He blinked, obviously shocked into speechlessness by her masterful command of the English language.
Excellent. Jade had learned a few years ago that foul language coming from a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth little girl like her could work to her advantage—especially when some slime-ball mistakenly believed he had the right to feel her up because he fancied her. Hit him right between the eyes with some vile allusion to his parentage, and then beat a hasty retreat before he collected his jaw from the floor. Worked every time.
“It’s like this, Mal. If you want to trade insults with me, you’ll lose. Even though I’m a girl, I have a brain, and it’s connected directly to my mouth—which I’m not afraid to use.”
Malach’s lips twitched ever-so-slightly upward before he schooled his expression to blankness. “I have noticed that about you.”
“Really. Want to play some more? Or shall we just turn our minds to something more productive, like getting out of here sometime this century.”
“I have already told you how we will escape this place.”
“The screw-me-three-times-for-luck scenario. Yeah. Riiight. How can I say this politely?” She paused for dramatic effect. “No.”
“Not even if I assure you I am not lying in an attempt to compromise your dubious virtue?”
“No. Not even.”
“Not even if Pieter has the power to keep us here for twenty-eight full days, to give us every opportunity of bonding as potential soul-mates?”
Bonding? As potential soul-mates? No way. There would be no bonding. Not with Malach. Not with any man.
“Don’t you realize that ‘no’ is actually a complete sentence? Well, it is. So, no.”
“And what of me, Jade? You were linked to me for a time before you called me from the crystal. You experienced a little of what I suffered. Are you so willing to condemn me? Are you that heartless?”
He had her there. The suffering part, at least. She wasn’t sure about the rest but that had certainly been real. “Sex is not the answer—it never is. And I’m not completely heartless but I am absolutely not having sex with you, either. There has to be another way.”
“Why?” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Jade tried to ignore the way his biceps rippled. She itched to run her hands over those steely-hard bulging muscles, to squeeze and stroke and explore them. To explore him.
“Why?” Her voice was little more than a squeak. She cleared her throat. “Because I don’t know you from a bar of soap. And I have no burning desire to get to know you in any way at all, let alone in a biblical way. Don’t take this wrong, but you just don’t do it for me. You’re not my type. Sorry.”
He smiled. A sexy, predatory smile that sent all her hormones into orbit. A smugly knowing smile that suggested he knew that she was lying through her teeth.
“I believe you were prepared to bed Pieter for payment. What if I, too, offer to pay you? Would I perhaps then be ‘your type’?”
Jade stifled a whimper. Change of subject needed STAT. “Do you even have any money, Mal? I don’t think I see a pocket in those leather pants you’ve somehow managed to pour your butt into.”
“I have no coin for this world. But I have other things to offer.”
Her insides melted. “Like what?” Crap! “Ah, I mean, I don’t want anything that you’re offering.”
Liar! the room seemed to shriek the word. So did his knowing expression.
The sexual heat emanating him smacked her, mingling with her own desire and provoking certain portions of her anatomy to clench and quiver. She fought the instinct to flee to the bathroom and lock herself in. Because to get to the bathroom she would have to go past him. He could easily launch himself from the bed and grab her. And if he touched her again, she’d be lost. If he kissed her again, she’d let him do whatever he wanted, because secretly, she wanted it too.
Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes, and seeing that he knew how she was feeling, how much she wanted him, made her humiliation a million times worse.
Hot tears pricked her eyes. She ducked her head, letting her hair swing across her cheek to hide her face. How could her body betray her like this? How could she want so badly for a guy she’d just met, a guy with an ego the size of Ayers Rock and some serious fashion issues to boot, to strip off her clothes and screw her ’til she screamed for mercy? Not to mention he was seriously deluded, what with the whole “I have no coin for this world” stuff. Did he imagine he came from another planet or something? And if all that wasn’t bad enough, he had to be around forty—far too old for her.
What was wrong with her?
She tugged on the ends of her hair. She couldn’t remember exactly why she needed money but it was for something important. She’d never have considered doing this otherwise. And it was pretty obvious Malach had no money on him at present, though he probably harbored fond delusions his sexual prowess would be payment enough.
Still she wanted him, craved him.
Maybe he’ll end up being the best sex you’re ever going to get. Maybe he’ll dispel your fear of sex once and for all. Take a risk, Jade. Take a chance. What have you got to lose?
What did she have to lose? Only her virginity and her nightmares and—
A young girl’s face wavered in her mind. She was so pale and wan that it tore Jade’s heart to shreds. Who—?
The elusive memory vanished.
Jade pinched the bridge of her nose until her eyes watered. What the hell was going on with her?
Stress? God knew she had enough going on right now to warrant that excuse.
Repressed sexual tension? Grace had always warned Jade that suppressing her libido would come back and bite her in the bum. According to Grace, women were made for sex with real live men, not just supercharged vibrators with buzzing wiggly protrusions designed to get them off in a couple of minutes flat.
Jade slumped, resting her cheek against the brocade fabric of the chair. She could almost hear Grace saying, “Go on. Since you’re stuck here you might as well indulge in a little harmless fun. And he sure looks like he knows how to please a girl.”
