Plaything: Paolo's Playhouse, Book 4 by Natasha Moore Read Free Book Online

what I’m interested in with you.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “The women I seem to have met in the past have only been interested in the fantasy.” Up until now, he’d seemed so self-assured, dominating. Suddenly he seemed hesitant. “I would like to help you make this more than a mere fantasy. If you’ll let me.” He bent down and retrieved her skirt then handed it to her. “I’ve never become personally involved with a client at the Playhouse. In fact, it has been a rule of mine never to do that.”
    She frowned and looked up from zipping her skirt. “Why did you break your rules with me?”
    He shrugged and quickly stepped into his trousers. “I was intrigued from the moment I spoke with you on the telephone. The yearning in your voice called to me. And then as soon as I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. I’m afraid I wanted to be the one to make you feel .”
    “You did, Paolo. I’m glad it was you.” Damn, she wasn’t going to tell him that. Before she began to feel more than she should for this man she’d just met, she pulled on her sweater and handed him his shirt.
    He stepped away from her, his expression guarded. “But you didn’t know it was me. Not until the end. I could have been any man who gets turned on by tying up women.”
    Didn’t those other women realize how special Paolo was? Had the fantasy mattered more to them than the man who’d taken them there? The flare of anger she felt was dissolved by shame when Julianne realized that she’d given no thought to the man who would be playing with her until she’d talked to Paolo.
    Had he been used by those women? Had they given no thought to him as a person? The anger flared again. Damn, she cared about him too much already. But she couldn’t let him think her experience would have been the same with someone else, even though she’d used him just as much as all those other women had.
    She closed the space between them. “I knew it was you. It may have been on a subconscious level, but I knew you were the one controlling my body tonight.”
    His expression lightened, just like that. “I’m so glad.” He shrugged on his shirt but left it hanging open. “As I told you, I would like to show you more about bondage, about submission, about making your life fuller because of those things.” She could feel the wonderful heat from his body again. “But I don’t think it will be a good idea for you to be a member of the Playhouse any longer.”
    She’d started to reach out to fasten his shirt but pulled away as if the little buttons were going to burn her. “I don’t understand.” He didn’t want her here? After all he’d just said?
    “The rules, you see.” He grasped her wrists and clasped her hands against his bare chest. “They are for my employees as well. It wouldn’t be right for the boss to break them. It would be so much better if you were, perhaps, the woman I was dating.”
    Her breath caught and the sincere smile on his face tempted her. It wasn’t that easy for her. “But are you only interested in a woman who is nothing but a sex toy for you to play with?” She glanced away from him, not sure what she wanted his answer to be. She’d begun to like this man as well as lust for him.
    “ Nothing but a sex toy?” He cupped her face in his hands and brought her gaze up to meet his. “Julianne, do not ever make light of the gift you gave me.” The seriousness of his expression, the passion in his voice, took her breath away. “It took great strength and courage to do what you did tonight. I was honored. To trust me with your body is not ‘nothing’. It is everything.”
    “But if we were dating, would I never get to touch you?” She touched his face for the first time with a trembling hand. “Would I never be able to tell you what I enjoy? I don’t think I could be in a relationship like that. In fact, I know I couldn’t. Yes, I can admit I crave the bondage, but I would want to be a partner in