Free Reluctant Surrender by Riley Murphy Page A

honey, stop chewing on your nail and tell me. This is important.”
    She shot up and started pacing. Interesting enough though, just like every other time he ordered her, she’d stopped biting that nail.
    “Look, a small part of me may have agreed to the ten days because I’m curious. However, my life is just fine the way it is, so if you want some distance from that, that’s cool. With the extra money I’m making doing the buffed-up PR on the resort for you guys, I may be able to realize a dream. And yes, my readers may have sucked this up like hummingbirds to sugar water, but if you think it’s not a good idea for me to explore aspects of the lifestyle with you too deeply, because it’ll mess me up somehow tell me now. Just don’t use the excuse to bow out of it by saying there’s more between us than there really is. I couldn’t take that.”
    “Colin.”
    She stopped and whirled to face him. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m attracted to you, but I can’t let that get in the way of my goals. I might have toyed with the idea that I may, may have a teensy-tiny-miniscule—as in, smaller than a speck of dust—desire to submit to a strong, hunky guy who may or may not look like you. But, and this is a biggie, I’m ignoring it. I can do the ten days without letting my feelings get the best of me as long as you don’t make me believe there’s something else going on here. I plan to remain completely objective in the process.”
    He got up and headed straight for her. “I don’t think you can.”
    She squared her shoulders and stood her ground. “I will.”
    The second he put his hands on her she was toast. Her cheek pressed into his palm and she let him crowd her. She might have even groaned. He couldn’t be sure. “You can’t ignore this draw. You feel it, don’t you?”
    “No, I…”
    “Yes.” He tapped her nose to get her to focus. “You’re craving the experience. You’ve got the desire to be with me. To submit. You want to be dominated, and not by someone who looks like me, but by me. Period.”
    “Do you always end your sentences by speaking the punctuation out loud?”
    “Colin.”
    “No.”
    “Don’t lie to me, Colin.” He held her gaze.
    “I…”
    He waited nearly a full thirty seconds. When she didn’t look away, remaining silent, he dropped his forehead down to hers and whispered, “Thank you for not lying to me. Now, let’s be a brave girl and tell me some truths.”
    “Courage is overrated. Can’t we just—”
    “Shush. I want you to pay attention. Listen.”
    “All right.”
    “Good.” When she eased he asked, “Do you feel restless and out of sorts when you’re around me?”
    She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
    “Have you been dreaming about me?”
    “You told me to.”
    “Colin.”
    “Yes.”
    “Have you fantasized about me?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    He rubbed his forehead against hers. “This is very good, Colin. Very good.”
    Her knees buckled and he caught her up. “Hey, don’t check out on me now. I want to know what you need to make you happy.”
    Her eyes snapped opened and she frowned. “T-that’s a broad question.”
    Leading her back to the couch he sat down with her and said, “No. It’s the right question and I want you to answer it.”
    “Loyalty.”
    “Good. What else?”
    “I can’t believe this,” she whispered, but more to herself, before she half grumbled, half groaned, “I feel like I’m going to cry and I don’t know why.”
    “That’s all right.”
    “No it’s not.” She sniffled and wiped the back of her hand under her nose. “I don’t cry, okay?”
    Ethan brushed her tears aside with the pad of his thumb. “Maybe you should. Maybe if your tears belonged to someone else they wouldn’t be so painful to shed.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Tears skipped in an uneven pattern down her cheeks as he pulled her into his arms. Tucking her head under his chin he squeezed her up tight. “I’m not afraid of your tears. Let