After Hours Seduction (The Men 0f Stone River Book 1)

by Janice Maynard

  Long hours alone with her ex.

  What could go wrong?

  Wanting him was a mistake,

  And still she said yes...

  When Katie Duncan agrees to work with her boss’s brother, she knows she’s stepping into the lion’s den. The man she’ll be living with is her former lover, billionaire Quinten Stone. Their passion sizzled until Katie couldn’t accept Quinten’s wealthy world. She’d walked away to save herself. Now the alpha CEO is back in her life, tempting as ever...and hell-bent on seducing Katie back into his bed...

  USA TODAY Bestselling Author Janice Maynard

  “I shouldn’t have said I still wanted you,” Katie said.

  “Because it’s not true?”

  “Because it would be a mistake, and we’re both old enough to learn from our mistakes.”

  “I’m the guy who plunged down a mountain with a bum knee and almost killed myself. Because I was too stubborn and impatient to wait for the all clear. I’m not known for being levelheaded when it comes to things I want.”

  “Like skiing?”

  “Like you.” He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her close. When his lips touched hers, she leaned into him with pleasure and shock.

  She had forgotten how good he tasted. A tiny hint of chocolate from the mini éclairs at the fancy salon lingered at the corner of his mouth. She kissed it away. Quin groaned and shuddered. It had always been like this whenever they touched. Raw insanity. Endless need.

  “Quin...” She whispered his name, dizzy with wanting him.

  * * *

  After Hours Seduction by Janice Maynard

  is part of The Men of Stone River series.

  Dear Reader,

  My husband and I have visited Maine several times over the years. We love the diversity from north to south, the fact that it is so different from our home in East Tennessee and, of course, all that magnificent coastline!

  As I kick off this new trilogy, I’m giving you a hero who is being forced to make some major personal changes. In the midst of all that, he has to spend time with the woman who dumped him.

  Poor Quinten. His life is a mess, and now it’s getting worse. I hope you enjoy seeing Katie intersect his path...again...and watching how the two of them try very hard not to fall in love.

  Happy spring and happy reading!

  Janice Maynard

  Janice Maynard

  After Hours Seduction

  USA TODAY bestselling author Janice Maynard loved books and writing even as a child. After multiple rejections, she finally sold her first manuscript! Since then, she has written fifty-plus books and novellas. Janice lives in Tennessee with her husband, Charles. They love hiking, traveling and family time.

  You can connect with Janice at janicemaynard.com, Twitter.com/janicemaynard, Facebook.com/janicemaynardreaderpage, Facebook.com/janicesmaynard and Instagram.com/therealjanicemaynard.

  Books by Janice Maynard

  Harlequin Desire

  Southern Secrets

  Blame It On Christmas

  A Contract Seduction

  Bombshell for the Black Sheep

  Texas Cattleman’s Club: Inheritance

  Too Texan to Tame

  The Men of Stone River

  After Hours Seduction

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or janicemaynard.com, for more titles.

  You can also find Janice Maynard on Facebook, along with other Harlequin Desire authors, at Facebook.com/harlequindesireauthors!

  For Anastasia—

  You were the first to make me a nana!

  I love brainstorming book ideas with you... :)

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Excerpt from Secrets of a Fake Fiancée by Yahrah St. John

  One

  Quinten Stone’s older brothers had been aggravating him all his life, but this time they’d gone too far. Thanks to their meddling, his ex-lover was on her way to his isolated house. To live and work with him for a month or more. He didn’t know how he was going to survive.

  As an old man of twenty-eight, he bore the weighty title of Chief Operating Officer at the outdoor gear company the siblings owned jointly. That was enough responsibility. The last thing he needed to add to his agenda was juggling unresolved feelings for the woman who had dumped him.

  Now his frustration had reached the boiling point.

  “Butt out, you two. I’ll make my own decisions.”

  Except that it was far too late.

  Katie had already agreed to come. He’d be damned if he’d let her think her presence would affect him. That her defection had wounded him.

  The three brothers sat in oversize armchairs in front of a massive stone fireplace. Had they been so inclined, they could have roasted a pig and had room to spare. But it was July in Maine, so the hearth was empty.

  Farrell, the oldest of the Stone brothers—better known as the mad genius inventor when Quentin and Zachary were in the mood to tease him—leaned forward with a scowl on his face. “You’ve made some dumbass moves recently, Quin. According to the surgeon, you’re in danger of injuring yourself permanently if you don’t do what he says. You might never ski again if you don’t give yourself time to heal.”

  Never ski again...

  The knot in Quin’s stomach clenched.

  After his brothers, and their company, skiing was what he loved most in the world. And not so long ago he’d been one of the best in the world.

  He stared at the angry red scar bisecting his knee. Eighteen months ago, in the car accident that had claimed their father’s life, Quin’s entire right leg had been mangled. He’d had three different surgeries, the latest of which was a complete knee replacement. Six weeks of grueling physical therapy had him back on his feet and walking fairly normally, but the surgeon insisted that ligaments and tendons needed time to recover.

