Protected by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  “Tell me that’s not work related,” I said.

  “It’s not work related.” He glanced at the screen and smiled. “But it’s very important.”

  “Oh, no,” I said. “What now?”

  His grin widened, and my poor little heart almost exploded. God, it felt good to see him happy again. “Check for yourself,” he said, starting the truck and pulling out of the parking space.

  I warily accepted the phone and read the email. “The newest Cannibal Carnival is out?”

  “The official launch is next week, but I reserved an early release copy.”

  “You joined the fan club! You’re lucky you’re so hot because that’s seriously nerdy.” I paused. “Can we swing by the store and pick it up?”

  “Baby, are you saying you want to bring a video game to our romantic getaway?”

  “Oh…” I felt my face scrunching into a frown. “Of course not.”

  “Really?”

  “Maybe? Does that make me a bad girlfriend?”

  Corbin’s laugh boomed through the SUV. “You’re the best kind of bad girlfriend.”

  My heart went from exploding to melting.

  Two hours later, we were walking through the door of Corbin’s mountain house. It was just the right time of day for bright sunlight to flood through the windows and the central skylight. As always, the house was immaculate, not a speck of dust on the rustic furniture or the enormous television.

  The wide stairs ahead of me beckoned. I wanted to try out the video game, but I wanted Corbin more.

  He was already in the kitchen, putting away the groceries. There was something distractingly sexy about how he did it. I liked watching Corbin handle food. He was in his element, and he became so focused, so intense.

  “Did you want something?” He set a pink box tied with string onto the counter.

  “What’s that?”

  “Dessert. Macaroons.”

  “I wanna see.” And maybe sneak one into my mouth, too. I took a step closer, but Corbin moved in front of it, blocking my view.

  “If you’re going to start messing around in my kitchen,” he said, “at least let me get a few drinks into my stomach first.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him. Even though I was being playful, my feelings were a little hurt. “I’m not a bad cook.”

  “Baby, you’re not a cook at all. I’ve offered to teach you—”

  “I don’t need to be taught,” I said.

  We stared at each other, both well aware that I was full of crap.

  “You have other talents,” Corbin said.

  “Oh, because I have a pussy? You’re on thin ice, Lagos.”

  His gaze wandered slowly down my body, and I felt my cheeks begin to burn. Corbin said, “Half the world’s population has one of those. It’s not that impressive a feat.” Electric blue-green eyes connected with mine. “You do have a gorgeous body, and I can’t deny how much I love sticking my cock in you.”

  He stalked closer. I swallowed but managed to stand my ground.

  “But it’s your mind that interests me most. Your toughness, your softness, your sense of humor. The way you see the world. I’ll never get bored with you, not in a million years. So yeah, you’ve got a sweet, sweet pussy, and I’m just glad you do because if you were a guy, I’d have to reconsider which team I play for.” His grin was seductive.

  I knew it was a compliment, but perversely, I couldn’t help but be a bit offended that he hadn’t spent more time talking about how sexy he found my body. I set my jaw. “If I were gross, or a guy, you’d still want to bang me. Keep going, Shakespeare.”

  Corbin laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a few days to remind you of just how much I appreciate your body, but right now I want…” His smile faltered, then disappeared, and he ran a hand through his dark hair as he looked away.

  If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was uncomfortable.

  But then I realized… Corbin was never uncomfortable. Would I even recognize it if he were?

  He stepped past me to open the refrigerator and pull out two beers. Without asking if I wanted a drink, he popped off both caps and handed me a bottle. “To us,” he said. The clink of glass felt strangely loud and jarring.

  “Are you ok?” I asked.

  His eyes met mine. “Never been better,” he said with such sincerity that my heart solidified and melted all over again. “Feel like playing a video game? The advance reviews are pretty damned good. It might be the best of the series.”

  “Sure,” I said slowly. I’d been thinking we’d have sex first. Surely Corbin was horny, too. “Or we could—”

  “I’ll load it up,” he said, walking out of the kitchen.

