Bound For Love

Chapter 10

Jenna took one last look around the campfire area. Fire out. Check. Garbage bagged and hauled. Check. Guests safely back in their cabins. Check. She'd been very happy for the distraction of the welcome reception and the dinner. It helped take her mind off that insane little scene with Dylan. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? She was going to absolutely pretend it hadn't even taken place. From now on, she'd be friendly but professional at all times and probably not allow herself to be alone with him. Not ever again. Dylan Acosta might not be Tim Bergmann, but she didn't want to create a situation where she had to start avoiding her boss.

Satisfied everything else had been taken care of, she made her way into the barn, carrying some things back to the tack room. One of the hands had given a little presentation at the campfire dinner, explaining about the parts of the bridle and the saddle, a brief indoctrination before these people ever got their asses on a horse. The guys had cleaned up everything else so, when they dispersed, she'd volunteered to carry these things back to the tack room, as she'd done a couple of time before.

There were no lights on in the barn, but enough moonlight filtered in through the large open door to illuminate the tack room. She replaced each of the items and turned to leave, running smack into a solid wall of man.

"Oh!" She thought she actually squealed it.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

That deep voice reached deep down inside her and set every one of her hormones to doing the two-step. His warm hands were firm on her shoulders and, when she took a breath, she inhaled the richly masculine scent of him - earth and hay and horses and the fresh outdoors. She couldn't remember the last time a scent had been this tantalizing or arousing.

Move, she told herself. Just move.

She suddenly realized he had that damn rope coiled in one hand and had lifted one of her wrists, wrapping the rope around it. She stood there, somehow unable to make herself move. He raised her other arm and did the same. Backing her up to the wall, he lifted the length of rope between her wrists and looped it over a hook above her head.

Shafts of moonlight coming through the one small window partially illuminated the room. She could see all kinds of equipment on shelves and sawhorses and whatever else. And here she was, restrained, and off balance as she realized Dylan had pulled the rope high enough that she was on her tiptoes. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight, hot with hunger and a dark desire. She knew if she ever gave in to this man, she'd be totally consumed by him. That was a situation that she definitely wanted to avoid. Something in her rebelled against it, and she was pretty sure rebellion wasn't something Dylan Acosta easily accepted.

Still, she remained in place, some inner craving wanting to know what he'd do next.

He took a step forward so there was barely room for a sheet of paper between their bodies.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked him.

"I own the place." His smile was absolutely lethal. "Have you forgotten?"

"I mean what are you doing here? Right now? With me," she emphasized.

"If you have to ask that, you're not as smart as I thought you were."

"I, uh - " Why did he make her so tongue-tied?

"You liked me with that rope earlier. Admit it."

She could only nod.

"There are so many things I'd love to do with you and this rope." His eyes blazed with desire. "You'd let me, too."

A statement, not a question. Where the hell were her common sense and her good intensions? Scant hours had passed since the last episode, and here she was back in the soup and not making a move to get out of it. God, she was so stupid.

"I could do anything I want to you right now." His voice was low and hot. "You would be powerless to stop me." He stared directly into her eyes. "Unless, of course, you wanted to." He paused. "And said so."

She wet her lips, trying to figure out what she should say. What he wanted her to say. She was so turned on, she could feel the dampness in her panties and the scent of her arousal drifted in the air. Dylan's nostrils flared, a sign he caught the trace of it, also. His eyes widened a fraction.

"You like this." It was a statement, not a question. "I saw it in your eyes before and I see it now."

Do it, she wanted to shout. Bind me all over and punish me until I am consumed by an orgasm.

"I - " She paused. Whatever she did or said next would definitely have a heavy impact on both their relationship and her job. But her brain seemed to have shut down. There was some kind of electric connection between the two of them that was practically visible. Maybe he could just do it, whatever it turned out to be, without asking. No discussion, no questions. She was both aroused and afraid by the intensity of the need she felt, immobilized by the way it gripped her.

She was swamped with a desire to submit more overwhelming than she'd ever felt before. At the same time, she wanted to run and hide, afraid this man could swallow her whole, and she'd lose every bit of herself.

Dylan held her gaze for a long, intense, erotic moment. Then he took a step back, unhooked the rope, and pulled the end to free her wrists. His eyes never left hers as he coiled the rope and placed it on a peg. She still couldn't figure out what to say. She'd never been tongue-tied like this before, but Dylan Acosta wasn't like any other man, either.

"I thought we agreed this was a bad idea," she managed to say.

"Yeah, we did. But - "

Again his gaze held hers, the connection gripping her like a vise. Another moment and she'd be stripping off her clothes and begging him to do whatever he wished with her.

Then, without another word, he strode out of the tack room.

Jenna could hear the click of his boot heels on the concrete all the way out of the barn. She leaned against the wall, her knees weak, her body trembling. Her pulse was racing, and she could actually feel the thud of her heart in her chest. More than any other man she'd ever been with, Dylan Acosta reached down into the soul and heart of her. Once she said yes to him, if indeed he asked, would she lose herself completely? That was the thing she feared the most.

Danger, she told herself. He's dangerous.

She knew with a certainty that if she ever became involved with him he would consume her and that had always been her greatest fear. It was why she had a dual social life - the Doms she played with at Club Magique and the vanilla men she dated. She'd worked too hard to create her identity to give it up completely.

But the right man could value it even as he demanded complete submission.

There was that little voice in her head, the one always urging her to do something, to take a chance, to expand her horizons.

To do things that were risky.

When she was sure she was calm enough, she left the tack room and headed out of the barn to the main building. Luckily, she didn't meet anyone on her way. The hands who lived on the premises were all settled for the night, the others gone until morning. None of the other help lived on site, so the building was empty. She climbed the inside stairway to her apartment, let herself in and collapsed on the couch.

Holy s**t! What have I gotten myself into?

Whatever it was, she was going to do her best to pretend none of today had happened. She hoped Dylan would do the same. They couldn't keep doing this. She had to find the right way to let him know. Only Dylan Acosta wasn't the kind of man you dictated terms to. She truly believed that.

She had to do something. And as soon as this group of guests left, she was taking a night off and going to Magique. Maybe that would scratch whatever was itching her.