Free Girl of Mine by Taylor Dean Page B

deal.”
    Jill began to wonder why he was so calm. Shouldn’t he be slightly upset over the prospect of spending the next few hours handcuffed to the couch all alone in the middle of nowhere?
    “You see, Jill, there was one thing they taught us at the police academy . . .” Luke said unhurriedly.
    Jill’s eyes zeroed in on his key ring. She recognized the oddly shaped key immediately. Oh crap.
    “Always have two sets of handcuff keys in case of an emergency.”
    Jill barely had time to gasp, as a matter of fact, she was mid-gasp when Luke suddenly pinned her against the wall in a blinding flash, clapping the handcuffs on her wrist once again, connecting them together in a strangely intimate fashion.
    “Gotcha,” he whispered, his face an inch from hers.
    Jill didn’t fight him. On the contrary, she felt as though she’d just won the grand prize. Why did her heart soar in her chest at the prospect of being Luke’s prisoner?
    “You don’t play fair, Lucas Graham.”
    “Can’t say that I do.”
    “You fell asleep on the job. Not smart.”
    “It won’t happen again, Jillian Claire Barrett.”
    “Gonna sleep with one eye open?”
    “I’ll do whatever it takes. You should’ve run while you had the chance.”
    “Duly noted.”
    He marched her back to the couch and promptly handcuffed her once again to a wooden slat. Jill was beginning to hate the furniture in the ranch house.
    He clicked his tongue at her and winked. “Nice try. I’m impressed.”
    “Don’t think for a minute that I’ve given up.”
    “I’d be disappointed if you had.” With that, Luke returned to the kitchen and cleaned the dinner dishes, a small smile on his face.
    Jill bit the sides of her mouth to keep from joining him. She now had two almost successful escapes under her belt. Not bad. “I do not want to be held against my will” had been conveyed loud and clear. What other messages had she unknowingly conveyed? The thought worried her.
    She crossed her legs to give herself more time, but she couldn’t wait any longer. “I need to pee,” she announced.
    “Is this a trick?”
    “Try me and find out.”
    Chuckling, Luke unlocked the handcuffs and she found herself breathing a sigh of relief at the small amount of freedom. Perhaps there was a touch of claustrophobia hiding inside of her. She headed for the bathroom and Luke followed close behind. “You are gonna give me privacy, right Luke?”
    He stood in the doorway. “I’ll turn my back, but I’ll be right here.”
    How embarrassing. “No, I insist you at least give me a little bit of alone time. C’mon, Luke.”
    “Absolutely not. I know you’ll go right through the bathroom window. Don’t even try to deny it.”
    The bathroom window was indeed calling to her.
    “I’ll handcuff you to the toilet paper holder if you’d like. I’ll even close the door. But you’ll have to do your business one-handed.”
    How like a man to not know the toilet paper holder comes apart. “You, sir, are no gentleman.”
    “Never said I was.”
    “Fine, handcuff me then already. I need to go.”
    Luke proceeded to handcuff her to the toilet paper holder, but then he paused, releasing a deep frustrated breath. “Aw, that won’t work and you know it.”
    “Have you ever changed the toilet paper in your entire life?”
    “Of course I have. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
    Luke looked around. There wasn’t one single thing he could handcuff her to in the bathroom. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Just go, will ya? I won’t look, I promise.”
    Jill shook her head. “A life of crime is not for you.”
    “I’ll be sure to mention you said that at my trial.”
    “I’ll deny it.”
    “Thought you needed to go.”
    Jill gave in. “All right, but turn on the faucet. I’m not gonna have you listening to me pee.”
    Luke turned on the faucet and stood in the doorway, his back to her. “Jillian Claire Barrett, don’t even think about going through that