Bonds of Courage Read Free Page B

do.
    If he could play this to make her believe he was in denial, then he was more than willing to let the Ice Queen prove he wasn’t a Dom.
    * * *
    Oh, he wanted to. There was no doubt in Vanessa’s mind. The bob of Hauke’s Adam’s apple, coupled with the tight clench of his hands, told her how close he was to running. It would only lead to more issues if he did. Ones that would eventually get him in trouble.
    She took a step back then moved around him to set her briefcase on Seth’s desk.
    “Before you run,” she said, her focus completely on him even though his back was to her, “you should know that I’m an owner of this club.” She waited for his response and was rewarded with his sharp inhale that sent an enticing shiver down her spine. “Seth sent me your application.”
    His low curse put a smile on her lips. He really would be gorgeous kneeling at her feet or, even better, tied in suspension in her playroom. But that was getting ahead of herself.
    She was already blurring the lines between her professional and personal life just by meeting Hauke here. Mixing her worlds together had every controlling inch of her revolting, yet she was here and would see this through.
    She slapped the file folder onto the desk. The sharp smack finally got Hauke to turn around, even if it was reflexive.
    “Have a seat.” She motioned to the chair again. “And we’ll talk about it.”
    His chest puffed out, and it took a bit more of her control than she wanted to keep from admiring the breadth of displayed muscle. “I’m not what you think—”
    “Oh, you’re exactly what I think.”
    “I’m not.” His denial was accompanied by a hard head shake.
    “Do you care to test that?” She lifted her leg to perch on the edge of the desk, noting the way his eyes tracked to where her skirt hitched up. The fatigue from her day was slipping away under the possibilities that stood before her. “You don’t even know for sure what I’m thinking.”
    His eyes narrowed, his inner struggled displayed on his open features. He’d ditched the playoff beard that was so prominent in the league now that the Glaciers’s season was over. The clean shave showed off the longer planes of his jaw and the scar at the end of his chin. With his bangs lifted away from his forehead by a slightly off-centered cowlick, her focus went to the dark swipe of his brows and the contrasting blue of his eyes until he pressed his lips into a thin line, drawing her attention there.
    “You just told me what you want. There’s no missing that you think I’m a sub...” He gestured toward the file she’d placed on the desk. “Didn’t you read my application? I’m a Dom.”
    She glanced at the manila folder then back at him. “I read what you wrote. But I trust what I see more.”
    “That picture, from the other club.” His nostrils flared on his inhale. “You know about that.”
    “Of course.”
    “That was just a one-time thing.” He ducked his head, a pale red tinting his skin before he scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and met her eyes. “I was trying it out so I could be a better Dom.”
    A practiced excuse that could be valid, but she doubted it. “How did it make you feel?”
    “What?”
    “Being tied down like that. Giving up control. How did you feel?” She kept her voice even, her gaze never wavering from his.
    “I don’t know,” he said too quickly, a small huff escaping with his denial. A muscle jumped along his jaw, but he didn’t look away. The challenge gleamed in his eyes, darkening them.
    Desire rippled through her at his unintentional confirmation of her beliefs. A true Dom hated every submissive experience he or she tried. “Then I think an experiment is in order.”
    His brows lowered, his confident gaze wavering in his hesitation. “What kind of an experiment?”
    “Just a small one.” She scanned him slowly. “Something simple to test a theory.”
    He widened his stance, hands clenching his hips in a