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A delicious pressure tightened in her belly as images of being at his mercy flitted through her mind. As if that would ever happen! Knowing Cole and that honorable streak of his, he’d shackle her to his bed and leave her there, alone, until morning.
“Take the cuffs off, please?” she said, giving him sweet and accommodating to get what she wanted.
Stretching across the console, he unlocked the metal bracelets, freeing her. “Behave yourself.”
She rubbed her chafed wrists. “Thank you,” she said curtly. Opening her door, she stepped out of the vehicle and headed for the street, not his house.
He scrambled from the car, his curses echoing in the night. “Where do you think you’re going?” he called after her.
She didn’t bother looking back. “Home, where you should have taken me.”
Before she could retrieve her cell phone from her purse to call a car service, Cole was standing in front of her, his face reflecting impatience and something much more dangerous. She opened her mouth, intending to tell him to go away, but the words never had a fair chance to form as he bent low, jammed his broad shoulder into her midsection, and hefted her up and over his back like a sack of grain.
Her breath escaped in a sharp whoosh as she flipped upside down, arms flailing and her bottom sticking up in the air. Blood rushed to her head, making her dizzy, and it took her a few seconds to regain her bearings enough to express her indignation.
Gripping handfuls of his shirt, she braced her fists on his backside and tried twisting her body around to look at him, but only managed to cause a crick in her neck. “What do you think you’re doing?”
His arm locked tight around the back of her knees to hold her in place as his stride quickened, jarring her with each step he took. “I’m taking you inside.”
She could feel the muscles along his shoulders and back shifting, rippling, bunching as he moved, and the warm, masculine scent of him filled every breath she took, intoxicating her. “You can’t keep manhandling me this way!”
“I wouldn’t have to if you’d do as I say,” he said rationally.
Releasing a low, peeved growl, she squirmed and wriggled and kicked her legs, railing at him to put her down. Ignoring her demands, he slipped his arm lower around her calves and clamped his other hand on her bare upper thigh to keep her still. His callused fingers abraded her sensitive skin and she gasped as a bright flare of desire electrified her.
Seething at his audacity and the absurdity of the situation, she blurted out, “I ought to bite you!” And the first place she’d sink her teeth into was his perfect ass, she decided.
“I’ll bite back,” he drawled, his thumb stroking up her thigh, which quivered at his intimate caress. “And I’ve got access to a whole lot of tender flesh, so you’d better think twice before doing something so rash.”
Keys rattled as he unlocked his front door. Walking inside, he flipped on a light and started up the stairs to the second floor, mindless of the discomfort he was causing her.
She smacked him on the butt with her hand and grimaced as her palm stung. Was there
anything soft about his man? “Dammit, Cole, put me down!” she snapped, growing tired of his dominance. “I’m not your responsibility or obligation.”
He snorted at that. “The way you were acting at Paxton’s tonight, someone has to look after you.”
“And you decided you’re the best person to play guardian angel?” she asked incredulously.
“I’ve never claimed to be an angel,” he told her, his deep voice vibrating with a subtle warning. “So don’t push me because you won’t like the consequences.”
Her mouth fell open as a slow, steady steam of fury gathered inside of her. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.” At the top of the stairs he turned to the right and headed down a short hallway with her still slung over his shoulder. “I’m not in the mood to deal with any more of your reckless antics.”
“And I’m not in the mood to deal with your barbaric attitude,” she shot right back. “This fucking sucks, Cole!”
He tsk-tsked her as he entered a dark room. “Now you’re getting a potty mouth, too.”
She laughed, but there was no real humor in the sound. “What are you going to do? Wash my mouth out with soap?”
He snapped on a bedside lamp, illuminating the area, and she blinked as her eyes quickly adjusted to the light. From her upside-down position she took in dark, masculine furnishings and a huge four-poster bed. Finally, he set her back on her feet, and her purse fell to the floor. When she stumbled backward to gain her footing on the three-inch heels, he grabbed her arm before she ended up on her ass alongside the purse.
Once she’d regained her equilibrium, he let her go. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leveled her with an arrogant look, his dark, fiery eyes equally bold and direct. “I’m thinking I ought to take you over my knee and give you the spanking you deserve for your scandalous behavior tonight.”
A sinful thrill shot through her veins, settling in her belly like liquid heat. “Oh yeah?” she taunted, baiting him in a way that wasn’t smart, but she no longer cared. “I dare you to even try!”
Before she could draw her next breath he snagged her wrist, tugged her to him, and she found herself draped over his lap, face down, with his strong thighs supporting her. One hand pressed firmly against her upper back to keep her in place, and the other slid over her bottom, squeezing a soft, rounded cheek as if testing the resiliency of her flesh, and her heartbeat tripled.
