Riley was exhausted. It had been a ridiculously long day and all she wanted to do was take a hot bath, have a cup of chamomile honey tea and fall into bed. Engaging the locks on her '71 Triumph Spitfire, she clutched her pepper spray and ran up the stairs of her outdoor apartment building to her third-floor condo. She let herself in, disarmed the alarm and dumped her purse and spray into the nearest chair. It was her favourite holding shit' instead of actual sitting on armchair. She had one in her bedroom too for clothes that weren't dirty enough to go in the laundry, but not clean enough to go back in the closet. She flipped the light switch on the wall between her living room and her kitchen."Holy shit!" she gasped, staring in surprise and dismay at a massive flower arrangement on her countertop. It was a huge assortment of tiger lilies, red, yellow and orange gerberas, and yellow daisies surrounded by greenery. She'd never seen anything like it.Turning on her heel, Riley quickly
"You're clear, Reaper. Shift now and take the inside," Wendell's voice buzzed in her ear.Riley felt the vibrations of the car, the blood pumping through her veins and the music blasting all around her. She placed her fingertips against the gearshift, let the car drift a few extra seconds and then moving her feet in tandem with her hand, switched gears. The car screamed around the cliff edge, biting through grass and dirt as it left the road for a few seconds before regaining the asphalt and overtaking the lead car."Fuck, Riley!" Wendell's voice shouted in her ear. "That was a fucking stupid move. You could've gone over. Goddamnit woman, are you trying to die?! And my fucking tires are toast, aren't they?"Grinning, Riley turned the music up and ignored Wendell's tirade. That's why they called her the Reaper. She flew in like an angel of death to take out her competitors. He knew as well as her that she wouldn't've beat out Roadkill for the lead if she hadn't pulled that last stunt
Riley checked her phone again and frowned. Weird. Scott had left for the washroom ten minutes ago and had yet to return. She took a quick sip of her mojito and glanced around the crowded Mexican restaurant. She nearly choked when she caught sight of Roman Valdez, Soloman's shadow and bodyguard, leaning against the bar watching her. Motherfucker. Well that explained what happened to her date. Roman's lips twitched in amusement and his finger stabbed the air as their eyes clashed. He was marking her for the boss.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Time to go!In a rush of movement, Riley shoved her chair back and reached for her black, silver-spiked clutch purse. She stood up on her three-inch stiletto ankle boots and took one step away from the table. A body blocked hers. With a gasp of trepidation, she looked up, knowing exactly who was trapping her against the table. Soloman Hart placed one hand on the back of her chair and one on the table and leaned into her, forcing her to either sit back down or
Her chocolate brown eyes snapped liquid fire at him, turning his dick to stone right there in the fucking restaurant. He wanted to reach across the table, yank her to the floor, tear open his zipper and shove his cock into that sassy little mouth. No one had ever spoken to him the way Riley Bancroft was speaking to him. Just the thought would mean death.Yet, he wanted more. He wanted her to keep talking, so he would have an excuse to take her home, strip her bare, beat her ass and then fuck her raw. She was everything he never knew he wanted in a woman. Damned if he hadn't been waiting thirty-nine years for her to come along. His cock was nearly bursting his seams to take a piece of her, but he knew he needed just a little more patience. She was still too scared of him. And while the bastard in him thrived on fear, the man that wanted to keep her was willing to bide his time and create the correct balance between fear and intrigue.She would have to learn her place. In order to do t
Fuck. She didn't have a choice. Now they were threatening Katie. If she didn't go with Soloman, Roman would go after Katie and do to her what they were doing to Riley. Katie was tough, but the divorce had been hard on her. She was fragile, she wouldn't be able to handle the pursuit of someone like Roman. Riley turned on her heels and glared up at the big, muscular bodyguard, throwing every ounce of hatred she felt for the man into her look. He stared back at her coldly before stepping aside so she could slide into the open vehicle.Riley buckled her seatbelt and pointedly ignored Soloman who took the seat beside her. Roman got into the driver's seat. She stared hard at the back of his head and finally said in an accusing voice, "I didn't know you knew Katie. And she's my best friend."He didn't speak for a moment as he pulled the Audi onto the road. She was forced to take a moment and appreciate the gorgeous black leather interior of the $120,000 vehicle. Finally, Roman spoke. "Knew
He moved so fast she didn't have time to blink. He grabbed her wrist in one hand and her neck in the other, cutting off a startled scream. He lifted her off her feet with an easy strength that terrified her. He could crush her throat under those long fingers with just a little more pressure. She tried to kick out at him, but he shook her once, twice, then walked backwards with her until she hit the edge of the desk. He smashed her arm against the wood until she was forced to drop the taser. It clattered to the floor.She looked up at him with wide, tear-drenched eyes, expecting to die. He forced his hips between her legs until her skirt rode up her thighs, nearly to her hips. He let go of her wrist and wrapped both huge hands around her fragile neck. He didn't choke her, but the threat was definitely there. She brought her hands up to clutch his forearms over his smooth, expensive suit jacket. He jerked her upright until she was sitting up on the desk. She was nearly eye to eye with h
"Shift, shift, shift, Riley!" Katie screamed, jumping up and down on the couch next to Riley, nearly causing her to drive into the ditch. "He's going to beat you if you don't get out of there!""Do you want to drive?" Riley growled, grabbing Katie by the ankle and yanking her down on the couch. Katie went flying and landed on her butt in a flurry of hot pink painted toenails, fingernails and mini skirt. All male eyes in the vicinity were on the blond to see if they could catch a glimpse of panty as she fell."Oomph!" The breath whooshed out of her as she landed. "Bitch!"Riley looped an arm around Katie's neck and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek as she continued racing her virtual McLaren against Roadkill's Lamborghini in Need for Speed. An eruption of sound went up around them as Riley beat him out. He won the first two races so she wasn't exactly on a winning streak. Still, she was pretty pleased with herself. She shouted and laughed, pointing at him as he took the ribbing w
Several hours later, Riley was one of the last to leave the gaming bar. She was a night owl and loved gaming. It was rare that she got to hang out with her friends though, so when a chance like this came up, she liked to make the most of it. She waved at Lula and Roadkill as they got into a cab. Riley slid in behind the wheel of her Spitfire, having only drunk orange juice all night. She turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened."Impossible," she grumbled with a frown. She kept all of her vehicles in excellent condition, but especially this one since it had belonged to her dad and it was the first car he ever gave her. There was no chance the engine wouldn't fire. She turned the key again. And again, nothing happened.She pulled the hood release with a sigh and climbed out of the car. She was forced to use the flashlight on her phone since she hadn't parked close enough to a streetlight to be able to properly see what was going on under her hood. Frowning, she checked the