she crossed
the room to collect her gown from the floor. Tension knotted in her shoulders
as she stood with her back to him, clutching the dress in her hands.
“If I leave now I won’t have to drive through
downtown after midnight. In my experience all the crazies come out after
midnight on a Friday.”
“The terms of the bet were for the entire
weekend,” he reminded. “Not for one night.”
“I know what the terms were,” she said casually,
then stepped into the safety of her gown. She tugged it up until it loosely
hovered around her breasts. Though she couldn’t manage the laces on her own at
least she wasn’t naked any more.
“As far as I’m concerned,” she continued. “You
didn’t win the bet. I still won the case like I said I would.”
“Ah, and we enter into a shade of gray. I say it’s
a matter of perspective.”
“Look,” she started in her most logical tone. “We
argue for a living and could both come up with supporting cases on who won what
but wouldn’t it make more sense for you to walk out that door and find a more
than willing ass to flog rather than hold me to the terms of what we both know
was a ridiculous bet?”
“Eve, the only ass I’m interested in flogging
this weekend is yours.”
A shiver raked through her.
When the trembles subsided, she placed a firm
grip on her dress and turned, fully prepared to tell him exactly what he could
do with his flog. She didn’t get that far. Her lips parted but no words came
out. Only a faint, appreciative sigh. Her eyes traveled the length of his very
naked, very heavenly body. Candlelight flickered over his tanned skin, making
the lean muscle throughout that much more pronounced. Eve nearly moaned.
No man has a right to look
this good naked.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” she muttered
and tried to divert her eyes from his body. “I think I won the bet, you think
you won the bet—we’re back at square one.”
“The only difference is I hold the key to the
door. That means I call the shots. So, this can go one of two ways—I can chain
you up for the weekend or you can willingly climb back into bed with me.”
His cock-sure smile snapped her eyebrows
together. “You’re not serious.”
“Oh, deadly serious.”
An unwanted quiver teased her pussy and she
subtly squeezed her thighs together. Damn him. He was right. He did hold all
the cards right now. She couldn’t convince him that she didn’t want him
sexually. Not after the steamy bout of sex they’d just shared. Hell, she couldn’t
even convince herself of that. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that every
minute she stayed with him put her secret at further risk and without the key
she was as good as his prisoner. She needed that damned key.
Eve lifted her gaze to his and narrowed her eyes
but he merely smiled.
“Might I suggest the second option?” he replied,
light amusement in his tone. “Rumor has it, sleeping in chains isn’t overly
comfortable.”
Chapter
Four
The sound of rushing water carried faintly
beneath the closed bathroom door. Eve squinted one eye open and gripped the bed
sheet. After three minutes passed, she decided Donavan would be at least
another ten in the shower. That gave her ten minutes to find the key, get
dressed, and leave before he was none the wiser.
Silent as a church mouse, Eve swung her legs over
the bed, dragging the top sheet up with her as she rose. Pick your battles.
That was a motto she lived by, and last night she had laid down her sword and
crawled into bed with hopes of fighting another day. Today was that day.
After Donavan had fallen asleep, without the
candelabras ablaze and no windows in the room she hadn’t managed to find a light
switch, let alone the damned key. This morning, though the candles remained
snuffed, an artificial glow hummed from a set of fluorescent track lighting
lining the walls. Surely she would have better luck searching for the key now
that she wasn’t
the room to collect her gown from the floor. Tension knotted in her shoulders
as she stood with her back to him, clutching the dress in her hands.
“If I leave now I won’t have to drive through
downtown after midnight. In my experience all the crazies come out after
midnight on a Friday.”
“The terms of the bet were for the entire
weekend,” he reminded. “Not for one night.”
“I know what the terms were,” she said casually,
then stepped into the safety of her gown. She tugged it up until it loosely
hovered around her breasts. Though she couldn’t manage the laces on her own at
least she wasn’t naked any more.
“As far as I’m concerned,” she continued. “You
didn’t win the bet. I still won the case like I said I would.”
“Ah, and we enter into a shade of gray. I say it’s
a matter of perspective.”
“Look,” she started in her most logical tone. “We
argue for a living and could both come up with supporting cases on who won what
but wouldn’t it make more sense for you to walk out that door and find a more
than willing ass to flog rather than hold me to the terms of what we both know
was a ridiculous bet?”
“Eve, the only ass I’m interested in flogging
this weekend is yours.”
A shiver raked through her.
When the trembles subsided, she placed a firm
grip on her dress and turned, fully prepared to tell him exactly what he could
do with his flog. She didn’t get that far. Her lips parted but no words came
out. Only a faint, appreciative sigh. Her eyes traveled the length of his very
naked, very heavenly body. Candlelight flickered over his tanned skin, making
the lean muscle throughout that much more pronounced. Eve nearly moaned.
No man has a right to look
this good naked.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” she muttered
and tried to divert her eyes from his body. “I think I won the bet, you think
you won the bet—we’re back at square one.”
“The only difference is I hold the key to the
door. That means I call the shots. So, this can go one of two ways—I can chain
you up for the weekend or you can willingly climb back into bed with me.”
His cock-sure smile snapped her eyebrows
together. “You’re not serious.”
“Oh, deadly serious.”
An unwanted quiver teased her pussy and she
subtly squeezed her thighs together. Damn him. He was right. He did hold all
the cards right now. She couldn’t convince him that she didn’t want him
sexually. Not after the steamy bout of sex they’d just shared. Hell, she couldn’t
even convince herself of that. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that every
minute she stayed with him put her secret at further risk and without the key
she was as good as his prisoner. She needed that damned key.
Eve lifted her gaze to his and narrowed her eyes
but he merely smiled.
“Might I suggest the second option?” he replied,
light amusement in his tone. “Rumor has it, sleeping in chains isn’t overly
comfortable.”
Chapter
Four
The sound of rushing water carried faintly
beneath the closed bathroom door. Eve squinted one eye open and gripped the bed
sheet. After three minutes passed, she decided Donavan would be at least
another ten in the shower. That gave her ten minutes to find the key, get
dressed, and leave before he was none the wiser.
Silent as a church mouse, Eve swung her legs over
the bed, dragging the top sheet up with her as she rose. Pick your battles.
That was a motto she lived by, and last night she had laid down her sword and
crawled into bed with hopes of fighting another day. Today was that day.
After Donavan had fallen asleep, without the
candelabras ablaze and no windows in the room she hadn’t managed to find a light
switch, let alone the damned key. This morning, though the candles remained
snuffed, an artificial glow hummed from a set of fluorescent track lighting
lining the walls. Surely she would have better luck searching for the key now
that she wasn’t
Similar Books
