In the closet, he found his boxer-briefs folded on top of a built-in dresser. He quickly donned them over his still raging erection, then found his suit pants neatly hung and his shirt freshly pressed. A quick sniff told him Kerry had washed it as well. A captress who doubled as laundry service? Wow, she’d done a better job than his three-dollar-per-shirt dry cleaners.

  “Rafe?” she called.

  He heard her thrashing against her bonds, cursing softly under her breath, but he didn’t answer. Getting out of here was top priority, before he lost this lucrative job with Standard National and his shot at reaching the five-million-dollar mark prior to his birthday . . . before he succumbed to the odd urge to help her, or gave in to his desire to know every inch of her body in every way.

  Instead, he reached into his suit coat. His PDA still rested in one pocket, cell phone in the other. Quickly, he checked his phone messages. One from a former client asking for advice, two messages from his assistant, Regina, and one from an old girlfriend he vaguely recalled had labeled him an antisocial, computer-centric great lay. Not to mention three messages from Mr. Smikins at Standard National Bank wondering why he hadn’t appeared for their lunch meeting. At that, Rafe swore long and hard. Damn Kerry and her scheme to save her likely worthless brother.

  He pounded the bank’s number into his phone’s keypad, cursing himself under his breath. A woman kidnapping him and keeping him from business should royally piss him off. The hell of it was, he couldn’t muster much more than a sting of annoyance. As the reality of her bondage had occurred to her, in the face of his possible retribution, she hadn’t asked once for mercy for herself. Nope, she’d thought only of her brother. God, the prick better deserve such loyalty.

  Finally, a recording informed him the branch had closed at 4 P.M. and would be open at 9 A.M. on Monday. Monday? Today was Saturday? The date on his PDA said so. Shit, he really had been out for thirty-six hours.

  At the prompt, he entered Smikins’s extension. At the tone, Rafe left the branch manager a message, one full of crappy lies about being sick and missing his plane. Flipping his phone shut with a grimace, Rafe sighed. Why wasn’t he calling the police? Why hadn’t he told Smikins that the sister of their former employee-turned-thief had abducted him?

  He couldn’t—not yet. Hell, he wasn’t any sort of hero. But the truth couldn’t be ignored: Kerry already had plenty of trouble.

  For some damn reason, he just couldn’t make himself turn her in and add to her mounting difficulties. Maybe because once upon a time, someone had given him a second chance and saved him from the tank when he’d hacked into the CIA. That had turned his entire life around. Maybe because the thought that he might actually be refusing to prevent an innocent man from going to prison didn’t rest well with him. Hell, most likely it was because it was Saturday evening, and Smikins wouldn’t be available for a while . . . and Kerry could be his until then.

  Everything south of his waistline approved of the plan. No doubt, he was in deep.

  “Anything I want, is that what you said?” he asked softly, hungry stare raking her as he returned to the bedroom.

  She swallowed hard and met his stare. “If you’ll help my brother, then yes, anything.”

  Agreeing to this probably didn’t make him a nice guy. Rafe smiled. So sue him. How often did an average guy get a chance to be both noble and get laid—and by a woman who sizzled and burned him when they touched?

  Whoa! His mind reeled. What the hell was he thinking? Or more to the point, which head was doing it?

  “I’ve got to be honest, Kerry. I can only look into his situation. I can’t change anything. If your brother has truly been framed, I can help you find evidence, but I won’t fabricate any. Tampering with files could send me to prison for a long, long time.”

  The smile that broke out across her face, the hope that jumped into her eyes, settled someplace in his chest. She brightened like a Christmas tree in the snow, all glowing and wondrous. Even though she wore not a shred of makeup, her red-rimmed eyes bespoke an utter lack of sleep, and her hair tumbled across one shoulder in a wild fall, Rafe couldn’t remember ever seeing a more beautiful woman than Kerry when she smiled. He also couldn’t deny that he liked being the cause of her happiness.

  “You won’t have to fabricate anything, I promise. Once you see the facts of the case, you’ll know he’s been set up and help me find a way to prove it to the police.” She gazed into his eyes, held his stare for a long moment. “I knew you could do it. That’s why I picked you. I swear you won’t be sorry. Mark’s a good cause.”

