Free Holiday in Handcuffs by Yvette Hines Page A

and my nipples pulling tight.
Taking a deep breath I slowly turned. He was leaning against the
doorjamb about eight feet away from me. I took a moment to really
observe him. Tall, sexy and dressed in a burgundy t-shirt and black
jeans, he drew the eye. The cotton material of his t-shirt pulled
at his broad shoulders, conforming to his chest.
    I could see this man was in great physical
shape. He wasn’t football-player big, but he’d give a basketball
player a run for his money. I was five eleven out of shoes and he
was still at least three inches taller than me in my heels. It
would have been foolish for me to deny that my heart tripped a few
beats just looking at him.
    “ Did you now?”
    “ You couldn’t keep from
watching. I saw you leave, and return twice.”
    I folded my arms over my chest and shifted
my weight so my hip was jutted to the side. “Is watching a crime
here?”
    His eyebrow rose slowly, arching high above
one of his eyes making him appear intense, serious. I couldn’t help
swallowing. If I were in a cartoon, I’m sure there would have been
a gulping sound effect added.
    “ No crime.” He entered the
room and moved to the other side of the big X. “Did you like what
you saw?”
    Oh, hell, here was the real question. Trying
to avoid admitting to him or myself what I was feeling, I shrugged
a shoulder.
    “ A shrug is not an
answer.” There was just enough bite in his voice to make me lift my
chin.
    Is this guy admonishing
me? It was on the tip of my tongue to give
him a smart ass comment. However, for a reason I couldn’t explain,
I resisted the urge.
    “ I don’t know.” I glanced
away from those eyes of his that seemed to be penetrating,
knowing.
    He took a step around the front of the
wooden structure. “I think you do. You’re just afraid of your
response.”
    I moved around the back of the equipment. We
seemed to be in some type of slow chase or dance.
    “ How do you know? You
don’t even know me.” I lifted my chin, daring him to contradict
me.
    Pausing, he was now on the opposite side of
the X, with me across from him once again. “I don’t have to know
you personally to read the telltale signs.”
    Shit . What signs? Was I giving off some neon light of ignorance? Possibly
an Easy Target sign on my back? Licking my
lips, I stared at him. “Signs?”
    His gaze tracked the movement of my tongue
before he raised his eyes to mine again—hazel met brown.
    “ That’s one.” He continued
as if I didn’t know what he was referring to. “The way you keep
licking your lips and swallowing.”
    “ Maybe I’m
thirsty.”
    “ How do you explain the
rapid beating of your heart?”
    When his gaze dropped to my neck, I slapped
my hand against my throat to cover the evidence of my pulse. The
only problem was that I could feel the fast tapping of my pulse
against my fingers. Not that I needed that to make me aware,
because the pounding in my chest was clue enough.
    “ This is all new to me.
I’m nervous. It’s not everyday in my world people are getting
whipped.”
    “ I’ll give you that.
However, can you tell me that none of your lovers or boyfriends has
ever spanked you during sex?”
    When did he get so close? At some point he’d
closed the distance between us and I didn’t even realize it. Now he
was standing before me. Too close. Not because I thought he would
grab me and string me up on some device, but because I was finding
it hard to breathe with his nearness. It wasn’t just his imposing
presence, but his scent was driving me to distraction. Warm and
woodsy with a hint of mint on his breath.
    “ I think that’s a little
too personal to ask on a first meeting.” I didn’t step away, not
wanting him to think he was making me uncomfortable. However, I
turned to the side, giving myself a little breathing
room.
    His chuckle was deep, rough and filled with
too much confidence. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
    “ You’re choice.” I tossed
out.
    There went that damn