Lori Wilde - To Alaska, With Love - A Touch of Silk

A Touch of Silk

Manhattan columnist Kay Freemont has made a career out of writing about sex and relationships, yet spends her nights alone. So when sexy Alaskan bachelor Quinn Scofield places an ad in her magazine to find a wife, Kay can’t resist the opportunity to finally see what all the hype is about. Though city girl Kay was only looking for a red-hot fling, she’s beginning to feel right at home, both in the small town of Bear Creek—and in Quinn’s loving arms.

A Thrill to Remember

Meggie Scofield is ready to rejoin the dating scene after her divorce, and the town’s masquerade party seems like the perfect place to start. Delighted when a gorgeous masked man catches her eye, Meggie is later stunned to find out the sexy stranger is actually Caleb Greenleaf, her former brother-in-law! Their chemistry is undeniable, but will one thrilling night turn into the love they’ve both been looking for?

To Alaska, With Love

A Touch of Silk

A Thrill to Remember

Lori Wilde

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A Touch of Silk Manhattan columnist Kay Freemont has made a career out of writing about sex and relationships, yet spends her nights alone. So when sexy Alaskan bachelor Quinn Scofield places an ad in her magazine to find a wife, Kay can’t resist the opportunity to finally see what all the hype is about. Though city girl Kay was only looking for a red-hot fling, she’s beginning to feel right at home, both in the small town of Bear Creek—and in Quinn’s loving arms. A Thrill to Remember Meggie Scofield is ready to rejoin the dating scene after her divorce, and the town’s masquerade party seems like the perfect place to start. Delighted when a gorgeous masked man catches her eye, Meggie is later stunned to find out the sexy stranger is actually Caleb Greenleaf, her former brother-in-law! Their chemistry is undeniable, but will one thrilling night turn into the love they’ve both been looking for?

Title Page To Alaska, With Love A Touch of Silk A Thrill to Remember Lori Wilde www.millsandboon.co.uk

A Touch of Silk A Touch of Silk Lori Wilde

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

A Thrill to Remember

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

Epilogue

Copyright

A Touch of Silk

Lori Wilde

To Birgit Davis-Todd, who gave me the chance to write about my wild, sexy Alaskans.

And to my inspiration—the great state of Alaska.

Chapter One

THE PANTY HOSE were killing him. Cutting his gut clean in two. Whoever invented the torturous things should be strangled outright. No mercy shown.

Sheer, black, tight. They clung like second skin to the most exquisitely shaped pair of legs he’d ever seen. Narrow ankles, smooth rounded calves, supple knees and firm thighs.

She crossed her legs and the panty hose murmured a soft whisper. Swish.

And what about that dark seam running up the back? Simply sin-sational!

Lord have mercy on an Alaskan man’s soul. He’d never witnessed such sights in his hometown of Bear Creek. For a second there Quinn Scofield thought he would have to ask the flight attendant for an oxygen mask.

Boldly he peered over the top of his Wilderness Guide Monthly at the blond, sleek-haired, Charlize Theron look-alike. She sat in first-class seat 1B, one diagonal row up from his position in 2C. She and her dynamite hosiery, presumably on their way to JFK, had boarded the plane during the layover at O’Hare, but not once had she glanced behind her. Instead, she had been studiously typing into her laptop computer for the past thirty minutes.

This one was too cool for school and she knew it. Polished, classy, undeniably an urbanite, she was definitely not the kind of woman he was searching for. But man, did she ever rev his engines. Without the slightest provocation, he could easily imagine those fine, gorgeous limbs wrapped around his midsection or slung over his shoulders in the throes of serious sex.

“Real hottie, isn’t she?” his seatmate, a paunchy, middle-aged businessman who’d had one too many whiskey sours, slurred, and nodded at the woman.

“She’s very attractive, yes,” Quinn agreed, but kept his voice low so she wouldn’t overhear.

Unfortunately the other man’s volume control had been affected by his alcohol intake. He leaned close in a confidential manner, nudged Quinn in the ribs and winked boldly. “I’d do her in a New York minute. Know what I mean?”

Slowly Charlize turned and pinned them both with an icy glare. Quick, like a little boy chastised, the businessman looked away. But Quinn didn’t flinch. He’d been dying for a glimpse of those eyes, and he wasn’t going to let his seatmate’s bad manners deprive him of the thrill.

Their gazes met.

And he wasn’t disappointed. Her eyes were as compelling as the rest of her. Sharp, slightly almond-shaped, the color of dark chocolate.

His heart did a triple axel, then dropped, ker-plunk, into his stomach. He’d always had a weakness for brown-eyed blondes. Quinn smiled, giving her his best George-Clooney-on-the-make imitation.

Charlize didn’t return the favor.

“Hi,” he greeted her boldly. “How you doin’?”

For a minute there he thought she might speak.

Her lips parted. Her eyes widened. A hint of a smile hovered.

Come on, sweetheart, give it up.

His hopes lodged in his throat. Suddenly his imagination transported him back to the fifth grade. He remembered sneaking off during recess to play spin the bottle with his classmates in the basement of Seward Middle School with the singular hope of kissing Mindy Lou Johnson.

But then Charlize cruelly shattered his dreams. Without a word, she flicked her gaze away, as if he was of no more significance than a pesky fly, and went back to her laptop.

Snubbed! Okay, that’s what he got for daring to speak to the Queen of Cool.

Quinn tried to focus on his magazine, but he couldn’t concentrate. Eventually, his gaze found its way back to those legs. Eighteen months without the comforts of female companionship was a far stretch to go.

That’s how long it had been since his ex-girlfriend Heather had turned down his marriage proposal. She’d told him that no matter how much she might love him, she could never be more than a fair weather Alaskan. The winters were just too harsh.

Heather begged him to move to Cleveland, but Quinn figured he must not have loved her as much as he thought. He had not yet met the woman who could convince him to leave his home. Alaska was in his blood, his heart, his soul. But man alive, sometimes those long, dark winter nights got really lonely.

Some of his friends had told him he was too stubborn, letting his love of Alaska overrule his heart. They said if he didn’t learn to compromise, he’d never find true love. But others had congratulated him on sticking to his guns. He was an Alaskan man, and only a woman willing to become an Alaskan wife could make him happy.

At thirty-two Quinn was ready for a family of his own, but he knew it would take a very special lady to make her home in Bear Creek. Elegant thing like Charlize Theron there, with her fancy panty hose and her hundred-dollar haircut, would be crushed by the regal brutality of the Alaskan landscape. Nope, pretty she might be, but he needed someone tough and strong and resilient. Someone like his younger sister, Meggie. Or at least how Meggie used to be before she married Jesse Drummond and moved off to Seattle to fulfill her dream of becoming a city girl. Trouble was, in Bear Creek, men outnumbered women ten to one.