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
Riley rubbed at the headache building in her temples. She shoved her office chair away from her desk, rolled toward the door and smacked the light switch, turning off the bright overhead lights. She closed the door while she was at it, muffling the shop noises. She sighed in satisfaction. That felt so much better. Closing her eyes, she sat in the darkened office and just enjoyed the feel of the fan blowing across her bare arms and shoulders for a few minutes. The accounts weren't going anywhere.Neither was the gift-wrapped box shoved to the edge of her desk. She was pretty sure it was the prospect of the box that was giving her a headache. The beautiful, tastefully wrapped silver box with a white bow had been distracting her from the moment it arrived in the garage. She'd quickly signed for it and whisked it away from the curious eyes of her mechanics. A quick peak at the hand-written card had confirmed her suspicion.Riley,Wear this tonight.Yours,SShe hadn't opened the box.
Finally, her headache was completely gone. Riley lay back in the tub enjoying the scent of vanilla and lavender candles permeating the steam coming off the hot water from her bath. Lorde's Pure Heroine album played from her phone through a Bluetooth speaker, filling the small washroom with music. Her hair was piled high on her head so it wouldn't get wet. Her shoulders and breasts were covered in vanilla scented bubbles. She was in heaven, which was saying something considering the day she'd had.She'd been pretty worried that Soloman would make good on his threat and show up at the shop to drag her away. Plus, the cops had come sniffing around about a stolen Mercedes SUV. Wendell had done his usual dog and pony show of giving them the correct paperwork for all of the vehicles in the shop. He was really quite remarkable at shaking his head in commiseration and looking innocent. The SUV had been in the part of the garage they didn't take the tourists to. Underneath the lifts there were
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