  Quinten wouldn’t have been in such a mess now if he’d been appropriately cautious after the first two surgeries. He’d been desperate to prove he was still the same man he’d been before the accident. So on New Year’s Day, Quin had strapped on his skis and tackled a punishing hill in Vermont.

  Unfortunately for him, his not-quite-rehabbed knee had given out. He went down hard, slamming into a small clump of trees on the edge of the run. Help was with him immediately, but the damage was done. This time, the leg was so jacked up, it couldn’t be repaired. Hence the new piece of metal in his now-bionic knee. With every painful step, he was hell-bent on getting his life back.

  He was desperate to ski well again, to carry his part of the family business, and to enjoy recreational sex with no messy emotions involved. Was that so much to ask?

  When Quin said nothing, Zachary continued the gentle harangue. “The doc wants you to take it easy for six more weeks. With Katie here to help you work remotely, you can rest and keep up with your responsibilities. It’s an ideal solutio
n, Quin. Give it a chance.”

  The Stone brothers shared a landing strip, a small private jet and a kick-ass helicopter. None of them spent more than two or three days a week at headquarters anyway. But it was the idea of having his wings clipped that made Quin feel like he was suffocating. Or maybe it was thinking about facing Katie that caused his chest to constrict...

  “I don’t like having strangers in my house,” he muttered.

  Farrell grinned. “You can hardly call Katie a stranger. We’ve all known her forever. I can do without my incredibly efficient admin for six weeks. Reluctantly.”

  Quin lurched to his feet and paced. The noose was growing tighter. He and Katie had been an under-the-radar item two years ago. Right up until the moment she dumped him with no good explanation.

  Katie had been employed by Stone River Outdoors for six years, and Quin didn’t feel comfortable pursuing her once she pulled the plug on their relationship. Not to mention that his pride had gotten in the way of asking for answers.

  No one in his personal or business life had an inkling about the affair. Katie hadn’t wanted gossip, and Quin agreed. Now he couldn’t tell his brothers the truth. Katie was the last person he wanted under his roof. She’d made it clear they were over. Living together, alone in the Maine woods, would be incredibly awkward. They might have unresolved issues, but he had no doubt the chemistry was still there.

  “What about my admin?” he asked. Quin had inherited the amiable employee after his father’s death. The woman had been with the company since the first Bush was in office. She was set in her ways and flummoxed by new technology. But at least she was not Katie.

  Farrell winced. “First of all, she’s kind of a train wreck. We can either fire Mrs. B outright or find her something less taxing. Maybe give her a nice retirement offer. Katie will help you find a replacement.”

  Quin sucked in a sharp breath at the thought of Katie helping him with anything. He clenched his jaw. “What did Katie say when you asked her to come here?” He and Katie had managed to avoid each other for the most part since their breakup. But she did come to his father’s funeral.

  Despite everything, Quin had been oddly comforted by her presence.

  Zachary stood as well and stretched. “She told Farrell and me she would do anything necessary to keep Stone River Outdoors up and running. A hell of a nice woman. It’s asking a lot to put up with your sorry hide.”

  “So true.” Farrell glanced at his watch. “I’ve gotta run. Meeting a contractor in twenty minutes.”

  The brothers had suspected for some time now that they were the victims of corporate espionage. Two of Farrell’s designs had been scooped and rushed to market. The new products were inferior and not exactly what he had been working on, but they were close enough to raise red flags.

  To handle the disturbing possibility, Farrell had decided to make some changes. He hoped to work exclusively at his vacation home here on the northern Maine coast during the coming months and not at his lab in the Portland headquarters. Hence the contractor.

  Quin felt the raw taste of panic. “I can work remotely on my own. I don’t need any help. Nor do I need a babysitter. I swear I’ll take it easy.”

  His brothers stood shoulder to shoulder, their sympathetic expressions like acid poured on his screwed-up life. Farrell jingled his keys. “We know you, buddy. You push and push and push as if the sheer force of your will can do the healing. But it doesn’t work that may. Maybe in endurance training, but not in this. Six weeks isn’t long, Quin. And we’re not deserting you. We’ll be around more than you think. It’s not a prison sentence.”

  Zachary sighed. “It sucks, Quin. All of it. Losing Dad. The accident. You being sidelined with medical crap. I get it. You’re on the edge. I can tell. But follow the doctor’s orders, and you’ll be a new man.”

  * * *

  Katie had boxed herself into a corner when she gave Farrell and Zachary her word. Farrell was her boss. Zachary signed her checks.

  Though both men had emphasized multiple times that her participation in this unorthodox experiment was entirely voluntary, she couldn’t in good conscience say no. Stone River Outdoors needed her.

  Quinten needed her.

  Her anxiety rose, even on a lush summer day with the sunshine beaming down from a brilliant blue sky.

