The Prospect by Lucia Jordan Page A

there’s
only one thing I want you to focus on. Not my money, not my so-called fame. Is
that ok with you, Miss Wendy King?”
    She
started in surprise, much by his thrilling words but more by the fact that he
knew her name.
    He
smiled. “You’re not the only one with a good memory for faces. I remembered you
quite well, Miss King. True, we never officially met, but I think I’ve always
known who you were. I always make it my business to keep abreast with the
promising young talent in the industry, and you stood out for me. That’s why I
made sure my team picked your firm to handle that project.”
    “Wow.
Small world,” she hushed, eyes shining with pleasure at his compliments. “It’s
great to know we aren’t just strangers in the crowd. Though technically, we
still are.”
    “Technically,”
he agreed, his own eyes gleaming with equal humor as he held her gaze.
“Strangers to lovers…that isn’t such a bad prospect, is it?”
    “No,”
she said slowly, her heart pounding with expectation. His
place or hers? She thought of the apartment she shared with her younger
sister, and then balked. Maybe his…
    “There’s
just one more thing, Miss King,” he said, trailing his finger down her cheek.
    Now
what? He has a girlfriend? He lives with his mother and couldn’t take her home?
Wendy was thinking of the most improbable things that could make spending the
night with him impossible.
    “I have
certain…tastes,” he told her softly. That finger was now slipping down her
throat, to hook into the thin gold necklace around her neck. She drew in air as
he tugged, causing the chain to bite slightly into her skin. “The things I want
to do to you and with you…your Sunday school teacher would not approve.”
    Wendy
couldn’t help laughing, and he smiled, looking pleased at the sound. “It’ll
take more than that to scare me off, Mr. Pearce,” she assured him at last,
looking up at him, grabbing hold of him tighter.
    “Great.
So I guess once we get to my place, and when I break out the bondage gear,
you’re not going to freak out?” he asked conversationally as he twisted, round
and round the tiny chain in his finger till it was tight around her throat,
giving a very erotic impression of choking.
    “Do I
look like the type to freak out?” she asked, her tone equally light. She was
looking straight into his blazing eyes. Could he tell how tightly her pussy was
clenching right then? Maybe not. It was all she could
do to hold in the drops seeping past her secret folds.
    “No,”
he told her, unwinding and releasing the neck chain. “That’s why I picked you.”
    Once
again, Wendy giggled. All of a sudden, she became aware of her surroundings
again. The music, the people, had all faded to the background in the past few
minutes.
    “And
there I was thinking it was my beauty and grace that drew you,” she joked,
letting him take her hand and lead her off the dance floor, heading straight
for the exit.
    “Those
too,” he returned. “And yet something tells me you’re a woman of many sides,
Wendy. Sweet, yet spicy. I can’t wait to find out if
I’m right.”

 
    Chapter
Two
    Truth
be told, Wendy wanted to find out the same thing herself. She wasn’t sure how
serious he’d been about the “bondage gear” remark. She’d got into some rough
sex in the past with her former lovers, but never anything extreme. Just what
was Alan into and how much was she willing to explore?
    Keep an
open mind, she told herself, as she stepped out of his sleek Audi. She gave him
a bright smile as once again, he took her hand and led her inside his palatial
home.
    She
already knew who he was, and that he was loaded. He
owned a massively popular footwear brand, after all. She knew his rag to riches
story, how he’d managed to make a success of himself despite having an abusive
father and growing up without a dollar to his name. He was an inspiration to
many, and though he tried to live away from the limelight, he still