A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (8 page)

She rose to her tiptoes and said, her breath feathering
against his ear, “I promise I’m not trying to push it, but I have to admit,
seeing you lose control might be fun.”

She slipped back down off her toes, and he looked at her.
She was, as always, honest with her feelings. In all the years he had known
her, she had never tried to pretend or put on airs.

“I’ll give you a warning. Behave yourself or you won’t see
anything of the club after now. Unless you’re into public submission.”

She shivered against him, and he groaned again.

“Please stop that.”

“Sorry. When you say things like that, I can’t help but be
turned on.”

He sighed. “This is going to be one long freaking night.”

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Jillian’s body was still humming when she slipped out of her
car a couple of hours later. Conner pulled his rental beside her and unfolded
his length.

“Do you always drive so fast?” he asked.

She smiled at him, liking this version of Conner better than
the FBI agent she knew, or the man who had shown up just a few days earlier.
There was still that air of danger around him. There was no way he could diminish
it. This was a danger of another sort, and it had anticipation dancing over her
nerve endings.

“I like it fast.”

There was very little light, but she could see the change in
his expression. “Really,” he said, his voice smoothing over the word and sending
small sparks of excitement racing through her blood.

She had been right. He had been flirting with her. That
thought made most of her brain melt on the spot. When she finally gathered her
brain cells to answer, he had moved closer, resting his hand on her car behind
her. She could smell him, that musky scent of his aftershave and…Conner. It
took all her control not to lean in and sniff him.

“Yeah. But then, I know just how fast to go.”

His expression hardened and even in the dim light, she could
see the flush on his cheeks. Knowing she was getting to him had her libido
revving.

“Do you know what you’re messing with?”

She stepped closer. “I think that’s who, not what.”

His mouth curved. He slipped his hand around her waist,
pulled her close, and kissed her.

At first gentle, then he deepened it, plunging his tongue
between her lips. Everything in her yearned, wanted, needed. This man had been
hitting all the points for days, and now she wanted him.

He moved and pressed his body against her. She would have to
be dead not to feel his erection.

By the time he pulled back, her head was spinning and her
heart was beating so hard, she thought she might pass out. Lord, the man was
deadly with his mouth.

“Answer me one question?”

She couldn’t seem to open her eyes.

“Jillian, open your eyes.” When she didn’t respond, he
snapped out, “Now.”

She did as he ordered before she even thought about it.

“Were you at Rough ‘n Ready for fun or was it really
research for a book?”

She smiled, knowing it would irritate him. She wanted to
push him just to see his reaction and what it would do to her. “A little of
both.”

He didn’t like that answer. She could tell by the way his
eyes narrowed as he studied her. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting
yourself into.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it, Conner.”

She heard the challenge in her voice, knew that she was
definitely hitting some hot buttons for him.

He crowded her against her car. The heat of him surrounded
her, and she wanted another kiss. Another taste of the paradise she knew he
would be able to offer her. Conner leaned down.

When his mouth was within a centimeter of hers, he said,
“When you want to do more than play games, you let me know, Jillian.”

Then, without kissing her, he pulled back and motioned
toward her front door. For a moment, she couldn’t gather her thoughts enough to
walk. Her entire body was a throbbing hormone, and he had just stepped back and
away from her as if it was no big deal.

She looked at him, saw the grim expression on his face, and
realized that it wasn’t easier for him than for her. She walked to her door.
Conner took the keys from her and unlocked it.

She stepped inside and turned to face him. “You could come
in tonight.”

“I could, but you aren’t sure. I want you to be sure. You
know what I’m asking, right?”

She knew enough about BDSM to know he was asking if she was
ready to submit. Something in her melted at the idea. She knew that Conner
would definitely be a strong Dom. He might have had the air knocked out of him,
but he was coming back to life. And with that, a man who needed someone to
submit to him.

“Yes.”

“Shut the door and lock it.”

She did it without thinking.

“Good night, Jillian,” he said through the door. Then, she heard
his feet going up the stairs to his apartment. With a sigh, she dropped her
purse and decided to get comfy and write. The man had definitely left her in a
quivering mass of need, and it wasn’t very nice of him. She undressed, and then
tugged on a pair of knit shorts and a tank top.

Maybe she should take a cold shower. That might help her.
Then, she collapsed on the bed. An ache for him welled up inside of her. Damn
Conner for being such a good guy. A bad guy would probably have taken her up on
the offer. But, of course, that was why she probably wanted to try this with
him. She trusted him.

Knowing that didn’t help her now. She needed relief. With a
groan, she rolled over and opened the drawer to her nightstand. She was dipping
her hand into it when she heard her cell phone ring. When she saw Conner’s
number, she wanted to groan again.

“Yes?”

“Don’t even think about masturbating.”

She froze. “You can see me?”

“No, but if you want to submit, you will not get yourself
off tonight. You don’t come unless I give you the approval.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but that turned her on even
more. Damn, her nipples were so fucking hard they hurt.

“Jillian?”

She glanced at her drawer, at the big purple vibrator, and
knew it would allow her to gain some relief and actually get some sleep.

“Don’t.”

That one word kept her from reaching for the item. With a
sigh, she fell back on the bed.

“Now I’m not going to get any sleep.”

“Learning the pleasure of restraint and enjoying the
anticipation will make the end more satisfying.” He waited for a moment then
said, “Good night.”

He hung up without waiting for an answer. Her body was
throbbing, wanting relief, but if he wanted to play this game, she would go
along with him. She knew in the end he would make it worth the wait.

With that, she stood and pulled off her clothes. She needed
a cold shower if she had any hopes of sleeping that night.