  I shook my head. No matter what we went through, no matter how many secrets he shared, no matter how much vulnerability he showed, I would never, ever, ever understand Corbin Lagos.

  “You open it,” Corbin said, tossing the shrink-wrapped game to me when I walked into the living room.

  I caught it awkwardly, trapping the plastic case between my forearm and my waist. “Oh, I get it,” I said. “You open bottles, and I peel off plastic. You’re getting the better deal.” I set down my beer to wrestle with the packaging.

  “Or we could wait a week and download it on release day,” Corbin said.

  “No need.” I held out the open case with two hands, presenting it like a sacred text. “Hey, this is like our first date. Our first weekend,” I corrected quickly.

  “I consider that our first date,” Corbin said, the sexy rumble of his voice turning my panties damp. “Other than a stubborn bounty hunter trying to arrest me, it was delightful.”

  “Other than you skipping out while I was asleep,” I corrected. “Trying to arrest you was fun.”

  “Really?” Corbin loaded the game and fell back onto the overstuffed sofa. “As I recall, you seemed a tad frustrated.”

  Grabbing my beer, I sat beside him. “Well, you were cheating and I didn’t realize it.”

  “I wouldn’t call it cheating.” He handed me a video game controller.

  I scoffed. “You were totally cheating. I thought you were just some jerk on the bounty hunter list, but really you had all these resources.”

  Corbin leaned toward me. Having him move so confidently into my personal space made my mouth water. “Resources?”

  He managed to make the word sound so filthy, so dirty. I felt my body respond, my panties getting wetter.

  “You know what I mean,” I said. “You and all your… your high-tech gadgets. Your security systems and special guns and ability to hack into databases.”

  Corbin’s face went a little stiff. “When did you ever see me hack into a database?”

  I thought about it. “Well, it sounds like something a super-assassin could do.” After I spoke, I checked to see if I felt weird about saying the word assassin after what had happened with Henry.

  But I didn’t.

  Maybe I was a monster, but I didn’t have an ounce of regret. Henry had gotten what was coming to him, and now he was gone, permanently out of my life.

  Corbin sat back in his own space again, and I was disappointed, but only until the game started. Then I was too busy with my side of the split-screen action to feel bad for myself.

  A couple of hours later, we’d cleared several levels. Six drained bottles and the empty macaroon box littered the coffee table. The only reason we didn’t have fresh beers was because we’d been attacking an end-of-level boss for the last twenty minutes.

  “Is it my imagination,” Corbin said as the boss crashed to the ground and stopped moving, “or is this game harder than the last one?”

  “You’re out of practice.” I hit the pause button and tossed my controller aside. “Bathroom break.”

  “Grab beers on your way back?” Corbin asked.

  “Yes, dear, but so you know, that’s as domestic as I get.” I practically skipped off to the bathroom.

  Today really felt li
ke a new beginning, and it was fitting that we were back here, in the gorgeous mountain house where it had all started less than a year ago.

  There were so many things, little things, that if they’d changed, I never would have met Corbin. Now that I knew him and knew his heart, I realized that as dangerous as he was—and the man was undoubtedly dangerous—I’d always been safe.

  I wondered if that was how female lions felt. They possessed claws and teeth, but the males were bigger, stronger. It was all about trust, and as Corbin had spent months drilling into my head, I could trust him.

  How lucky I was that he hadn’t given up on me. I hadn’t been easy, and I’d fought him because I was afraid.

  “You lucky fool,” I told my reflection. My eyes sparkled, and my cheeks were lightly flushed. My face still had a decent tan, and my curls weren’t frizzy. A bit of makeup would have improved things, but it wasn’t like Corbin cared.

  The crazy man liked me just the way I was.

  When I came out of the bathroom, Corbin was sitting on the edge of the sofa, staring at his phone.

  “Please no bad news,” I said. “I’m beginning to despise that thing.”

