Legally Bound by Rynne Raines

the court battles and childish banter, they had become
friends. A friendship, Donavan was beginning to realize, he cherished.
    And now, they were lovers.
    “Well? Do you bring a lot of women here?” she prompted,
propping herself up on her elbows and finally looking at him.
    “Only the very naughty ones,” he lied . “Spread
your legs a little.”
    Seemingly baffled by his request, Eve stared at
him. Donavan sighed then slid one hand between her thighs to edge them apart.
Her muscles tensed under his palm and her legs snapped shut even tighter than
they were before.
    “Oh you—you really don’t have to do that. I can—”
    “Relax,” he coaxed, cutting her off mid-sentence.
She was slick and sticky with her own juices and since he had a hand in causing
it, it seemed only fair that he help clean up. “I want to. “
    She hesitated but only for a second before she
gave in and lay down.
    Donavan waited until the tension eased out of her
legs then gradually nudged them apart. He fought a groan. She had the most
incredible thighs—toned and firm and milky white. He pressed the damp cloth to
the inside of one leg and heard her suck in a sharp breath. He shifted his gaze
to her face but continued cleaning the sticky residue from her skin. Her eyes
were shut tight while her pouty beautiful lips contorted into a frown. She
hardly resembled the unabashed woman who demanded he fuck her harder only a
short time ago.
    “Am I hurting you?”
    Finally, her eyes opened but they remained locked
on the ceiling.
    “No.”
    “Then why do you look like I’m sawing off one of
your limbs with a dull blade?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never had a man…clean
me off after sex.”
    “Well now, try not to make it sound so terribly
romantic. Kissy-kissy talk is one of my turnoffs.”
    Her lips twitched and a smile broke out of her
face. The smile turned to laughter. Low. Throaty. Genuine laughter. Donavan
savored the musical sound as if it were a lunar eclipse. Eve rarely let her
guard down. This could be a turning point. It always boggled his mind to why
Eve insisted she was a Mistress when she was so obviously a submissive. This
could be his first real step towards getting answers. If it wasn’t a turning
point, he still had two days with her. Two sinful days.
    Oh God, I can’t spend two more
days with him like this! Eve could already feel her defenses lowering inch by inch, the walls she’d
built in order to protect herself, her career and her life were crumbling like
a house of cards. Here she sat with the King of Hearts, naked and laughing as
if they’d been lovers for years.
    It was no wonder women flocked to him, she
thought, daring to lift her gaze to his face. Candlelight played over Donavan’s
striking features, accenting his perfectly straight white teeth as he smiled
back at her. The man had such an easy, open way about him. What you see is what
you get. No secrets. No lies. Just him. How wonderful it must feel to live life
like an open book, with no regrets or importance on the opinions of others. How
wonderful it would feel to live her life like that.
    “Here,” said Donavan, reaching across to the
fruit basket on the nightstand beside her. He plucked a branch of plump purple grapes
off the bunch and began contemplatively rolling one between his fingers.
    “I thought you weren’t feeding me grapes this
weekend,” she said, then opened her mouth wide like a baby bird waiting on
dinner.
    “Feeding is one thing,” he said, dropping the grape
into her mouth. “Peeling is another. A man’s gotta draw the line somewhere.”
    “So…it’s a compromise?”
    “Of sorts.”
    “I thought Doms didn’t compromise,” she teased,
unable to conceal her smile.
    “Some don’t, I suppose.” He fed her another
grape. “Some are just in it for the power trip, the rush of adrenaline that
comes with having absolute control over another human being.”
    “But not you.”
    “No.” He shook his head. “Not me.