Owned By Fate(35)

Jonah answered on the third ring, sounding weary. “Yes?”

“It’s me.”

A long pause. “I didn’t expect you to actually call.”

“That would have been impolite after you sent me a gift. But maybe I shouldn’t have.”

“There are a lot of things you shouldn’t have done according to this article, Caroline.”

She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Not when that now-familiar edge in his voice made her body hum to life.

“I wonder what all these readers would think if they knew you couldn’t even make it upstairs in the elevator without trying to get a leg around my waist to feel my cock just where you wanted it.”

Her eyelids fluttered at the forbidden words and the hypnotic quality he spoke with. She felt weak-kneed and eager, the same way she’d felt in his bedroom the night before. How could he do this to her in mere seconds?

Against her will, she looked down at the note. She never left anything incomplete, and the very suggestion that they had was throwing her off. Just one more time. To see him. To make sure he knew her actions hadn’t been malicious. But how could she do that without admitting she felt something for him? “You’d like to expose me, wouldn’t you? Maybe you will if I don’t agree to meet you.”

“I won’t give you a way to justify it to yourself.” His voice was hard. “You’ll come to me regardless.”

She shuddered at the implication that she’d willingly go to him for punishment. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m your master and I’ve made a demand.”

Hot, decadent pleasure blocked out everything else. He’s still my master. Was that relief she felt, too? She’d never felt it to such a degree about anything. “Where? How?”

“I’ll pick you up one block south of your building in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay,” she whispered, feeling like she was soaring toward an unseen disaster.

…

He’d been granted a reprieve. Part of him felt as if he’d imagined the phone call, Caroline’s halting voice on the other end. Christ, the simple act of talking to her had given him an unforgiving hard-on. The kind that demanded fulfillment, mere hours after he’d been fulfilled beyond words. This was about her, though. Not him. She’d walked out of his club last night, her body visibly stiff from how he’d treated it, translating into a frantic shipment of lollipops and a night of zero sleep for him. He’d been tempted to show up at Preston’s this morning and tend to her behind the closed door of her office. Would have done it if her parting words from last night weren’t still ringing in his ears.

I can’t continue to do these things with you and still respect myself.

And then he’d seen the damned article.

Fuck, he shouldn’t be here. He should leave this sexy, disapproving woman who refused to quit haunting him alone. Should stop sneaking around with someone who didn’t want to want him and quit being the catalyst for her loss of self-respect. After the way she’d portrayed his club in her article, like it was some cheap Vegas sideshow, he shouldn’t ever want to hear her name again. Already this morning, his lawyer had received a phone call from Renee. He’d chosen to put off the conversation with Gabby’s mother because he couldn’t think straight yet. Couldn’t stay away. His plan had been to addict her, but he’d become a full-fledged Caroline junkie in the process. Article or not, as far as he was concerned, she was his responsibility, and he would see to her.

As if that final thought had made her appear, he saw Caroline round the busy corner, scanning the street. For him. Jesus, he liked that. Liked her seeking him out.

You’re one sick man.

From the back of the limousine, Jonah lowered the window and waited for her gaze to find him. When it did, one eyebrow lifted, but she closed the distance without hesitation and slipped into the leather backseat. Immediately, his instincts roared to life, demanding he pin her beneath him on the seat and devour her, punish her for betraying him, but he somehow kept himself in check. About her. This is about her.

Too bad he planned to take something for himself in the process.

One thing at a time.

Her gaze ran over his face, those intelligent eyes attempting to analyze him. When she spoke, she sounded a little breathless. “I never pegged you for a limousine man.”

“I borrowed it from a client.” He took off his hat and tossed it onto the far seat. “I prefer the subway.”

“I thought so,” she murmured as the limo started moving. “I don’t know why I thought so.”

Jonah stifled a groan. “Your tongue is red. Did you eat a lollipop, Caroline?”