A Taste of Winter: 1 (Red Masks) (7 page)

By her side, Ryan remained unusually silent, his face turned
toward the ceiling.

“Why did you do that?” She tried to read his features, find
some clue to his mood in his body language but he lay still as a stone, giving
nothing of his mood away.

“Didn’t you enjoy it?” he finally queried. Although he
turned to face her he made no move to touch her and she felt a chill of
aloneness creep across her flesh.

Did he even care that she had been with another man? Did she
meant so little to him that he didn’t care who had her or did he think he was
passing her off so he could be free to find someone new for himself?

“That wasn’t the question.”

“No.” His sigh was loud in the silence between them. Alaina
watched the shadows move as he reached up to run a hand through his hair, the
gesture poignant in its uncertainty. “I owed Zayne a very great debt. And I am
grateful that you were willing to help me repay him.”

“Will it happen again?”

“No.” A pause. “Are you angry?”

“No.” Another long pause.

“Will you come back to work for me when the job with Zayne
is finished?”

“Will you promise not to obsess over every decision I make?”

His rumble of laughter was a glorious thing. “Oh my dear Miss
Winter, I promise to obsess over everything you do—but I will do my best to
keep you so well-rewarded you will never want out of our contract again.” Then
he turned and gave her a look that made her shiver to her toes. “You belong to
me, Alaina, now and always. In fact, I am thinking about offering you a
permanent position. Would you care to discuss terms for our lifetime
agreement?”

The End

Gia Dawn has loved reading romance since she was a girl. She
started with Harlequins in her early teens—sneaking them into church because
the sermons were so long, much to the chagrin of her grandmother. She decided
to write her first book after she graduated from college—which, of course,
never made it past chapter three.

Then she discovered erotic romance and a whole new world of
writing opened up. She has several titles already published, and is thrilled to
be bringing new works to Ellora’s Cave!

Her big brush with fame is that she graduated from college
with Woody Harrelson, and one day wants to write a book he could actually star
in—although it will probably have to be titled “Fifty Shades Greyest” by then.

Gia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website
and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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A Taste of Winter

ISBN 9781419948879

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A Taste of Winter Copyright © 2013 Gia Dawn

Edited by Julie Naughton

Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill

Cover photography by George Tsartsiandiasis, millisenta123rf.com,
periodimages.com

Electronic book publication November 2013

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