Trapped by a Dangerous Man (12 page)

Ouch. “Thanks for the tip. Now what’s your last question?”

A wicked look flashed in his eyes. “How much did you like the sex?”
 

He caught me off-guard. “No comment. Next question.”

“A request, then. If you won’t consider my offer, will you at least pretend none of the last hour happened? I’m enjoying my time with you. And while I never would have chosen for this situation to happen the way it did, if I had to be stuck in a house with someone, I’m lucky it was you.”
 

His words left me speechless.
 

“Yes or no?”

I nodded, glad that the flickering light from the fire would do a nice job of hiding the blush that I felt spreading across my cheeks. Corbin took my plate out of my hands and slid it on the table. Then he brushed his thumb across my mouth. “You caught me by surprise in so many ways. I’m not afraid to admit the sex was hot.” His burning lips pressed against mine.

I resisted. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him, because I did. But could I respect myself for giving in now that I knew what he was?

Physically, the question was answered as the wetness between my legs increased. Corbin didn’t tell me to soften my lips for him, but I felt the request in the way he kissed me. He was being polite, but I knew what he did in the bedroom. I knew what he wanted.

And if I responded to him, his requests would turn to orders that I wasn’t sure I could resist. But my hands seemed to have a will of their own, and I found my palm filled with his hardening length.

His eyes bored into mine as he pulled me to standing and walked me backward, a bastardization of our earlier waltz. My hip bumped into a table and a lamp crashed to the floor. Corbin ignored it, his attention laser-focused on me. I found myself up against a wall, and when he kissed me, it was raw. He worked his hand under the flannel pajamas, and without preamble, thrust two fingers deep inside me.

I gasped, my face hot as lava, and pulled the pajamas down so that the elastic gripped my thighs It was so quiet that the sounds of his fingers in my slick flesh echoed, at least until my desperate panting drowned them out. He smelled like beer and aftershave, and his hooded eyes locked to my face.

“You know what I like about your body, Audrey? How grateful you look when I give you orgasms.”

“Not true,” I gasped.
 

He twisted his hand so that his thumb stroked my clit in time with his words. “True.”
Stroke.
“Shocked.”
Stroke.
“Grateful.”
Stroke.
“And humbled.” He played my body like an instrument. “It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

If I were telling the story of my life, I’d say that I slapped him, shoved him away. I meant to, and even went so far as locking my hands around his thick, plunging wrist. But instead of pushing, I pulled, grinding my hips on him, rising up on my toes and riding him hard. I couldn’t look at his face, not knowing that he was watching so intently, but out of the corner of my eye, I registered his expression, how intent he was, like part of him was memorizing every detail.

The heat of his erection burned through the fabric between us. He leaned into me, hammering his fingers into my spasming hole as he ground his length against my hip, letting me know how much I turned him on.

“Go on, now,” he said. “Let go.”

And I did. It wasn’t pretty. The back of my head banged the wall, and I managed to slip on an unrolled pajama leg, but he caught me easily, supporting me while I flailed and writhed and panted and begged incoherently, “Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t.”

He kept his fingers in me through the last twitches, and he was still there when I came back to myself. Then he slowly pulled out and, even slower, put the fingers into his mouth and sucked them.
 

I turned my head away, trying to hide my embarrassment, but then he kissed me again, the taste of my pussy faint on his lips. His hand trailed from my shoulder to my breast, pinching my nipple. “Feel better?” he asked.

 
I nodded. “I’m… really tired,” I said, which wasn’t untrue. It was late, and even though I’d slept through huge chunks of the day, I’d been through a lot, too. But I also wasn’t sure how I felt about my attraction to this man. Never in my life had I been so conflicted. To me, the world had always been black or white, right or wrong. And I still believed that. Which meant… I was on the wrong side.

My head dipped, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

Corbin stepped away as if sex wasn’t on his mind. “I’ll get bedding,” he said. He went upstairs and returned with a stack of blankets and pillows. I watched numbly as he created a makeshift bed on the couch. He fussed over the details, making sure things were arranged to his satisfaction. Control freak or gentleman? Did it matter?

He straightened and looked at me. “If you want to brush your teeth, there are extra toothbrushes in the bathroom upstairs.”

