Didn't I Warn You by Amber Bardan

to pay for.”
    I flinched. What was I, then, something to be acquired? So much for romantic fantasy. But then that whole idea had died right about the same time he’d asked for an agreement.
    “Well, you can’t pay for something that isn’t for sale.” I stepped again and swayed. Dammit, too much champagne. “I’m going.”
    His expression hardened. He looked intimidating as hell, and I just bet that icy glare of his usually made everyone around him cave in to his demands. Arrogant jackass.
    “Don’t run from me again, Angelina.”
    The warning in his voice froze me. I shook my head. It was probably a good thing I’d found out he was a bossy, cold-and-dead-on-the-inside asshole now. Especially since he looked, smelled and tasted anything but cold.
    He really shouldn’t have let me think there was more to this, that he felt anything special for me. Clearly, he saw this—saw me —as some kind of transaction.
    I could think of fifty-one articles I could write about this the instant I left. Unfortunately none of those could be published under the umbrella of “sexiness.”
    Disgruntled with malekind, ready to form my own all-female commune—those were not Poise magazine angles.
    “I’ll do what I like.” I raised my chin and gave him a glare that dared to be challenged. “Next time you’re trying to get into a girl’s pants, maybe try not treating her like a whore.”
    I didn’t wait to gauge his reaction, just turned to the door.
    A touch on my arm stopped me. “Don’t run because I hurt your pride. There’s something between us bigger than pettiness.”
    I looked at him. His lips pressed tightly. A squint fanned his eyes, almost as though he had emotions. There’s something between us bigger than pettiness...
    I don’t know where my fight went, but it ran out on me. Left me alone with Haithem to overtake my senses and do as he pleased.
    He kissed me—seared me from the outside to my insides. Brutal, ruthless, possessive. His tongue invaded the cavity of my mouth, took everything I had. Stroked me, inflamed me until I held his shirt just to remain on my feet.
    He tasted like life, made me want to dive right in. He seized me up in his arms and surrounded me. My breasts ground against his chest. I wanted more, more friction, more of his tongue in my mouth, more of his hands on me, more of him . I gripped him by the shoulders, tugged the cotton covering him.
    Haithem jerked back and stared down at me. We panted. That kiss proved why he really wanted to pay me—he wanted to own me.
    “You want this. Behave and we can both have what we want.”
    Behave .
    I shivered. I had images of doing just that. Behaving for Haithem. Being his paid pet. But the thought spiked a pain deep in my chest.
    I had to get away from him.
    I pulled back and fled the cabin.
    His footsteps thundered behind me. “Stop, Angelina.”
    “Just stay away from me.” I turned and faced him, my anger finally catching up with me. “You want to know the truth?” I took a deep breath and let it all rush out. “Yeah, I’m attracted to you, but you’re a massive prick. I’ve got no desire to behave or do anything else for you.”
    His jaw hardened.
    For an instant a shard of true fear spiked me. Would he possibly stop me from leaving?
    No .
    That would be crazy. Criminal. Evil. He couldn’t—wouldn’t.
    But... The way his eyes narrowed. The way he assessed me. How could that be? Hot one moment, cold the next?
    Cold . Suspicious .
    Agreements and secret business. There was worse, and more sinister things to him than I’d first seen.
    What was he hiding?
    Why did Haithem, beautiful, rich, sexy, smooth Haithem, look at me as though I might be something to be studied and broken, shaken until my secrets spilled free?
    His posture shifted as if he’d shrugged on a coat of formality. “Fine, if that’s how you feel, I’ll walk you to the dock and have Karim drive you home.”
    I backed up, placing my hand on the railing. “You just