Thinking back on their little discussion on sexual chemistry, Dante wondered if Sarah really bought into all that crap about the propagation of the species and being attracted to the ideal mate—one who, obviously, she was under the impression was minus any scars or imperfections. In his eyes, all of those hardly noticeable marks were part of her, symbols of the hell she’d been through and survived. For him, the whole package of Sarah was his ideal.
He shut down his computer and grabbed the pistol from the edge of the desk, checking the locks and setting the alarm system before he headed up to his bedroom. Once there, he set the Glock on the nightstand and shucked off his clothing, leaving it in a heap on the floor.
I was wrong. Sarah doesn’t need just a friend, although I want to be the one she comes to whenever she needs someone to listen to her. She needs a lover, too, a man who will worship and pleasure her body, and it’s going to be me. She needs to understand that physical desire goes a hell of a lot deeper than science.
He had to admit that what was happening between him and Sarah was somewhat out of his knowledge base. Truthfully, he’d never needed a woman as badly as he did Sarah. But he was willing to wing it, to listen to his instincts.
Dante stalked out to the hallway and nudged her bedroom door open with his foot, letting the hallway light flood over her bed. She was there, huddled in the very middle, curled almost into a fetal position. Not certain she’d grab on to him, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, feeling the pain in his ribs as he grasped her ass to keep her steady, but he ignored it.
“Dante,” Sarah squealed anxiously. “What are you doing? Put me down. You’re going to hurt yourself, dammit.”
He walked back to his bedroom with her over his shoulder, stroking her bare ass with his hand, and then smacking it hard. “Stay still. You’re not my damn doctor anymore. You’re a woman I desperately want to fuck. And from this moment on, I’m treating you that way.”
He bit back a smile as she hushed entirely, her body completely still. He lowered her slowly to the floor once he entered his bedroom, nearly groaning as the T-shirt bunched up around her breasts. Her bare skin slid softly along his naked chest and abdomen as her toes searched for solid ground.
Tossing her hair back once she found the floor, she looked up at him, and then down. And then down some more, until her eyes landed on his engorged cock, and Dante couldn’t keep from grinning evilly at the expression on her shocked face.
“You are crazy,” she muttered softly, her eyes never leaving his groin.
Dante opened the top drawer of the nightstand and snatched his handcuffs and the key. He raised the hem of the T-shirt with his other hand, blocking her vision before yanking the garment over her head and letting it fall to the floor.
“Sarah Baxter, you’re under arrest.” He slapped the cuffs on her with her hands in front of her before she even knew what was happening. He made them tight enough so she couldn’t slip her hands out of them, but not tight enough to hurt her wrists. Most of the time, he preferred to be the dominant in the bedroom, and from the quick flash of heat he’d seen in her eyes as he’d been cuffing her, Sarah liked it, too. Problem was, he’d never felt anywhere near this covetous and primal, and his feeling were already way beyond just a game of dominance.
Her confused eyes flew to his face. “For what?”
“Fleeing the scene of a crime,” he told her, talking to her like she was one of his felons. He was pissed off, so he let his anger exit his body with his voice. “It was a crime to cover those amazing breasts.”
“You told me—”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It was still a crime. And then you fled.”
Her body was trembling as she asked, “What’s my punishment?”
She wasn’t afraid; she was shaking with arousal, those needy violet eyes almost begging him not to stop. Dante picked her up and tossed her on the bed. Before she could get anywhere, he was on her. After opening one of the cuffs with the key, he threaded the cuff through one of the bars on the iron headboard, and then calmly reattached the cuff and tossed the key onto the nightstand.
“Punishment is learning the truth the pleasurable way,” he answered her firmly. “Did you really think I even saw your scars?” he asked huskily.
She turned her anguished eyes to his face and nodded jerkily.
Dante’s cock twitched as he knelt between her thighs and lowered his body onto hers, allowing him to finally be skin to skin with her. Seeing her shackled to his bed satisfied a little of his primitive caveman urgency, and now he was just enjoying the moment. He could tell that she was a little confused, but her body was heated and turned on, her nipples so hard he could feel them abrading his chest. “I saw the scars only because it nearly kills me to think of how much some bastard hurt you, and I’d like to kill the son of a bitch. But your body is perfect. I know you didn’t miss the raging hard-on I have whenever I feel you or when I looked at you naked, right?” He brushed back a lock of hair from her face, and then gently ran the back of his hand down her soft cheek.
“No. I saw it,” she whispered softly. “It was . . . confusing.”
Dante knew he was now caught in a web of his own making, but he couldn’t seem to make himself give a shit as he was captured by the look of raw need and vulnerability he saw in her eyes. He saw his own desire reflected in her eyes, and giving up any semblance of control, he lowered his head and kissed her.
CHAPTER 9
Sarah had never seen anything hotter than Dante, feral and untamed, towering above her while she was completely helpless beneath him. Her body was on fire, and seeing the possessive, desirous look on his face had made her come unraveled.