In a Bind (Plaything Book 3)

by Tess Oliver

  Now if I could just untangle my true motives for wanting to make the man squirm.

  Mindy had arranged the name cards and made sure to sit Zane at her side. She stuck me on the opposite side of the table, between our Uncle Jack, a man who always smelled so strong of pipe tobacco it made my eyes water and Betty, a woman who had worked for my dad's family for years and had to be closing in on a hundred years old. Well played, sis.

  One nice thing about my placement was that I was almost directly across from Zane. So catching his gaze was easy, especially when he was working so hard to avoid looking over the table at me. It was a shame Dad's formal dining room table was too wide to play footsies with the guest sitting across the way.

  As the soup was delivered, I noticed the server on my quadrant of the table was carrying a notepad and pen in his pocket. I tugged on the man's sleeve as he lowered the bowl in front of me. His nametag said, Ronald.

  "Ronald, would it be possible for me to write a quick note using your pen and paper? This table is so big and I want to ask someone a question without yelling."

  The nice server readily handed me his tiny notepad and pen. I placed the notepad on my lap, out of Uncle Jack's view, and hastily scribbled my message. "Did you manage to take care of that hard-on after I left the theater?" I folded the paper several times and handed Ronald back his supplies and the note. "No rush, but when you have time could you deliver this to the man across the way with the long red hair? The one sitting next to Miss Bonneville. Oh, and he might need the pen for a return message."

  Ronald finished up with the soup delivery. I sipped mine and waited while he delivered my note to Zane. Zane worked extra hard at not letting on to Mindy that he'd just received a note. He worked equally hard not to look my direction. I peered up at him as I blew on my soup and waited for his reaction. He read the note and then folded it back up and shoved it into his coat pocket. When Ronald offered his pen for a response, he waved his hand no. Then Zane went back to his meal and his dinner conversation with my sister.

  I dropped my spoon into the bowl and sat back in disappointment.

  Chapter Ten

  Zane

  Ignoring her. I'd finally found a tactic that had thrown Raini off her game. It wasn't as much fun as fighting back with biting sarcasm and shocking retorts, but it sure deflated her enthusiasm for the game. She had spent the remainder of the dinner pretending I was invisible, not even casting a flirty glance or smile my direction. I'd won the dinner round, only I was feeling anything but a winner. I realized I didn't like to see Raini pout. I much preferred the twinkly eyed brat who had been baiting me since we met in her Dad's sitting room. I'd thought a lot about what Trey had mentioned about how Carter didn't think any man would ever be able to tame his daughter while at the same time letting her wild spirit remain free. That statement had somehow become a challenge to me. I wanted to be that person. I just had no fucking clue how to do it.

  After dinner, I had gone with Trey, Georgie and Aidan to the patio bar to get a drink before we were herded into the bottom floor sitting room to watch a sixty-year-old man open birthday gifts like a ten-year-old kid. Finding just the right gift for the man who has everything and who can buy anything he doesn't have was close to impossible. At Plaything, we'd decided to buy him a bottle of his favorite scotch and Cuban cigars, which was exactly what half of the other party attendees brought too.

  Trey, Georgie and I were hovering near the doorway, deciding it would be easier to get back to the patio bar if we were near an exit. Aidan was sitting on the arm of the couch with Carolyn, the woman he'd been hanging out with during dinner. I assumed Carolyn was the woman who’d been in bed with him when I walked into the cottage, but you never knew with Aidan. He might have already moved on to an entirely new interest. All I knew was that he was having a way better time than me this weekend.

  The rest of the guests had pulled up chairs or found spots on the luxurious carpet to get a better view of the gift opening. Mindy was playing birthday elf, bringing her dad the gifts and keeping control of the wrapping paper.

  I'd told myself that I wasn't the least bit interested in seeing Raini until she walked in wearing that blue dress that should have had the words "totally fuckable" printed across her ass because that was what the dress screamed. Especially on her pert and curvy little body. She slipped past us and with a small, flat package under her arm. She took the time to brush my arm with her free hand as she walked by. She added in a quick glimpse my direction before walking across the room to her dad.

  Carter was in too jovial of a mood to look askance at her short dress, but Mindy made her disapproval clear with a glower. That didn't affect Raini in the least. In fact, I was pretty sure she considered a disapproving glower from her older sister a small victory.

  I could feel Trey staring at the side of my face. I tried to ignore him. He cleared his throat to get my attention.

  "What?" I asked curtly because I knew what was coming next.

  "What? That's exactly right. Just what the hell is going on between you and our super investor's youngest daughter?"

  I shrugged. "Nothing of interest," I muttered out of the side of my mouth. Everyone in the room had turned their attention to Carter and to the wrapped package Raini had handed him. It didn't look like scotch or cigars.

  "Bullshit," Trey countered.

  I looked over at him. Georgie's attention had been pulled away along with everyone elses. I leaned in toward Trey and lowered my voice. "She's been playing me all day. Trying to get a rise out of me in the literal sense. And she's managed it about half a dozen times."

  Trey cut short his laugh by turning it into a short cough.

