Like Silk
The moment Collier Smith pulled to a stop on that rainy Tennessee mountain road and gently led the dazed, badly bruised woman into the warmth and safety of his car, his own life was shattered.Brittany Banks was the wrong woman at the wrong time. But could there ever be a right time? He was a high-powered attorney on the fast track for a federal judgeship, engaged to a prominent socialite. Brittany Banks was a vulnerable beauty from the wrong side of town. And, in a cruel twist of fate, she was a reminder of the past he had struggled to forget. So why her, why now? Why this insatiable longing, this fierce need to protect her, to possess her–a need that will drive him deeper into her world…perhaps at the cost of his own.
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“Please…”
Her voice, in that broken plea, jerked him back to the moment at hand. “Please what?”
“Don’t take me to the hospital.”
So she wasn’t catatonic after all. Or in total shock. Both good signs that filled him with relief. At least it didn’t appear she was going to collapse on him, a fear he hadn’t heretofore wanted to address.
“That’s where you belong,” he stressed, disturbed anew that she would even hesitate.
“If you try to make me go, I’ll get out of the car.”
“And do what?” He knew his sarcasm was lost on her, but he couldn’t stop the words.
“Keep walking.”
“And die?”
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing,” she said, her voice breaking.
“With a keen sense of characterization and emotions, Ms. Baxter will please. The story is charming.”
—Romantic Times on Tempting Janey
Contents
One
Were there any skeletons in his closet?
Collier Smith would rather not dwell on that subject, but he had no choice—not since he’d just found out he was being seriously considered for the federal judgeship in the central district of his home state.
“Yes, yes,” he muttered out loud, thinking how incredibly lucky he was to even be in the running for such a prestigious position at the young age of thirty-eight. What was even more incredible was that he had no political experience.
A federal judge. Awesome. His dream come true—if it happened, he reminded himself, jerking the reality chain. But if the cards fell right and he ended up as the president’s chosen one, he would not only make himself proud, but his stepdad, Mason, as well. Collier knew Mason wanted this position for him with every fiber of his being, and Collier feared the consequences if it didn’t come to fruition.
He squirmed against the pinch of guilt that tightened his gut. It should be his stepbrother, Jackson, who was vying for the job, not him. If only Jackson hadn’t been in that accident and lost the use of his legs. If only… There were so many of those in his life that Collier couldn’t begin to sort through them all.
His mind reverted back to his buried skeletons, but he quickly dismissed them again. He refused to dwell on the negative. For the moment he wanted the luxury of indulging himself and basking in his good fortune.
Unable to contain the excitement building inside him, he slapped the steering wheel with one hand, then felt the vehicle swerve.
Sudden fear tightened Collier’s fingers back on the wheel and forced him to pay closer attention to what he was doing. A man couldn’t drive unfocused through these rolling hills, especially with a slow drizzle hitting the windshield and numerous multicolored leaves falling from the trees that surrounded him.
Though it was nearing darkness, he could still see and appreciate the beauty of early fall in Tennessee. Rarely did he get the chance to sneak away from the booming law office where he was a partner and treat himself to a weekend alone in the family’s rustic cabin nestled away from the hectic wear and tear of everyday life.
However, he wasn’t on a pleasure jaunt, he reminded himself, facing reality once again. The high-profile case he’d taken had turned out to be more complicated and demanding than he’d expected. He needed some quiet time to study and prepare.
Too, he needed some space from the woman he’d been seeing for some time now. Lana had been pressuring him to set a wedding date, which would mean an engagement ring, announcement party, the whole nine yards. None of those held any appeal. He wasn’t even sure he loved her. Even if he did, the thought of marriage scared the hell out of him.
Dislodging that unsettling thought, Collier watched the cascading leaves, reminding himself to enjoy that small pleasure. His blue eyes narrowed on a big red leaf stuck on the windshield. He laughed out loud for the pure hell of it, despite the fact the drizzle had turned into a steady rain, making driving that much more treacherous.
Gripping the wheel even tighter, Collier slowed his speed as he rounded a curve. That was when he saw her. Or at least he thought it was a her. With the rain, he couldn’t be sure. What he was sure of, however, was that someone was walking toward him on the side of the road.
Leaning closer to the wheel and further narrowing his eyes, he decided it was definitely a woman and that she seemed to be in a world of hurt.
She was weaving as if she was drunk or completely disoriented. Either way, the situation was dangerous for both of them. Collier’s heart raced, and his palms turned sweaty. If he hadn’t slowed down, he might not have seen her until it was too late.
