Wednesday Words: Reaper’s Reward
My very first Wednesday Words on my new blog! To celebrate, a new excerpt from my most recent release, Reaper's Reward. Enjoy!
My very first Wednesday Words on my new blog! To celebrate, a new excerpt from my most recent release, Reaper’s Reward. Enjoy!
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Jewel swallowed hard when she looked beside the bed. A portion of the wall slid back when Ethan flicked a switch, showcasing a variety of whips, chains, and sexual devices of which she’d much rather remain ignorant.
“Nice, hmm?”
Ethan left her to study the myriad devices; when he wasn’t looking, she took a cautious step back.
“This is Rick’s room, where we’ll be staying for the next few days. He’s been kind enough to lend it to us for your training. You really should thank him.”
“Thank him?”
“Yeah.” Ethan turned around, his eyes hard, his demeanor one she hadn’t seen before.
“You know, thank him. For giving you a job, for taking you in when you decided to run from a relationship gone bad. Or was that just another lie? Like the one about your ability to get off fucking for an audience, and with strangers no less?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jewel calmed her breathing but had no luck with her heartbeat. As Ethan neared, she felt like nervous prey near a hungry lion. Good Lord, but his eyes looked so dark as to be black, and she was slowly falling down that inky well into confusing but consuming desire.
“Don’t you remember? You mentioned your unique appetites on the application.”
What? What the hell had Uncle Tommy said to land her this job? He’d been emphatic that she not journey as a vacationer, so she knew he didn’t want her here sexing it up. How the hell had their wires crossed?
“You seemed to like me well enough the other day.” He reached out a hand and caressed her cheek before his touch grew more demanding. Gripping her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze.
“Well, Ethan, that’s because I was so drawn to your stunning personality. You were just brimming with welcome and wit. I couldn’t say no.”
His lips twisted at her sarcasm. “You have a smart mouth, don’t you?” He let go of her chin to find her shoulders, his grip strong but not painful. “But there are better uses for that mouth than insults.”
His grin worried her, and Jewel decided she’d had enough of this game. She’d find that damned video another way, without succumbing to Ethan Reaper and his stupid “training.”
She didn’t like being manhandled, she told herself. She really didn’t. And she surely wasn’t becoming aroused from Ethan’s domineering attitude.
“Let me go.” She spoke calmly.
“Your pulse is racing a mile a minute.” Ethan leaned down, his eyes on par with hers. Then his mouth was over her neck, sucking on the sensitive pulse point at her throat. He nipped hard, biting her, and she jolted at the erotic sensation. His hands remained firm, escape all but impossible unless she could manage a knee between his legs. “No, no, baby. No violence.” He shoved her legs apart, apparently reading her body language. “I’m in charge here. And you do what I say, when I say. That’s rule number one.”
“Bullshit,” she rasped. “You’re no trainer. From what I heard, you arrived a few weeks before I did as security. Now let me go.”
He licked her neck before biting again, and she couldn’t control a groan of delight.
“Your mouth says one thing, your body another. But either way, you’re going to listen to me. I’m the master, honey. And you submit to me and me alone.”
Oh, hell. She should have seen this one coming. A guy as big and brawny as Ethan would have no problems playing the “master” in his own version of some whacked-out domination game.
“Look, I —”
“Submit, or tell me why you’re really here.”
Why the hell couldn’t he have conformed to stereotype? A man with that much muscle should have been high on testosterone and short on brains. Just her luck to find one with both testosterone and brains.
He didn’t sound as if he totally bought her cover; she needed to act quickly. She might have been able to maneuver Rick around, but Ethan Reaper was no one’s fool. And Jewel didn’t want to have to worry about him and the rest of Rick’s security if it came to breaking into Denton’s room.
“I’m here…” She paused, trying to come up with something better than the Denton/Ayers story. Dreemer’s, Inc. promised confidentiality, so confiding to Ethan was out, even if she’d wanted to. Besides, she actually enjoyed the challenge he presented. He was hot, and he made her fight her own instincts. Besting Ethan would take a savvy mind, like stealing a pearl necklace right off its wearer’s neck…
She glanced at one of the Roman busts and inspiration struck. “I’m here because I’m fascinated by the Mirvano Cup. It’s amazing, so rare, you know?”
He stilled, and she wanted to congratulate herself, until she saw his face. All expression had fled, and his eyes seemed like fathomless pits of retribution.
“Say that again?”
Shit. It wasn’t Mirvano. Her mind scrambled for purchase, and she tried to back away. Ethan, however, refused to let her go. They stood a breath apart, her head tilted to look up into his menacing gaze.
