To me, that had been a succinct and educational look into the workings of a man’s mind. If I offered them sex, it didn’t matter if I was a 4. Or, as Rob said when I later told him about the conversation, “With guys, it’s ‘yup’ or ‘nope.’ Hotness numbers don’t mean crap. You can’t kiss a girl 60%, after all.”
But thus far, I didn’t have a shred of evidence that Corbin found me the least bit attractive.
And once the thought took hold in my mind, its claws of insecurity dug in and wouldn’t let go. I was literally snowed in with this man. There wasn’t anything to do but watch movies and eat… and his taste in movies sucked and I didn’t need the extra calories.
I slowly turned a page and continued watching Corbin through my lashes. Maybe, if I seduced him, we’d be even again. He saved my life, I screwed him. Sure, I would also enjoy the sex, but he had probably enjoyed feeing like a hero. As a bonus, if we were in the same bed, I’d know where he was and wouldn’t have to worry about him getting away.
I smiled. Put that way, seducing him was a goddamn professional imperative, right?
Ah, hell. My body had wanted him from the moment I realized he’d saved my life. Sometimes it just took my brain a minute to catch up.
Now that the decision was made, I needed to figure out how I was going to restrain him. He was too big to take prisoner unless I surprised him, or had a weapon. I could, however, tie him up and call for backup. Specifically, I’d call Rob. Rob was fair and rather unambitious. I’d still get the bounty and the credit, but I’d take care of my brother. Everyone would win.
Everyone except Corbin. I wondered what he’d done to warrant such a high bounty. It didn’t matter, really. I wrinkled my nose. Except… suppose he’d done some really revolting things? I shook my head, and Corbin looked over at me.
“Everything ok?”
When his low voice rolled over me, my body tingled. “Are you married?” was the best I could manage.
He looked at me a long moment, sadness in his eyes. Then his gaze drifted down to my lips. “No.” He smiled slowly. “You?”
I shook my head. “Kids?”
Something not unlike a grimace flashed across his face, and he paused the movie before shifting toward me. He propped one of his muscular arms along the top of the sofa, which made his chest flex and widen. “Why are you asking me this? What are you getting at, Audrey?”
That was a great question to make a girl blush, which I did. “Just wondering,” I squeaked. “Are you wearing contact lenses?”
Now one of his eyebrows drifted up. “No. Do you have kids?”
“No.”
“Are you in the habit of venturing out unprepared during blizzards?”
I glared. “No.”
“No one knows where you are.” It wasn’t a question, and I suddenly had a difficult time breathing. I reminded myself that if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it already.
Still, I didn’t like where this conversation was heading. I needed to reroute it, and fast. “How do you feel about one-night stands?”
He briefly looked surprised, and I counted that as a point in my favor.
“They’re fine,” he said. “Any other questions?”
Yeah, just a few dozen. Like do you know who I am or am I paranoid, and why is there a bounty on your head? And oh, by the way, am I coming off as desperate?
But I shook my head and looked at my book. Corbin moved closer and plucked it out of my hands.
Oh, God, he was so close. Too close. His breath was warm, and I let my head tilt slightly, but I kept my eyes open.
“How do you feel about one-night stands, Audrey?” The look on his face was intent, serious.
Instead of answering, I made the first move, sliding the last few inches that separated us. I closed my eyes and lifted my mouth to his. The moment our lips touched, I knew I was lost. The persistent murmur of desire became a screaming roar: NEED!
He didn’t respond except for a little intake of breath. But then his hand gently touched the area where my neck and jaw met, and his mouth opened.
I smiled a little, then moved even closer. I loved being in control, loved seducing men, loved the thrill of power as I turned them on.
Now both of his hands were on my face, holding me still, and he sampled me just as he’d tasted the food: slowly, deciding if it was good enough. I knew it would be. His kiss turned aggressive, but I matched his intensity. I pressed my palm on the front of his chest and let my hand skim down.
Fuck. His body was sick. He was all muscle. Even his stomach was hard. I’d never felt anything like it.
My hands turned into claws, and I pulled at his shirt until the snap buttons yielded. A little whimper burst from my throat as I rubbed his warm skin, then dipped lower to grapple with the bulge in his jeans. It was a nice big one, too, which was something I appreciated quite a lot in my partners.
He caught my wrist in a viselike grip and broke off the kiss. My eyes opened, and I saw that he was looking at me, had probably never closed his eyes at all. He didn’t look happy, which was baffling, because usually, erection plus willing woman was enough to make most men giddy with joy. “I take it you like one-night stands,” he said.
“Yes.” And I refused to feel bad about it. If he was going in that direction, this was over. Judgmental men were such a turnoff. “I love sex. Good sex, at least.” I raised an eyebrow in challenge.
He tightened his grip on my wrist and rose over me, and I found myself sliding down until I was on my back. Quiet fury simmered in his eyes. “How do you feel about one-night stands with men you’re stalking? Or is that part of the fun?”
My face must have gone white, because I felt the blood leave it, felt myself getting cold. “What?”
