“A requirement of the hotel, Miss…” He took a decided step closer.
She took one far removed from him. “Harper. Ashley Harper. And you are?” Big man with little gun in pocket. She was able to see the outline of his weapon easily. What she hadn’t noticed was his name.
“Officer Pierre Renier.” He wasted no time, slapping a cuff around first one wrist then the other.
Sophia had worked long and had to get an overseas assignment, even though the timing couldn’t have been worse. And this case? Winning hadn’t been in her favor from the get-go but blowing her cover for something like this wasn’t in her best interest. The fact he’d actually figured out she was cheating surprised the hell of her. She’d been taught by the best and most notorious criminal card shark in the business. Okay, so only for a few hours but she was a quick study. Winning at Blackjack was supposed to be a lure for the man she’d been sent to protect. Everything at this point had failed miserably. Hissing, she didn’t resist as he paraded her through the hotel and toward a set of elevators. “Where are you taking me?”
“I suggest you keep your mouth shut at this time, Ms. Harper. Remember that anything you say can and will be used against you.”
“Does that mean that I’m under arrest?” Did she hear the man chuckling? “Answer me.” Asshole. God, the number of words she wanted to spew at him could burn the place down with their vehemence.
“We will see based on your behavior.”
“My behavior?” She was dealing with an overt amateur.
“Yes, vital to my determination of what’s going to happen.” He pressed the button for the elevator, pulling her against him.
This time, she could swear the man had a throbbing hard-on. Fantastic. She’d managed to find the one officer in all of Monte Carlo with a sick sense of humor.
Or worse.
She tapped her heel against the aging marble, trying her best to keep her mouth shut. She was losing precious time. From everything she’d been told, the hit was going to occur sometime tonight. If she fucked this up, she could kiss her career goodbye. As they stepped inside, she had a terrible feeling that this night was going to go straight to hell. There was only one man in the hotel who knew her real identity and he’d need to pull some serious strings in order to keep her out of jail and allow her to keep her passport.
Whatever punishment this man had in mind, she had a terrible feeling she was bound to submit to him. While the thought should be nothing but revolting, she found him far too attractive for her own good. Damn it.
He kept his hand on her arm, his fingers digging into her skin. She inhaled and his exotic scent filled her nostrils, making her pussy clench.
“Did you know that corporal punishment is the preferred method in Monte Carlo?”
The tone of his voice was like smooth velvet brushing ever so lightly against her naked skin. She shuddered as his hot breath skipped across her neck, tickling her ear. Swallowing, she tried to rationalize exactly what he was saying. Everything in her mind was muddled at this moment, preventing her from thinking clearly. Or rationally. “Corporal punishment?”
Ping.
The sound of the elevator made her jump. She noticed they were heading straight up.
“Yes, I think you can appreciate what I’m saying. Can’t you, Ashley?”
Even the way he said her name was sexy as fuck, forcing her body into a complete state of arousal. Her nipples were fully erect, scraping against her thousand-dollar dress. Her instinct told her that she’d made a terrible decision in going through with this. The fact she’d been taken to the penthouse suites was a dead giveaway. This had nothing to do with being arrested in the traditional sense.
“I demand you take me to your superiors,” Sophia barked. Everything about this was very wrong, her hackles raised. When the doors opened, she managed to wrangle out of his grasp, kicking him square in the groin. The force was enough to thrust him against the piece of antique furniture positioned next to the wall, the lamp crashing onto the floor.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed, wincing as he went down.
Come on.Come on.Even with her hands behind her back, she was able to get to the controls, pressing the close button with her elbow. She hit as many floors as she could, laughing when she noticed the shocked look on his face. “Take that, sexy man.” Taking several deep breaths, she continued struggling, trying desperately to get herself out of this predicament. Thank God the cuffs weren’t that tight, allowing her after several breathless seconds to wrench one hand free.
That’s when she noticed the elevator wasn’t moving. The second she slapped her hand against a series of buttons, the door opened, revealing one grinning officer.
“Did you miss me, sweetheart?” This time he wasn’t alone, several obvious tourists stepping inside, their gazes immediately falling to the loose handcuff.
“Not even one little bit,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I don’t think I like your form of foreplay, baby.”
“Oh, come on, darling. You said you enjoyed the rough stuff.”
The few gasps were followed by the entire group of four sliding all the way to the rear of the elevator. She knew better than to make a scene, at least not right now.
Officer Renier pulled her into a hallway, whispering in her ear, “Nice try. Now your punishment is going to be significantly worse.” He said nothing as he halfway dragged her down the hall, shoving a keycard into the mechanism of one of the hotel room doors as he darted looks down the corridor.
“What’s wrong, Officer? Don’t want to get caught taking a poor, unassuming American to a hotel suite?” She heard the low-slung growl coming from his throat and when he pushed her inside, she jerked around to face him. The single light on in the room highlighted his displeasure, accentuating the rise and fall of his chest. The man was arrogant, egotistical, and damn if she didn’t want to suck him off. She bit back a laugh at the thought. Maybe she did like the rough stuff after all.
