In a Bind(Plaything #3)(8)

I wasn't sure when it had happened but somewhere in the midst of me playing these rounds of seduction, harmless erotic flirting to make the long weekend pass faster, I'd fallen for my opponent.

I pulled the dress down to cover my nakedness and shut off the light in the office. I stopped at Pepper's stall. He had been my horse since I was seven. We'd won a lot of ribbons together. He was always a loyal friend. Even tonight, he seemed to sense something was up and he walked in his sleepy state to the front of his stall. He pushed his muzzle against the bars, and I scratched his nose.

I looked down to the end of the barn and out into the dark night. It seemed the party was winding down.

I could have stopped the whole thing right then. Zane would leave tomorrow, and we would most likely never see each other again. That would have been the easiest, most logical end to a game that I'd started without considering things could get messy. But I was never one to back down, and at the moment, Zane was definitely one point ahead.

He was right. It was my move.





Chapter Twelve





Zane





I hadn't seen Raini again after I'd left her still flushed pink from an orgasm. I'd walked out of the barn feeling pretty damn cocky, but by the time I reached the pool area to have one more beer with Trey, I was torn up about the whole thing. I'd stomped after and followed her to the stables determined to show her that she had been outmatched in whatever teasing game we'd been playing. Only I'd walked away wanting her so badly, it seemed she'd inadvertently won. And she'd done it without doing anything more than being a supple, willing participant in a quick tryst in the barn.

The way her body reacted to my kisses and my touch had made me wonder if I was in charge or if she was the one controlling me just by being so damn sexy. It took every ounce of my will to walk away afterward, when the only thing racing through my head was the image of me bending her over the office desk and fucking her. But that would have given her the upper edge. That would have shown that she had won and that she had finally broken me down in this crazy charade.

Most everyone had gone to bed, including the birthday boy and the party organizer. I think Mindy had discovered pretty early on that we had nothing in common. I was relieved not to have to worry about it. I was sure she'd let her dad know that his matchmaking plan was a bust. Mindy needed someone more in tune with her old money way of life. I wasn't that man. Even though my bank account was never hurting for funds anymore and I could buy just about anything I wanted, I still never forgot the humble, unhappy beginning I came from.

Trey and Georgie headed back to their guest cottage, and I decided to turn in too. Aidan had gone off somewhere with Carolyn, so it seemed I might have the place to myself for the night which, considering the way Aidan snored, was a bonus.

I got inside and my foot slid forward on a piece of paper. At first I thought it might be a note from Aidan, but that idea was laughable. Aidan was hardly the type to leave a note about anything. Even as a kid, he could disappear from home for days and hang out at my house or Trey's. He never once called or contacted his parents to let them know where he was. The saddest part about that was that they never called to check up on him and make sure he was safe. They were pathetically bad parents. Aidan learned early on how to be independent and never count on anyone else.

It seemed he had found a solid thing for the weekend, and I envied that. I would have been thrilled with solid or even just predictable.

I opened the note and wondered if it was telling that I already recognized her curly script. It was wild and unpredictable, just like the girl. And suddenly I thought maybe solid and predictable was underrated.

"I have something of yours. If you want it back, turn left at the fork at the top of the stairs. Third door on the right."

I pulled the torn panties out of my coat pocket and looked at them. Every dirty thought imaginable shot through my mind. Sitll, it was one thing to meet secretly in a dark barn, another altogether to meet inside Carter's house. And I had no doubt Raini's room was close to her dad's. But that didn't stop me.

I headed in to shower and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. I confidently stuck not one but three condoms in my pocket. I had decided that even with Dad just a few doors away, Raini and I were going to finish what we'd started. Unless she was playing me again. Which was entirely possible. And yet, I brushed back my wet hair and headed out the door into the still night air.

It was nearly two in the morning and every last hard core party guest had finally gone to bed. The house was left amazingly clean after the long night of food and drinks. I headed through the front room, which was an entertainment room. Garrett and a few of his friends had fallen asleep on the massive sectional with the television still showing a video game.

