The corner of Calder's mouth curls up in that charming little half smile of his. He spreads his arms wide."Make your guess," he says, his eyes gleaming wickedly. "I'll be waiting.""How do I know you won't change your answer if I guess correctly?""You can trust me," he insists.I'm not sure I can, but this is going too well for me to want to pick a fight. He seems to be enjoying our little game, and I mean to play him for all he's worth.I continue my stroll down the gallery, scanning the art on either side of me as I pass, looking for anything that jumps out from the others. I'm at a major disadvantage here, that much is certain, but I'm willing to lose this battle if it means ultimately winning the war.Still, the competitive side of me wants to give it my best shot. I'd really love to see his face when I get it right. My eyes roam over the collection. There are paintings of every style and medium I can imagine, as well as sculptures of clay, wood, metal, even marble.I stop
What the fuck just happened?I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath, while Calder holds his hand out to me as if we were just having a perfectly normal conversation."Ready for the rest of the tour?"Like fuck I am. I can hardly stand upright. He just had his fingers inside me and now he wants to pretend like none of it ever happened? My breasts are still hanging out, for fuck's sake.I straighten and quickly yank my dress back up."What the hell was that?" I say.He withdraws his hand. "A lesson.""A lesson?""You asked me why this painting was my favorite. I was only answering you." He rubs his jaw. "You seemed to be enjoying it well enough.""You too," I counter, but honestly he doesn't look half as flustered as I feel. How the fuck did he manage that? I know he wants me too, that he was aroused by the way I let him touch me."Is this some sort of sick game?""Not at all," he says, leaning toward me again and dropping his voice. "I only wanted you to realize h
The rest of dinner is, surprisingly, rather tame. We talk about anything and everything, from books to politics to our favorite flavors of ice cream. Calder is far more well-read and thoughtful in his opinions than I originally anticipated, but I'm too distracted by our bet to spend much energy marveling at his intelligence. There are too many glances to decipher, too many casual touches to give and receive. I've heard the dance of seduction compared to a game of chess, but never before have I recognized the truth of such words. Everything that passes between us is a move in this elaborate game of lust, and I'm afraid that while I'm planning my next turn, Calder will sneak up behind me with some strategy I haven't even considered.By the end of the meal, I'm tense and tired."Will you lead me back to my room?" I ask, looking up at Calder through my lashes. "I got lost twice on the way down here.""Of course," he says, sliding a finger along the back of my palm.The walk back to my
This isn't a high point of my life, that's for sure.No purse, no keys, no phone, no clothes. I'm not really sure what to do, but all of my options look pretty bleak, and most of them involve me going back to Calder's mansion. I reach over the back of the seat for the emergency car kit I keep in my trunk. There's a thin blanket inside, and I wrap it around my shoulders. On top of everything else, the nasty, rainy weather ensures my self-induced imprisonment will be freezing.But in spite of it all, I'd do everything again in a heartbeat. It was completely worth it to watch Calder's face, to see him, for once, flustered and overwhelmed. That little taste of power had an intense effect on me, and I'm surprised at how aroused I am. I feel intoxicated.I lie down again, the emergency blanket wrapped around me. I'm so high after my mini-victory that I tell myself it's all right to slide a finger down my body - between my breasts, across my belly, toward the sensitive place between my leg
A little while later, when my body starts to cool down, I realize my feet are getting wet. Calder never bothered to close the car door, and now our tangled legs and feet are dangling out in the rain. But I have a hard time rousing myself. I just want to lie here with Calder's weight on me and his lips against my neck. In here, it's easy to ignore the problems of the outside world.It's Calder who finally moves, but only to prop himself up on his elbows and stare down at me."Well," he says, his voice still ragged, "that was something." His dark eyes roam over my face. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" His own lips are swollen from my teeth, and I'm filled with a wicked sense satisfaction at the lingering evidence of our wild coupling."Only if you count the good kind of pain," I whisper.The corner of his mouth curls up, and he sweeps a strand of sweat-soaked hair away from my forehead before leaning down and brushing his lips against mine. Now that we're no longer in the throes of passi
I have seven minutes left and absolutely no plan.This house is huge, and Calder's tour did little more than make it clear that it would take me a year to learn my way around this place. I have no idea where I'm going, let alone where I might find a suitable place to hide.All the same, something surges through me as I run down the hallway. In spite of everything - and even though it's completely crazy - I think I'm as excited as Calder by our little game. More than excited - enthralled.Maybe I should let him catch me. The promise of his words still echoes through my mind. If I wanted, I could be at his mercy all night. The prospect tempts me more than I want to admit.But reality hits me quick and hard: I can't allow myself to be caught up in this. There's too much at stake. The Center's entire future falls on the outcome of this "little" game, and I'm not going to let my own weakness destroy the thing my dad worked so hard to build. Calder is sexy, yes, and our encounter in the
It's not right.I was so close - so close. To lose like this, with only second left - to lose because my phone went off... no. No. I won't go down like this."You can't - " I start, but Calder surprises me by yanking me to my feet.He doesn't say anything. He just pushes me up against the wall. I try to argue again, but his fingers close across my lips.I reach up and grab his shirt. I intend to push him away, to explain to him why his victory shouldn't count, but instead I find myself pulling him closer. After an hour fantasizing about this moment of capture, I realize I don't have the will to refuse him.His warm breath sweeps across my nose, my cheek, my ear. In the darkness like this, robbed of my sight, I feel like all of my other senses have exploded. The side of his face brushes against mine, and his stubble scratches my jaw in a hundred tiny places, but it's the sort of pain that only increases the heat building in my core. He pulls my earlobe between his teeth and sucks.
An hour later, I lie naked in Calder's bed.Calder himself stands next to a cart of food that Martin brought up a little while ago. I can't decide where to look: at the gorgeous plates of food he's revealing one by one or the equally gorgeous vision of his well-muscled body. In this light, his tanned skin is a pale bronze, and his hair looks even darker - almost black. The shadows play across his pecs and abs in a way that highlights every groove, every firm round edge of muscle beneath his taut skin. I finally have the chance to notice the dusting of hair on his chest, and the way his waist narrows from his broad shoulders into a perfect V. By my estimation, he's the perfect specimen of a man - why no one's tried to carve a copy of this one out of marble yet, I can't guess."Like what you see?"I glance up to find Calder smiling at me with amusement. I sit up quickly on the bed, embarrassed to be caught staring."I'm only eager for the food," I say, but I know he knows better, eve