Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit: Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit. Emilie Rose

       “I want my five minutes.”

      Toby’s words stopped Amelia in her tracks. Adrenaline raced through her veins, flushing her skin and quickening her breath. She’d foolishly wagered with Toby because she’d believed winning was a sure thing. She’d been wrong.

      He stopped behind her, close but not touching “What’s my penance?” she asked.

      “Eager, sugar?”

      He nuzzled her temple, pressing his face to hers. Soft lips teased the shell of her ear. The nip of his teeth on her earlobe startled a gasp from her. Toby’s breath teased the sensitive skin beneath her right ear and his chest moulded her back. Sparks scattered through her bloodstream.

      “Toby, this is not a good idea.” She couldn’t give in to him. Not now.

      “You agreed. Five minutes. Of whatever I want.”

      Maverick

      JOAN HOHL

      The Playboy’s Passionate Pursuit

      EMILIE ROSE

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MAVERICK

      by

      Joan Hohl

       JOAN HOHL

      is a New York Times bestselling author of dozens of books. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Romance Writers of America Golden Medallion Award. In addition to contemporary romance, this prolific author also writes historical and time travel romances. Joan lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her husband and family.

      Dear Reader,

      Hi once again, friends. Yes, yes, I know. It’s been a long time since my last book, some of you may think much too long. I hope! Well, as I am human and not a machine, parts wear out, I run low on fuel and at times need some TLC. Hey! Maybe I am a machine. A machine who needed a part removed recently. I’m recovering, but each passing year adds another to the score, and, sad as I am to admit it, my score is getting pretty high and I’m slowing down.

      As you have likely noticed from the back cover, our hero in the story is, yet again, one of the Wolfe family, or Wolfe pack if you will! Any reader who has read any of my BIG, BAD WOLFE series knows the Wolfes are strong, honest men devoted to their profession – the law.

      But Tanner is the maverick of the family. He follows his own rules. Tanner is a bounty hunter, and he does very well at it, thank you. Still, he has never broken the law, nor killed a man. And he always works alone.

      Until the lovely Brianna knocks on his door…

      Thanks for your loyalty all these years. I truly appreciate it.

      Best,

       Joan Hohl

      For Melissa Jeglinski

      For all the patience and understanding

      she has shown me.

      Thanks, Kid!

      One

      All things considered, she was a traffic stopper.

      Tanner raised a questioning eyebrow at the breathtaking woman standing beyond the threshold of the apartment door he had just opened at the buzz of the doorbell.

      “Mr. Wolfe?”

      A tingle attacked the base of Tanner’s spine. Her voice had the effect of warm honey trickling down the length of his back. Her eyes were the color of brandy, her hair a rich, deep, glossy burgundy wine. Combined, they warmed him as if he’d imbibed the drinks themselves.

      “Yes.” He was rather proud of the steady, almost bored sound of his voice, when bored was the last thing he was feeling. Hot, yes. Bored, no. He lifted one brow. She stood there, all five foot nine or so, slim and classically beautiful, dressed casually but expensively.

      One deep, dark eyebrow arched, mirroring his action, as she asked, “May I come in?”

      The tingle he felt grew into a sizzle. Damn, it had been a long time since a woman had had such a strong effect on him at first meeting. Come to think about it, no woman had ever had this strong an effect on him.

      “Do you have a name?” He injected a droll note into his voice.

      “Brianna Stewart,” she answered, extending a slim-fingered hand to him. “Now, may I come in?”

      Curious—about the woman’s courage in entering the apartment of a stranger and about several other things—he took her hand, repressed a shiver, then nodded and stepped back, swinging the door wide as he did so.

      “Thank you.” Head high, spine straight as an arrow, she walked past him into the neat-as-a-pin living room, her stride relaxed, easy. The late-morning sun’s rays slanting through the wide window struck fiery lights off her slightly-redder-than-auburn hair.

      “What can I do for you, Ms. Stewart?” he asked. Other than sweep you up and carry you to my bedroom. Telling himself to grow up, he repressed the errant thought.

      “May I sit down?” She made a graceful move of one hand to indicate his favorite plush leather recliner.

      “Yeah, sure.” What else could he say? “Would you like a cup of coffee?” He wasn’t about to impart the information that it was the first pot he’d brewed since rolling out of the sack a half hour before she rang his chimes, so to speak. Hell, his hair was still damp from his shower.

      “I’d like that, yes, thank you.” She smiled.

      He suppressed a groan. As slight and polite as her smile had been, it dazzled his senses. What in blazes was wrong with him? he chided himself. She was just another woman. Okay, another gorgeous woman. Wasn’t she?

      “You’re welcome. It’ll only take a minute.” Avoiding his mental question and telling himself to pull it together, Tanner escaped into the kitchen. Well, he had hoped to escape.

      She followed him into the room. “I hope you don’t mind, but we can talk in here just as well.”

      That’s easy for you to say. Keeping the thought to himself, where it belonged, Tanner said, “No, I don’t mind. Have a seat.” He flicked a hand at the retro yellow-and-white chrome-and-Formica kitchen set. “Would you like something with your coffee…some cookies, a muffin, a scone?” Me?

      Knock