“I asked myself, what was this woman who I’d seen earlier in the day doing all the way out here? So I found your car, Audrey. I saw the paper in the glovebox with my name circled.” He seemed to take pleasure in my panic. “You couldn’t call for backup, so what were you going to do? Tie me up when I was sleeping?”
“What? No!”
“Then what was your plan?”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, but no sound came out. He brought his face very close to mine, and so help me, I wanted him more than ever, wanted him to fuck me, wanted the clearheaded thinking that a good orgasm would provide.
“I should have left you in the ditch to die,” he snarled. But he was still gripping me, and I could feel his erection where his hips pressed into the side of my leg.
Someone once told me that fear was the greatest aphrodisiac, and that the best way to ensure a date would end with sex was to do something scary together. I’d rolled my eyes at the time because we were in a “haunted” house, but maybe he was onto something. Because even though my very existence was on the line, I had never wanted anyone—or anything—like I wanted Corbin Lagos inside of me.
It was stupid, and it made no sense. But I had a very good, honest relationship with my pussy, and she wasn’t being quiet about what she wanted. I shifted a little, rubbing my leg against Corbin, and while the look in his eyes hardened, so did his cock.
“Fuck me,” I whispered. “I promise not to kill you or anything.”
“At no point did you have any chance of killing me, little girl. You have no weapon. You’re still weak from your ordeal last night. Any delusion that you could have captured me was just that: a delusion.”
He released one of my wrists and wrapped his large hand around my throat and squeezed. At first his touch was light, but as his fingers tightened, my smile died. “Don’t forget that while you slept, I watched over you. I protected you. You are only alive because of my mercy. Don’t make me regret it, Audrey.”
I struggled, trying to push him away, but he was bigger, stronger, and he had all the leverage. I went limp under him, staring up. My eyes were filling with tears because I couldn’t breathe, and it made me even angrier that he probably thought I was crying.
He e
ased up, and fresh air flooded my lungs. I began coughing, but Corbin didn’t move back. When it passed, he said, “So, little Audrey. What’s it going to be? Do you want to live?”
I nodded.
“We are stuck here until the storm passes. Here’s what I propose. Until tomorrow at 5:00 pm, we call a truce. Neither of us will try to kill”—he gave me a reproachful look—“or capture the other.”
It was a fair deal considering that I had zero leverage. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
He smiled. “I’m not the untrustworthy one.”
There was silence as I digested that. Again, he had an excellent point; he had saved my life despite knowing who I was. Or maybe I had more leverage than I’d thought. If he killed me, all that expended energy would be for naught. “Ok. Deal.”
“Not so fast. Let’s ensure that you’ll keep your word.” He pressed a hand over my mouth, and I squirmed, but he wasn’t trying to cut off my air. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
I couldn’t hear whoever it was that answered, but someone must have because Corbin said, “Are you in the city?” He paused. “Good. I want a man on Rob Stroop. He’s a fugitive tracker with Stroop Finders. Oh, you know them. Even better.” His eyes connected with mine. “If anything happens to me, kill him.”
He hung up the phone and removed the hand from my mouth. I sat up, sputtering. “You fucking asshole!”
“If your brother ends up dead, it’s your fault.” He moved back to where he’d been sitting, picked up the television remote and casually hit the play button. Revving engines exploded from the speakers.
I fled to the bathroom, locked the door and collapsed on the floor, trembling. My mind was so screwed up, and I didn’t understand what had happened. Corbin knew who I was, and he wasn’t threatened. That made me furious. And what did I do? Try to seduce him. A man who was surely a Very Bad Person. Yet the only man I’d ever met who didn’t think with his cock. I felt rejected and belittled and confused, and especially, I was disgusted with myself. I wrapped my arms around my knees and sighed, defeated.
He’d outsmarted me.
He wanted a truce? He’d get it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t pump him for information that would make my job easier once the truce ended.
In the meantime, hell, Corbin was probably right. It was going to be a long day if we couldn’t make nice.
I walked out and stood in front of the television. Corbin looked up at me with a little impatient sigh. “You’re in my way.” There was a tension in the way he held himself that suggested he wasn’t as unconcerned with me as he’d claimed.
“All bets are off at 5:00,” I said.
“Is that all?”
“Yes. No. If we’re stuck together, let’s make the most of it.” I paused, expecting a cocky look on his face, but Corbin’s mind really wasn’t going in that direction. If I hadn’t had such irrefutable proof of his attraction earlier… but I knew better. It was a physical reaction, not actual attraction. Apparently he was indifferent to me.
“How do you propose we do that?” he asked.
“You were kind to me.” I nodded. “I owe you my life. I realize that. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve done very bad things. And you being an outlaw doesn’t change the fact that I owe you my life.”
He looked amused when I called him an outlaw. “And?”
“And I… We’re in here together. Let’s be civil.”
“Have I ever not been civil?”
“Other than when you started choking me because I kissed you?”
He stood, pinning me in place with his stare, but I didn’t break my gaze away, even though I had to tilt my head uncomfortably to do it. When he stepped forward, I held my ground which meant our bodies were pressed together. I tried to ignore the rush of excitement that zipped through me.
