Harmless.The word bounced around in Riley's head as he sat opposite Lia in a booth at the restaurant. That was definitely not the word he'd use to describe her. Sensual was one word that came to mind. Luscious was another. Tempting. Oh, yeah, tempting. Because she definitely tempted him. The volatile impact the moment he walked over to her table had shocked the hell out of him. Other women had affected him, tempted him, appealed to him. But not like this. This was something completely different, and it unsettled him because he felt it was something so much deeper.The call from Jamie last night had tweaked his interest. But when she'd asked him to please check out this woman she was sure was stalking her, the last thing he'd expected to find was a petite woman with a body that begged for him to strip it naked, eyes the color of cobalt, and blonde hair that looked like a cascading silver waterfall. When she'd preceded him into the restaurant, his eyes had fastened of their own accord

"Come on in." Riley opened the door and stepped aside so Lia could precede him."Wow!" was all she could say.The architectural design told her it was an older home but, obviously, Riley had put his heart and soul into it. The hardwood floors gleamed, reflecting the rays of late day sun slanting in through the wide, multi-paned windows and warming the rooms. Comfortable furniture in beige leather and the same green as the trim faced a fireplace and the big screen television hanging above it.Of course. Men and their toys.Riley tossed his keys into a pewter dish on a little table by the front door and, before she could ask to see the rest of the house, pulled her into his arms."Now I can give you a real kiss," he told her.Tunneling his fingers into her hair, his hand clasping her head, he took her mouth in a kiss she felt in every tiny part of her body. There was nothing tender about this one, nothing tentative or testing. This kiss stole her breath, heated her blood, and sent

Riley used his thumbs to open her even more and gave in to her mute pleas. Driving his tongue into her with a hard, sharp push, he set up an in-and-out motion that pushed her higher and higher. He went deep, pulled back, then drove deeper again, the rhythm of his strokes increasing with each plunge.Oh god, she was almost there. Almost! Almost!Then he took her throbbing clit between thumb and forefinger, pinched it hard, and she exploded. The inner walls of her pussy spasmed over and over again, clenching around Riley's tongue, the climax racing to every part of her. She pushed herself up to him as hard as she could, riding that educated tongue, eyes shut tightly as she gave herself over to a storm of sensations.Eventually, the spasms eased off to tremors, and finally the tremors to aftershocks. Relaxed against the softness of the covers, she unclenched her fists and tried to concentrate on getting some part of her brain back. Lia was no stranger to oral sex, although she hadn't d

I've lost my fucking mind.That was all Riley could think, the phrase replaying in his mind as he drove through the streets of Calderwood to his house. He didn't usually have hot, scorching, incendiary sex with a woman scant hours after he'd met her. That wasn't his style. But, with Lia, it was almost as if he hadn't had a choice.Come see my house.Take off your clothes.Let me slide my cock into you and never take it out.Jesus. Just holy Jesus!At thirty-five, he had certainly been with his share of women, some of them for long periods, others short-term relationships. But none of them had ever affected him right at his core, right smack in the middle of his heart, of who he was, like Lia Popescue. He wondered fancifully if she was a witch who had cast a spell on him. Not that he believed in witches, although since accepting the reality of Mike Volka as a shapeshifter, nothing was off the plate.All he knew was, since he first saw her, touched her in the library, every fiber

She was telling him the truth. If this thing between them that had blasted out of nowhere like a space capsule and hit them both with the force of a runaway train was to work, then the Volkas would need to accept her. She hated to think what would happen if they didn't. It wasn't only Jamie's misgivings that had to be set to rest. She needed to know if Mike Volka was indeed wolf and which pack he descended from.Settling herself in her chair, she lifted her glass of wine, needing the drink to settle her nerves."To us." Mike touched his glass to hers.His smile alone settled her. "To us," she agreed.They kept the dinner conversation light, discussing the kind of movies and books they liked, the activities they enjoyed, things like that. But when dinner was over, they carried the dishes into the kitchen, and Mike refilled their wine glasses yet again and guided her back out to the patio. The sky was the bluish-slate color of midevening, the moon an emerging silver slice against the