I lightened my steps but was fairly certain no amount of noise would wake them. I headed through the hallway and past the kitchen to the giant double staircase in the center of the mansion. The directions left at the top of the stairs and third door on the right repeated in my brain as I walked, quiet as a whisper, up the carpeted stairs.

I reached the landing and turned left. The long ornate carpet runner led me down a long hallway that was lit with antique sconces. There was plenty of room between the doors, which meant the rooms were expansive. It was easy enough to count to the third door on the right.

I stopped in front of it and looked both ways. The hallway, in fact the entire second floor, was as quiet and still as a morgue. It seemed everyone was sound asleep. I lifted my hand and knocked lightly. An expensive house always had thick, solid wood doors and this one was no exception. My knuckles barely made a sound. I rapped a little harder and was amazed at how loud it sounded in the long, empty hallway. At least to my ears. But I doubted it could be heard inside the room. I decided to take a chance. I snapped my knuckles sharply against the door two times. The risk paid off. Footsteps sounded on the other side.

I actually felt a flutter in my chest like a kid waiting for his first date to answer the door. Raini was an expert. She had me feeling like I was sixteen again and just starting out into the world of dating.

The door swung open.

I sucked in a shocked breath. "Sir, hello, I—"

It took Carter a second to recognize the figure at his door. "Zane, what on earth are you doing? Is something the matter?" he asked with some alarm. The sleepy glaze in his eyes was clearing. He stuck his head out into the hallway. "Does someone need medical assistance?"

"No, Carter, I'm sorry. I just never had time to thank you for inviting us this weekend. So many people around you at the party, I just didn't get a chance to say thank you." I started backing up. "I thought you might still be awake. My apologies."

His magnificent eyebrows bunched up like two furry caterpillars about to have sex. "Well that's fine, Zane, but I think this could have waited until morning. I suggest you go to bed so you're ready for tomorrow."

"Of course, yes. Again, my apologies and thank you, thank you for the invite."

He shut the door. I spun around to make a quick exit for the stairs. I reached the landing when a light billowed out into the dimly lit hallway. Someone made a soft sound like an owl. I turned back around.

Raini's head was poked around a door, the third door on the left to be exact. I looked over at Carter's door. It was closed and the light that seeped through it had been turned out. I tiptoed back toward Raini, trying to figure out how to yell at her without making a sound.

She disappeared into the room by the time I reached it. I looked back to double check that Carter's door was still shut and slipped inside Raini's room. She covered her lips with her fingers to hold back a smile.

"Oops," she said coyly. "I guess I meant my right, like when I'm walking toward the stairs." She batted her lashes, lashes that were a dark sable color and even more luxurious without makeup. "I've never been good at giving directions."

There was only one lamp on in the room, but I could still see her clearly.

"That's my shirt," I noted. Her long, silky legs stuck out below the curved hem of my dress shirt. It was still crisp with starch from the cleaners, but somehow it managed to look provocative on her curves.

She kept one arm behind her as she backed up a few steps. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed it." She pulled her hand into view. "I needed something to go with your necktie." My hundred dollar necktie was tied around her wrist.

"Damn. You win. I fucking surrender." I closed the gap between us in two strides. I grabbed the long loose end of the tie and wound it once around my wrist. Then I led her to the massive antique bed standing in the center of the room.

I pulled her around. The momentum hurled her onto the bed. I climbed on top of the quilts. She held up the wrist with the tie, making it clear she wanted to be bound. And hundred dollar tie or not, I had no problem with that. My cock pressed against my fly, assuring me it had no problem with it either.

I took the hanging tail of the tie and thread it through the slats on her headboard. Then I lifted her free hand and knotted the tie around it. "Funny, when I bought this tie, I was just trying to figure out which suit it worked best with. Never pictured using it for this. I guess I'm not a very good shopper."

Raini giggled but then the giggle turned to a hushed sigh when I knelt between her legs and lifted the end of the shirt up to get a look underneath. She wasn't wearing any panties, and her cleanly shaven pussy was just begging to be, as she had suggested, taken six ways to Sunday.