The Dangerous One


 
 
 
 Praise for New York Times bestselling authorLori Foster
 “[No Holding Back has] compassion, interesting family dynamics, troubled pasts, killer fight scenes, and of course, swoon-worthy romance. Highly recommended.”
 —Harlequin Junkie
 “Emotionally spellbinding and wicked hot.”
 —Lora Leigh, New York Times bestselling author, on No Limits
 “Hang on for this completely unexpected hard-hitting ride!”
 —Fresh Fiction on No Holding Back
 “No one writes alpha heroes and sexy, swoon-worthy romance like Lori Foster.”
 —Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
 “Hot enough to start a fire!... A delicious and dangerous tale that proves why Foster is one of the best in the genre.”
 —RT Book Reviews on Fast Burn
 “Count on Lori Foster for sexy, edgy romance.”
 —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
 “Foster is a master at writing a simmering romance.”
 —USA TODAY’s Happy Ever After blog on Fast Burn
 “Foster knows how to turn up the heat, delivering numerous steamy passages that crackle with chemistry and build essential connections between the characters.”
 —Entertainment Weekly on Cooper’s Charm
 “Teasing and humorous dialogue, sizzling sex scenes, tender moments, and overriding tension show Foster’s skill as a balanced storyteller.”
 —Publishers Weekly on Under Pressure (starred review)
 
 
 Also available from Lori Fosterand HQN
 Osborn Brothers
 The Dangerous One
 The Honeymoon Cottage 
 The Summer of No Attachments
 The Somerset Girls
 Sisters of Summer’s End
 Cooper’s Charm 
 The McKenzies of Ridge Trail
 No Holding Back
 Stronger Than You Know
 Watching Over You
 Road to Love
 Driven to Distraction
 Slow Ride
 All Fired Up
 Body Armor
 Under Pressure
 Hard Justice
 Close Contact
 Fast Burn
 The Guthrie Brothers
 Don’t Tempt Me
 Worth the Wait
 The Ultimate series
 No Limits
 Holding Strong
 Tough Love
 Fighting Dirty
 For more books by Lori Foster, visit lorifoster.com.
 
 
 Lori Foster
 The Dangerous One
 
 
 
 With every new book, I do a ton of research in hopes of getting it “right.” It’s incredibly helpful when I can email people with firsthand experience and get their perspectives. For that reason, I’d like to thank the following people:
 Michelle Norwood, thank you for answering my numerous questions about basset beagle hounds. Your sweet dog, Betty, was great inspiration!
 Noah Studebaker, I greatly appreciate the insight and background you shared in being a park ranger. Yup, I dramatized things quite a bit, but you gave me a great foundation to get started.
 With other aspects of this book, I borrowed from headlines and news stories, and bugged a dozen different people on my Facebook fan page with “quick questions” that sometimes weren’t so quick.
 Thank you to everyone! You’re all incredibly awesome.
 
 
 
 Contents
 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 ONE
 YEARS, THAT’S HOW long it had been since the sight of a woman stopped him in his tracks, but... Wow. He’d feel bad about staring at her, except that this woman was noticed by everyone who happened to be out and about on this sunny, early-June Saturday, male and female alike. Triple Creek, Colorado, was small, but they were in the center of town, with a grocery, restaurant, barbershop and bank on one side, and a gas station, post office and car dealership on the other.
 Plenty of people around to watch her with interest, so he wasn’t alone in that.
 It wasn’t just about her looks either. Petite, trim and with a long ponytail swishing between her shoulder blades, she looked better than fine. That long tail of hair, a light brown highlighted with blonder streaks, seemed to point to cutoff shorts that hugged an incredible little ass and displayed slim thighs. Didn’t matter that she also wore black lace-up boots over gray socks. Even they looked cute on her.
 Yet it was about more.
 She kept her narrow back straight, her legs braced apart and her hips slightly forward as she stood at the back of a gigantic stand-on commercial lawn mower. From business to business, she’d cleared the grassy areas, steering around landscaping and walkways effortlessly and in record time. Every so often, she paused to do trim work and use a blower to clean up.
 Not staring at her had been almost impossible, she was such a mighty distraction. Hunter Osborn had tried, but no one else seemed to put up much effort.
 Figured she’d be wrapping up at the car dealership...which put her very nearby.
 To many, she might seem oblivious to the attention she drew. Not to Hunter.
 Just as noticeable as her appearance—at least to him—was her charged awareness. She hid her eyes behind reflective sunglasses and gave the impression of focusing on her job, but he knew better. He felt her keen awareness of her surroundings, of every person in view and maybe even of things not visible.
 “What a sight,” the guy next to him murmured with a lot of innuendo.
 That immediately drew Hunter’s attention away from her. Disgusted with himself, he asked, “New landscaper?”
 “First time here.” Worth Linlow gave a sleazy smile. “Can’t look away, though. Wish I’d known she was replacing Trent. I’d have cleared my calendar.”
 Like Worth would have a shot? Not likely. In his midsixties and with one of the more lucrative businesses around, Worth should have been more responsible, definitely more respectable. Instead, he was the opposite. He made inappropriate jokes constantly, lorded his position over others and tried to cheat everyone.
 Currently he was trying to cheat Hunter.
 “This isn’t the price we agreed on.” With Worth’s ’73 Corvette still on the trailer, Hunter folded his arms.
 “Sure it is,” Worth said, while lewdly gawking at the landscaper.
 It took all Hunter’s concentration not to look as well, especially when the sound of the mower drew closer. “You’re short.”
 Worth spared him a quick, impatient glance. “That’s the amount we discussed.”
 “No, it isn’t.” The buzzing sound of the mower died