Soloman had never been a patient man. He was used to getting what he wanted and killing the things that stood in the way. The dance he had decided to engage in with Riley Bancroft was one of the most enjoyable things he could remember doing in recent memory. All of his pursuits thus far had been for power, money and stability. This was for him. He was amazed at the patience he was cultivating for this woman. Though his dick was begging him to get on with things. Every time he saw her, touched her, was like fresh torture.He took a long drink of A.H. Hirsch Reserve bourbon, neat, and watched the ebb and flow of a busy Tuesday night in his underground casino from the privacy of his screened office. Setting the glass down, he took a draw of his cigarillo, allowing the smoke to linger in his mouth. It was a habit he had picked up years ago to replace cigarettes. His dark and lushly decorated office was set on the floor above the casino, so he could see everything, including the beautiful,
He laughed cruelly and shook her with his grip on her jaw, bumping her head against the floor. "Pay attention, little girl, because I won't say this again. I have wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you. And I have been very patient compared to my usual expectations. Cilia Bancroft is out there counting cards in my casino, we both know this. You managed to keep her secret well hidden, my gorgeous girl. No one on this town knows what she's capable of, but I have found her out."The breath whooshed out of her lungs and she froze beneath him. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Now what should I do about this information? Do you want to know what I would normally do to someone counting cards in my casino? Even with someone as beautiful and intelligent as Cilia."A tear trickled from the corner of Riley's eye, running across her nose and then down her plush lips. He ran his thumb over her lip, capturing the sign of her surrender. For the first time since his youth, Soloman felt
He was sitting behind his desk, watching her as she slowly stripped her T-shirt over her head. She had already kicked off her Sketchers. Riley closed her eyes, trying to block him out. How had life gotten so fucked up and out of control that she was doing a striptease for the most dangerous mafia boss in town, right in the office of his underground casino? She could feel the heat of his eyes on her and knew he was tracing every inch of creamy flesh she revealed. Her mind frantically scrambled over the problem of which piece of clothing to take off next."The sweats," his deep voice instructed, reading her mind.Her eyes flew open to meet his. When she saw amusement written on his face in the curl of his lip and glint in his eye, she wanted nothing more than to stalk over to his bar and start hurling expensive liquor bottles at his arrogant head. She would have done it too, if her mom weren't right downstairs within easy reach of a dozen knee-breakers.Narrowing her eyes, Riley reach
Riley was pretty sure Soloman wasn't planning on letting her go home that night, despite his assurance that he meant everything he said. Except someone set fire to his car. The wild look in his eyes as he stared down at her freaked her out. No one had ever wanted to possess her the way this man did. Sure, she had been lusted after, but this guy took the whole 'me Tarzan, you Jane' thing to a new level.He was in the process of reaching for her when someone had banged on his door, yelling that there was a fire in the parking lot. With a growl of frustration, he told her to get dressed and wait for him, then stalked out of his office. Riley didn't need to be told twice. She'd run immediately toward the private washroom in his office to clean herself up."Fuck," she whispered, taking in the vulnerable look on her face as she wet his hand towel and used it to clean the evidence of his release from her skin. Her heart thundered in painful reminder of the erotic scene that had played out m
Soloman sat back in his leather chair, staring at the exact spot that she had stripped off her clothes and stood gloriously naked in front of him. His eyes moved from that spot to the edge of his desk where she had come for him, responding even more beautifully than he could have hoped for. But she had left. Despite knowing he would be back for her.Rage burned in him. He glanced down at his phone. She had yet to respond to any one of his calls or text messages. He had first tried calling her over an hour ago, after the fire had been brought under control. He knew the moment he reentered the club and realized that Cilia was missing that Riley would also be gone.His fist crashed into the desk. Fuck. He just wanted to know that she was safe. He was done playing her fucking games. He picked up the glass of whiskey and downed the contents before slamming it back down. He had men waiting for her at the shop, her condo and her mother's place. So far, she had shown up to none of her usual
"Okay Scuttles, I don't particularly like seafood, but I'm willing to make an exception if you don't calm the fuck down and just get in the damn bucket," Riley growled at the angry, snapping creature she'd managed to corner in her mother's kitchen.If she didn't already know Cilia had serious issues she would consider having the woman committed for allowing a crab of this size and ugliness to free roam in her house while she went off to count cards at an underground casino. Riley swallowed a scream as Scuttles lunged at her, snapping at her shoelaces in an attempt to drive her away from his prized corner. She drove him back with the BBQ tongs she'd snatched from the counter and swung her bucket at the claw the little bastard was waving at her.She quickly glanced over her shoulder at the shadowy doorway of the cottage-like bungalow and held her breath. There had been a guy watching the front of the house. She'd seen the flare of his smoke as he sat in his car. She guessed he wasn't b
"Is the Reaper actually wringing her hands at the sacred Sparrow Hawk?" Katie asked with a laugh, hugging Riley around the neck with one arm and hanging onto her popcorn for dear life with her other hand. "Don't let the other participants see that crap or they'll think you're some kind of candy ass wuss."Riley glared at her best friend and reached for a hand full of popcorn. It was a weird quirk that Katie had to have popcorn for all of Riley's races. She adored popcorn more than the average person. She would actually go to a movie theatre just to purchase a bag of popcorn and then leave without watching a movie. She pulled a face and snatched the bag away when it looked like Riley would eat more than a few bites. Katie was also viciously protective of her buttery treats."I'm not wussing out over here," Riley defended herself. "I'm wondering where the hell your brother got to with my car. He better be parking it up at the starting line."Katie shot her a mischievous look and said,
Riley had about three minutes to enjoy her very decisive victory before all hell broke loose. One moment she was being tossed up in Wendell's arms, showered in champagne, being offered sponsorship by a prestigious car manufacturer, praised on her hairpin turns by Jun-young, who came in third, and the next moment, she was torn rudely away from Wendell. She gasped as Wendell was thrown across the hood of the burning hot car, with Soloman's hand tight around his neck."You let her race my fucking car," Soloman growled down at the other man. "You know how much danger she put herself in and you let her fucking race."Riley realized right away Soloman meant to actually kill him when Wendell started choking and turning red. She wedged herself between the two men, pressing herself into Soloman as close as she could. He didn't take his eyes off Wendell."Soloman, no!" she yelled, but he refused to take his eyes off Wendell.She could see his powerful biceps flexing against his T-shirt and t