Jillian cursed when the family cell played Beethoven’s Fifth
for the third time that morning. Fate was definitely a bitch with a wicked
sense of humor for giving her relations who were such a pain in the ass.

With her eyes closed, she reached for the phone and answered
the call.

"Morning."

There was silence at first, then an aggravated sigh.
"Really, Jillian, it's the middle of the afternoon. Are you still in
bed?" her Aunt Blanche asked, her tone dripping with the disapproval it
always did.

“How do you know I’m in bed?”

“You sound half asleep and you haven’t answered my other
calls.”

“Maybe I was just ignoring them.”

“Don’t even try to lie to me. You were always lazing around
in bed when you were younger. I don’t know why it would be different now.”

Most of the time, Jillian could be nice, but this time, she
was tired. She'd had little sleep after that hot kiss, knowing only a floor
separated her from Conner. Not to mention she was beyond sexually frustrated.

"First of all, I don't need your approval for when I
get out of bed. It’s one of the reasons I don’t live in Atlanta. I picked here
to live because no one here gives a shit when you get out of bed."

"Language," her aunt admonished. The damned woman
thought she had a right to tell Jillian what to do even thousands of miles
away.

"You woke me up. You get what you get."

"If you would tell me where you lived, this would not
be a problem."

No fucking way
. If
they knew where she lived, they would be popping up here looking for handouts.
It was one reason she’d moved away from the mainland.

“Jillian?”

Jillian sighed. "What do you want?"

Blanche didn’t say anything for a moment. Jillian knew what
was coming. The family only called her for two things: death and money.

“Money. I’ve run low this month and need a little bit more.”

It was only the fifteenth and she was broke. How did people
go through ten thousand dollars in fifteen days? She lived in the family
mansion, had her food provided, and not to mention, they didn’t pay for
utilities or their cars. Her grandmother was probably rolling over in her
grave. But then she had made them all dependent on her while she had been
alive, so it was really her fault.

"We talked about this. You have a set limit, as does
Brent. Charles already said no."

"Of course. Not all of us have all that extra money you
have, and we have to survive. Lord knows you probably have a mansion wherever
you live."

Jillian opened one eye and looked at her simple house, then
shut it. Her house probably would fit into one of their bedroom suites.

"Sure, living in the lap of luxury. If it truly is for
you, contact Charles and get an advance."

"I don't want that. This is an important living expense
I need."

Which meant that her cousin Brent was still begging his mama
for money. On top of that, he’d asked twice in less than a week, and he had
been a coward and had his mother call her. He blew through the ten grand he was
given each month like it was nothing. He had no living expenses since he lived
with the rest of the family in a massive mansion outside of Atlanta. His ten
thousand a month was for fun. And he couldn’t seem to keep hold of it.

"Tell Brent to talk to Charles."

Her aunt paused. "He's in trouble. He had an accident,
and now he needs a new yacht."

Jillian held the phone out and looked at it and then pulled
it back to her ear. "So, this isn't anything other than Brent screwing
something else up, and he ran to his mommy to fix it? Charles refused, I take
it."

"Yes, he said that Brent could wait a few days to get
money."

Jillian sighed. She needed the entire story, but she wasn't
going to get it from her aunt.

"I'll call Charles and talk to him."

"Thank you. It is the least you can do."

Other than run the business and act as a nursemaid for a
family of lazy idiots who always expected her to fix things, she did nothing in
their eyes. She had a feeling that if she lived on the mainland, she would have
to take sedatives to deal with them. Especially if they found out where she
lived again.

"I have to go."

"Make sure you think about coming home for the annual
deb ball. You know they would love to have you there."

Yeah, they loved their token. "Busy. I'll have Charles
call you."

She hung up and rubbed her temples. She was getting a
headache and it wasn’t even noon.

The worries of her family dissolved when she heard a
footstep on her ceiling. So, Conner was up. Damn man kept her up most of the
night. He had known when he told her not to touch herself that she wouldn’t. He
had known she would dream about it, too. How could she not? He was on her mind,
driving her insane, and without a problem her subconscious had brought to life
a totally delicious dream.

Her aunt had ruined it, though. Hearing that bitchy voice
first thing in the morning was enough to make Jillian not want to think about
men. As soon as she thought it, the image of Conner flashed through her mind.
Okay, she could, and she could also melt at the idea. Just one little taste of
him hadn’t been enough. That much she knew. And the wonderful dream where he
had her strapped to the bed had been ruined all because of her damned aunt.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes and hit Charles’s number,
knowing it was going to be all bad news. Better to get it over with because she
knew from prior experience with her family that they were like a venereal
disease. Ignoring them just made the problem worse.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

"So, you liked Rough ‘n Ready?" his sister asked.
Conner sighed and regretted he had told her he had gone to see Dee.

"Yes, it was nice."

"I do like that club, and we are really lucky you are
such good friends with the owner."

It wasn't that he was a good friend of Micah's, but he
didn't point that out. His sister would just argue with him about that. Hell,
he was pretty sure Micah would probably argue with him. He’d noticed that Micah
seemed to adopt people into what he considered his family. Conner had a feeling
that he and Maura were already considered family.

"So, whatcha doing today?" she asked.

He settled down in a chair and realized she wasn’t going to
let this go. With Maura, it was best to let her gnaw on whatever bone was
bothering her at the time. "Not sure. Taking it easy."

There was a beat of silence. "Now you're scaring
me."

He laughed. "No, it’s just that I haven't talked to
Jillian, who apparently thinks she is my personal tour guide. I also want to
head on over to Bellows today."