Elite Metal-ARE-epub by Jennifer Kacey Read Free Book Online Page B

and certainly not to her.
    He heated gaze bore into her as he placed his hand over her stomach. His warmth seeped into the long shirt she wore for pajamas, heating her in ways she couldn’t afford. The contact reminded her the only other clothing she wore was a pair of panties. He took a step back, running his fingers across her hip as he moved. Allowing her to think he would give her some privacy gave her nothing but false hope. Crossing his arms instead, he leaned against the sink and watched her with open interest.
    Determined to ignore his intense stare, she continued to prepare for bed. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, then put on lip balm. Still, he watched. His face never changed. Never gave any emotion away, yet his needs continued to enflame her in ways she didn’t know how to process.
    He didn’t make a sound. What was wrong with him? With her? All she was doing were mundane tasks but he made her feel as if they were sharing something naughty, forbidden. It ignited an ache of vulnerability she never experienced before.
    This is stupid. You’re a professional. Get a grip , she told her trembling hand as she tried to put the cap on the little tube. The ting of the plastic hitting the floor sounded like a gunshot.
    Steele reached out to grab the cap and brushed her calf with his forearm.
    The tremble as she pulled away from his touch shivered up her spine and her head spun.
    In an instant he shoved her back against a wall.
    “What are you doing?” she gasped as he loomed over her.
    “You have to stop jumping whenever I touch you.”
    “I don’t jump.”
    “Liar. You start like a frightened rabbit, and then you tremble.” He stepped closer and his eyelids lowered to a smolder. “The trembling I like. I find it quite the turn on, but to make this believable you cannot fear me. Be afraid, yes. Fear, no.”
    She lifted her chin. “I don’t fear you.”
    Absolute truth. She did not fear Adam Steele. Oh, no. What she feared was her reaction to him. How her body condensed to a quivering mass of arousal awaiting his every command. She feared how completely out of control she became and how her focus narrowed to him. Just him. At a time when she needed to be most aware of her surroundings, she found herself fascinated with everything that was Steele.
    “I don’t believe you,” he said with a shake of his head. He lifted his hand and laid it directly over her sternum and her heart beat wildly.
    “I worked undercover for eight years.” She struggled to keep her voice strong, steady, and unaffected. “I have done things, ugly things to protect my country. I can submit to you.”
    “Did you enjoy it? Did you enjoy doing those things you speak of?”
    “I was proud when I succeeded in my job.”
    His eyes flared in warning and his palm pressed on her chest, practically burning a hole through her nightshirt. “Is that what I am to you? Another job?”
    No. She wanted to admit it, but to give him that much power over her was dangerous. Besides she doubted he’d believe her anyway. “Yes.”
    Again, another flash in his eyes as her voice cracked on the word. “You can’t submit to me and make the world believe it.”
    A challenge? Not only would she be able to play the role of Adam Steele’s submissive, she’d be able to do so while keeping her feelings on a purely professional level. She owed him for destroying his life. But she didn’t owe him her soul.
    She narrowed her gaze and pressed forward against his palm. “Bring. It. On.”
    A snarl curled his lips as he slid his hand up to wrap around her throat. His fingers flexed, not to choke her, but in a clear demonstration of his strength and power.
    Heat burst inside her and her eyes closed on a sigh as her knees threatened to buckle.
    “Lift your arms,” he growled.
    Slowly, she raised her hands above her head, opening her eyes to stare at his face. He whipped her barely there shirt up and over her head, tossing it in the direction of the