  He didn’t look up. “It’s not bad news. I promise. Don’t forget the beers.”

  Shaking my head, I went into the kitchen, but there weren’t any more in the refrigerator. “We’re out,” I said.

  “There should be another case in the garage. You don’t mind, do you?”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Not at all.” In fact, I was surprised. He’d never sent me out to the garage before. “Are you sure things are fine?”

  Then he did meet my eyes. “Absolutely,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.

  By the time I returned with the beer, Corbin had put the phone aside. “What do you think about raising the stakes?” he asked. “Maybe it’ll motivate us to try harder.”

  “Sure,” I said, kicking off my shoes. “You know the beer’s warm. It’ll be kinda gross.”

  He motioned for me to bring him one anyway. I could have used a refresher myself, but if Corbin got a little buzzed, that would give me a huge advantage.

  “Ok,” I said. “What do you want to play for?”

  Corbin shrugged. “How about sexual favors?”

  Sex sounded good, but… “We could play for honest answers to questions.” And I knew just the question. What was he doing in his office?

  Corbin stared at the television screen. He took a long, hard swallow of beer. “Ok,” he said. “Just like our first date.”

  “Except this time you can’t hustle me. This time, you’ll be answering my questions.” I plopped onto the sofa next to him.

  “I wouldn’t be so certain of that,” he said.

  My competitive streak reared up. “One round, ten questions.”

  Corbin shook his head.

  “What, you’re afraid to lose?”

  “You’re starting to sound like you want a spanking.”

  I threw a leg over his lap. Corbin leaned back, shoved his beer between two cushions, and slid his large hands under my ass, cupping and squeezing my flesh. Underneath me, his erection was growing longer, harder.

  “One round, ten questions,” I said seductively. “Don’t be a chicken.”

  He cleared his throat, and I began to rock against him. My intention had been to turn him on, but as I ground my hips, my inner muscles spasmed with anticipation.

  Corbin pulled me down harder, and my eyes closed as his cock pressed against my sex.

  “Ten questions,” I said.

  He grabbed the back of my head and urged my mouth down until we were only inches apart. “We’ll play to the bonus round. Whoever has the most kills gets five questions. That’s my final offer.”

  It had been his only offer, but it was better than nothing. “We have a deal.”

  I dipped down to kiss him, but Corbin was pushing me away. He thrust the controller into my hand, his eyes glowing with a strangely fervent fire.

  “Shit,” I mumbled. Something told me that I’d walked into another of Corbin’s traps.

  Chapter 32

  I changed position yet again, this time sitting with my legs folded beneath me. Light perspiration kept turning my fingers slick. The sleek plastic controller became harder to grip, but I didn’t let up.

  Corbin was creaming me.

  Up until making the bet, we’d been more or less even. Since then he’d had a few extra drinks and should have been distracted.

  Yet by the end of the next level, he had twice as many kills as I did. I’d never seen anyone clear a level so quickly.

  “Are you cheating?” I asked, incredulous, too impressed to be angry.

  “Natural born talent, baby,” he said, grinning.

  “Switch controllers. Maybe mine is… compromised.”

  “No problem.”

  We switched. He racked up three kills for each of mine.

  It didn’t take long to reach the bonus round, not with Corbin clearing the area of cannibals so efficiently.

  I hit the pause button. “Tell me how you did it.”

  He raised a hand. “You know I have magic fingers.”

  “Bullshit,” I coughed.

  That made him raise an eyebrow.

  Oh, I knew that look. I jumped up, but he moved faster—grabbed me, yanked my pants down.

  Squealing, I tried to clamp my legs closed, but Corbin was too strong.

  His index finger stroked past my clit, to my dripping wet center. Even though I knew he’d found a way to cheat, watching him beat the game turned me on. Maybe the fact that he was cheating and I couldn’t figure out how was part of the appeal.

  Which was ridiculous considering all of Corbin’s real-world skills.

