Power Play [Pleasure Playground 2] by Eliza Gayle Page B

she'd been with her mother's family, they'd barely acknowledged her, let alone ever punished her.
    For many years, she'd wondered why she'd been treated differently until she'd asked a friend who'd easily supplied the answer with a shrug. "It's what families do. Parents are expected to punish and reward their kids appropriately."
    The statement had stunned her. Families . They took care of their own and kids like her were left alone. Always alone...
    In an incredible bout of timing, their dinner arrived and the conversation changed. Daegan talked animatedly about the building progress on the Pleasure Playground, and she picked at her food, eating only enough to keep him from commenting on her lack of appetite.
    The exhaustion of her day returned in full force, and it took everything she had not to fall face-first into her plate of food. With childhood memories threatening to drag her down, her thoughts turned to escape. That thought made her go stock-still. Maybe Daegan was right. She did have a habit of running away from situations that made her the slightest bit uncomfortable.
    What the hell? If she got up and walked out now, what would she gain? She'd be walking away from a gorgeous, intelligent man with a wicked streak that intrigued her. For what? An empty apartment? More nights at the club that gave her just enough to get by? Was that all she wanted for her life? To get by?
    Desolation pulled on Jennifer's resolve. If she wasn't careful, she'd slide into a deep depression and be back at square one all over again. Blinking back tears, she straightened her spine and focused on what Daegan had to say. She'd fought back at the age of sixteen and after more than a decade of getting by, she was going to take a risk.
    "Jennifer, are you listening?"
    When she finally snapped out of it, she found Daegan staring at her with concern. A hot flush spread across her skin. His shrewd gaze followed the line of heat. The way he looked at her always made her think he saw clear through to her soul. As if he, and he alone, saw her truths. She found it unsettling...and arousing.
    "I think we should get you home now.” He hastily signed the bill she'd not even noticed be delivered and pulled her from the booth without waiting for a response.
    Grateful for his take-charge demeanor, she followed his lead. She took his firm grasp of her hand as a further sign of his strength. Something she sorely needed at the moment. Her brain started to turn those thoughts over, and she forced it to stop. She was sick to death of analyzing every desire that entered her mind. So what if she wanted a man to take care of her sometimes. Was it really too much to hope for?
    When they arrived back at the Playground, Jennifer stared wistfully at her car. She was still torn between the familiar and the unknown. Luckily for her, Daegan didn't miss her reaction, and he squeezed her knee in a comforting gesture.
    "You'll stay with me."
    It was a statement, not a question, and luckily for them both she didn't have the energy to argue. He led her inside and into a section where she'd never ventured. This hall had yet to be touched with construction and from the outside, it didn't look like much. “Your apartment is down here?"
    Daegan smiled and nodded. “Don't worry. I'm not planning to keep you in a dump. A few of the new condos should be done within a couple of weeks, but those are earmarked for specific buyers already. So I took some liberties and upgraded this old place for me self. I'm going to be here for a while, so I thought I might as well make it comfortable."
    He opened the door, and she looked around in shock. Comfortable didn't begin to describe what she saw. The living room was very small by most people's standards, but he'd filled it with dark, comfortable furniture, hardwood floors, large throw rugs and a lot of plants. The greenery in the space really shocked her.
    "Do you have a green thumb or something?” She marveled at the trees and potted plants