Arrested Pleasure Read Online Free

recognition of her surroundings.
    In the arms of a stranger she'd just met.
    But that didn't matter now as her body quaked and the spasms rolled through her veins. She bit back a scream, collapsing her face into his shoulder. Wave after wave of pleasure tore through her.
    As the shivers faded, he gently lowered her legs to the ground. Though a bit unsteady, she could stand. In the silent aftermath, she faintly became aware of her location. Outside on a patio. In a stranger's arms.
    The backyard was private, but she realized if any one of the neighbors happened to glance over the fence and spot them . . .
    "Oh. My. God." She dragged her skirt back down to cover herself. Her thong lay in ruins on the ground at her feet.
    The man beside her had a satisfied smile on his face. "Good, wasn't it?" he asked her.
    She stared at him, speechless for a moment. Good couldn't begin to describe what happened. Yet it frightened her.
    She opened her mouth to respond when the ringing of a phone pealed from inside the house.

    "Oh, hell," he muttered. "I need to get that. I'm expecting an important call." He started to open the door, but paused, watching her intently. "Stay there. It should only take a minute." He smiled. "We'll continue in a few moments and pick things back up."
    Then he disappeared inside.
    The ringing stopped, and Cassie heard his deep voice talking to someone.
    She gazed around the backyard. The birds chirped and the shadows of shade had begun to darken the area. She shivered slightly. June normally wasn't a very warm month, and after the rain earlier, it felt even cooler against her heated skin.
    Yet the coolness acted like a bucket of cold water and made her realize she'd made a grave mistake in letting a total stranger do things to her body that she had no control over.
    Cassandra Nichols was always in control of her emotions.
    Reaching down, she grabbed her ruined thong and picked up the package. The cock ring was still in his pocket and no way did she plan to stick around to ask him for it back.
    Not bothering to say goodbye or let him know she was leaving, she hurried across the deck and out the gate. Within seconds she started her car and shot off like a cannon into the street. A passing car honked at her when she pulled in front of a driver onto the main thoroughfare.
    She had to get as far away as possible after treading dangerous water with that man, a man she didn't even have a name for. This wasn't something she normally did, nor did she ever act without conscious thoughts. He made her feel something she'd never experienced before—out of control.
    And the idea scared the hell out of her.

Chapter Two

    "Hell, if I had a dollar for every prostitute who told me her pimp was like a father to her, I'd be rich and retired now instead of sitting here drinking cold coffee."
    Gabe Banks rubbed his nose as he listened to his partner, Charles "Chaz" Rush.
    "You bet. They have to make excuses for what they do." Gabe realized their excuses were lame, but money sometimes did that to people.
    Chaz shook his head and tossed his half-empty paper cup into the nearby trash.
    They were in the middle of processing paperwork after helping to book several hookers who'd been picked up near Burnside. They were part of the vice squad desk division.
    Their duties weren't as exciting as going undercover to apprehend the girls and their johns, but a necessary task. "I know, but when a sixteen-year-old gazes at me with forty-something eyes, I get a pain in the chest thinking what their 'daddy' has put them through."
    Gabe's gut tightened at Chaz's words. It was the truth. He'd seen enough in his ten years working vice squad to recognize how easy it was for men to persuade women to sell their bodies. Money and drugs were the big draws.
    "That's why we arrest them and hope they realize selling sex is wrong."
    "Yeah." Chaz grimaced at the cup in his hand. "Provided they live long enough."
    "I agree, yet sometimes it takes getting beat up for