Free Sweet Justice by Christy Reece

scarf, before she even realized it. Pulling the material away, she tilted her head back. Callused fingertips gently caressed the slightly raised scar that ran across the base of her throat. Honor shivered as every erogenous zone in her body stood to attention, ready to shout hallelujah. With one touch of his finger, Seth has managed to unfreeze five years of denial.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Sweet shards of heat spread from her nipples to her groin. Oh, that sexy, rough-edged voice … Then the words registered. “Sorry for what?”
    Naked emotion so fleeting she almost thought she had imagined it crossed his face. Then a blank stare replaced the look, making him seem hard and emotionless. But dammit, there’d been something there; she was sure of it.
    He dropped his hand and backed away. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I hope you taught the prick a lesson.”
    Shaken by the odd exchange, she nodded vaguely, her head feeling much too loose on her head. “Yes, he’s in prison.”
    “Good.” He glanced down at the folder. “I’ll leave you to your review. See you at eight.”
    Before she could react or respond, he was gone, leaving Honor with unanswered questions, a body temperature well over the norm, and a throbbing arousal that she knew had only one cure.

six

Tranquillity, Wyoming

    Alden Pike stood at the top of his mountain and surveyed his kingdom below. What had once been only a dream had become a reality—his fantasy come true. In the midst of a vast wilderness of nothingness, he had created paradise.
    No, it hadn’t been easy, but he was at last reaping the rewards of all his years of hard work and sacrifice. And because of him, his people were happy and thriving. What had begun twenty years ago with a ragtag group of three men and two women inhabiting a two-room shack a few miles outside Carson City, Nevada, had become a community of over one hundred devout members living a utopian dream.
    His people had followed him wherever he led. Fifteen years ago, his dreams had brought him to this piece of land—one hundred and fifty acres of nothing but privacy, beauty, and tranquillity. Lois, his first wife, had chosen the name. And because he’d loved her and indulged her whims, he had gone along with it. Now he couldn’t imagine his kingdom being called anything else.
    Lois was long gone. Taken by a sadness that swept over her mind and turned her from a beautiful, eager-to-please young woman into a middle-aged shrew with a stubborn streak and a sour disposition. Saying goodbye had been hard for both of them. He’d seen the glaze of tears in her eyes seconds before she took her last breath, but he’d also seen the gratitude. In life, he’d given her the gift of spending her good years with him; in death, he’d given her the gift of peace. What more could a woman ask of her man?
    He had tried to replace Lois from time to time, with little success. Each time he’d thought he’d found his queen, she’d turned into just another shrew who grew older and less agreeable, and he’d had to say goodbye. Incredibly frustrating, yes, but settling for anything less than absolute perfection wouldn’t be fair to him or his people. They needed his leadership to thrive, and he needed a woman worthy of him to keep him satisfied. A satisfied leader created happy followers. So far, that perfect woman had eluded him. He wanted the very best—that’s what his people would want for him, too.
    Heavy responsibility weighed on his broad shoulders—the kind few in the world could manage. Like kings of old, if people obeyed his rules, relinquished their worldly goods, and gave him their blind faith, he saw to their needs. Certain people needed to be taken care of and told what to do. Alden had been a young man when the realization had come that he was called to lead.
    Caring for his people meant taking care of all their needs and desires, even the most basic. That’s why new blood had to be brought in each year, revitalizing