  Rafe doubted that, but now wasn’t the time to argue. “Fine. Before we agree to anything, I want you to be very clear on what I’m saying.” He moved closer, sat on the edge of the bed . . . and couldn’t keep his hands to himself. “Anything, Kerry.” He reached up, fingers tracing the side swell of her breast, drifting under to cup her, rising to tease her nipple. “Or maybe I should say everything.” He held her gaze with the force of his. “Before this is over, I’ll have you under me, legs spread wide. I’ll want you on top, riding me hard. I’ll want your sweet mouth all over me. I’ll take you from behind, from the side, standing up. I’ll fuck you indoors, outdoors, with toys and without. I’ll see you bound, wanton and screaming my name. I swear I’ll never hurt you, but I want total control. That means trusting me, which I know won’t come easy, but if you can’t handle that, we don’t have any business making this arrangement.”

  Kerry’s face changed with his every word. Her eyes widened, her face flushed from delicate pink to a deep rose. And her pulse, pounding faster—gong, gong, gong—at the base of her throat.

  She said nothing for what seemed eons. He’d bet her feet were getting colder by the nanosecond. Likely, she would back down. Part of Rafe knew it would be the sane thing for both of them. They could part ways and pretend this bizarre incident had never taken place. Still, he hoped like hell she didn’t refuse. For reasons Rafe didn’t want to examine too closely, he didn’t think he could let go of Kerry without having her at least once.

  “What do you say, Kerry?”

  Chapter 4

  Breath held, Rafe remained still as Kerry’s gaze skated across his face, down his bare chest, to the hard-as-a-hammer erection tenting his boxer-briefs.

  “Do you need more time to think about it?” He gritted his teeth against the searing arousal and smoothed a lock of long, sunny hair away from her face. “Take it if you need it. I want you to be really sure before you answer.”

  Cheeks flushed, she looked away. “No.”

  Unexpected disappointment gouged Rafe in the gut. His first impression of Kerry had made him suspect she was psycho, and he should be cool with the fact she didn’t want to have forty-eight hours of wild, steamy, anything goes, burn-you-to-your-toes sex. Rafe sighed. Problem was, he wanted it bad—with her. The feeling was illogical and inexplicable, but real.

  Still, her decision was probably smart. Who really bedded down with a virtual stranger to save their brother’s ass? It was above and beyond the call of familial duty. But he didn’t like her refusal. Their chemistry sizzled, and he had an instinct that sex with Kerry would blow them both away.

  “I don’t need to think,” she murmured into the silence, raising soft green eyes brimming with hot curiosity up to him. “I understand what you’re saying. And I agree. To everything.”

  She said yes? Yes! Lust slammed his gut, sizzling so strongly that for a moment, he couldn’t draw a breath. Instantly, his imagination took over, incorporating all the interesting gadgets and toys he’d discovered while trying to break free of the bed Kerry now occupied. Yeah, those little goodies might come in handy. But the real thrill of their agreement would be her body—soft, sweet, curved in the right places. He could hardly wait.

  “Say something.” Kerry’s voice broke on the request.

  She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip, shifted her green eyes away.

  The pang of softness that hit him square in the chest at her vulnerability should have seemed really odd, considering his compulsion to climb between her thighs. It should have seemed as weird as listening to Bob Marley at the Louvre or eating jalapeños on chocolate ice cream.

  With Kerry, it seemed normal.

  Aware of the darkness that had overcome the cottage with the sunset, Rafe flipped on the small lamp beside the bed. Soft yellow light cast a halo over Kerry. The tumble of her sunshine curls and her soft, swollen mouth urged gentleness with the same intensity that her naked, bound body inspired a pounding need to fuck her.

  “Seriously,” he said in between harsh breaths. “Yes? You’re sure?”

  She hesitated a mere instant. “Yes.”

  Her soft assurance nearly did him in. It wasn’t smart to be so wrapped up in this game, he knew, but at the moment, he and his dick of steel didn’t give a shit.

  A smile stole across his mouth as he took her face in his hands. “I’m going to do my best to make you one satisfied woman.”

