Caught by Menace by Lolita Lopez Read Free Book Online Page B

the cabinets lining the wal. He tossed
    the flogger with the wide, soft strands onto the
    countertop. He opened a bottom door and retrieved a
    wedge-shaped cushion that he placed in the lowest curve
    of the couch.
    “To support your back,” he explained. “You Calyx
    women are a lot smaler than our women. So many of
    our supplies are made with them in mind but the
    manufacturers are starting to add supplements like these
    to make them work for your kind.”
    Naya anxiously nibbled on her thumb. She’d just
    noticed the numerous loops adorning the edges of the
    noticed the numerous loops adorning the edges of the
    odd furniture piece. There was only one reason for them
    and it wasn’t decorative. “Are you going to cuff me
    again?”
    “Why do you sound so worried? You stil have that
    hairpin, right?” Menace glanced at her and smiled as he
    secured the extra cushion in place. “Do you want me to
    cuff you?”
    She shook her head and pinched the pin between her
    fingertips. “No.”
    “Why not?”
    She blinked. “Because it’s weird.”
    He frowned at her and gestured for her to hand over
    the hairpin. She hesitated before giving it to him. He
    slipped it into his pocket. “Weird? That’s not very
    helpful. Do you mean uncomfortable? Do you mean
    frightening?”
    “Al three,” she replied. “It’s weird that a grown man
    wants to cuff a woman and restrain her for sex. Where I
    come from, men restrain women so they can hurt them.
    It’s as simple as that.”
    “But what if I ask for your permission to restrain you
    and I promise not to hurt you?”
    and I promise not to hurt you?”
    She couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you trying to
    negotiate with me? You realize that I ran one of the most
    successful shops in Connor’s Run, right? You can’t beat
    me when it comes to negotiation.”
    Menace looked surprised. “I didn’t know that you
    were a businesswoman.”
    “You didn’t ask.”
    He had the decency to look chagrined. “You’re right.
    What did you sel?”
    “Everything and anything I could make a profit on, but
    my main business was pawning.”
    “That’s loaning money, right?”
    She nodded. “A customer brings in something of value
    and asks for a loan. I keep the item until they repay the
    loan plus a smal amount of interest. If they don’t come
    back for the item, I sel it in my shop. Simple. Easy.
    Uncomplicated.”
    “Were you very wealthy?”
    Naya laughed. “Hardly.”
    “But you said your business was successful.”
    “It was, but the only way to get wealthy on Calyx is to
    deal dirty and do people wrong. That’s not my style. No,
    deal dirty and do people wrong. That’s not my style. No,
    I ran a clean shop and treated my customers right. I
    earned a comfortable living.”
    “What happened to your shop?”
    “I sold it the morning they announced the lottery
    results and had the money transferred to a bank in the
    city. A friend of mine wil transfer it to the colonies in a
    week’s time.”
    His eyebrows arched. “You must realy trust this friend
    to give him complete control of your funds.”
    “I do.”
    “More than me?”
    She eyed him carefuly. “You’re not my friend.”
    “I could be,” Menace countered. “I could be more
    than your friend.”
    More than her friend? Her lover? Her confidant? Her
    support system? She doubted any man would ever be
    able to be al of those things to her. “You’re my captor.
    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
    Menace grunted in annoyance. “I thought we were
    past that.”
    “How about we go back to your planet and I’l hunt
    you down and take you back to Calyx where you’l be
    you down and take you back to Calyx where you’l be
    my property. Let’s see how quickly you get beyond
    that.”
    “Fair enough,” he finaly conceded. “But we are
    together now. You’re mine. That colar around your neck
    makes us mates.”
    Naya fingered the offensive circle of white leather.
    Rather glumly, she said, “Not exactly a