As she took two tentative steps into the dim hall, she heard The Pretty Reckless overhead singing “Make Me Wanna Die” from the speakers.

God the guitar at the beginning gets me every time. So damn sexy, add in my current ache and—Jesus where did the man go?

She gathered her courage and took several more steps. She was shocked when Cole appeared from a side alcove, making her take a step back. He didn’t touch her, but with each forward step he took, she took one step back until she was in an alcove opposite from the one he had been standing in.

Rachel’s back came up against the wall, and even though he still had not touched her, she recognized the stirrings of fear as Cole moved closer. He raised his arms and placed his hands by her head, his palms resting on the wall, as he locked eyes with her in an all-too-familiar stance.

Oh shit. He really isn’t going to touch me, Rachel thought as she looked him over.

Just as she was about to confirm it, she thought better and decided to just take. Keeping her eyes on his, she reached out and ran her index finger from his neck to the buttons of his black shirt. When she got to the center of his chest, she trailed her finger over to his nipple and the bar she now knew was under there, running her finger against the fabric and the hard piercing beneath.

That is such a turn-on, she thought, raising her eyes to his. As she continued to play with it, she asked, “You aren’t going to talk?”

“Oh, I plan to talk,” he acknowledged.

He shifted his feet as she reached up with her other hand and pressed her finger to his other nipple.

“You like them, don’t you? It’s okay to admit it now that you’re about to come, and I’m about to watch you while you do.”

“Are you always so sure of yourself?”

“Yes,” he replied without a moment’s hesitation. “Undo my shirt, Rachel. Stop playing this coy little game, and take what you want.”

“Is that what you do?”

“Play coy? Never,” he confirmed.

Her eyes dropped to her fingers as they rapidly started undoing his shirt. “You’re very clever at twisting and playing with my words.”

“That’s what I do. My job requires me to twist words and to know when someone is trying to bullshit me.”

When she reached the final button, she pulled his shirt apart, biting her bottom lip between her teeth. Seeing him was such a sinful shock. Being this close to him, she couldn’t stop herself from staring, but now wasn’t the time to look. It was time to act.

Placing her hands on his stomach, she smoothed her palms up his body until she reached the small metal bars. “And that’s what you think I’m doing—bullshitting you?”

His jaw flexed as she ran her fingers over his nipples.

“I think you’re confused.”

Fixing her eyes on his, she pinched one of the nipples she was playing with. “Oh? And what am I confused about?”

Lowering his head, Cole warned her, “Be careful with what you’re doing there. Do you really think that hurts or bothers me? If you twist it a little harder, you might not like my reaction.”

“You told me to,” she pointed out.

“That’s right, Rachel. I told you to do it. I allowed you to touch me, didn’t I?”

As what he was saying sank in, her frustration and annoyance caught up with her, and she twisted his nipple harder. Instantly, he crowded in, standing against her so close that her hands were pressed between his bare chest and her breasts. His hands were still by her head, and as she looked up at him, he stared down at her with feverish eyes.

“That wasn’t very nice. Why did you do it?”

“You said you wouldn’t touch me,” she blurted out, feeling trapped.

“I’m not touching you. My hands are on the wall. Your hands are actually touching me. Now, Rachel, answer me. Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You know what. Don’t make me repeat the question again.”

“Or what?” she asked incredulously.

“Answer me, Rachel,” he growled.

“I was annoyed that you tricked me. I’m frustrated!” she spat out.

“Good. So am I,” he pointed out. “Stop playing this silly fucking game with me, and tell me what you want.”

Rachel could feel her rapid breathing pushing her breasts against her hands and his bare chest. Licking her lips, she stood frozen. She knew what she wanted, but she couldn’t find the courage to voice it. That didn’t seem to be a problem for Cole though.

“I only want to give you what you want, Rachel.” He rubbed his chest against her arms. “Don’t you want to get what you want?”

Blinking up at him, Rachel parted her mouth as he lowered his head. She felt the tip of his tongue tracing her lips while he kept his hands planted by her head, still not touching her.

“I want to do that down between your legs. Don’t you want that?”

* * *

Cole was so fucking hard that he was surprised he hadn’t busted through the zipper on his pants. Rachel’s face was a study of hunger and longing. Her mouth parted, she looked ravenous, yet she couldn’t seem to say one damn thing.

He could tell she was aroused because her breathing had accelerated, pushing her hands up and down more rapidly against his bare chest. He would also bet all his money on the fact that she was now wet and warm between those sexy thighs. He wanted between her thighs so badly that his cock was actually starting to hurt.

“Have you ever been in one of these rooms, Rachel?” Cole almost laughed from the expression that crossed her face, but he didn’t want to lose the moment they were in. “You want to know a secret?” he asked, lowering his mouth to her ear. “Neither have I. I don’t want to tie you to a bed or strap you to a cross. I want you to willingly want every single thing I plan to do to you. I want you to keep your hands behind your back because you want to.” Biting her earlobe, he then added, “And I want you to swallow because you love the fucking taste. Play with me, Rachel, so I can play with you.”

Moving back to her mouth, Cole greedily followed her tongue with his as she licked her lips. She groaned and pushed her body forward. She wasn’t trying to dislodge him; she was trying to get closer.

