bluer-than-blue eyes and full, curved lips. He’s so attractive it borders on obnoxious. All the female recruits had a crush on him—charming Owen, who could befriend anyone. Who was always quick with a smile and a joke.
He was a boy, then. And now he’s filled out into this complex, mysterious man.
“Anything else?” he asks.
“Must be free for one night of testing,” I reply. “One whole night because…I like to be thorough.”
“Sounds like I fit the bill.” He knocks back the rest of his Scotch and I’m so nervous and excited I’m worried my heart is going to bust its way out of my rib cage. “I don’t suppose you have a spot open tonight?”
“Actually, I do.”
Owen
MOST PEOPLE DON’T know this about me, but I make decisions with care and consideration. No one expects the joker to have much going on upstairs…but I do. I let my head take the lead, instead of other less reliable parts like my heart, or my dick.
Tonight, however, is a rare exception.
My head is literally screaming at me to back away from this bad decision. But all the blood in my body is currently supporting another appendage. Hannah—posing as a sexy researcher named Annabel—slides from her bar stool, her eyes never leaving mine, and I’m done for. No amount of worrying about the case—about tomorrow—is going to stop me from taking the delicacy she’s dangling in front of me.
I follow her from the bar and help her into her coat the second the night air hits us. It’s colder now, spitting with rain, and I tuck her close against my body. “Where does your research take place, Ms. Annabel?”
She looks up at me and I see the cogs turning. She’s considering whether we should go back to the apartment. That’s not a good idea. A hotel will make it easier to keep sex and the job separate.
“I’ve got a room we could use,” I say, leaning into my role of anonymous travelling businessman. “If you don’t mind working out of a hotel.”
“That sounds great,” she says breathlessly.
We walk along the river’s edge, our heads bowed to the fine, misting rain and our hands entwined until we reach the Crown Entertainment Complex. The hotel here is swanky to the max and has a price tag to match. The only room available is a suite and the nightly rate makes Hannah’s eyes bulge—but I hand over my credit card and within seconds we’re whisked up to heaven. The room boasts an incredible panoramic view of Melbourne, with glistening lights and a luxurious white sectional facing the window.
I can already see how incredible she’ll look laid out on it—naked, with the moonlight dancing on her skin—while I feast on her. My body is tightly coiled, like a spring. There’s a pressure building inside me that’s been growing for years.
“Please remove your coat,” Hannah says in a formal voice. She’s already hung hers on a stand by the front door. “If you could also remove your shoes and socks, that would be most helpful.”
The clipped, efficient tone makes me smile. I bend and untie my dress shoes, toeing them off and removing my socks, as instructed. She hangs my coat next to hers and when she walks back to me, she’s holding a tie in her hands. It looks to be made of the same fluffy white material as a bathrobe.
“I’m going to blindfold you now, so we can begin.” She waits a moment and I give her a quick nod, letting her know it’s okay to proceed.
I’ve always known Hannah to be a take-charge kind of woman, and it thrills me to know it transfers to the bedroom. I love being in charge, too, but there’s something insanely hot about a woman who wants to take pleasure into her own hands. Tonight, I am willing to be her test subject—to play this role and revel in whatever that mysterious brain of hers has planned.
She wraps the blindfold over my eyes, tying it in a secure knot behind my head. And then nothing. I can’t detect her movement, because the plush carpet absorbs the sound of her stilettos.
She makes me wait.
The seconds tick by and my desire grows like a storm, swirling and building, rising until it fills me completely. When her soft touch brushes the front of my pants, I’m hard as stone and aching for her.
“Ready?” she asks, her lips brushing my ear.
“I’ve never been readier.”
We’ve both waited a long time for this.
Owen
IT DOESN’T TAKE long for the blindfold to work its magic. In seconds, I feel my other senses ramping up to accommodate for my lost sight. The gentle kiss of cool air is amplified where my collar sits open, and it’s so quiet I can hear the pitter patter of rain against the windows. I smell the rain, too—in her hair as she moves around me, mingling with whatever fruity shampoo she uses. I’m driven immediately to the edge of sensation, to the edge of wanting.
There’s a tug at my shirt. She’s undoing my buttons…slowly. I sense her teasing through the way she pops each one open with an agonising pace.
“You must be doing well to afford such a fancy hotel room,” she says, tracing the V of skin at my chest with her fingertip. But the sensual touch does little to hide the curiosity in her voice. The question, no matter how it’s posed as part of this role play, is genuine.
“I’m doing well, but money doesn’t make the man.”
“It certainly doesn’t,” she murmurs. She works her way to the last of the buttons and then pulls the hem free. “Money doesn’t buy decency.”
I know the opposite is more likely—money is the reason I have no family. Money is what caused them to be taken from me. “Greed brings out the worst in us.”
I would have burned all my parents left me if I’d been allowed. A teenager—blinded by rage and grief—has no use for zeros in a bank account. Because whatever future they might have secured—education and houses and finery—means nothing to an orphan who only wants his parents back.
“I’m feeling a little greedy now.” Her hands toy with the buckle at my waist. “Is that so bad?”
“This is totally different.” And this greed, I can handle.
The buckle makes a metallic chink as she yanks the leather through the loops on my suit pants. The sound of my zipper being undone slashes through the quiet air—through my thoughts. I’m about to embark on a hot night with a woman I’ve wanted for a long time. I need to get my head out of the past.
As if sensing my need to retreat from this conversation, Hannah says, “I’m going to strip you completely. Then we’re going to see how
