Secret Weapon

He grasped her lower arm and lifted it, then snapped one of the cuffs around her wrist. The feel of the cold steel against her skin sent her hormones dancing. He took her other wrist and fastened the other cuff around it. She stood with her back to the wall, her arms hanging from the cuffs.

He stepped away and smiled. “You look incredibly sexy standing there, totally helpless.”

Of course, she wasn’t totally helpless. If she told him to release her, she knew he’d do it in an instant, and she had her safe word in case she wanted to stop things anywhere along the way.

Still, she felt helpless. He could touch her any way he wanted. Strip off her clothes. Do whatever he wanted to her, and she couldn’t stop him. Not physically.

She had to trust that he’d actually stop if she told him to.

His friend, this stranger she’d never met and whom she wouldn’t even see tonight, could do whatever he wanted, too. He would see her. All of her. Naked. Flushed. In the throes of passion. His big hands would caress her. His fingers would slide into her. His cock would fill her.

The doorbell rang.

She sucked in a breath. Oh, God, she was nervous—and extremely turned-on.

“Showtime,” Derek said as he slipped the satin eye mask over her face.

The elastic held it firmly in place. She could see nothing.

She heard Derek’s footsteps cross the room, then go down the hall. A moment later, she heard the front door open, then two pairs of footsteps retracing Derek’s steps.

She could feel the stranger’s presence the moment he walked in the room. She didn’t know who this man was, but knowing he stood close, looking at her, sent a quiver through her. She stood very still, trying to keep her breathing even.

The total silence dragged on interminably.

Finally, Janine pulled at the chains on the wall. She heard his footsteps as the stranger walked toward her. He stopped and she could feel the heat of his gaze caressing her body. She almost gasped when she felt his hand brush over her shoulder, then graze the tops of her breasts, where they swelled from the black leather bra.

Her skin tingled at his touch, goose bumps dancing across her flesh. Then his hand stroked up her neck and his fingers spiked through her long, straight hair as he cupped her head. She felt his heat as he moved closer. His lips brushed hers and an electric sensation quivered through her.

She hadn’t expected him to kiss her. She thought he’d be interested in her only below the neck, but his mouth meshed with hers and his lips moved gently. The tip of his tongue glided along the seam of her mouth and she opened. His tongue slid inside and she met it with hers. They tangled, and he pushed deeper, filling her, his mouth mastering hers.

He released her lips and she sucked in air. God, what a sensational kiss.

His fingers stroked her hair and continued down her chest, stopping above her breast. She waited for the feel of his big hand cupping her, then squeezing, anticipating it with eagerness. His finger dipped between her breasts. He stroked lightly, then his hand enveloped one mound of flesh.

His hand was so hot, so big. Her nipple pushed forward. She longed to feel bare flesh on bare flesh. She arched forward, wanting him to rip the bra from her body and ravage her breasts with his mouth.

“Oh, God, I can’t do this,” a masculine voice grated.

She froze. His voice … Oh, God, it couldn’t be.

“Sloan?”

* * *

Sloan stepped back, away from the lure of her delectable, nearly naked body. Away from the first chance—serious chance—he’d ever had to fulfill his deepest desire to make love to the woman of his dreams. Janine.

He’d wanted her for years. And she’d known it.

When Sloan had called Derek to accept the invitation for this fantasy night, Derek had clarified that his relationship with Janine was more of a close-friends-with-benefits kind of thing. Apparently, she dated other guys, too. That meant Sloan could actively pursue her, and he fully intended to do so. Hopefully, he hadn’t just ruined his chances for good.

Derek unfastened one of her wrists, then the other one as Janine reached for the blindfold. Sloan wanted to flee, but he wouldn’t. He always faced his demons. Even a spitfire blonde with the eyes of an angel and the heart of a hellcat.

She tugged the black satin eye mask from her face, revealing those beautiful blue eyes of hers, the same color as the turquoise blue topaz ring on her right ring finger that her brother—and Sloan’s best friend—had bought for her graduation day. Now those eyes blazed with emotion, though whether anger or something else he couldn’t tell.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.