Amber's Ace by Taryn Kincaid

him. “But we can’t throw all the rules out the window, Riley. I hereby proclaim you can’t bid on your own item.”
    His own item? Riley had found the gorgeous glass globe and painstakingly filled it with all those superb gems? Had he made it for her? Of course, he had. She could come to no other conclusion. And they’d changed the auction rules so she could bid on it!
    All eyes turned in her direction once more. Her first gut instinct was to shift and flee into the forest to hide. But pride and gratitude filled her, renewing her inner strength, her sense of self-worth. A male as magnificent as Riley wanted her that much?
    Mate. Mate. Mate!
    Her wolf danced around, basking like a rock diva in reflected esteem.
    Amber rose from the fuzzy blanket and stood on shaky feet. She rarely called attention to herself, but she could not let Riley down, and she could not let the moment pass. Pretty as the gorgeous glob was, she only had eyes for the man.
    Riley stared at her, willing her to take another step forward, but reluctant to let her venture where she hesitated to go. He turned back to the elder ladies. “Can I buy it back, then?” he demanded. “If you won’t let me bid?”
    “Nope,” said Miss Fern.
    “Not for seventy-five cents, anyway, young man,” Miss Claire interjected. “Nice try, though.” She gazed pointedly at Amber.
    Riley made a big show of patting his pockets. “Amber, can you help me out here, please?”
    Her face flamed. “You know I don’t have nearly what that’s worth.”
    “You have enough,” he assured her.
    “More than enough,” Miss Fern said.
    “Everything I’ll ever want or need,” Riley added.
    Miss Claire winked. “Bid’s seventy-five cents, Amber. Do I hear fifty?”
    “Fifty cents ?”
    “Fifty cents from Amber Northridge. Going once, going twice, going three times. Sold! Sold to Amber for fifty cents. Congratulations, lovey. Come up and claim your prize.”
    On shaky feet, Amber approached the auction table. Miss Claire passed the globe to Miss Fern who held it out to her. Suddenly, Amber knew what she had to do. She took the glittering, gem-filled orb from Miss Fern and set it back on the table, staring at Riley.
    “ This is my prize,” she murmured. She reached for his shirt sleeve and yanked him toward her. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him closer, until she could feel the pounding of his steady heart against her own. His summertime scent bathed her, swaddled her in a cozy blanket of comfort and warmth.
    He gazed into her eyes then beamed at her with his patented slow grin, more radiant than the sun. Her smile broadened as he lowered his head again, coming in for the kiss. His lips met hers, spectacular and electric, as everything between them was and would be, soft but possessive. Their breath mingled. Her knees wobbled, but he held her up, held her steady, as he always would. She could always rely on him to have her back. She gasped for air when he ended the kiss reluctantly at last. The pack broke into wolf whistles and applause, stamping their collective feet and calling for another kiss.
    Amber stared out at the assembled pack. Her turn.
    “I claim this male for my own,” she announced. “There is no better man. No more beautiful wolf. I claim Riley Morgan. I claim my mate.”
     
     
    Riley’s ecstatic whoop of joy and the pleased howl of his wolf could have been heard all the way to New York City, above the roar of a stadium filled with fifty thousand fans, and clear to Miami Beach, where a lone wolf scampering through the surf perked up her ears and smiled.
    He snatched Amber by the hand, scooping up the globe and grabbing their picnic basket as he ran. “Let’s get the hell out of here, angel face. Before your brothers decide to make an issue of things.”
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    “That was so brave.” Riley dumped the basket and the blanket on the banks of Hidden Maiden Creek and then, with a touch more care, set down the gem-filled