Free DrillingDownDeep by Angela Claire

and always had. Money was a powerful aphrodisiac. But for some reason, he
didn’t read her comments as coming on to him. He didn’t know why. Maybe it was
because, from as little acquaintance with her as about seven hours, he was
convinced that if Vanny Donald wanted to come on to a man, she’d be more
upfront about it. No games or subtle word play.
    He found something about that wildly appealing. He cleared
his throat. “Unfortunately, there are considerations like sexual harassment
and—”
    “For Christ sake, would you shut up? I don’t think I like
you when you’re being all prissy like this.”
    “Don’t tempt me, Miss Donald. ”
    She lay back down and muttered, “Don’t tempt yourself, Mr.
Reynolds. Just go in the bathroom and jerk off and be done with it. I, for
one, have work to get to tomorrow morning. ”
    He lingered at the door then opened his mouth again. What
was it about her that made him keep explaining himself? “Okay, I was fantasizing
about having sex with you. I admit it.”
    “Surprise. Surprise.” Her eyes were closed. “I’ve been
around men my whole life. There’s nothing you can tell me that’d shock me.”
    So he tried to. To shock her—and blurted out the truth in
the process. “But I wasn’t leaving the cabin because of that. I have
claustrophobia.”
    Her eyes shot open.
    “A mild case of it. Extremely mild. Almost not there.
Actually, I don’t even know if claustrophobia is the right name for it.”
    As he was stammering on, she sat up and got out of the bunk,
leaning one arm against the bed post. But with her full attention on him, he
found he couldn’t go on.
    “Yeah?” she finally said.
    “What? That’s it.”
    “Well, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Then she added
fiercely, “Unless you’re making that up to get my sympathy.”
    He scowled. “What kind of men do you hang out with, Vanny?”
    “Are you?”
    “No! Of course not. Why would I make something like that up?
It’s ah, it’s, well, it’s kind of embarrassing.”
    “Yeah. I guess you’re telling the truth. Your erection’s
calming down.”
    He glanced down, shaking his head. “Well, thank God for
small favors.”
    “That was no small favor,” she cracked and he laughed
again.
    “You’re really very funny. And I’m not flirting with you,”
he hastened to add.
    “Don’t worry. I know you’re not. So how long have you had
this, this claustrophobia?”
    “I’m not sure it’s—”
    “Relax! Whatever it is.”
    Vanny may have been different than most women he’d ever met,
but she appeared to share one thing in common with them. She loved confessions.
    And like most men, he was generally not inclined to give
them. But hell, he’d already started anyway. If he read about this in the National
Enquirer soon— Tycoon’s Secret Terror Revealed —it was his own fault.
    “I guess I’ve had it since I was a kid. I don’t know really.
The first time I remember noticing it was when I hid in a closet when my little
brothers and I were playing hide-and-seek. I shut the door and it was dark and,
I don’t know, I panicked. You’d be amazed, though, at how easy it’s been for me
to avoid it since.”
    “Not a lot of hiding in closets these days?”
    “No. And it’s ridiculously easy for a rich guy to get around
without getting trapped in small, dark, closed spaces.”
    “You have brothers?”
    “Quite a few. Remember what I said about my father trying to
replace my mother? That led to a lot of half-siblings. There’s nothing that
says hefty alimony quite so much as having a kid right away. Most of my
stepmothers did it before my father could even divorce them.”
    She shook her head. “That’s pretty cynical.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe they were really trying to make
him fall in love with them. I don’t know. I wasn’t old enough for most of them
to tell, only the last really, my little sister’s mother.”
    “And a sister too? Wow, you seem almost human.”
    “You