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An Excerpt From: WHISPERS OF MAGIC
Copyright © CINDY SPENCER PAPE, 2008
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.
Mitch steepled his fingers in front of him and held her gaze
with his. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“Deal?”
She swallowed hard and her eyes widened even further.
“A
deal,” he repeated firmly. “I’ll sign any damn thing you hand me. In
return, you have to do something for me.”
She
licked her lips. Jenna was no dim blonde. She had to have a good idea of
what was coming. She leaned forward and her jacket hung
open enough that he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest,
see that her nipples had hardened into points that pressed against the
fabric of her shirt.
Oh,
God, she wasn’t wearing a bra. His erection throbbed against the fly of his jeans.
“What,”
she whispered huskily. “What do I have to do?”
He had
to swallow hard to get his own voice to work. “You have to do anything I
want. For one day. Give me twenty-four hours to show you what it can be
like between us. No holds barred. Then I’ll sign your release and you can
walk away—if you still want to.”
He
hated the fact that fear crept into those sky-blue eyes, hated knowing he’d
put it there. But she had to get past it. He was sure she could. She’d love
the things he could do to her in bed. But she had to believe it. He held up
both hands, palm out.
“I’ll
give you a safe word. Anytime you’re truly uncomfortable, you can call a
halt. And if I think you’ve really given it an honest chance, I’ll sign the
damn paper anyway. But you still owe me twenty-four hours. That part’s not
negotiable. And Jesus, Jenna! Do you really think I’d hurt you?”
She
shook her head. “No. But being a sub—it’s scary for me, Mitch. I honestly
don’t know if I can do it.”
He
cupped her cheek in his palm. “If you can’t—then we won’t. That simple. But
you stay with me for the full day. You don’t run away this time. And you
damned sure don’t run to another man.”
She
squared her shoulders and gave a brave little nod. “Twenty-four hours. I
can do that. As long as I can call my sisters and let them know I’m okay.”
“Fair
enough.” He checked the clock. “I’ve got to wrap things up out here, so
let’s say a half hour. Two o’clock today to two o’clock tomorrow. Do we
have a deal?”
She
smiled and held out her hand to shake. This time he didn’t ignore her
gesture but clasped her trembling fingers in his own. He knew his whole
future might be riding on this handshake and he had to swallow the lump in
his throat. All his hopes were pinned on the outcome of this gambit.
“Never
let it be said that a Woodward girl welshed on a bet,” Jenna said with a
twisty grin. “Well, cowboy, you’ve got twenty-four hours to show me your
stuff.”
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