  Resting his thumb on my clit, he said, “First question. Tell me how much you like my touch. How much do you need my cock?”

  I groaned.

  “Use your words,” he said, teasing. “Tell me. Wax poetic.”

  “It’s not bad,” I said.

  The stern look on his face was a little frightening. Even though we were joking around, his poker face was so damned convincing… Had he set me up or not? He had suggested we play for sexual favors. Could he have known I’d want to play for answers instead?

  “You’re a bad, bad girl,” he said. “You need to be punished.”

  He thrust two fingers into me.

  Gasping, I arched, the muscles of my back snapping taut and my breasts heaving into the air. Corbin slid his other hand under the bottom of my shirt. Skin on skin.

  My drenched sex clamped around him. Slow ripples of pleasure spiraled outward.

  “Say it,” he said. “Tell me how much you love sex with me. If you don’t tell me now, you’ll beg later, when you’re naked and on your knees.”

  “I love sex with you,” I moaned. Corbin’s thumb was rubbing my clit while his fingers twisted slowly inside me.

  “More,” he said, slowing the speed of his strokes.

  My hands fisted, but there weren’t any sheets for me to hold on to. “You’re the best lover I’ve ever had. You’ve ruined me for other men.”

  Corbin stopped moving his hand. “Should I look into penis reduction surgery?”

  “No!” I said, laughing in triumph. “That was question number two. Why’d you stop moving?” I wiggled my hips in case he’d missed my meaning.

  “I could tell you that, but then I’d have to add another question to mine. After all, I won.” He removed his fingers. Ignoring my protests, he pulled my shirt back down, too. “Do you enjoy begging for sex?” he asked.

  “I wish I could say no, but I’d be lying,” I admitted. “By the way, I approve of the sexual nature of your inquiries.”

  That made him grin. “Fix your pants.”

  Grumbling, I pulled them up. My panties were wet, which made me a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t like I wanted to lounge bare-assed on the sofa.

  “Something tells me you’re ready for my last two questions.”<
br />
  I nodded.

  Corbin reached up to stroke my hair. Slowly, his fingers traveled down until he captured my chin. “You asked me to marry you,” he said.

  I sucked in a breath. I wanted to close my eyes, to hide my face. He hadn’t asked a question yet, but I was terrified of what it might be. I shook my head preemptively.

  “Baby. You don’t want me to ask if you meant it when you said maybe you were serious?” He wasn’t teasing me, but he wasn’t letting me off the hook, either.

  “No,” I said. That was the fourth question, but I didn’t point it out. Maybe he hadn’t noticed. Maybe he’d screw up, ask another softball and waste his final question.

  “You could be right… It’s not fair to ask you that,” he said. “We’ll play the bonus round and then I’ll come back to it.”

  He’d been careful not to put either of those statements into a question form. He handed me the controller and hit the play button.

  The bonus round showed ten minutes in the right-hand corner, which meant I had ten minutes to get Corbin to screw up and ask me a mundane question. Any question would let me off the hook.

  “We’re not on the island,” I realized. The scene was set in a blizzard. Technically, the bonus scenes could take place anywhere—they were outside the rules of the game. The point was to rack up as many kills as possible in the allotted time and to pick up as many weapons and health drinks as we could carry. Sometimes we could find a really useful item, like better armor.

  Corbin’s avatar looked different.

  “That’s weird,” I said, staring at the back of his digital head. “Turn around.”

  Beside me, he turned his head.

  “In the game,” I said.

  He laughed softly, then his avatar turned to the side.

  “Crazy. They gave us different characters for this round,” I said. Corbin’s had dark hair, longer than the military buzz cut of the standard hero. His eyes were a slightly glowing blue. “Turn all the way around,” I said.

  He did, and I gasped when I saw my own avatar through his eyes, on the split screen.

  She had green eyes and a head of crazy dark curls. Instead of skintight black pants, she wore jeans, and her boobs-on-display top had been replaced by a T-shirt.