  "Oh, Rainsford." The unexpected hitch in Carter's deep baritone voice pulled our attention to the front of the room where the birthday man sat holding what looked like a picture frame. Carter Bonneville was one of those old big guys who was raised back in the day when boys learned not to show emotion. He was the last person you would expect to see choked up by a gift, but this one had him twisting his mouth in a knot.

  He looked up at his daughter with wet eyes. "Raini, it's so perfect." He held the picture up for all to see, only it wasn't a picture. It was an intricate, lifelike painting of a woman sitting on a horse. She was wearing a straw cowboy hat, a red bandana and a smile that looked exactly like Raini's.

  "It's a picture of my beautiful Janice sitting on her favorite horse." Carter's words seemed to stick in his throat.

  "She's an amazing artist," Georgie whispered our direction.

  Trey watched me for my reaction.

  "Stop staring at me. You're creeping me out. Yeah, she's amazing."

  "So that sweet little thing who just reduced Carter Bonneville to tears has been playing you all day and she's winning?" Trey asked.

  "Shit, when you say it like that."

  "Should I remind you that you are Zane Bostwick, one of the Plaything four?"

  I lowered my voice. "Said the man whose balls are sitting neatly in the tiny handbag under that woman's arm." I motioned with my head toward Georgie. It caught her attention.

  "What are you two talking about?" she asked.

  "Games and balls," Trey responded.

  Georgie bunched her brows together in confusion. "That makes sense coming from you two." She lifted her empty glass. "I need some more of this wine. It is delicious." Trey followed her out to the bar, but I stayed behind.

  Carter moved onto the last gift, a bottle of scotch was my guess. I waited for Raini to walk by. I had planned to let her know that the painting was great. But she never walked over. She never approached me. She made a point of talking to anyone else in the room who was curious about the artwork, but her blue eyes never flashed my direction. She was using my own strategy against me, and damn, if it wasn't effective as hell. I wanted nothing more than for her to at least favor me with a glance, even a fleeting one. But she looked in every direction except toward the door where I was standing.

  I decided
to head out to the bar and get another beer. The bartender had filled a lot of fluted glasses with champagne, signaling an end to the long hours of celebration. Most of the guests were still mingling inside. Trey and Georgie had slipped off to the pool side to finish their drinks. As I stood waiting for the bartender to dig through the ice chest for a beer, footsteps sounded next to me. I looked over just as Raini reached the bar.

  "Excuse me," she said in a cold tone as if we were strangers. She squeezed between me and the bar and reached for a glass of champagne. As she leaned forward, she nestled her bottom squarely against my fly, instantly causing my cock to stand at attention. Her fingers wrapped around the stem of the glass. She took a sip, then walked away, leaving me once again with an erection that was stiff enough to drill through granite.

  Chapter Eleven

  Raini

  I headed toward the barn. I needed to get away from the crowd and take comfort in the warm scent of horses and hay. Halfway along the path, I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know who was following me. My last move, pressing my ass against him had probably taken things one step too far, but I was still stinging from him ignoring me at dinner.

  I flicked on the lights inside the stables. Instantly, a chorus of soft sleepy snorts followed. Zane's footsteps sounded determined, even angry, as they pounded the floor of the barn behind me. I continued on toward the office at the end of the line of stalls. My fingers trembled as I reached inside to flick on the lights. The walls were lined with photos and horse show ribbons that Mindy and I had won when we were kids.

  Zane reached me. He took hold of my arm and pulled me farther into the small room. He turned me to face him. The heated glaze in his eyes assured me that I had pushed him too far.

  "First, about that proper fucking kiss," he growled. His mouth slammed over mine and a rough punishing kiss followed. It was the kind of kiss I'd only allow from certain men. Zane was one of those men. A gentle, probing kiss would have been utterly disappointing. I felt my body give way to that erotic state of delirium where the only thing that mattered was the longing ache in my pussy.

  Zane's mouth devoured mine as I melted against him. I was rewarded by the feel of his long, hard cock pressing urgently against me.

  Then he pulled his mouth from mine and stared down at me. There was some agitation amidst the lust I saw in his eyes. "I think these games have come to an end."

  "Really?" I reached down and rubbed my fingers along the outline of his erection. "Seems to me that they've just begun." His chest expanded and he held his breath through a clenched jaw as my hand slid down and cupped his balls through the fabric of his pants.

  An aggravated growl rumbled in his chest as he reached down and took rough hold of my wrist. He pushed me up against the wall of the office. The tails of blue and red show ribbons fluttered above my head with the impact. Before I could draw in a shocked breath, he had both my hands pinned up over my head. He lowered his mouth to mine, but his lips did not touch mine.

  I lifted my chin up. "If you mean to scare me"—I had to make an effort to hide the waver in my voice that belied my fake confidence—"Then let me assure you, being held captive like this only makes me want to be fucked more."

  "I could have you purring softly one minute and pleading with me to fuck you the next, baby. You are a talented little prick tease. But you are punching above your weight."

