Her gaze rose and collided with a pair of stunning eyes. One pure blue. The other a rich brown. A memory deep inside unfurled, and heat bloomed in her belly, spreading through her veins. Impossible. She knew this man.
Dylan McCray.
She struggled for composure, and bolted upright. Dear God, it was him. How was it possible to look better after a whole decade? His hair was still a delicious mix of wheat-colored strands with streaks of white peppered throughout. With that thick and unruly hair, he gave off a surfer vibe. The deceiving halo was a wicked contradiction to his hypnotic gaze that could command a woman to drop her panties in 2.2 seconds. His face was a dance of graceful lines that set off his lips, which had a delicious natural sulky curve. He sported dimples that emphasized his mischievous charm rather than caused him to look boyish. He reminded her of an angel, with a lean, muscled physique. He was Michael and Gabriel reincarnated to seduce women and master men on Earth.
“You.”
The word blasted from her mouth in pure shock, horror, and frustration.
Riley stared back helplessly at the man she’d never been able to forget. Heir to McCray Technologies—the billion-dollar computer giant rivaling Sony and Apple for market share with cutting-edge electronics. A playboy who bedded every woman in his path, and graduated with a 4.0 in business management without even trying. A man who believed in fun and frolic before work, owned a wicked sense of humor, and was the sexiest male specimen she’d ever laid her eyes on.
Yeah. She despised him.
He’d literally tortured her throughout college. Stuck sharing a dormitory, with her room a short distance down the hall from his, she spent those years watching him go through every last woman on campus and party his ass off. While she worked and studied nonstop, he gained his A’s easily. He never went to the library, never turned a paper in on time, and was the leader in every social activity at Cornell. He was revered by teachers and students, walked on water like the Golden Boy he was, and made it his goal to annoy the hell out of her every step of the way.
Yet . . .
Every verbal battle emphasized a strange connection between them. The sparks when they fought literally whizzed in the air, and he had a way of defusing her ironclad rules with a sense of humor that sometimes even had her struggling to remain serious. They were picture-perfect opposites—doomed to be anything but enemies with a tad of grudging respect mixed in.
Until the kiss.
Riley scowled as the memory hit her hard. She refused to think about that short, weak moment. She’d completely forgotten it anyway. Kind of.
“Hey, darlin’. Long time, no see.”
Her temper rose. His Texas drawl may have been hot shit at Cornell, but she knew the truth. He used it on purpose to score, and called every female darlin’. Like they were special. He also knew she despised the lame term with its chauvinistic facets. So, it was to be war from the beginning, huh?
Bring it.
“What are you doing here? Where have you taken me?” she demanded.
That sulky lip curled halfway up. “Your car slid into the ditch. I caught it on the security camera, pulled you out, and now you’re in my house.”
“Your house?” She studied the room again, remembering the spooky massive mansion rising above the mountaintop. “You live here? In the creepy house?”
A touch of annoyance lit his gaze. “It happens to be historic, and I had the place refurbished. What I find more creepy is you sneaking around my place during a blizzard. Miss me, darlin’?”
Riley managed not to bare her teeth and hiss. “Hardly. I was meeting a date at the skating rink. I have no idea how I got here, I must’ve taken the wrong way at the fork in the road. My car slid when I reached the top.”
“Rinker’s Park is the left.”
“Great, my fifty-fifty shot failed again. Would be nice if there was a sign.”
“You probably missed it in the storm. Must be some date to risk your life for a bit of ice-skating.”
She glowered. “I didn’t realize it would be this bad. The report said a dusting.”
“At 7 a.m. They changed it later this morning. Why didn’t your date cancel?”
No way was she letting him know the truth. Blind dates were humiliating to begin with, let alone admitting she had to use a matchmaking agency because she was so hard up. Never. “It’s a long story. Listen, thank you for playing the prince on horseback role, but I need to get home. Where’s my cell?”
He shrugged. “Probably in the car.”
Riley gasped. “My purse? Did you get that?”
“No, I was more focused on pulling your body from a vehicle that could burst into flames. Sorry I didn’t check for personal belongings.”
His sarcastic wit hit home. How was he able to make her mad at the same time she wanted to laugh? He continuously kept her off balance throughout school until she erected a barrier to keep him at a distance. Usually she figured out exactly what made a man tick, what he wanted, and his strengths and weaknesses. She knew it was a talent that served her well in the business world. With Dylan, she was still clueless.
Okay, plan B. She lifted her hand and touched her scalp. Nothing felt tender. She had gotten lucky.
“How are you feeling?”
She scooped her hair away from her face. “Fine, I just got shook up.”
He nodded. “Do you remember everything? You know, where you live, what you do, et cetera.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re not in one of those awful chick flicks where I get amnesia and you help me rediscover the beauty of life. Of course I remember everything.”
“Good to see you remembered your charming disposition.”
Riley was tempted to stick out her tongue but it would be too undignified. Better to focus on getting off this mountain and away from him. “If I can use your phone, I’ll take my disposition out of here. I’m sure there are some tow services that come out in the storm.”
“Doubt it. Besides, there’s no cell service. The telephone lines are coated with ice and the mountain is a death zone. Supposed to get a foot overnight. No one’s getting in or out of here till tomorrow.”
Worry nipped her nerves. “What about the facility? The employees should know how to contact emergency services. This is a huge skating complex.”
He hadn’t lost the easy confidence that made students part the hallway to let him through. As if he owned not just the campus, but every room he walked into and claimed. He cocked his head, then offered a faint smile. “Everything’s shut down. We closed early and sent all the workers home. There’s no one here but you and me, Riley.”
No. Way. She stared at his amused look and clenched her fists in frustration. “How do you know so much about the park anyway? You’re trapped in an empty building from The Shining and completely isolated! I bet if I hiked over there I’d find someone to help me.”
She waited for him to sputter out excuses, but he kept staring at her with those kaleidoscope eyes that did very bad things to the sensitive spot between her thighs. He seemed to savor the moment of charged silence.
“Because I not only own this house. I own Rinker’s Park.” She stiffened, watching as he slowly came toward her and closed the distance. His presence radiated shocking heat and a purpose she didn’t want to examine too closely. “I suggest you get comfortable, because you’re not going anywhere.”
chapter 4
Dylan watched her eyes widen. Her face reflected a dozen emotions as she sought to process and organize, probably already planning two forms of attack.
The woman never surrendered easily.
“Let’s recap. I’m trapped here alone with you overnight in a spook house. Why are you here anyway? You’re supposed to be in some trendy Manhattan condo making your billions.”
He smothered a laugh. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought. If I give you a tour you’d see the benefits of living here. I have privacy, beautiful scenery, and complete access to the park whenever I’d like. I can also commute easily into the city.”