THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND

My throat immediately dries up! Two simple words... That's all it takes for my knees to start wobbling! but inside my head, a switch suddenly flips and I take a deep breath.

​Okay... I can do this. Right?

It's just sex, Barbara! People do it every day... Millions of people. Billions, probably.

And look at him! He is a drop-dead gorgeous, fiercely hot stranger. If I'm going to throw away my virginity to a random person to spite my family after they sold me off as a virgin bride to a gangster... I could have done a hell lot worse!

I mean he's definitely an upgrade from Pierre Moretti and his smelly, sweaty palms...This man is a god compared to him! But still.... knowing that doesn't stop the furious trembling in my limbs.

​So I swallow hard and force my legs to move. I step forward, my feet shuffling awkwardly across the plush carpet as I make my slow, agonizing approach toward him... Like a nervous deer approaching a lion.

It's fine, Barbara! Just... Act like you've been in a red-light sex dungeon before!

​The stranger’s piercing amber eyes watch my every move, tracking my slow progress across the room with a laser-like focus and the sheer intensity of his gaze makes me incredibly self-conscious... My hands feel awkward, my legs feel awkward... Everything feels awkward!

I subconsciously tug at the low neckline of my skimpy dress and immediately his gaze follows the movement... His eyes drop then settles on my chest and heat floods my face.

Oh no.... He definitely noticed that!

His eyes are zeroed in on my breasts now and I watch his pupils dilate as his expression darkens into something heated and predatory... A shiver shoots straight down my spine and finally, my shuffling feet bring me to a halt right in front of his massive, towering frame. Or rather...

Directly 'beneath' him... Because the height difference is ridiculous! I have to tilt my head back to even look at his face! Good grief... How is anyone this tall?

Standing this close to him while he's completely shirtless is overwhelming and the heat radiating off his tattooed skin washes over me, until I start to feel lightheaded...

​I blink up at him, tilting my head back drastically just to meet his eyes. I swallow the massive lump in my throat, trying to find my voice.

​"Okay..." I start but my voice comes out way more breathy than I intended. Excellent start, Barbara... Very eloquent...

"Um..." Seriously?

I clear my throat quickly and try to sound composed. "I get that you want us to have, uh..." The words refuse to cooperate and my face burns hotter than a furnace. The stranger’s eyes narrow and his attention settles on my bright red, freckled cheeks as the blush completely consumes my face. I look down and my voice drops to a mortified, breathless whisper as I finally force the word out.

​"...Sex."

One dark eyebrow lifts but he doesn't say anything, which only makes my nervousness skyrocket. I suddenly wish the floor would open and swallow me!

I lick my dry lips anxiously... a purely subconscious gesture, but the moment my tongue touches my lip, his amber eyes drop to my mouth and my breath catches... For some reason that tiny shift in attention feels more intimate than anything I've ever experienced. I could have sworn his jaw ticks again, a muscle leaping beneath his perfect skin as he stares down at me.

"But," I scramble to continue, my voice shaking as I try to regain control of the situation. "I just wanted to clear a few things up first"

His expression remains unreadable.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong idea about me. I'm not actually..."

​But before I can finish the sentence, his large, warm hand shoots forward to wrap firmly around my chin and my entire body freezes! His thumb brushes lightly against my jaw and my heart immediately forgets how to function!

Up close his eyes are even more intense... Almost golden and impossible to look away from... I should probably say something... Anything but unfortunately my brain appears to have melted.

With absolute ease, he tilts my head up a fraction higher, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. His gaze drops to my lips again with an intense burning focus, my heart pounds louder... Then louder still as the stranger takes one step forward and I instinctively take one step backwards..

​He moves so smoothly I don't even realize he's caging me in until the small of my back hits the wall and he crowds right into my personal space... his broad, shirtless chest hovering mere inches from me... Trapping me between the wall and his massive body!

Then his rough, calloused thumb begins to stroke my lower lip, moving slowly, back and forth... tracing the shape of my mouth and my heart is beating so fast now I'm genuinely concerned it might explode!

Can he hear it? Because I can hear it... And it's embarrassing! Another tiny shiver runs through me as his eyes narrow at me again... This time it's almost thoughtful or fascinated as he continues to stroke my lips for a few more torturous seconds, his gaze heavy and intoxicating...

Then finally, his lips part, and he speaks in that impossibly deep, gruff baritone. "You talk too much." There is a faint, almost imperceptible hint of amusement buried deep within his rough tone and a slight softening at the edge of his words. But his face remains completely straight and his expression is still an unreadable cold mask that it makes me think I must be completely imagining things...

​I blink up at him for a few seconds and my brain struggles to process his words before a spark of indignation flares up inside me and I bristle at his statement, my lips parting beneath his rough thumb as I try to defend myself.

​"I definitely do not..."

​But I never get to finish the sentence because in one swift, explosive motion, the stranger wraps his arm around my waist, his large, tattooed fingers gripping my hip with a possessive strength and pulls me flush against his hard body, lifting me slightly off my feet until my chest is pressed tightly against his bare pectorals!

My pulse thunders and every coherent thought disappears as his mouth crashes against mine and all hell breaks loose!