I nodded, getting the hint. He would take the couch. Which was generous, though unfair considering that I was the guest, but I didn’t fight him on it. Not when I knew I would lose anyway.

~~~

Even with the candle flickering on the bedside table, I couldn’t fall asleep. The bedroom was too unfamiliar. Hotel rooms had always posed a challenge, which wasn’t a huge problem as I rarely traveled thanks to my pauper’s salary.
 

I turned and bunched the pillow up under my head. Traces of Corbin’s aftershave wafted in the air, and I closed my eyes. Thinking about him physically hurt.

His offer to become a criminal. What was that about? Though technically, I would just be analyzing data or something.

Yeah, right. That wouldn’t fly in a court of law, and when his assassin corporation went down, I would, too. The thought of my name on the Most Wanted list made my stomach churn.
 

I turned over again and stared at the ceiling. I wondered where Corbin was going next. What he’d be doing.
 

Where he
thought
he was going, I corrected myself. Because I still planned to haul his cocky ass into town.

Who was I kidding? I couldn’t do it. I’d chalk it up to owing him for saving my life. I sighed deeply. What a mess.

I found myself sitting up and pushing my hair out of my face. My hand, opening the door, felt like it belonged to someone else. The door silently swung open. Corbin must have fed the fire again because it was brighter than before, and I stood in the hallway and looked at his sleeping form on the sofa below.

It would be so easy to slip handcuffs on him. Mine were in the car, but I bet Corbin kept some in that lair of his. Could I sneak into it without him noticing?
 

Then I remembered the rope I’d discovered earlier in the bathroom. I dug it out of the drawer and silently descended the stairs. Corbin didn’t stir. I slipped into the kitchen for a large knife and cut several lengths of rope to fashion four handcuffs, two each for his arms and legs. Better to be on the safe side.

My heart hammering, I crept close to his peaceful form.
 

When he was awake, his face always held a certain tension. Asleep, however, he looked younger. Relaxed. I knelt beside him, the rope twisting in my fingers. The burden of what I was about to do weighed on me, and nausea brewed in my stomach.

I raised the rope, staring at his hands, trying not to think of how attentive they had been on my body hours earlier. I knew that if I did this, I’d always hate myself, but I also knew he’d understand. Did that made it better or worse?

An eternity passed with me standing there, frozen, unable to take the unforgivable next step. I wanted to. I
willed
myself to, but instead, I slowly lowered my hand, and my head dropped, defeated.

“Thank you.”

I jerked and lost my balance, nearly falling into the coffee table. Corbin’s eyes searched mine, and I couldn’t look away.

This was what people meant when they said they’d gotten lost in someone’s eyes. I felt like I was drowning inside of him, smothered, flailing. A strange, sob-like noise rose from my throat, and the rope slipped out of my hands.
 

Corbin pulled me close without fully sitting up, or maybe I climbed onto the couch, pressing my body into his space, wanting him to surround me and drown out my doubts and nascent self-hatred. He wrapped the blanket around us both, and his strong arms came around to enclose me in a firm embrace. The sexual attraction that I’d been tamping down flared, but more than sex, I just wanted this moment of peace to last.

It made no logical sense, but I felt safe in his arms. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to accept this strange, complicated gift of a weekend with Corbin. He squeezed me tighter. “Go to sleep now,” he said, his voice husky with exhaustion. “Everything will be ok. I promise.”

My eyes closed. I believed him. His words lulled me into a deep sleep, that, while not happy, was blissfully uninterrupted.

~~~

When I woke, I was a little chilly. The fire was nothing but smoking embers, but I saw the light on the digital clock blinking. The power must be back on, but maybe the heater needed to be manually reset. I turned over and found that I was alone.

Corbin was probably making an exquisite breakfast that he would scowl at and call it the equivalent of fast food. Smiling, I sat up and saw the length of rope coiled on the table next to a folded piece of paper.
 

My smile faded. There was no way that was good.

In an instant, I was wide awake. I grabbed the paper and opened it.

Dearest Audrey,

Forgive me for leaving, but one of my associates is getting me. After the storm ends, your car will be delivered to your home. Stay here as long as you want. When you’re ready, the keys to the SUV are in the ignition. You can hang onto it as long as you like.
 

Take the cell phone upstairs to replace the one you lost (it wasn’t a very good phone anyway).

Corbin

P.S. I hope you won’t mind, but it looks like I need to pass through town again in a two weeks. Maybe we can have a real date. Bring the rope and the video game.

P.P.S. I won’t be staying in this house then, but you’re welcome to stake it out if it makes you feel better.

“Bastard,” I said, though I couldn’t summon a decent level of conviction. Deep down, I was relieved, I thought, as I made my way down the hallway to his assassin’s lair. The door was closed, and I didn’t have a clue what the code was, but when I tried the handle, it opened.
 

The trunks and laptop were gone, and I noticed for the first time that there was a door on the other side of the room. It opened to the snow-covered outdoors. There were several sets of tracks in the snow. He was gone, which meant he wasn’t my problem anymore. Maybe I should have been furious, but last night had proven that I couldn’t bring myself to arrest him. Not after everything that had happened between us.
 

I reread the note, decided Corbin’s handwriting was surprisingly atrocious for someone so neat, and folded it away.
 

I wasn’t going to take the phone, and I sure as hell wasn’t going on a date with Corbin. But I coiled up the rope because it might come in handy.

And I took the video game, too. Because I needed to practice. Then I went upstairs to find my clothes and get dressed. The phone was sitting on the table next to the extinguished candle I’d brought up the night before.

A red light on the phone was flashing. I touched the home key and saw I had a text message.
 

Good morning (afternoon?) my lovely. The offer still stands. Work for me.

I texted back one sentence.
Next time you’re in town, all bets are off.

Telling myself that this phone would make it easier to catch him, I slid it into my pocket.

~ ~ ~

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WANTED BY A DANGEROUS MAN
(By a Dangerous Man #2)

Bounty hunter Audrey knows that Corbin Lagos isn’t her soul mate. He may have saved her life, but he’s a coldblooded killer, wanted for crimes that he neither excuses nor denies. Yet every time she crawls out of his bed, the line separating legal and illegal seems to have moved.
 

As a rival bounty hunter closes in on Corbin, Audrey must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her secret lover, and an unexpected confession reveals that Corbin’s far more dangerous than she’d ever realized.