Dangerous (The Complete Erotic Romance Novel) (55 page)

From this angle, there was no mistaking the bruise on her cheek. The sight of it filled Reid with new purpose.

He was going to win Kendra’s heart for his own.

* * *

Kendra awakened on sheets so smooth that she knew she wasn’t in her own bed. She could smell sex and Reid’s skin, which made her smile in recollection. She reached across the expanse of the bed, ready for another round, but found nothing.

Her eyes flew open, even as she hoped the bed was big enough that he was just out of reach.

No. Reid was gone. The dent in the pillow indicated he had been sleeping beside her, which would have been better if he’d still been there.

She rolled out of the bed, wide awake and wondering. The bathroom was empty as well, although there were a few drops of water around the sink. The only toothbrush was wet. Kendra caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and winced at the purple bruise on her cheek. More importantly, she was startled to see how thoroughly fucked she looked. Her hair was tangled and her lips were swollen, her face a bit flushed and her eyes bright.

Looking fucked suited her.

Maybe it was being fucked by Reid that suited her. The idea made her smile.

All the same, Reid had staff and she’d met them already. She’d better leave his room looking as she did. Kendra took advantage of the beautiful facilities to have a quick shower, although she didn’t wash her hair. There were no extra toothbrushes, which was a good indication about the frequency of new partners in Reid’s life but not very helpful. She brushed her teeth with her finger and some toothpaste, then wished she had her comb for her hair. It was in her purse in his office, wherever that was. She dressed again and figured she looked all right for the middle of the night, if a bit wrinkled.

The other door, as she’d suspected, led to a walk-in closet, one wall lined with Reid’s suits. His shoes were lined up and polished, his ties hung on a rack and a large mirror graced the opposite wall. All of his clothing was on the right side of the closet, the left side completely empty.

Kendra smiled. He expected to share his home one day. She was good with that, especially if she could choose the candidate herself.

She took a deep breath and ventured into the space that would be the safe room.

Her heart was thundering and her puss was getting wet.

The room was larger than she’d expected and had only the one entrance. The windows were high and made of glass blocks, admitting light but allowing no view of the interior. The walls were smooth and featureless. The light switch was on the outside, along with a doorbell. There were no electrical sockets. A platform the size and shape of a bed was built right into the middle of the room. There was an adjacent bathroom with a shower.

Kendra thought her heart would explode, it was pounding so fast. She could imagine it all so easily. She’d probably be wearing only her collar when she was locked in here. Naked and willing. There was a box in one corner and she opened it to find smooth leather hides. They were as soft as butter and dyed the same deep black. There was a lot of leather, enough to upholster all the walls. The room felt quiet, as if it had extra insulation.

She wouldn’t have to be gagged in here.

She respected Reid’s caution the night before, and in hindsight admitted that he might have been right. Being restrained might have triggered a reaction she wasn’t expecting. She doubted she could have confused the issue with Reid as her lover, but she liked that he hadn’t wanted to take a chance.

Kendra was going to persuade him to finish this room. She had fantasies waiting to be explored.

There was another smaller box on the floor and she opened it, swallowing at the sight of all the stainless hardware. There were heavy hooks and loops, all of which had long wide screws for securing them into the walls. She could be bound anyway he wanted her to be, left helpless and available for his pleasure.

Kendra’s heart thumped at the prospect. The best part was that he always ensured her own pleasure, too. She looked down the corridor to the bedroom and the king-sized bed there. Reid would be able to watch the door where she was imprisoned.

She’d be accessible.

Captive.

Owned.

It was funny but there was nothing she wanted more than to play that game of possession with Reid, but only if her captor was Reid. The idea of being his toy was exciting: the notion of being anyone else’s captive was revolting.

It was about trust.

It was about exploring secret desires in safety, and Kendra felt safe with Reid. If she’d stopped to think about it the night before, she would have realized he couldn’t have been behind Ethan’s abduction, but she’d been angry and hurt.

She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Not only had Reid recognized that she shouldn’t be alone, but he’d known that he needed to do something to prove his innocence and his commitment to her. He’d done it immediately, without her asking, just to prove his own intentions.

No wonder she found him so alluring.

On the way out of the safe room, Kendra noticed the doorbell on the outside. She touched it and it made a very soft chime inside the room. What was it for? The door would have to be solid, with locks on the outside. The doorbell would be rung to announce Reid’s arrival.

Kendra had a feeling that she’d learn to become wet at that soft chime, wet with anticipation of a scene with Reid.

Maybe she’d be given commands of what to do at the bell.

She could be commanded to blindfold herself when the bell rang. Then she wouldn’t be able to see who was entering the room. It was an exciting idea. Reid could move so quietly. She wouldn’t be able to anticipate him that way.

Maybe he’d feed her in the safe room.

Maybe he’d share her in the safe room. Kendra caught her breath. She could be blindfolded and shared, taken by Rex while Reid watched.

Or better yet, Reid could pretend to be other men, fulfilling her fantasy of being shared while keeping her for himself. Kendra smiled, liking that idea a lot. They’d have to talk about the possibilities, make lists and plans. First though, she needed something to eat. Reid was probably already having breakfast. With one last glance back at the safe room in progress, she crossed the bedroom and opened the door to the hall.

The master suite was at the end of the corridor, apparently at one end of the house, so there were no choices to be made in terms of finding anything. About two-thirds of the way down the hall, Kendra could see the steel waterfall she’d noticed on her arrival and knew the entrance was there.

