Page 2 of Choosing Stella

Five.

Four.

Antonio caught me around the waist.

A startled laugh burst out of me as he lifted me clear off the floor.

“Got you.”

“You caught me. That isn’t the same thing.”

“No?”

I twisted in his arms, forcing him to adjust his hold. He put me back on my feet as our rules required. I shoved against his chest and almost slipped free.

I nearly made it.

His hand closed around my wrist.

My breath caught.

Antonio paused.

He didn’t need to ask the question out loud.

I held his gaze and pulled once against his grip.

“Keep going.”

He turned me and pressed me against the wall beside the bedroom door.

The cold surface touched my shoulders through the thin fabric of my dress. Antonio’s body crowded mine without pinning my legs. I could still move. I could still kick, twist, fight, stop.

Instead I smiled.

“Better.”

“You’re difficult to please.”

“That’s why you keep booking me.”

He laughed against my neck.

I shoved him again.

He caught both my wrists this time and brought them above my head. Heat spread low through me, sharp and welcome. I pushed my hips back against him, deliberately testing his restraint.

Antonio swore softly.

“That wasn’t very sporting.”

“I’m not here to be sporting.”

“No. You’re definitely not.”

He released my wrists and reached for the zipper at the back of my dress.

I turned before he could touch it.