She eyed Malach from beneath the curtain of her hair. Yeah. Malach sure gave the impression he’d be an experienced lover. Perhaps it was way past time she did something about her lack of sexual experience.
“I do not think it will take much effort on my part to change your mind.”
Malach’s voice coated her in a warm, sensual haze. She sucked in a shaky breath, drawing his potent gaze to her breasts. Her nipples tightened and her stomach gave a funny little lurch.
He seemed keen as mustard to have his wicked way with her. All she had to do was give in and—
And then she abruptly recalled the last time a guy had been mad keen to screw her. And boy, did that memory pour ice-cold water on her steaming hot libido. Just like it always did.
Murray “The Muz” Blackwood, über-jock and most popular boy in school, had turned out to be an über-jerk who’d refused to take “No!” for an answer until she’d followed it up with a swift punch on the nose. She’d followed that up by jumping out of his car and running all the way to Grace’s house. She’d sworn Grace to secrecy. She’d thought that would be the end of it. How naïve she’d been.
Grace insisted Jade shouldn’t judge all men by that one disastrous encounter, but every time she found a partner she believed she could go all the way with, she would reach a certain point and see that face again. Murray Blackwood. Blind-eyed with lust as he clamped his hand over her mouth and tried to force her thighs apart. She would close her eyes and see his sneer, hear his insults, inhale the sour smell of his arousal and relive the burning shame. And she’d back off and run away. Again.
That encounter with Murray had been five years ago. Five whole years. So why did the terror of that almost-rape, the humiliation of the aftermath when Murray had spread the lies that made her a pariah, still haunt her dreams?
Ironic that she, a woman who’d sworn off men, who
professed to not even want sex, had seriously contemplated exchanging sexual favors for money. Desperation was a powerful motivation.
Realization smacked her upside the head. Murray had won. By not letting another man near her, she’d let him win. Hell, she’d let his actions color all her life choices up until this moment. She’d never thought herself a coward but she understood now that she was.
And it was no way to live.
Well, no more. Now she could turn the tables. She’d been prepared to let men use her body in return for money, but she could use them, too. It was a win-win situation.
“Jade?” The concern in his voice shocked her. As did the fact that she sensed he was standing beside her chair but she hadn’t heard him move.
She blotted her tears with the heels of her hands and lifted her head to face him, refusing to hide anymore. “You were right,” she said to the man looming over her, staring down at her with a worried frown.
“About what?”
“If all it takes to get us out of here is sex, I can do that. It’s just sex, after all. Nothing too life-changing. Of course, if you’re hungry we can always eat first and screw later.”
He rocked back on his heels, lips slightly parted, the tension thrumming through him palpable. And when he’d recovered his equilibrium, he didn’t lunge for her and sweep her off her feet and toss her on the bed like she expected. Pity. Because that would have been really good. It would have saved her from thinking too hard about what she’d just committed herself to.
Instead, he stood there, waiting for….
Waiting for her to make the first move.
It’s just sex. It’s just sex. It’s. Just. Sex. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to it. Right?
As she crawled from the chair to stand on shaky legs, her stomach audibly rumbled.
Mere seconds later she heard a loud rap on the door. And then a cheery feminine voice called, “Room service!”
~~~
Chapter Four
Malach sprinted for the door and yanked on the handle. Wonder of wonders, the door opened.
The young room service attendant’s eyes widened and her smile faltered. Jade didn’t blame her, what with coming face to face with an extremely large man dressed like the hero of some B-Grade sci-fi flick and all. And then that hesitant smile became something altogether appreciative and borderline flirtatious.
Jake curled her lip with wry amusement. Obviously she wasn’t the only one Malach had that effect on. Being close to him—heck, being in the same room with him…. He had some indefinable quality that made women ultra-aware of their femininity.
“Good afternoon, sir.” The woman caught sight of Jade and toned down the flirt. “Ma’am.”
“Who ordered this food?” Jade demanded.
“Mr. Stone rang the order through earlier.”
“Oh, right. Of course he did. I’d forgotten.”
“Where would you like me to put these? Dining table or coffee table?”
“Er… dining table, please,” Jade said. The table was tucked in a corner and the woman would have her back to the door when she deposited the tray. Better to be safe than sorry, just in case some weird woo-woo stuff happened when she and Malach fled the room.
Malach stepped aside to let the woman pass. Jade sidled toward him. She kept one eye on the woman, trying her best not to signal anything was amiss or give the impression she was about to bolt.
Malach stepped across the threshold, and—
It might have been comical if it hadn’t been so damned frustrating and not a little scary. He lifted his foot to take a step outside the room, and an instant before his boot contacted the corridor’s carpet, he was back inside the hotel room. He tried again and the same thing happened. In the blink of an eye, he was instantly translocated from one place to the next.
Jade glanced at the room service waitress. The woman’s back was still turned while she set out plates and serviettes. Although Jade sincerely doubted she’d succeed where Malach had failed, she had to try. She pushed past him and darted out the door….
Only to find herself inside the hotel suite again.