She walked silently down the hallway, hoping she found Reid before the staff found her. Where was Reid’s office? Were there any alarms she might trip? She hoped not and looked for sensors as she walked.

There were a number of doors on either side of the corridor, and most of them were open. The first room on the right was completely empty, a blind closed over the window and the hardwood floor gleaming. There had been a door on the left opposite this one, but it was faced with new drywall. Kendra smiled at the proof that her safe room had been secured from the rest of the house.

The next bedroom on the left had open blinds and she stared at the fabulous view of woods. That must be the land behind the house. It looked both wild and pretty, with the snow clinging to the boughs of the trees. She recognized it as the guest room Louise had given to her, and the bed was still rumpled, as if she’d slept more than an hour there.

Kendra had a feeling Louise wouldn’t be fooled.

The master bedroom must have a similar view when its blinds were open. Kendra smiled with the realization that no one would have been able to look into the safe room, even if it had had similar windows. She found another empty bedroom and a full bath, then discovered a bedroom full of cartons.

She wouldn’t have looked if they’d been sealed up, but the contents of several cartons were unpacked and strewn across the floor. The disarray was in such contrast to the tidiness of the rest of the house that Kendra had a second look.

They were women’s clothes. She stepped into the room before she thought twice, noting the designer shoes, the suits with high end labels, the beautiful clothing that had seemingly spilled from the boxes. She fingered a black tweed Chanel jacket—a real Chanel jacket!—and noted that it was her size.

A color that would look good on a blonde.

The boxes were dated, the dates on their lids from two years before.

Kendra sat down hard on a carton. These were Alana’s clothes.

Worse, Reid had kept them. She saw the mostly-empty bottle of Scotch off to one side and the single glass beside it. She closed her eyes, easily guessing who had unpacked these couple of boxes. She became aware that the jacket still carried the scent of a woman’s perfume and feared she had walked into a kind of a shrine.

Alana’s clothes were packed up lovingly and had been moved to his new home with care, so Reid could open them and revisit his wife’s memory. He’d dug into them now because she’d been found dead, and he’d been plunged into the grief of loss all over again.

He must have been sitting here, looking at them and drinking when she’d arrived the night before. He must have been mourning his lost wife.

And Kendra had unwittingly provided a useful interruption, a surrogate to ease his pain. Only now she wondered why he hadn’t protested when she’d torn up the contract.

Maybe she’d been useful and her arrival had been timely.

Maybe that was why Reid had finally kissed her. He’d only ever kissed her twice, despite her pleas, until the night before when she’d lost track of his kisses. Everything had been different, so much more tender and loving and passionate.

Because in his mind, he’d been making love to his wife.

Maybe they’d done it vanilla because it had been the last time, a final farewell.

Kendra didn’t want to even think about that. She flung down the jacket and stood up, knowing she had to get out of this place before she did something even more stupid than making love with Reid. She had to go home, get some sleep, do some thinking.

That was when she saw Reid standing in the doorway, his expression impassive, watching her. And even though she knew the smart thing would be to walk right past him and out the door, the look in his eyes made her stay right where she was.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

“It’s not what you think,” Reid said, his voice so husky that Kendra was sure he was wrong.

“It’s a shrine. Anyone can see that.” Kendra stood up. “What’s done is done, but I told you before that I don’t want to be a substitute for anyone.”

“And you’re not.”

“Even though I just woke up alone?” She lifted her chin in challenge.

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Did you really find Ethan last night?”

His jaw set and his eyes turned flinty. “He won’t bother you again.” Reid’s resolve was unmistakable and it confused Kendra with the pleasure it gave her. She didn’t need a man defending her or her honor, but she liked that he’d taken responsibility for his role in what had happened. She was reassured, too, that Ethan wouldn’t think of fighting Reid on this. “In fact, you won’t even see him again. He’s going to call in his notice on Monday morning.”

Kendra smiled. “Somehow I think that wasn’t his idea.”

Reid arched a brow. “We came to an agreement.”

“Thank you.” She said it simply because she meant it.

“You’re welcome.” He didn’t move from the doorway, just waited and watched her with such intensity that Kendra swallowed.

“It’s not a shrine?” she said, gesturing to the clothes and cartons.

Reid shook his head. “Not by a long shot. Will you give me a chance to explain?”

He wasn’t sure she
would
listen. Kendra saw the vulnerability in him that she’d never expected to glimpse and told herself she should trust her instincts on the matter of Reid as she did with everything else.

He wasn’t really different. He had better armor and maybe deeper wounds, but when she sensed he needed and wanted her, her instincts might very well be right.

“Why did you kiss me last night?”

“Because you needed it. You were hurting, and I wanted to console you.”

“Not because you were pretending I was someone else?”

“You’re not like her at all, Kendra. That’s why last night happened.”

He was so firm, so resolved, that Kendra dared to hope. “I’m starving,” she informed him lightly. “Again. In fact, hunger is affecting my ability to think clearly.”

“I was hoping it was just me,” Reid said, making a rare joke.

“Maybe...”

“But you need to be sure.” He nodded. “If I make you breakfast, will you listen?”

Kendra folded her arms across her chest and smiled at him. “Maybe I should keep negotiating. The offer keeps improving.”

Reid shook his head again. “You’re not like that, Kendra. You’ve already decided.” As sure as he was that her mind was made up, there were still doubts in his eyes as to her choice when he offered his hand.

“Toast and coffee,” she said, putting her hand in his. “Then I’m all yours.”