The Last Lone Wolf / Seduction and the CEO: The Last Lone Wolf / Seduction and the CEO. Maureen Child

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      THE LAST

      LONE WOLF

      MAUREEN CHILD

       He’d never been a coward.

      Men he’d served with in the Corps would be willing to swear that there wasn’t a damn thing in the universe that scared Jericho King. But here he was, avoiding one small, curvy woman as if she were Typhoid Mary and he was the last healthy man on the planet.

      After years of military living, he liked his privacy. Liked the fact that his clients came and went, hardly making an impact on his world at all. His employees knew when to back the hell off and leave him alone, and when he needed a woman, he went out and found one.

      Nothing permanent. Nothing lasting. Just a few good nights with great sex and some laughs. That’s the way he wanted it. The way he needed it.

      Yet now, everything had changed. In the space of a few hours, Daisy Saxon was turning his world on its head.

      And he only had himself to blame.

      About the Author

      MAUREEN CHILD is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. The author of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur. Visit Maureen’s website at www.maureenchild.com.

      To Rosemary Estrada—

      A great neighbor, a good friend and the mother of the four nicest girls I know.

      This one’s for you, Rose.

      Dear Reader,

      Writing about the Kings of California is always fun for me. I love these guys. I love the interaction between the brothers and the cousins and I have such a good time finding that one special woman for each of the guys.

      Jericho King was especially fun for me. He’s so crabby. A former Marine, he now lives in what he considers near-perfect isolation on top of a mountain. He runs a leadership camp, so at times he has to put up with clients. But otherwise, his life is quiet, orderly, unsurprising.

      Until, of course, Daisy Saxon shows up. Daisy’s brother, Brant, was a Marine killed in the line of duty and Jericho is her last link to the brother she loved. So she’s determined to make a place for herself in Jericho’s life—whether he approves or not!

      I hope you enjoy this book, set on a fictional mountain in Southern California.

      Please write to me at [email protected] or at PO Box 1883, Westminster, CA 92684-1883, USA.

      Until next time, happy reading!

       Maureen

      One

      “Now that looks like trouble.” If there was one thing Jericho King could recognize, it was trouble. Fifteen years in the Marine Corps had given him almost a sixth sense—a sort of internal radar. He could spot potential problems coming at him from a mile off.

      This particular problem was a hell of a lot closer.

      Jericho squinted into the late afternoon sunlight and watched as a short, curvy woman with long brown hair bent over and reached into a neon-green compact car parked on the gravel drive.

      “Still, not a bad view,” the older man beside him muttered.

      Jericho chuckled. Sam had a point. Whoever the brunette was, she had a great butt. His gaze moved over that behind and then down and along a pair of truly sensational legs. She was wearing a pair of brightred, three-inch heels that, even as she stood there, were sinking into the gravel and dirt drive.

      “Why do women wear those idiotic shoes, anyway?” Jericho asked, not really expecting an answer.

      “Generally,” Sam Taylor mused, “I think it’s to get men to look at their legs.”

      “They ought to know they don’t have to work that hard,” Jericho told him with a slow shake of his head. “Well, we don’t have time to deal with her today. So whoever she is, I’ll take care of it fast. Bet she’s looking for that day spa on the other side of the mountain. I’ll get her straightened out and on her way.”

      He took a single step forward before Sam’s voice stopped him.

      “Y’know,” he said, “I don’t think she’s lost. I think she’s the one I talked to about the cook job. You remember, you put me in charge of hiring Kevin’s replacement?”

      “Yeah but, a cook? “ Jericho narrowed his gaze on the woman, still bent over, rummaging around in her car as if looking to find a stray gold nugget. “Her?”

      “If that’s Daisy Saxon,” Sam told him, “then yeah.”

      “Saxon. Saxon …” Knowledge slammed into Jericho hard and fast. Shifting a glance at his foreman, he asked, “Did you say Saxon?”

      “Yeah, your hearing’s still okay,” his friend said, then added, “Why? What’s the problem?”

       What’s the problem?

      “Where would I start?” Jericho muttered as the woman straightened up, turned and spotted him and Sam standing on the wide, front lawn.

      She clutched an oversize purse to her chest as she stepped onto the lawn and headed toward them. Her long brown hair lifted in the wind, her dark brown eyes were locked on him and her full mouth was set in a firm line of determination.

      Jericho watched her as something inside him stirred. He squelched the feeling fast. This woman wouldn’t be staying, he told himself. If she was really Daisy Saxon, then there was no place for her here. Hell, he thought, just look at her. Was there ever a more female woman? When women arrived at his camp, they were dressed for it. Jeans. Hiking boots. This one looked as though she’d just left an upscale mall. She was soft and pretty and delicate. And delicate wouldn’t last here on the mountain.

      Not in Jericho’s world anyway.

      He’d hear her out, apologize about the job confusion, then send her on her way. It would be best for everyone—especially her. She didn’t belong here. He could tell that much just by looking at her. It only took seconds for these thoughts and more to rush through his quickly overheating mind.

      “Pretty thing,” Sam mused.

      Jericho didn’t want to notice, but damned if he could seem to help it.

      The woman took maybe four uneven strides in those stupid heels before she tripped on a sprinkler head and went sprawling, sending her purse flying.

      “Damn it.” Jericho started for her.

      But in the next instant, a tiny, furry creature jolted out of her purse and charged him with all the enthusiasm of a rabid pit bull. The grass was high enough that all Jericho could see of the miniature dog was its reddish-brown ears flapping in the wind.

      Yips and barks in a pitch high enough to peel paint shot through Jericho’s head as the improbably small dog, teeth bared, did its best to intimidate.

      It wasn’t much.

      Sam’s laughter erupted from beside him and Jericho muttered, “Oh, for God’s sake.”

      Then