  Kerry gave him a shaky nod as he lay beside her and covered half of her bare body with his chest. Heat fused their skin. She singed him, no question. An instant later, he took possession of her mouth, stealing inside. Oh, she tasted honey-sweet, her lips pliant and warm. Addicting.

  The little catch of her breath ringing in his ears, he made another thorough sweep inside with his tongue. Forget ambrosia, Kerry was like the creamiest, richest latte ever.

  Every red-blooded cell in his body leapt for joy that she’d said yes. But only to help her brother, reminded the nasty voice in his head. Not because she wants you.

  Rafe broke off the kiss and swallowed that bitter reality. Looming above her, breathing hard, he clutched her hip with greedy fingers.

  Okay, her agreement might be about saving her sorry-ass brother now, but he’d find a way to change that. Her verbal yes wasn’t the green light he wanted; only her body could give him the go-ahead. It was up to him to earn her yes, and to give her such blinding pleasure that she’d never regret agreeing to this bargain.

  Rafe rose and sidestepped to the headboard. Just above Kerry’s right shoulder, he found the first handcuff he sought—the one that had bound him less than twenty minutes ago. He released her wrists from the necktie binding them, then substituted the cuffs around one delicate wrist with a satisfying click. He repeated the process on her other.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You gave me total control, remember?”

  Kerry pursed her rosy mouth closed with a jerky nod. She all but shook with nerves. “Okay, wh—what do you want?”

  “Such unbridled enthusiasm,” he teased. “Damn, that gets me hot.”

  She bit her lip, then smiled. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

  “I know.” He caressed the side of her face. “At this point, you’re not sure if I’m your brother’s savior or some sex-crazed creep. Hell, I’m probably both. But we’re going to be fine. It’s going to be good, I promise. Now kiss me.”

  Kerry propped herself up on her elbows, inching closer to him. Under his boxer-briefs, his cock throbbed in rhythm to his heartbeat. He burned to take her now, take her later, again and again.

  Finally, she touched her mouth to his gently, tentatively. Rafe fought not to dominate the kiss, forced patience to see where she would take it. Soft, so soft, like butterfly wings—there, but barely. Damn, he wanted, needed, more. He was losing his freaking mind.

  “Harder. Open your mouth to me,” he whispered against her lips.

  Instantly, she complied, her mouth under his again, now with more pressure. She parted her lips. Still, Rafe waited to see what she wanted, what she might do.

  Then Kerry’s instincts seemed to take over. She tilted her head, fused their lips together in a wet kiss, her tongue teasing his bottom lip.

  Rafe groaned. Her kiss didn’t demand or submit. It invited, lured, teased with enough of her taste to whet his appetite, but not enough to satisfy.

  He tensed, trying to hold back his urge to take control. He wanted more, so much more. Patience, he willed himself.

  Soon, she rewarded him by opening fully to him, her tongue shyly swirling around his before retreating, as if tempting him to follow. He resisted—barely. Kerry arched to him, her naked breasts enticing against his chest. And those catchy little moans in the back of her throat as he raised a hand to her nape, took the rubber band from her hair, and filtered his fingers through the shining golden curls . . . those moans sent a hot chill of need shivering up his spine.

  He gave in to the urge to nibble on the bee-stung fullness of her bottom lip, plunder through her mouth as if he could lap up all of her sweetness in one kiss.

  Using the give in the cuffs’ pulleys, she clutched his shoulders and deepened the kiss even more, the pressure almost rough now. Rafe felt sure he’d lose his mind at any moment.

  But he couldn’t.

  Though Kerry’s aptitude for passion in this situation was certainly exceeding his expectations, by not jumping on her like an out-of-control teenager, he would put her at ease, establish a bit of trust.

  His plan was working . . . until she hooked one calf around his thigh and ground her hips against his. At that point, he admitted the effort to be slow and patient was damn near killing him.

  Rafe tried to resist her nonverbal invitation, but his palm itched to cover her breasts, toy with the nipples he felt swelling, hardening against his chest. Impulse won out.

