Hot Ice by Cherry Adair

hands with. The man was not only a manipulative son of a bitch, but he was incredibly strong. Taylor took note.
    "This is more expedient than waiting for you to be sensible." Three strides and he dropped her onto the bed with a bounce.
    She scrambled to get her bearings. "And where will you sleep?"
    "Right here."
    Taylor rolled over and felt around for a pillow. She stuffed it under her cheek, turned her head and closed her eyes.
    The mattress dipped as he sat down beside her. She ignored him, even as her body temperature zoomed up feverishly at the thought of having his hands on her again. His mouth— Stop it ! she warned herself. This guy knew what the hell he was doing. He's playing you as expertly as you're trying to play him. Get a grip here and concentrate .
    A drawer opened. Closed. A rubber? Her teeth ground together. She'd kill him with her bare hands. His arm brushed hers as he leaned over her. Lightning fast, he took her hand and wrapped her fingers around one of the metal bars on the headboard over her head. She heard a chink .
    "Hey!" The cold bracelet of a handcuff snapped shut around her wrist. She inwardly sighed. "How could you?" She put a hurt quiver in her voice, though she didn't blame him. She would have done the same thing in his position. It didn't make her hate him any less. She was tired of trying to sound innocent and victimized.
    "Who hired you?" he asked. Again.
    "Nobody."
    Look helpless, she told herself. Pitiful. Sincere. "Nobody. I swear. I'll give you Tony's phone number. Call him and negotiate a—"
    "No partner named either Toby or Tony." Hunt shifted to wrap his large hand lightly around her throat. "Who has the contents of the safe?"
    He squeezed gently.
    She tried to pry his fingers away from her throat. "I tol—"
    His hand tightened. "Think I won't kill you?" he asked silkily, his breath fanning her face as he leaned over her. "Think again."
    She believed him. "I—ha—I can't breathe."
    His fingers didn't so much as loosen by a hair. "You can breathe just fine."
    Bullying bastard." I have e-everything, damn y-you." When he still didn't release her, Taylor dug her nails into his fingers trying to pry them loose. "Tr-uth."
    He let go, shifting away from her. "Address."
    She rubbed her hand over her sore throat. "In a time-lock safe at Banco Central de San Cristóbal ," she lied smoothly. "The Costa del Sol branch." A town three hours away. "It opens at seven a.m. I'll give you the combination."
    "It'll open now," Hunt told her flatly. "Number?"
    "Left twenty, Right sixty-two, Left forty-one, Right ninety-five."
    She heard him pick up the phone, wait a few seconds, then repeat what she'd told him. By car it would take three hours to reach the bank. By chopper, perhaps forty-five minutes total. She figured she had less than forty minutes to get away.
    "Get some sleep," he told her when he'd completed his call. "Knowing I'll be right here beside you. Keeping you safe."
    "Watching me, you mean." Taylor lay her head back on the pillow and shut her eyes as if mortally wounded by his betrayal. The cuffs felt like Stark 923s. Old-fashioned. Quaint, actually.
    "Sleep," he ordered, settling down beside her.
    "My arm hurts," Taylor complained, and felt not even a mild twinge of guilt when he bunched a pillow to support her forearm and wrist.
    "Better?" His voice sounded strained. Irritated.
    Too bad. She wasn't feeling particularly happy with him either. "Much," she told him sweetly, hoping the erection she'd felt earlier would get hard enough to cause his penis to fall off altogether. A girl could wish.
    "Will you sleep?" He shifted a few inches away. No longer touching, but close enough for her to feel the heat of his skin.
    "Yes." She managed a nice big yawn. "I'm exhausted." Wired. Sexually frustrated. Confused. "Is there a cover? I'm a little cool." Taylor didn't want him looking at her when she couldn't glare back at him.
    The sheet was light and scratchy as he impersonally dropped it over