Winter's Touch (The Last Riders Book 8) Read Online Free Page A

didn’t cool her temper.
    Winter pressed her fingers to her temple. “Damn,” she said out loud.
    She had overreacted. In her mind’s eye, she had seen Viper pushing Sasha off his lap, which was why she had fallen to the floor so easily when Winter had grabbed her hair.
    Winter rolled to her side, staring at the empty side of the bed where her husband always lay. She curled an arm under her head and buried her face in the crook of her elbow. Releasing her tension, she cried because she had made a fool of herself. She wept because she hated Sasha. And most of all she shed tears because she was never going to convince Viper to have a baby.
    Winter fell asleep while still weeping, the light still on and the music still playing.
    When she woke up, needing to go to the bathroom, Viper’s spot was still empty. The music downstairs was getting louder. She heard laughter from the members as she relieved herself then washed her hands, splashing cool water on her face.
    Staring at the mirror, she saw bruised and pain-filled eyes staring back at her.
    “You’re not so pretty tonight, are you?” Winter whispered.
    The opening of their bedroom door had her straightening as Viper came to stand in the bathroom doorway.
    “Can’t sleep?”
    “I never sleep well when I go to bed alone.” She stood resolutely, waiting for his reaction.
    “All you had to do was call me. You told me to leave you alone.”
    “Yes, I did.” She rushed past him, moving into the bedroom. She was about to slide back into bed, when his voice stopped her.
    “Lose the gown.”
    He took off his black T-shirt, moving his hands down to unbutton his jeans.
    Her mouth went dry as she thought about defying his order. Instead, she angrily took off her nightgown, throwing it onto the chair beside the bed.
    “Can I go to bed now?” she snapped.
    “You can get rid of the panties, too.”
    Ignoring his demand, she started to get back in bed.
    Viper’s reaction was to go to the bedroom door and open it.
    “Where are you planning on going?”
    He crossed his arms over his chest.
    She shimmied out of her panties then snatched up her nightgown before going back to the bathroom to put them in the hamper. “Satisfied?”
    “Yes.” He closed the door then slid into bed next to her.
    She didn’t jerk away from his touch. As angry as she was at him, it was still better than wondering what he was doing downstairs.
    “I thought you had a meeting in the morning with a new buyer.”
    The Last Riders’ business had been growing since they had married. They had even hired a contractor to add on to the factory. She was ecstatic about the jobs they were going to be able to provide. Expanding the factory meant several buyers they hadn’t been able to supply to before were now negotiating a couple of contracts that would line the pockets of the Last Riders for years.
    Tiredly, he lay his head back on the pillow. “I do. At eight.”
    “It’s four in the morning. You’re going to be tired.” She tried to keep the reprimand out of her voice, but she knew she had failed when he turned to his side to look at her.
    “Train called and talked to everyone. Then I had a meeting with the brothers about the expansion.”
    “How’s Train?”
    “Missing everyone. He said to tell you hi.”
    Winter was glad Viper had turned off the lamp before getting into bed. She was positive her face was fiery red.
    “Then I stayed up until Moon and Sasha left to go back to Ohio.”
    “Why?” Winter asked, careful to keep her voice neutral, yet all she wanted to do was get out of bed and jump for joy. “Why did they leave? I thought you wanted Moon here.” Winter had learned that Moon was a contract lawyer.
    “Isn’t it obvious? Sasha has been rubbing you the wrong way from the minute she came in the door. It’s your home; if you didn’t want her here, all you had to do was say so. Moon will come back in a couple days.”
    Her husband was right. She had taken a dislike to the woman