Free Collared for a Night (Crimson Romance) by Susan Arden Page A

what you think? Feels more like bachelorhood selected me.”
    Mia had proven that wide-eyed women were not all soft curves and warm sighs. He’d given her access to his business and his emotions, believing she’d be a good partner in life. Maybe not the type for whom he’d crawl into a corner and cease breathing if she reconsidered his offer.
    Mia had shown him a side of life he hoped to never repeat.
    Except here he was, swan diving into oblivion with a woman who nearly had him wrapped around her finger. Almost.
    “If you’d asked me that before tonight, hell, this very morning, I would have agreed whole-heartedly that being a bachelor fit my lifestyle. Now, I honestly don’t know that to be true.” Shawn tightened his grip, taking hold of Diana’s wrist. He pulled her next to him to chase away the bad taste that thinking about Mia and Frazier produced. His gaze trained on her curves, moving in an unhurried trail from the tip of her knee to the turned-up corners of her mouth. He couldn’t help but stare as she wet her lips.
    “Shawn, you know I’m not like that.”
    “Yes. I do. But you must know, there’s still bad blood between us. It wasn’t just my fiancée sleeping around. Mia and Frazier took company files and left with a hefty portion of my clients. Frazier Jenkins, my ex-cousin and ex-partner, went with her.”
    Diana covered her mouth with her hand. Telling her the bloody truth, he didn’t experience more than a twinge in his gut, and the lack of discomfort pleasantly surprised him. He felt he could share almost anything with Diana, pour out his soul if needed.
    His brain sent a warning siren to take care. He’d already lost at love and friendship. Two people had had the power to stab him and they made no bones but went right to work. Both broke the mold of backstabbers. ‘Gone to Nevada to start fresh’ was what Mia had written. Frazier had disappeared without so much as a “fuck you.”
    “Honestly, I never would have been as accepting as you’ve been. My God, you’re remarkable. Is that why the council selected you? For your inner strength?”
    “Back then, I was anything but gracious. If the council had known what was running through my mind, they never would have selected me to so much as judge a pie contest. I used every connection I had to obtain information on Mia and Frazier. In hours after they’d left, I had a list of their contacts, right down to where they had planned on setting up shop, bank accounts, and even their suppliers. If I’d acted, I could have shut them down before they’d begun. And what I found out gave me the means to do more than bodily harm. I wanted to teach them a lesson. I lived and breathed vengeance.”
    “But they’re doing well enough and have made a name for themselves. They’re on several design boards. So, you held back. Didn’t you?”
    “It wasn’t about the money. I didn’t need whatever business they planned to siphon. No, it had been on principle.”
    “What stopped you?”
    He’d flown out to Nevada to settle the score, except Quinn had found him and prevented any action against Mia or Frazier. Shawn laughed bitterly, recalling how out of control he’d nearly been. “You’ve met Quinn and Tristen. You could say they handled me quite well, considering my condition. I couldn’t talk about it but that hadn’t fooled Quinn. My friend can sniff out trouble in any form.”
    “They are very imposing figures when they come into Matrix.”
    “That’s precisely why they work for me and are helping in this appeals process the council is setting up.”
    “So, for the good of others you didn’t react? That takes a tremendous amount of self-control. No matter how you view your initial emotions. If anyone can make a justice council work, it would be you.”
    “Honestly, Quinn and Tristen had threatened to hogtie me if I refused to return with them. They found me in Vegas waiting outside Frazier’s hotel. Nothing happened.”
    Quinn and