“How close are you?” he demanded, biting her slick lower lip as he rubbed himself against her. When no answer came, he released her and confessed, “You smell so fucking tempting. I can’t wait to get between your legs.”

“Oh god.” Moaning, she closed her eyes.

Squirming against him, she extricated a hand from between them and slid it down. Moving back a few inches, Cole let his gaze drop, and he cursed when he watched her pull the zipper on her skirt from the bottom up.

She pushed her hand up under the leather and hissed as she obviously got her fingers where she wanted them. “Yes! I agree.”

“Clarify.” He moved back in close to her, trapping her eager hands between them.

She raised her other hand to his nipple and twisted the piercing.

“Rachel,” he growled. With his hands still against the fucking wall, he glared down at her. Goddamn it.

“Yes,” she keened.

“Yes to what?”

“Yes to my orgasm, and yes to whatever else you just said,” she agreed desperately. Closing her eyes, she began fucking her hand as she played with his nipple.

Cole almost found the situation humorous as Rachel tipped her head back and came with a loud scream.

Un-fucking-real. She is totally uninhibited, he thought. This is going to be fun.

As her eyes opened, she focused on him, giving him a lazy self-satisfied smile. She released his now tender flesh with a condescending pat over his wolf tat on his chest.

As though she had broken the orgasmic spell she had dragged him under, he softly asked in a menacing tone, “Satisfied?”

She gave him a smug look. “Very.”

Cole dropped his hands from the wall and pinned her to it with his stare. “Good. Now, it’s time to negotiate.”

7

“Negotiate?” Rachel asked, managing to push the word past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.

Her eyes tracked Cole’s movements as he began to button his shirt from the top down.

“Yes, negotiate. You didn’t think this was over, did you?” he inquired, gesturing between the two of them.

Rachel didn’t know what to think as she stared at him, slack-jawed. All she could remember was his voice offering to do dirty, sexual things to her, and it was making her nerves start to tingle all over again.

Is a possible second orgasm on the table? If so, count me in.

“No, I can see that you’re starting to know me better than that. You see,” he informed in a voice that sounded far too calculating, “I never leave a negotiation until I get what I came for.”

Rachel finally removed her hand from between her thighs as his perceptive eyes glanced down there.

“Did it feel good?” Now that his shirt was in order, he took a step back toward her.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t awful,” she told him in a caustic tone.

Placing his left hand on the wall by her head, he raised his right hand to where she could see it. “I can make it feel even better. Let me touch you.”

Rachel couldn’t control the shiver that racked her body.

“I’m only asking you out of common courtesy. I figured I owed you that since your first agreement was given in the midst of an ear-blistering climax. So, what will it be, Rachel? Will you stick to your original decision? Or will you renege?”

Rachel’s brain was screaming, Renege, renege, renege! That did not, however, have any impact on the way her thighs tightened as Cole bent his head and licked the shell of her ear.

“Plus, there is one promise I haven’t kept tonight, and it goes hand in hand with my hands on your body.”

Turning her head up, Rachel looked into eyes that seemed to see and know everything. “And what would that be?”

The look on his face was so devious and alarmingly sexy that Rachel felt her nipples harden.

He revealed, “I promised you’d scream my name.”

Rachel didn’t remember that promise, and surely, that wasn’t something she would forget. “I don’t remember you promising me that.”

“Who said I promised you? I promised myself. Now, tell me what I want to hear, Rachel.”

Slowly, he moved his free hand toward her, and his index finger touched the satin ribbon around her neck. When she offered no complaint, he continued to stroke it.

“I want to take this and every other piece of material off you and start fresh. I want a blank canvas to play with. I want you to play with. I have from the moment I saw you. So, was that yes real, or should I go back out there and find a willing participant?”

Rachel considered all the erotic possibilities as his words began to tempt her, but before she could offer up an answer, Cole removed his finger from her throat and stood to his full towering height. He crossed his arms and took a step back from her, allowing his eyes to run down her body, and Rachel felt them like they were his hands touching her.

Hell, who do I think I’m kidding? I want his hands on me, his tongue in me, and that body naked and covering me. ASAP.

Rachel finally decided. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay here, and let’s negotiate.”

* * *

Cole wouldn’t have left if the building were on fire, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “Okay, let’s negotiate. Well, obviously, you have issues with men—”

“I don’t have issues with men.”

Cole lifted his right arm and index finger in the universal hang-on sign. “For this to work, you need to listen until I am finished, or you will jump to the wrong conclusion. So, do you think you can hold your tongue for a minute? Or would you like me to?”

He watched her carefully as she pouted her lips.

“Thank you. Being interrupted isn’t something I enjoy. It would be a smart thing to remember.”

Re-crossing his arms, he remained silent as she straightened up against the wall. He could tell she was annoyed by his tone and getting ready to leave, but the look in her eyes belied her internal conflict. This was a woman who wanted the same thing he did. She was just too scared to admit it or chase it.

Good thing for her that I’m not.

“Now, as I was saying, obviously, you have issues with men controlling you or touching you. As I’m sure you know, I want to do a lot more than just touch you, Rachel, so maybe we can start slow. One hand, and if I prove to you that you can trust me, we’ll renegotiate.”