We stared at each other for a good minute. I had no idea what he was thinking until he said, “I could have tied you up and thrown you in the garage.”
I swallowed. “Thank you for not doing that.”
“You’re welcome.” He stepped away and went into the kitchen. A moment later, he emerged with two beers and handed me one. “To being civil,” he said.
I clinked my bottle against his and took a sip. Suddenly, a lot of tension I hadn’t realized I was holding drained out of me. Despite what I wanted to do, I couldn’t. I’d made a promise, but regardless it was now out of my hands unless I found a way to warn my brother, which seemed unlikely at the moment.
“Thank you,” I said again. “For saving me.”
“You would have done the same, I’m sure.”
He was right. I would have pulled him off the road… and dumped him at someone else’s doorstep.
I retreated to my corner of the sofa with the book, and this time I didn’t stare at Corbin. But the movie was impossible to tune out, and I was drawn in despite myself. Eventually I set the book aside.
“This movie is terrible,” I said.
“So don’t watch.” Corbin took another sip of beer.
“It’s too loud.” I tapped the book.
He shot me a peeved look. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a pain in the ass?”
“Anyone ever tell you it’s rude to insult people?”
He smiled as he looked at the television. “I have been told that, believe it or not.”
“Oh, I believe it.” I found myself smiling.
Corbin shut off the television and tossed the remote aside. “What do you want to do?”
“Video games.”
He got up and opened the long console underneath the television. Inside was a wicker basket filled with video games. He pulled it out. “Come pick.”
As I knelt beside him, he stood. “If you don’t see anything you like, I can download something from the store. Another beer?”
I nodded as I picked out a tempting game. It was a recent release, but Rob owned a copy, and I’d played a few times with him. “Is a couch co-op ok?”
“Huh?”
“You know, multiplayer cooperative on the same system.”
He stared at me blankly, then set the beers on the coffee table.
“Cannibal Carnival. We’ll go through the jungle together, not fighting against each other.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?”
I tossed a controller to him and loaded the game into the player, then sat next to him, aware of how close his gorgeous body was. “Have you played this one before?”
He frowned. “A few days ago.” He took a swig of beer. “But I bet I’ll kill more baddies than you do.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Nope. Wouldn’t be fair.”
“You’re right. It’d be like taking candy from a baby. And just so we’re clear—”
“You’re the baby,” we said in unison.
Corbin Lagos was seriously sexy when he flirted. But then I had a chilling thought: maybe he was sure he’d kill more “baddies” because he’d killed a bunch of people in real life. I fought a tremor.
“What was that look?” he asked. “What just happened?”
“Nothing.” I created a profile on the game for myself and hit start.
“If I kill more baddies in round one, you’ll answer a question,” he said.
“Deal.”
We managed to get through the level without dying, and I killed three times as many cannibals as he did. While we waited for the next round to load, I thought of my question. “Why did you bring me here? You could have taken me someplace else.”
He hit the pause button. “Can’t you start with something lighter?”
“How many people have you killed?”
“Not exactly lighter, Audrey.”
God help me, but I loved the way my name sounded coming out of his beautiful mouth.
“Because I felt responsible for you,” he said.
“Why? Just because you happened to be the one who found me?”
“I believe I answered my questio
n, but no, that’s not why.”
“Why?”
He hit the start button.
“Let’s play for three questions this time,” I said, and Corbin grunted his assent.
Corbin somehow managed to keep up with me and not get eaten, but I killed four times as many cannibals as he did. I was a little buzzed from the beer, and I flopped against the back of the couch.
“Explain what you meant about feeling responsible.”
“Technically not a question.” He shrugged, ran a hand through his mussed hair. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was uncomfortable. “I recognized you from the store. When I found the Most Wanted list, I realized you came out here for me. I felt responsible.”
I bristled. “Did it ever occur to you that catching you is just another day on the job for me?”
“Well, in that case, tell yourself I didn’t want to chance you ranting about me to whoever rescued you,” he said, sounding annoyed. “Next question.”
I could tell from his tone of voice that he would say nothing else on the matter. Which was fine; I had an answer that made sense. He wanted to keep me close where I couldn’t hurt him. “Did you consider killing me?”
“Not for a second. Next.”
“Seriously?”
“Is that your third question?”
I shook my head fast. “My third question is… did you ogle me when you took off my clothes?” It came out weird, like I sorta hoped he had.
He didn’t even have the decency not to laugh. “No way. You were like a drowned kitten. What kind of men have you been hanging out with?”
The kind I can pick up in a dark bar and then walk away from. Maybe the sex wasn’t always great, but at least things never got messy. Under normal circumstances, I might have said it, but Corbin was different, somehow, maybe more likely to be turned off by the casual nature of things. That irritated me. He wasn’t following the script. I jammed my finger onto the start button.
“Hey, don’t I get any questions?” Corbin asked.
“Not unless you win them,” I said, my voice mean.
“You’re a stickler for the rules, aren’t you?”
Trapped by a Dangerous Man Page 5
