Damn, he was right about that. He’d saved her a verbal spanking. “Thank you. You were in a tough situation, having to fight at a disadvantage. I didn’t think about you telling them I’d gone to the Guard.” When a bloom of affection and admiration filled her, she jabbed her finger into his hard chest. “You wouldn’t have had to deal with any of that if you’d waited like we agreed.”
“I didn’t agree. And I don’t take orders unless they’re from my superior.” His mouth tightened. “And sometimes not even then.”
Her finger was still pressed against his skin. “And of course, you see me as your inferior.” That rankled, but she couldn’t help grinning on her next words, especially since he couldn’t see it. “But right now I am your superior…given our current position.”
“Indeed. I don’t see you as my inferior, though. Just to be clear. Why can’t I use my magick, by the way?” His question was casual, yet she sensed an underlying tension in his tone.
“Well, they didn’t tase you.”
“They sort of did, actually. Long story. There’s something in these cuffs that’s blocking my magick.”
The cuffs were woven with various threads, one of which was a strand of Lucifer’s Gold, a substance that annulled Crescent magick if it came in contact with the skin.
“Can’t tell you. Family secret.” She leaned so close that her jaw brushed his and softened her voice. “Not until we’re married.” Her hand had automatically flattened on his chest when she’d moved forward. “Since we lurve each other.”
His smile reminded her of the Cheshire Cat’s. “More than words can say.”
Blondie sang about a heart of glass. Violet remembered dancing around the house as a kid when her Ma played these old songs. The “pain in the ass” line was particularly apt right about then.
She felt, rather than saw, her brothers finally leave. They weren’t voyeurs, and they certainly wouldn’t want to witness anything sensual between her and Kade. She doubted Kade knew they’d left though, and why tell him just yet? She rather liked having the upper hand. Let’s torture him some. It was the least she could do after everything he’d done to her family.
She ran her hand down his chest, letting her thumb brush past his nipple, all the way to the ridges of his stomach. “Oh, but Kade, say them, darling,” she said in a louder voice. “You know how I love to hear you say them in that honey-dripping voice of yours.”
He laughed, the kind of sound one makes when they’re in a corner. Just when she thought he might stumble through some awkward words, he said, “Oh, baby, I love waking up next to you in the morning, with your hair all mussed and that dreamy light in your eyes. I love you in that red dress with the deep cut in the front, though you know I love you out of it even more. I love when you’re ready to fight, all full of piss and vinegar because no one’s taking you seriously.”
She was again at the station the moment their gazes met and that bizarre zing arced between them. Damn, the guy was smooth. And good at what he did. “Go on.”
Despite his position, he seemed more than willing to indulge their charade. “Know what we did that really turned me on?”
She stroked his arm, her mouth only an inch in front of his. “Mmm, do tell.”
“Wrestling in the puddle. The mud contrasting with your creamy skin, your breasts dusky and perky, and your fantastic rear, gods, the way it felt beneath my hands.” He let out a sigh. “Can we do it again?”
His words twined through her stomach and down between her legs. She pressed her thighs together. Damn it, she wasn’t supposed to be enjoying this so much. And he…he was playing the role way too well.
She dared glance down his chest to the top edge of his boxer briefs. Could the guy be that good an actor? She’d heard that Vegas could play undercover well, but really…
She smacked his chest, nearly stumbling off the block. She had to grab his arms to keep herself from falling, and for the life of her, she couldn’t will them to let go. “You’re this all-powerful Vega, stripped down, blindfolded, and pinned to a barn wall. Being subjected to disco music! You should be pissed, humiliated. And you…you’re turned on.”
“Well, I sure wasn’t turned on when your brothers were flogging me. But now that it’s you and me, and I’m pretty sure you’re not going to kill me, I find it rather erotic. In fact, this is one of my fantasies, being under the control of a sexy woman.”
He’d called her sexy. She blinked. Hadn’t he? She shook her head, getting sidetracked once again. “You are depraved.”
“I thought it would be with a woman I knew very well, but there’s something edgy about it being you.”
“Don’t be too sure about that not-killing-you part.”
His smile was all too real. “Oh, and naked mud wrestling is another fantasy of mine. So, within one day, you’ve fulfilled two of my fantasies, Vee. You are quite the woman.” He tilted his head. “Any fantasies I can take care of for you?”
“It’s Violet,” she bit out, trying to stanch the heat curling through her. She was no prude, but she’d never considered bondage arousing. A night of good sex with a handsome stranger in a hotel room, sure. Being tied up, having someone do whatever they wanted—she pushed the thought away. Was he still playing the part for her brothers’ benefit? “I don’t have any fantasies.” But dragonfire, she had to admit having a Vega completely under her control could be one…
“Whoa, I can feel your heat, Vee. You’re turned on, too.”
“Am not.”
“I felt this same heat coming off you when I had my hands on you, when you damn near exploded in my arms.” Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, his smugness was clear. “Right now, you have all the power. You can do anything you want to me. I’m at your mercy. You like that, don’t you?”
She had to swallow the sigh that threatened to escape as she took in his body. She wanted to touch him, to run her hands down his biceps, across the muscles of his chest and abdomen, and over his wide rib cage.
