Every Girl's Secret Fantasy by Robyn Grady Page B

night, I swear.”
    â€œAnd now?”
    â€œNow you move and I’ll cut you free.”
    In the firelight, she saw his eyes narrow. “What say we strike a deal? I’ll let you go in return for a kiss.”
    â€œA kiss ?”
    She blinked. That was it? There had to be more to it than that.
    â€œOne kiss,” he confirmed, reading her thoughts. “Now, bring your lips here, Phoebe. Bring them here now .”
    She bristled at his command. She was the one whowas supposed to be in charge here. But pins and needles were biting at her fingers, and his steely gaze told her he had no intention of relenting until she did as she was told.
    She tried to come up with a plan, but there was only one that she half liked. If he wanted a kiss, she’d give him one to remember.
    Wishing she felt as confident as she had moments ago, she lowered her head and let her mouth hover for a titillating moment above his. Then she grazed her lips over his chin, his raspy jaw. A flurry of heightened sensation flew through her middle and she swallowed a breath, enjoying the sizzling aftershock to her core. She waited for his reaction…waited for his mouth to reach up and unreservedly claim hers. Instead, he nipped her, gently imprisoning her bottom lip between his teeth.
    She yelped—out of shock, not pain. But then his tongue started to move, stroking the wet sweep of her lower lip, laving its sensitive mound, and darkest pleasure rolled through her like the lethal shadow of a gathering wave. Eyes drifting shut again, she quivered out an involuntary sigh and helpless, trembling, waited for his next move.
    First his head angled, gifting barely-there kisses to her chin. Then his mouth deliberately closed over hers, his day-old growth grazing languidly back and forth against the edge of her jaw as he drew her in. Her every thought, every memory, every doubt, lifted and drifted far away.
    His tongue swept inside her mouth, running over its roof, exploring its unabashed welcome. And then he wasn’t kissing her any more. She was kissing him . Kissing him with everything she had and wanted togive. The feeling spiralled until she couldn’t siphon in enough air. Could this possibly get any better?
    As her free hand traced the line and movement of his working jaw, the aching burn, low and deep inside her, intensified. The sensation was surreal. A completely different plane. Her system surged with a series of dark-light, sharp-soft, tender-deep thrills. It was eternal. It was time standing still.
    And just imagine when they finally made love…
    When Pace gently broke the kiss a little of the tension leaked out of her. But as their lips parted Phoebe didn’t open her eyes. This break was to catch their breath, to refuel their engines before the finale. Then she was going back to kiss him again.
    Going back for more.
    His laugh—a low, devilish sound—froze Phoebe’s thoughts. When he laughed again her eyes sprang open, and her blood warmed with a different kind of heat. The realisation was as profound as a mountain toppling, a tidal wave crashing, and as the understanding compounded her stomach looped into a thousand knots. He was laughing at her. Laughing at how easily he’d taken control.
    But at this point did it matter? This coming-apart-at-the-seams scenario was precisely what she’d wanted. She might have lost control, but wasn’t that a good thing? The outcome she’d been hoping for?
    Feeling somewhat pleased with herself, she fought the urge to lick her lips. “Well, was that kiss enough for you?”
    â€œOh, yeah.” His smile shone. “That was definitely kiss enough.”
    â€œNow that’s settled, would you kindly keep your end of the bargain and release my arm?”
    He raised a brow. “I don’t think so. I like you where you are.”
    She frowned. “But you said—”
    â€œI lied.”
    â€œThat’s not fair!”
    â€œI