“I was tonight,” he told her.“In the future, I might not be.”In fact, he couldn’t help but picture her attached to a beam in his barn, mouth gagged, her hair gloriously loose around her shoulders as she waited for his commands.
The image—bright, vivid—startled him.It knocked him off balance, and it wasn’t as unwelcome as it should have been.“In fact, you’d be wise to keep your distance from me.”
“Would I?”She pressed her fingers to her lips.
Trying to remember the kiss?Or maybe soothe the ache from the intensity?
“Everything you’ve heard about me…” His voice was gruff, the confession tearing at his vocal cords.He wasn’t a good man.“It’s true.All of it, and more.”
“Is it?”
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to protect yourself.”
“In that case, Mr.Donovan, please be assured that I consider myself warned.”
“Sofia—”
“I’m looking forward to Tuesday,” she said.
She was either very, very brave or she had a reckless disregard for her safety, and that meant trouble for him.
Sofia turned, picked up her clipboard then walked toward the clubhouse.
Her hips swayed with each step, and he saw her calves flex.
Near the door, she glanced back and met his gaze.Fuck him three ways from Sunday.He wanted her.Hard.Fast.Beneath him.Kneeling for him.And he wanted it now, not several days from now.
Then she turned away and went back inside.
It took every bit of his hard-won control not to go after her.
Chapter Three
It’d been a hell of a night—so much more than she’d expected.
Sofia kicked off her shoes in her apartment’s entryway and dropped her oversized tote bag on the floor next to them.With a sigh, she shrugged out of her blazer and tossed it onto the coat rack.
Without turning on a single light, she walked through to her bedroom, unfastening the buttons on her blouse as she went.
She’d anticipated it would be an easy event and that she’d be home well before midnight.But she hadn’t counted on Julien Bonds showing up, or spending considerable time with the intriguing Cade Donovan.
The dance with him had left her mentally unbalanced and sexually needy.
While she wasn’t a virgin, she had never had this kind of reaction to a man.For her, sex had been ho-hum, something she could take or leave.Mostly she did it because a man expected it after they’d dated for a while.She’d never initiated it, and thoughts of it certainly never occupied her mind the way it seemed to for her friends.And she’d never experienced anything like Lara had talked about.
That was, until tonight.
The way Cade had looked at her, as if he wanted to devour her, had made her feel desired.His touch had been masterful, his attitude that of an implacable alpha, and his kiss…
She put her hand on the wall to steady herself.
As if he were there, she recalled the way he’d touched his lips to hers.At first, he’d been gentle, then insistent and finally, demanding.It had been as complex as the man himself, and it—he—had ignited a dizzying number of emotions in her.
There’d been nothing hesitant about him, and she’d found his confidence appealing.He’d left her wanting more.
In the bathroom, Sofia tugged the band from the bottom of her hair then used her fingers to work the braid’s strands free.
Most times, she took a bath to relax after a long night, but tonight she opted for a shower.Without much conscious thought, she removed her blouse and dropped it on the floor.Her bra followed.Then she shimmied out of her snug-fitting skirt and rolled down her stockings.Irrationally, wishing Cade were there to finish undressing her, she wriggled out of her sensible panties.
