He stumbled down the stairs in the darkness and turned on the living room light. Their clothes lay in a tangled heap by the patio door, reminding him once more of the unexplainable way she’d manipulated his body in that hot tub. The memory added to his annoyance. He stalked to his jeans and jerked them on. Then he went to his laptop and powered it up.
Boundaries would reestablish if he concentrated on his priorities and pushed the enchanting, sleeping woman upstairs from his mind.
Chapter Nineteen
By the time Brad gave in to the guilt of leaving Cassie to sleep alone and crawled into bed beside her, the sun was peeking over the horizon. When his alarm roused him a little while later, the scent of warm woman and jasmine erased his earlier dark mood. He nuzzled the hollow where her neck joined her shoulder and slid one hand to her breast. With the majority of her punishment behind them, all that remained was fulfilling her needs. A thought that brought his cock to immediate attention.
Still, he wasn’t ready to set her free just yet.
He gave her breast a gentle squeeze, rubbed his thumb over her dusky nipple. He could spend the whole day doing nothing but touching her. It didn’t even have to be sexual contact—just the feel of her soft skin against his palm soothed like warm milk before bedtime.
The sexy little sound she made as she wriggled her bottom against his erection nearly made him change his mind. She hadn’t fought her restraints. He could excuse her willfulness now and satisfy her body’s demands without compromising his objective. But this had moved beyond solely disciplining Cassie. He had his own control to work on.
“Good morning,” he whispered into her long hair. “The plows were by a little while ago.”
She mumbled something else and nestled deeper into his embrace.
So much for waking up gracefully—if she was going to make him work for this, he intended to have a little fun. He let his hand drift lazily down her midsection, to the juncture of her legs.
As he anticipated, one light caress brought her fully awake. “Brad,” she whispered.
Holy hell, sleep hadn’t done anything to ease her state of readiness. Moisture gathered instantly against his fingertip. Brad exhaled with a hiss and withdrew his hand. Cassie let out a quiet, husky groan.
“Easy, sweetheart.” Sitting up, he slipped an arm around her shoulders and helped her upright. “Not much longer.”
Big brown eyes narrowed a fraction. “I hate you.”
The lack of conviction in her voice told him she wasn’t serious. When he met her gaze, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Anger didn’t flare in those luminous depths. Desire brightened them to embers of amber. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You won’t for long.”
She mumbled something beneath her breath. Probably an insult he didn’t care to hear.
“Are you finished reprimanding me yet?”
Brad shook his head. “Not quite.” Brad pulled her hands into his lap and unfastened the knot at her wrists. When he finished unwinding the nylon, he gave her a grin. “I’ll finish it tonight. Meanwhile, I’ll know if you take matters into your own hands.”
“Right. You’re going to follow me to the bathroom?”
Another woman’s flippancy would have annoyed him. On Cassie, however, grumpy worked well. Her little pout fascinated him. His grin broadened. She could hate him now. Later, she’d take every disparaging word back.
He slid off the bed. “You get this glow about you when you come, sweetheart. Trust me, I’ll know.” Pausing at the door, he threw her a meaningful look over his shoulder. “Unless you want to start all over…”
Cassie’s eyes flew wide, and she let out a noise that sounded distinctly like a squeak.
It was everything Brad could do to not burst out laughing. Today promised to be full of amusement. He’d have her begging in no time. But right now, they had work to accomplish. When they finished at the office, however, he’d bring her back here and fulfill every whispered plea she uttered.
He stepped into the hall and took a deep breath. Eight hours, and his own intolerable ache would subside. Eight long, never-ending hours.
…
Hate was a very strong word, one Cassie avoided at all costs. And while she knew on one level she recognized she didn’t hate Brad, on another, the way her body still hummed for his attention thoroughly aggravated her. There was no plausible reason she shouldn’t be telling him up one side and down the other that she didn’t appreciate his deliberate manipulations.