Jeez. “No need to get spicy about it. And by the way, I didn’twantto kill you, I was telling you that was the job. Here.” I dig into my pack and pull out a bag of homemade pretzels. Took ages of begging to get the recipe, and I barely had time to make a batch before I got called out of town to do this job. I’m hesitant to share, but I can’t have a hungry giant on my hands. “Eat something already.”
He takes the bag, still looking wary. His stomach lets out another thunderous growl, and he must be too hungry to argue further because he grabs one of the soft-baked twists a little too quickly and shoves almost a whole one into his mouth at once.
To my horror, about half of what goes in immediately gets spat back out. “Holy shit, these are awful.”
“What? No they’re fucking not. It’s Ethel’s recipe. I even sent her pictures to make sure I did them right.”
Rowan looks wary. “I don’t know who Ethel is, but she did you dirty. Who even is Ethel?” He keeps glancing around. Probably hoping to find a saner adult, but he’s out of luck.
She’s my late great-aunt’s “special friend,” but that’s none of his business. Especially since the asshole can’t appreciate my baked goods.
Heat burns through my belly, and not the pleasant kind. “You know what? Never mind.” I snatch the bag back out of his hands. “You don’t like them, I guess you’ll have to starve. Fuck you.”
Driven less by hunger than a desire to prove the dick wrong, I shove half a pretzel into my mouth. Feels like someone tried to pickle the inside of my mouth. Oh, fuck, this really is awful.
Pride demands I force myself to swallow the dry, salty lump. I nearly choke. “Swear to God, I’m going to cut off that bitch’s oxygen.”
Rowan snaps his gaze to mine. “What was that?”
“Nothing.” I dust the crumbs from my hand and chuck the rest of the pretzels into the trash. “All right. Fuck this. Time to get some sleep.” I point into the bedroom. There’s only one. Looks like a queen bed. “We’re going to have to share.”
Rowan’s cheeks flush crimson again. “Fine.”
Exactly. Fine. Everything’s fucking fine. “You go ahead; I need to grab something first.”
I find what I’m looking for in the zippered bottom of my pack and tuck it into my back pocket.
When I get into the bedroom he’s stretched out on top of the covers, one hand under his head. Lucky for me, the bed has one of those wrought iron canopy frames. Sturdy, with lots of places to attach stuff. Gives me a pretty good idea of what Rowan’s pimp gets up to when he’s here.
First, I’ll admit I play dirty. I trail my fingers over the arm he’s got pillowed under his head, eliciting a twitch, a smile, and a small giggle that I refuse to let land in my chest the way it wants to. I trail over the blueish veins snaking down the inside of his arm, then wrap my fingers around his wrist. There’s a hint of a smile on his lips when he cracks his eyes open.
Until I snap the handcuff closed and secure the other end to the bed frame.
He shoots up. As far as he can until he meets resistance. “What thefuck?”
I straddle his waist. We’re both clothed, but I can feel him hardening under my ass. He’s also trembling. There’s fear in his eyes, even though the adrenaline seems to turn him on.
“Sure you didn’t let that guy tie you down earlier?”
Rowan lifts his chin. “Told you, I didn’tlethim. It’s against the rules. Brennan was really clear on the rules.”
Ah. “But you liked it when he did.”
“Until he tried to fucking kill me.” He jerks his hand, flinching probably because of the raw marks from earlier. But then? Any anger or fear he might’ve tried to convey gets ruined by the low moan that slips out of his lips.
“And yet here you are moaning for me.” My tone is hard but I’m grinding my clothed ass on his hard cock. Might be fun to ride him like this, with him all tied down.
“Such a hot fucking whore,” I murmur.
He narrows his eyes. “Until you try to kill me too. Right?”
“I promised Jalen I wouldn’t.”
“That means nothing though, does it? You said you’re waiting to hear back from your handler or whatever. What happens if he doesn’t get back to you?”
“He will.” He’d better.
“What happens if he gets back to you and I’ve done some terrible thing that fits your code?”
