Tackling Her Heart by Alexandra O'Hurley

might see
us.”
    “ Is that a
problem?”
    “ I told my editor I was in
South America. I can’t be seen with you publicly.”
    Her words stung, even though he’d been
the one to tempt her into lying in the first place. He didn’t want
to hide. He realized in that moment he wanted to show her off to
the world—on his arm. “I can see if we can get a private spot in
one of the restaurants.”
    Sofia was quiet a few moments. “I
suppose you could ask, but we’d have to be careful.”
    “ Who here is going to tell
on you?” he asked.
    “ You’re an NFL player. All
someone has to do is click a shot of you with their cell phone and
post it to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and it could go viral.
You’ve been out of sight since the game, and people will want to
know what you’re doing. If that picture got back to the magazine,
goodbye job, hello unemployment line.”
    Marc knew she was right, but she
wasn’t in the habit of hiding out. “I’ll get one of the restaurants
to deliver here, then.”
    She turned and smiled, but he was too
aggravated for the look to have the intended effect. “Thank you,”
she whispered before moving to her tippy toes to kiss his
cheek.
    Sofia watched him as they walked.
“You’re mad.”
    “ I want to go out to
dinner.” With you.
    “ You’re the one who told
me to lie!” she cried.
    “ I know,” he muttered. He
knew he was being difficult.
    They walked back onto the deck of the
villa, and he ushered her inside. “Go take your shower. I’ll call
the front desk and have them arrange an early dinner be brought
here.”
    Sofia sidled up to him, pressing her
palm against his chest. “Or I could wait for you and we could
shower together.”
    “ Go shower,” he said,
cocking an eyebrow her way.
    Sofia glared at him. “You’re acting
like a spoiled child.”
    “ I’m not used to being
told no,” he snapped back. “You’ll have to be punished for
it.”
    “ Punished?”
    The look on her face seemed a mixture
of panic and desire. His cock sprang up in his shorts as he noted
her odd reaction. “Spanked, maybe. I can see you now, cuffed to my
bed, a flogger taken to that pretty, round ass of
yours.”
    Sofia swallowed roughly, and took half
a step back. Her irises dilated and her little pink tongue came out
to spread along her bottom lip. She was scared … and
heated.
    “ Would you like that,
Sofia? Or would you prefer me to put you over my lap and spank you
with my hand? Do you prefer the flesh-to-flesh contact more than
the caress of leather?”
    “ I—I don’t know,” she all
but whimpered.
    He took a step forward, closing the
gap she’d made. “I think you do know. Take your shower and think
about which punishment you’d prefer. When I get out of my shower,
you can tell me which you want. I might take your wishes into
account,” he turned to grab his cell phone off the counter. “But
then again, maybe I won’t.”
    His back to her, he couldn’t see her
reaction to his words, but the scent of her cream struck his nose.
She was enflamed by his words. The corner of his mouth lifted as he
dialed the concierge’s desk. Marc was tempted to put the phone down
and forget food. He’d be just as happy feeding on her
instead.
    But she needed time to think of what
she wanted, and for the fear to subside a little, letting the
flames of desire build.
    “ Yes, Mr. Anders, how may
I be of service?”
    His smile widened as the concierge
picked up. He was going to wine and dine Sophia before tying her to
the bed. “I need your help again,” he said before recounting part
of his plan to the man on the other end of the line.
     
    * * * *
     
    Sofia finished drying off, her hands
shaking like leaves. She pulled on one of her sundresses, going
braless underneath. The smocked top would do enough to hold her
ample bosom for the evening. She drew on a pair of black thongs,
which was almost pointless as Marc had ripped off the last pair
she’d worn. The man was having a