  At Ellsworth, just before the crowded tourist playground that included Acadia National Park, she turned onto a less traveled road for the last leg to Stone River. Here, nobody but locals traversed the winding rural highway. Nothing much to see but acres of forests and fields and peaceful ponds and lakes.

  The looming confrontation with Quinten tightened her stomach and made her palms sweat as she clenched the steering wheel. Two years ago, he’d been her lover. Even now, the truth of that statement baffled her.

  Quinten Stone, by any definition, was a wealthy, larger-than-life athlete and playboy. After missing a gold medal by half a second when he was a teenager, he had continued to compete on the world stage. Both Quinten and his brothers were accustomed to traveling the globe.

  Despite the fiery attraction she and Quin had shared, their lives—and their values—had been too different. Katie thought money was for helping people. Quin had spent his fortune recklessly, including the many outrageous ways he’d tried to impress her.

  Katie didn’t care about trips and gifts, nice though they were. She had yearned for a deep, intimate relationship. But Quin was one of the most emotionally closed-off men she had ever met. A sad cliché, but true.

  When her GPS lost a signal, she was forced to concentrate on the road rather than Quin.

  At last, she found the turnoff. Katie had never been this far up in Maine, but she had seen aerial photographs. Three spectacular homes sat on rocky promontories overlooking the sea. Almost two centuries before, a Stone ancestor had acquired an enormous tract of pristine wilderness and had named the small river meandering through his property after himself. Subsequent generations sold off the bulk of the land, but the current Stone brothers still owned several hundred square miles. They liked their privacy.

  She had been warned about the gate and was armed with an access code. The paved road must have been wildly expensive but necessary. In addition to Range Rovers, Jeeps and ATVs, the brothers each had various automotive passions that wouldn’t take kindly to harsh treatment.

  Quinten’s indulgence of choice was a sin-black Ferrari. Sexy as hell. Once, during her short-lived relationship with him, he had taken her out on the open road in the sleek high-performance vehicle—at midnight. They’d been far from Portland on an obscure two-lane highway that was relatively straight. When Quin unleashed the beast beneath the hood of the car, the rush of speed had been exhilarating.

  Even now, Katie could remember the sting of wind on her cheeks and the tug in her chest every time Quin accelerated. He’d been in his element, laughing and teasing her when she gasped and squealed.

  Later, he had found a secluded lane and made love to her on the still-warm hood of the car.

  Katie sucked in a breath and felt her breasts tighten. Everything about Quinten Stone had been perfect for her—as long as she ignored the zeros at the end of his bank balance and his inability to connect with a woman emotionally.

  Slamming the door on those painful memories would not be easy. Actually, it might be impossible.

  All around her, the forest created a lush, green tunnel. Ash and aspen, spruce and pine. Beech and butternut, juniper and fir. No wonder the Stone brothers came up here at every opportunity. Unfortunately, all roads came to an end, whether the traveler was prepared or not.

  Katie parked her Honda Civic at the base of the steps and stared up at the house. Quinten’s house.

  It was magnificent. Made of cedar and stone, it nestled among a grove of evergreens. Enormous plate glass windows were meant to frame the wild expanse of ocean and horizon. Today th
e sea was placid.

  No one came out to greet her, although she suspected the aging Toyota sedan parked ahead of her belonged to an employee of some sort. Slowly, she climbed the stairs. She was ridiculously nervous.

  Almost twenty-four months had passed since she broke up with Quinten. In the interim, she had made sure to know when he was in the building at headquarters, so she could avoid any awkward encounters. Though her office adjoined Farrell’s, it was easy enough to duck out when she knew Quinten was likely to visit. That only happened when both men were in the Portland office at the same time.

  Eighteen months ago—at the funeral for Mr. Stone Sr.—of course she had spoken to her former lover. Quinten had been tense and strained, still bandaged and on crutches in the midst of his grief. Her heart had broken for him. They exchanged a few words, and then Katie had moved away down the receiving line.

  Knowing how close Quinten had come to death had shaken her badly.

  Now here she was, more than a year later, about to step into the lion’s den. She shook her head, though no one was there to see her dithering. The lion’s den wasn’t really a suitable metaphor for what she was feeling. People were scared of lions. Worried about being eaten alive.

  When it came to Quinten and Katie, she wanted to see him. The scary part of the situation was her own abysmal lack of control.

  Quinten Stone was the only man whose touch she had ever craved. Even knowing he was all wrong for her, it had taken every ounce of determination she possessed to break off the relationship.

  Now she was about to undo all her brave, good work. Every sensible decision reduced to dust.

  She tiptoed toward the nearest window and peeked inside. The place looked deserted, though she knew the impression was false. The master of the house was in residence. That was why she had been summoned to work here instead of Portland.

  Unfortunately, she had left her sunglasses in the car. She closed her eyes and squinted skyward, warming her face. That was a mistake. Behind her lids, images of Quin danced dizzyingly. Smiling. Laughing. He was six foot two to her five-eight. At one time, he’d told her he was glad she was tall, because it made standing-up sex easier. And then he had proceeded to demonstrate.