in her stomach. But then, she thought, every time they’d made love had been off the charts.

  She stood and stretched, feeling well rested after her nap. She wasn’t as sore as she’d been that morning, which she thought was a good thing. Tomorrow she had an eleven o’clock appointment with the granddaughter of a couple who would be celebrating their seventieth wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day. And on Wednesday she would be meeting with a woman who was giving herself a fiftieth birthday party in April.

  Omega had called a few hours ago, wanting to know everything about her weekend with Riley. Of course Alpha hadn’t told her sister every little detail, but she’d shared enough for Omega to draw her own conclusions about how well her weekend had gone. She hadn’t mentioned Eddie’s call, since she didn’t want to upset her sister. But Alpha intended to talk to her father, who apparently had encouraged Eddie’s call.

  She was about to head to the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate when her cell phone rang. She leaned down to pick it up off the table. “Hello.”