  With a dip of his head, Rafe lowered his mouth to her neck. He nibbled on the sensitive joining with her shoulder. She rewarded him with a shiver.

  “I can’t wait to get inside you,” he whispered against her skin. “It’s going to be incredible.”

  In response, Kerry threaded her fingers through his hair, then began a trek lower. She caressed his nape, slid a soft palm down the length of his back, curved a warm hand over his ass.

  “This feels so good,” she whispered between kisses. “I never knew . . . It’s like I’m burning up all over.”

  Kerry didn’t say more; she didn’t have to. The fact she’d never felt this way before made his internal temperature skyrocket.

  Rafe knew their kind of sizzling chemistry came along as often as snow in Tampa. That he was so hot over such an unusual woman surprised him, but what the hell.

  Arching against him, Kerry’s breath hitched. He dipped his head lower still, caught one swelling nipple in between his lips. He planned to toy with it. Lips and tongue alternating, no suction yet. But once that hard, pink little bead met his lips, all his plans went to hell.

  Rafe inhaled her, capturing her nipple deep in his mouth, sucking, flicking her with his tongue, rolling the other bud between his fingers. Those catching noises in her throat became full-blown moans.

  “Rafe!” she cried as she wriggled against him.

  Damn, she felt good. Drowning in lust took on a whole new meaning when Kerry was the woman in the center of the pool. Patience was losing out—fast.

  Scooping one hand under her back, Rafe shifted her until his cock pressed against her core. Even through his boxer-briefs, he felt her damp heat. Dear God, what the woman did to his imagination, to his body, shocked him. The threads of his control . . . Rafe felt them unraveling.

  Kerry kissed her way down his jaw to nibble on his neck. It was like adding gasoline to a blaze. She nipped softly at him with gentle bites, then smoothed over his sensitive skin with open-mouthed kisses. She repeated the process on his shoulder and chest, inching down his body, sliding her soft skin across him.

  Without warning, she took his nipple in the hot cavern of her mouth. He groaned, realizing quickly what little control he possessed around Kerry was just about exhausted. The only urge he had was to rip away the damn underwear confining him and set a world record for thrusting inside her.

  It isn’t a race, he reminded himself. Think baseball stats, HTML tags, reruns of I Love Lucy . . . anything!

  The hungry animal in him wouldn’t focus on anything but getting inside Kerry in the next five seconds—and he knew that slamming into her without any preliminaries, then lasting thirty seconds, wasn’t going earn him any brownie points.

  Rafe drew in a harsh breath, then another. He swore softly. His cock was swollen, hard to the point of pain. For some odd reason, he’d wanted his zany abductor the first time he saw her, and the urge to touch, taste, possess her, now, seized him mercilessly. If he didn’t take the edge off this need, he wouldn’t have the control to make it last, to give her the pleasure necessary to make her scream his name.

  Had he ever wanted a woman this much? Must be the unusual circumstances. Clearly, the bargain got him hotter than he’d anticipated.

  “Kerry,” he got out between harsh breaths. “Kerry.”

  Slowly, she lifted her mouth from his throbbing nipple and looked at him through dreamy, dilated eyes. Her flushed cheeks and swollen mouth only tightened the knot of desire in his gut. Instinctively, he pressed his cloth-clad erection into the folds between her legs. Telltale tingles brewed at the base of his spine.

  “I want to make this good for you, but there’s no way I’m going to last,” he confessed. “I want you too much.”

  She nodded. The lust clouding her green eyes only made him crazier. Definitely time to act—now.

  With a roll, Rafe flipped their positions, his back now on the mattress, Kerry lying on her side at his left. An impatient flick of his wrist later, his boxer-briefs found a new home on the floor. He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. Then, using the give in the pulleys tethering her wrists, he drew her fingers down to his cock.

  Quickly, she gripped him in her small hands. He groaned at the feel of her tentative grip. Somewhere in his thick haze of desire, he heard her gasp. To his delight, she didn’t stay idle. Those clever fingers caressed his length, first with a light brush, a tease. Up, then slowly down. Her thumb swiped the top of the swollen purple head.

  Rafe gritted his teeth. “That touch of yours is driving me to the brink of sanity.”