Shayla Black by Strictly Seduction Page A

cleared her throat against a sudden lump of emotion. Moisture stung her eyes. She blinked it away.
    How badly the girl in her wanted to believe Brock’s beguiling speech. How sweet—and dangerous—to give in to the fantasy for even a moment that he cared for her, had always cared.
    Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford the price of that castle in the sky.
    “ We are adults now, free to do as we please. We need not be bound by vows to enjoy one another, just desire.”
    “ But vows are what I want, Maddie.” He caressed her shoulders with gentle hands. “You are what I want. All I want.”
    Maddie’s breathing turned uneven, her pulse accelerated. What if he meant that, even a little?
    It did not matter. She refused to belong to any man ever again.
    Her hands shook as she lifted them away from his chest and stepped back. “I’m here to be your mistress, Brock. Take me now, tomorrow, and every other night for six months. During that time, I will be yours completely. But I will not marry you.”
    Brock’s jaw tightened as he grasped her arms and pulled her close, under his raw, demanding stare. Her heart stuttered at the feel of his solid body—and thick arousal—heavy against her.
    “ You will marry me, Maddie. I will come here every night to seduce you until you do. But I won’t make love to you until you are my wife.”
    The hard glitter in his eyes told Maddie he was deadly determined. He was going to seduce her without making love to her? A dozen half-complete images flashed through her mind of Brock holding her, all wanton, each making her yearn for his touch. Her skin flushed with a damp sheen of desire that made her hot all over. She stared at him, intrigued, entranced. And terrified that he could succeed.
    Forcing herself to look away, Maddie gathered her composure. Life had taught her hard lessons in the last five years, primary among them was to never give over her self-control. Maddie dug deep to find her bravado.
    Smiling in suggestion, she traced his mouth with her fingertip. “Let’s not complicate our arrangement. Stay here and take pleasure in me.”
    Brock grabbed her hand, forcing her questing finger away. “I won’t do that, Maddie.”
    “ You can’t mean to come here night after night to touch me, yet not share my bed,” she challenged.
    “ I’ll do just that until you marry me.”
    Maddie tried not to gape. Men did not take waiting for sex well or happily. Why was Brock so willing to be patient? “I will have you in my bed soon.”
    His brow raised, intrigue stamped all over his face. Maddie wished she could bite her words back.
    “ You’re challenging me?” He laughed, his smile not at all nice. “Yes, I like the idea of a wager. It would be very interesting.”
    His implications horrified Maddie. “But—”
    He went on as if she had not objected. “If I...persuade you to marry me prior to consummation, you will be my wife. If, by chance, you are able to seduce me into your bed before marriage, I will take you as a mistress for six months and forgive your debt.”
    Color flushed her face. Her heart rushed through her body. Had he suggested some sort of wager? “Brock, I do not—”
    “ And to win, you must seduce me into intercourse, Maddie. Anything else is merely...play.”
    Her body heated another fifty degrees. Anything else? Did men have desires beyond the normal manner of congress? If so, she had little idea what they might be.
    “ Absolutely not! Private matters like this should not be fodder for games.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ Touching me at all is like agreeing to make me your mistress. I’ve let no one touch me since Colin died, so I’m in no habit of taking lovers upon my whim.”
    His hands fell to her hips, fingers sinking into her flesh as he pulled her close. The blooming of warmth in her belly surprised her, and she bit into her lip to hold in her gasp.
    “ That argument doesn’t follow, Maddie. How many men take a mistress without sharing her bed? And