My toes curl.
My pussy tingles.
Kaden backs up and spreads his arms wide, demonstrating my new freedom, but I have to grip the wall to stay on my feet.
My body feels cold and alone without his overpowering closeness.
He holds up ten long fingers and after a beat lowers the thumb.
When I don’t move his lips stretch into a wicked smile as he lowers another finger.
Ten.
Nine.
“I only have ten seconds?”
He lowers another finger.
Eight.
“That’s not fair.”
He sinks his teeth into his plump bottom lip and leers at my breasts, then my boots, and then lowers another finger.
Seven.
Damn!
As I run out into the foyer, my mind yells at me from two separate two feuding factions.
Why am I running?
Or why am I not running faster!?
Six.
I take the stairs two at a time.
Five.
My feet are already aching and I consider taking off my boots.
Four.
No time. I press myself against the wall and look down two seemingly identical dark hallways.
Three.
I spy another set of stairs and bolt for them.
Two.
I’m on a landing of some kind, facing the only door I can see.
Huge and intricately carved, I’m so entranced by it that I almost forget that I’m meant to be hiding from a sex-crazed billionaire.
“One.”
The word reverberates off the walls and hums into my body, making me hug the wall for both protection and stability.
“I’m coming for you, Claire,” he calls, “And when I find you, I promise I’ll make sure you return the favor.”
I have to bite my lip to stifle the moan as I press myself harder against the wall.
I listen intently to his heavy footsteps on the first set of stairs then heading in the opposite direction down the hall.
“Bad girl,” he calls, “Are you hiding in one the bedrooms? Are you trying to tell me something?”
A door bursts open somewhere beneath me - and then another.
There’s a growl and it sends a shiver of fear down my spine.
Everything goes quiet.
All I can hear is my own pounding heartbeat until something creaks at the bottom of the second set of steps.
I suck in a breath and hold it.
I’m trapped.
Nowhere to run.
Fear and arousal pulse through my veins along with the sheer excitement of being hunted.
There’s only one door and I take it.
Opening it just a crack, I slip through and close it just as silently.
After the darkness of the landing, my eyes quickly adapt to the moonlit master bedroom.
The space is dominated by sturdy, rustic looking antique furniture but the largest item is the huge four-poster bed.
With my hand on the door-handle, I feel the lock and, without thinking, I flip it.
CLICK!
You’ve got to be kidding!
The lock is so loud it that it echoes off the walls and there’s no missing Kaden’s arrogant chuckle as he bounds up the stairs.
He tries the door.
Locked.
“Claire,” he calls with deceptive calmness, “Open the door. I have found you.”
“Nope,” I call back, “Hide and seek rules state that you have to lay eyes on the person before they’re officially found.”
“Figures,” he mutters. “Of course, you’ve read the Hide and Seek rulebook.”
There’s a creaking sound outside and suddenly an almighty CRASH as something big and hard smashes against the door.
I scream and back up a step.
“Are you insane?” I yell through the door.
“Just following the rules,” he says between gasping breaths.
I hear a grunt and another CRASH.
This time the door splinters a bit.
He’s going to get in here and we’re going to have sex tonight.
The thought is a simple truth that both annoys and excites me.
Kaden Blake is easily the most exciting man I’ve ever met and I get the feeling that he’s going to rock my world when he gets his hands on my body.
And that’s the problem.
He’s got everything. He’s rich and sexy, and I suspect a little kinky.
I get the feeling women never say no to him. Everything is on his terms and all women are his for the taking, at his leisure.
Maybe I can’t win this round and maybe I don’t want to, but I don’t want to lose either.
Suddenly, I get an idea so wicked I wonder if Olivia has started interfering with my brainwaves.
There isn’t much time.
One more kick and that door will fly open, leaving no barrier between him and his prize.
I move quickly, having a hard time stifling the naughty giggles...
CRASH.
One final wood splintering kick and the door hangs open, looking like it might come off its hinges.
A big hand shoves it out of the way and Kaden steps through, his expression dark and dangerous.
When he sees me, his face goes slack like he can’t quite believe what he’s looking at.
His gaze starts at my face and I feel it like a physical touch as his eyes trail down my completely naked body.
Well, almost completely.
I didn’t have time to remove my knee-high boots.
I smile and put my hands on my hips, “Checkmate.”