Trapped by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  Corbin was probably making an exquisite breakfast that he would scowl at and call it the equivalent of fast food. Smiling, I sat up and saw the length of rope coiled on the table next to a folded piece of paper.

  My smile faded. There was no way that was good.

  In an instant, I was wide awake. I grabbed the paper and opened it.

  Dearest Audrey,

  Forgive me for leaving, but one of my associates is getting me. After the storm ends, your car will be delivered to your home. Stay here as long as you want. When you’re ready, the keys to the SUV are in the ignition. You can hang onto it as long as you like.

  Take the cell phone upstairs to replace the one you lost (it wasn’t a very good phone anyway).

  Corbin

  P.S. I hope you won’t mind, but it looks like I need to pass through town again in a two weeks. Maybe we can have a real date. Bring the rope and the video game.

  P.P.S. I won’t be staying in this house then, but you’re welcome to stake it out if it makes you feel better.

  “Bastard,” I said, though I couldn’t summon a decent level of conviction. Deep down, I was relieved, I thought, as I made my way down the hallway to his assassin’s lair. The door was closed, and I didn’t have a clue what the code was, but when I tried the handle, it opened.

  The trunks and laptop were gone, and I noticed for the first time that there was a door on the other side of the room. It opened to the snow-covered outdoors. There were several sets of tracks in the snow. He was gone, which meant he wasn’t my problem anymore. Maybe I should have been furious, but last night had proven that I couldn’t bring myself to arrest him. Not after everything that had happened between us.

  I reread the note, decided Corbin’s handwriting was surprisingly atrocious for someone so neat, and folded it away.

  I wasn’t going to take the phone, and I sure as hell wasn’t going on a date with Corbin. But I coiled up the rope because it might come in handy.

  And I took the video game, too. Because I needed to practice. Then I went upstairs to find my clothes and get dressed. The phone was sitting on the table next to the extinguished candle I’d brought up the night before.

  A red light on the phone was flashing. I touched the home key and saw I had a text message.

  Good morning (afternoon?) my lovely. The offer still stands. Work for me.

  I texted back one sentence. Next time you’re in town, all bets are off.

  Telling myself that this phone would make it easier to catch him, I slid it into my pocket.

  ~ ~ ~

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  WANTED BY A DANGEROUS MAN (By a Dangerous Man #2)

  Bounty hunter Audrey knows that Corbin Lagos isn’t her soul mate. He may have saved her life, but he’s a coldblooded killer, wanted for crimes that he neither excuses nor denies. Yet every time she crawls out of his bed, the line separating legal and illegal seems to have moved.

  As a rival bounty hunter closes in on Corbin, Audrey must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her secret lover, and an unexpected confession reveals that Corbin’s far more dangerous than she’d ever realized.

  Executive Package (Office Toy #6—the final story)

  Elle’s domineering billionaire bosses introduce her to the world as theirs, unleashing public scrutiny that she’s not prepared for. As if that weren’t trouble enough, they want her to choose which of them to marry.

  Cunningham—brooding, controlling and dominant. Jonathan—confident and playful with movie star looks. Nolan—spoiled playboy who knows Elle better than she knows herself.

  It’s an impossible decision, one that’s destroying Elle. She’s been submitting to her bosses for months, but she’s never felt so helpless. Deep down, who does she love the most?

  CARELESS (After Forever/Bisexual Billionaire #1)

  After being forced out of his company, Nelson returns home a billionaire with a hole in his life. When he meets Kimberly and Samuel, he decides he’ll have them both.

  But Kimberly and Samuel aren’t a couple, and Samuel’s the one holding things up. He hasn’t dated a woman in five years, and even though it’s plain he loves Kimberly, he agrees to Nelson’s threesome on the condition that it be only one night.

  Kimberly would marry Samuel in an instant if he asked. He’s just not interested. But a single night to satisfy her curiosity is better than never knowing Samuel’s kiss.

  There’s no way for Nelson, Samuel and Kimberly to all get what they want, and one careless moment of weakness carries the power to destroy everything.

  USE ME HARD

  Even before Alyssa meets Eric at a party, she knows all about him. That he likes to tie up submissives, that he has a dungeon somewhere, and that he breaks more hearts in three months than most guys do their whole lives. As far as she's concerned, Eric is just another rich playboy, and though part of her craves him, Alyssa knows men like him are good for one thing: nothing!

  When Eric overhears her claiming that he can't possibly be good in bed, he challenges her to prove it—one week, no sex necessary (unless she begs). Instead of slapping him, she accepts. She can't pass up the opportunity to make him publicly admit that he's clueless about women.

  If he wins ... but he couldn't possibly win. Could he?