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She never knew she talked in her sleep, or worse, walked in her sleep…but she had, right into another man’s arms. A man she’d picked up on a criminal charge. A scary, staggering thought, considering all the scenarios that could have happened with someone less sincere and honorable than the true Dean Colter was turning out to be.
She moved her arm up to her forehead to look at him. “Go on,” she urged. “How did you manage the Houdini trick with the cuffs?”
“Your keys were on the waistband of your shorts, within reaching distance of my free hand,” he explained with a nonchalant shrug. “And considering the prime opportunity that presented itself, I couldn’t resist switching our roles.”
She lifted a brow. “Turnabout is fair play for you, huh?” she asked with a reluctant smile at his audacity, even as she recognized that this scenario could have ended up with a much different conclusion in the hands of a true criminal. But there was nothing malicious in Dean’s plan, just a playful role reversal he seemed to be enjoying.
And, surprisingly, now that any immediate threat had been eliminated, she found she was enjoying it too.
He blinked lazily. “In our case, turnabout is most definitely fair play, especially when it comes to indulging in fantasies.”
An unexpected thrill coursed through her, eliciting a sensual heat that spread to feminine nerve endings. “And what fantasy is that?” she dared to ask.
He splayed his long fingers on the mattress in front of him and grinned roguishly. “Me captor, you prisoner, with a little bondage thrown in for good measure.”
The pulse in her throat fluttered. “There’s just one thing you’re missing, Master.”
Amusement flickered across his expression. “And what’s that?”
“A submissive female,” she replied impudently.
He chuckled, the deep, rich sound making her toes curl and her body warm with awareness. “Oh, I’m not worried about your surrender,” he said too confidently. “While I’ve never done this kind of thing before, I’m a strong believer in the power of persuasion. Especially when it’s between two people who are highly attracted to each other.”
He’d brought the forbidden out into the open, and she swallowed hard, unable to deny his claim. She’d been battling her attraction to him since yesterday afternoon, had even made him a part of her own personal fantasy last night in the shower. The dynamics of their relationship had shifted this morning to one full of sensual possibilities, and she wondered how far he planned to take things. And just how far she’d allow herself to follow.
Growing suddenly serious, he rolled to a sitting position on the edge of the bed across from hers and braced his arms on either side of his thighs. The tight muscles across his abdomen rippled, drawing her traitorous gaze to the fascinating sight and the thatch of hair that swirled around his navel then disappeared into the waistband of his sweatpants.
“You know,” he said, his tone low and gruff, “I hate to be the one to point this out, but you really put yourself in an incredibly dangerous position last night.”
She reluctantly lifted her gaze upward, startled to see the concern and caring in the dark depth of his eyes. “No lecture, please. I’m already feeling foolish enough about all this without being reprimanded by my own prisoner, and that’s who you are, despite who’s currently wearing the handcuffs.” And if her brothers ever found out about what had happened, she’d be restricted to a desk for the rest of her PI days, which wasn’t an option for her.
He dragged a hand through his thick, tousled hair. “I just think you need to be more careful in the future, or else you might end up in the wrong guy’s bed.” A teasing note threaded his voice, and he gave her one of his flirtatious winks, lightening the moment. “This time, you got lucky.”
And ended up in the right guy’s bed. His bed. And now she was currently secured to said bed and feeling at a distinct disadvantage, regardless of the sexual by-play they’d indulged in minutes ago.
She rattled the metal shackles to bring his attention back to her current position and smiled sweetly for effect. “You can release me any time.”
He stroked his dark, stubbled chin with his fingers, considering the situation. Considering her. “Not just yet,” he decided.
She frowned, annoyance mingling with a restless feeling of arousal. “I think you made your point by cuffing me to the bedpost.”
He cocked his head. “Did I?” he asked, the simple question holding a wealth of doubts.
“Didn’t you?” she shot back just as quickly, ignoring the skip of her pulse, and the tingling sensation skittering down her spine.
He thought for another long, drawn-out moment. “I’m not sure I made my point yet.” In one fluid motion he stood and grabbed her set of keys, then moved across her bed like a big, lithe panther stalking his prey—all powerful, potent magnetism and intoxicating masculinity.
Shameless desire took up residence in her and intensified when he leaned over her to work the lock on the cuffs. His sweatpants rode low on his hips, and his flat belly was inches away from her face. The musky, all-male scent of him teased her senses, awakening a reckless hunger to do things to him that shocked even herself…like lick her tongue across his warm, hair-roughened flesh to see what he tasted like, or sink her teeth into the soft skin just below his ribs to test how sensitive he might be, or press her lips to the kidney-shaped birthmark on the left side of his navel…
Her breathing deepened, and she squeezed her eyes shut, which did little to block those erotic
images she’d conjured, or lessen the temptation he presented when he surrounded her so completely.
“Mind giving me a little help with these cuffs?” he asked from above her.
Grateful for the distraction, she reached up to assist him, but couldn’t glance up without risking the possibility of licking, biting, or kissing his belly, so she kept her eyes closed. Blindly, she searched for the keys, only to have Dean gently grasp her wrist and snap the other cuff around her free hand, effectively and efficiently restraining both of her arms above her head.
Her eyes opened wide in astonishment. She jerked on her restraints, but the effort was futile. The sturdy bedpost wasn’t going to budge, break, or pull apart, as she already knew. Dean grinned down at her, but she wasn’t amused that he’d managed to dupe her once again. This time while she was wide awake.