She didn’t bother to try again. What the hell was the point? She cursed beneath her breath as the woman turned to her.
“Will there be anything else, ma’am?”
“Would you mind checking the phone? It didn’t seem to be working earlier on.”
The woman dutifully picked up the receiver and tested it by ringing Reception. “It seems to be working fine, now. Anything else you’d like me to do for you, ma’am?”
“No, thanks. You’ve been very helpful.” Jade summoned a smile, even though she felt like shrieking and banging her fists against the wall. She watched the door closing behind the woman, and lunged for it before it could shut completely. When the woman’s footsteps, pattering toward the lifts, could no longer be heard, she let the door click shut and immediately yanked on the handle again. No joy. It was locked again.
Malach shouldered her aside, grabbed the door handle and gave it a fierce tug that should have pulled the door from the frame and sent it crashing down on top of them both. He muttered an oath when the door refused to budge.
Jade stalked over to the phone and lifted the receiver. Dead, of course.
Bloody Pieter. The old bugger really did have them both at his mercy.
Oh well, at least she didn’t have to fret on an empty stomach. She lifted the fancy stainless steel cover on one of the plates and discovered a huge, gourmet steak sandwich complete with chunky potato wedges. “Reckon this must be yours, Mal. Hope so, anyway. I’m not in the mood for a monster slab of cooked cow.”
Thankfully, the other cover revealed more appetizing ham, cheese and pineapple toasted sandwiches cut in dainty triangles. Comfort food, she realized. How typical that the old man would deduce she desperately required comfort food right now.
She retired to the couch and stretched out to eat. And think.
There had to be a way to get out of this mess. Of course there was the option of doing exactly what Pieter wanted. The sex option.
She glanced at Malach. He’d given up on the door. He now sat at the dining table, chowing down on his steak sandwich. The man had some appetite. Unsurprising, given how much of him there was to feed.
By the time Jade finished her meal, she’d only come up with one idea as to how they might escape this luxurious prison. One all-consuming idea. Sex. With Malach. Right now.
Her aches and pains were all but forgotten as she contemplated running her palms over his magnificent chest, imagined feeling his abs ripple beneath her fingers. Her body had already begun to react to her fantasies, a languorous softening, a relaxing of muscles and fears, readying her for whatever came next. Whatever he might choose to do to her.
“So, Mal.” She eased from the couch and stretched. Then she walked over to him, planting herself firmly in front of him, waiting until he finally deigned to look up from his meal and notice her.
She gazed into his eyes. Her heart thudded and her pulse raced. Fear and anticipation. Wanting, and a need so intense that she ached with it. She forced herself to moisten her lips with her tongue and smile beguilingly. “Let’s screw like bunnies and get this over with.”
He stood, pushing back his chair with such force it toppled to the floor.
She’d shocked him. Again. Points to her.
She rose onto tip-toes to insinuate her hand beneath the opening of his vest and run her fingertips over his flat male nipple. She tweaked it. He drew in a harsh, ragged breath, and she thrilled, basking in a wholly feminine delight that she could provoke such a response from him
He grasped her hand, gently but forcibly removing it from his chest, denying her further exploration. But before she could muster a protest, he stuck his hands beneath her armpits and lifted her up until they were face-to-face. “What do you want from me, girl?”
“My name is Jade. And, as I was saying before the food arrived and we discovered we couldn’t
leave this darn hotel room, I want you to screw me. Is that okay with you, Mal? That’s what you said Pieter wanted. That’s what you suggested we do. So that’s what we’ll do.” Her voice shook. It was damn hard to maintain her composure when her feet were dangling more than a few inches from the ground.
As if he’d read her mind and wanted to emphasize her helplessness, he shook her lightly. “What is your game, Jade?”
“Game?” Her voice had been reduced to that annoying little squeak again. She cleared her throat. Her heart pounding in her chest and the need thrumming through her veins made her dizzy, reckless. “I’m not playing games. I’m willing to have sex with you. And it won’t cost you anything, either. So consider this your lucky day.”
The words streamed from her mouth as though her brain had somehow switched the unconscious process of breathing with babbling. “Isn’t it better to have me willing and not fighting? Not that I’m saying I’d have much of a chance against a hoary great, er, strapping male like yourself, but there’s always a chance I might have landed a good kick to your balls and rendered you, uh, incapable of… of… performing. So this is better. Safer. For you. Aren’t you pleased I’ve decided to be so… so… um, accommodating?”
“An interesting proposition. What has changed your mind?”
“Ah, I couldn’t resist you any longer. I have to have you for, uh, my sanity’s sake. Wanting you is… is… driving me wild.” God. She royally sucked at talking dirty. Was she laying it on too thick? Surely not. He was a man. Deep down she reckoned they all thought they were irresistible.
“So you lied when you said I didn’t have anything to offer you. You do want me.”
Jade inwardly cringed. Surely he didn’t have to be convinced she really liked him before he’d screw her. How sad was that?
Well, it was actually rather sweet. It meant he had morals—of a sort. She realized he was waiting for a response. “Um, yes?”
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