  His words felt like cold water. I struggled to free my hands at first but then his mouth covered mine and the rage I'd felt at his words morphed into pure lust. I wanted to pound him with my fists, and at the same time, I wanted him, in every way he could give it to me. How the hell had he done that? Damn it. Was he right?

  My mind gave one last ditch effort to protest. Mentally, I wasn't ready for him to win this round, but physically, I was in blissful defeat.

  My fingers tingled some as Zane held my wrists above my head and pressed my hands against the wall. But the numbing sensation was overshadowed by the pulses running through my pussy as Zane reached down with his free hand and wrenched the tight skirt of my dress up to reveal my panties. He stared down at them with hungry appreciation. The ambiguous color of his eyes had darkened to a decisive brown as he lifted his gaze to my face.

  He reached up to my mouth and dragged his thumb across my bottom lip, then he followed the rough caress with a gentle stroke of his tongue. Once again, he pressed his mouth hard over mine, my head thumping lightly against the wall behind me as his kiss deepened. He still held me captive. And the vulnerable feeling it left me with, knowing he had full control, made moisture pool in my pussy.

  Zane's free hand swept over my breasts and stomach and down to my panties. He forced his big foot between mine and wriggled it to spread my feet wider. Then with a sharp tug, he ripped the tiny piece of lace holding up my panties. They fell open, dangling on one hip and exposing my pussy to the cool air in the room and the flaming heat of his touch.

  There were no ceremonial caresses or easing into things. And I was glad. I needed him to finish what he had started. His fingers pushed through the folds of my pussy, grazing over my clit as he impaled me with first one, then two fingers. I sagged against the pressure on my wrists, realizing that if he hadn't been holding me, my knees would have collapsed.

  I was breathless from his kisses and from being finger fucked so expertly. I felt almost as if I was drifting into a semiconscious state. I lolled my head back and rested it against the wall to catch my breath. The mewling sounds that floated around the room were my own, but I couldn't feel them leaving my lips.

  His thumb warmed my clit. I rubbed hard against the pressure of his hand, taking in more of his fingers. "Yes," I sighed. "Fuck yes."

  It took only seconds and my body quickly dissolved into shuddering waves of ecstasy as my pussy clenched tightly around his hand. He kept his grip on my wrists, even though I badly wanted to crumple into his arms and sob in pleasure.

  He slowly pulled his hand from between my legs. Before releasing my wrists, he broke the other side of my panties. He held them up. "I earned these." He shoved them in his pocket and lowered his mouth to mine for one more kiss.

  "Your move, baby."

  He let go of my arms and walked out of the office. I remained leaning against the wall, rubbing life back into my hands and trying to untangle everything in my mind. It had started as a simple day of sport. Now I'd been challenged. And challenges always thrilled me. But as I listened to Zane's footsteps as he left the barn, I replayed the last few minutes in my head. I could still feel the rush of heat swirling in my pussy where his fingers had just been. I could still smell his aftershave on my clothes. I could still taste him on my lips.

  I wasn't sure when it had happened but somewhere in the midst of me playing these rounds of seduction, harmless erotic flirting to make the long weekend pass faster, I'd fallen for my opponent.

  I pulled the dress down to cover my nakedness and shut off the light in the office. I stopped at Pepper's stall. He had been my horse since I was seven. We'd won a lot of ribbons together. He was always a loyal friend. Even tonight, he seemed to sense something was up and he walked in his sleepy state to the front of his stall. He pushed his muzzle against the bars, and I scratched his nose.

  I looked down to the end of the barn and out into the dark night. It seemed the party was winding down.

  I could have stopped the whole thing right then. Zane would leave tomorrow, and we would most likely never see each other again. That would have been the easiest, most logical end to a game that I'd started without considering things could get messy. But I was never one to back down, and at the moment, Zane was definitely one point ahead.

  He was right. It was my move.

  Chapter Twelve

  Zane

  I hadn't seen Raini again after I'd left her still flushed pink from an orgasm. I'd walked out of the barn feeling pretty damn cocky, but by the time I reached the pool area to have one more beer with Trey, I was torn up about the w
hole thing. I'd stomped after and followed her to the stables determined to show her that she had been outmatched in whatever teasing game we'd been playing. Only I'd walked away wanting her so badly, it seemed she'd inadvertently won. And she'd done it without doing anything more than being a supple, willing participant in a quick tryst in the barn.

  The way her body reacted to my kisses and my touch had made me wonder if I was in charge or if she was the one controlling me just by being so damn sexy. It took every ounce of my will to walk away afterward, when the only thing racing through my head was the image of me bending her over the office desk and fucking her. But that would have given her the upper edge. That would have shown that she had won and that she had finally broken me down in this crazy charade.

  Most everyone had gone to bed, including the birthday boy and the party organizer. I think Mindy had discovered pretty early on that we had nothing in common. I was relieved not to have to worry about it. I was sure she'd let her dad know that his matchmaking plan was a bust. Mindy needed someone more in tune with her old money way of life. I wasn't that man. Even though my bank account was never hurting for funds anymore and I could buy just about anything I wanted, I still never forgot the humble, unhappy beginning I came from.