At His Mercy Read Online Free

second story.
    Beyond the foyer was a greatroom that opened to a state-of-the art kitchen, and living area boasting comfortable-looking but stylish furniture.
    “Can I get you anything to eat or drink before we head up to bed?”
    A little ripple of … something pleasant … worked through her body. It was the we associated with the word bed that did it to her. Her face was suddenly really warm. So were a few other parts of her anatomy.
    “Maybe something to drink? Something cold?”
    “Sure.” He shrugged out of his jacket then helped her out of hers. Set them both on a nearby chair then reached for a glass from an open shelf.
    She stared at his butt, partly because it was there and partly because it looked so good i n those black pants. This guy did not have the typical guy flat-ass. His was rounded just enough to be sexy. She guessed the source of the shape was one hundred percent muscle. She’d spent enough time in a gym to know.
    How she lusted after a guy with great glutes.
    And shoulders. Of course, Kyler’s were wide and thickly muscled. She could see the way the muscles bulged as he moved, even through the crisp white button-down shirt he wore.
    He dispensed some ice into the glass then asked, “Any preference? Soft drink? Iced tea? Bottled water?”
    Just for kicks, she blurted, “Perrier?” Not because she actually knew what was so special about that particular brand, but just because she hoped it made her sound a little refined. She was most definitely feeling a smidge outclassed. Not a feeling she was unaccustomed to, but for some reason, it was unusually uncomfortable tonight.
    She didn’t want to think why that might be.
    “No problem.” He opened the fridge, twisted open one of those recognizable bottles and poured some into the glass. “There you are.”
    “Thanks.” Their fingers brushed as she took the glass from him, and a little buzz of energy licked up her arm. Their gazes met, and for a moment she wanted to forget all about the whole blackmailing thing and just pretend they were on a date, doing guy-and-girl kinds of things.
    Tearing her gaze from his, she turned to admire the living room as she took her first sip of the French bottled water she’d never bothered to buy before. It was good, but not great. Did the job okay, which was really all she cared about at the moment. Her mouth was so dry she could barely speak. She swallowed several more mouthfuls. Yeah, not bad at all, but hardly worth the ridiculous price.
    “How about a snack?” At the refrigerator again, he pulled some small plastic containers out and set them on the shiny black granite counter.
    “I’m still pretty full from dinner.” That was a lie. She’d barely touched her food. But she was too jittery to eat right now. Not to mention, she’d long ago made a rule against eating anything that could not be easily identified.
    Orange pasty stuff. White creamy stuff. That was most definitely not identifiable. So, instead of digging in, she leaned back against the counter, sipped her water, and watched Kyler work.
    “Would you like to sit?” He motioned to the row of bar stools lining the raised side of the kitchen island.
    “Sure.” She walked around the front of the island and sat, watched him collect a plate, knife, box of crackers.
    The guy seemed to get better looking with every second that ticked by. How was that possible?
    He sat beside her, and she was instantly aware of how close he was. The air between their bodies felt warmer than the rest of the room. And sort of zip-zappy, like little currents of electricity were jolting between their bodies.
    He pulled out a cracker, smeared some of the orange stuff on it and , smiling over his shoulder, offered it to her. “Are you sure you aren’t hungry?”
    She was, but her insides were kind of jumbled up, and she was a smidge afraid of putting something foreign — and potentially dangerous — into her stomach. There was no way she was going to tell him that